Between Madness and Darkness
by Madun
Summary: A pearlshipping story and the sequel to Dreams Connected. Ash and Dawn are still pursuing their dreams together, but a new, hidden conflict that threatens the world requires them to use all of their strength, wit, and a stronger bond than ever. Rated M for violence, death, gore, and dark themes.
1. Memories

**Hello there. It's been some time since I've done anything here due to a busy real life. Technically, this story was finished some time ago, but then I didn't have the time for proper proofreading, and since I'm afraid of releasing something unfinished, I delayed it again and again. Now that I have some days off, at least some things should be finished. I can't guarantee how often the chapters will be uploaded, as later chapters are still unpolished. It's probably my last story because there is so little time for writing or even reading right now.  
**

 **Now to the story itself: It's the sequel to "Dreams connected", but having read that is not required. There are references, but all in all this one is an independent story. It is set several years after the first one, and I tried to showcase that the battles are on a different level than before. All in all, it's also much longer and darker, so it's rated M (no things like lemons, though). If you don't want to read about gore, themes like death, murder and suicide, then this story isn't for you.**

 **There's one more thing I want to make clear: The story may become complicated. There are at least four major, more or less antagonistic factions, each with their own motivations and goals. It's not a simple "good vs evil". Don't expect it in the first chapter, though. It's mostly an introduction to tell the story of what had happened after the first story, the magnitude of the conflicts won't become clear until much, much later.**

 **Now all that is left to say is that I hope there are still people left who will enjoy the story. Have fun!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Memories

Ben was on his way to one of his favorite places, a lake near Eterna forest with a wide variety of wild pokémon, unaware of the fact that it was going to be different today. He wasn't a trainer, though, but a pokémon photographer. A simple, old man, who wished to show the beauty of nature to the world and earn a few coins on the way, as he used to say. Sometimes, he tried it at night as some people claimed that even ghost-types were haunting the lake but so far, he hadn't been lucky enough to see them. Atop a hill, he got into one of the bushes so that the pokémon wouldn't be disturbed by his activities. This time, however, there was nearly nothing to disturb.

"What the ...," he mumbled, having a closer look at the scene.

It was horrible. Starly, staravia, bidoof, shinx and other pokémon were lying on the ground while buizel were floating on the water surface, none of them not moving. In fact, Ben was sure that they were dead but there was no indication for how they died, no signs of a battle, no injuries, nothing. Everything looked normal apart from the bodies just lying about. Then he noticed that not all the pokémon were dead. A single budew was walking among the others, looking just as confused as he was.

The whole time he has been taking pictures of the lake and its inhabitants as they might help the police with finding the cause. It had to be something which only affected a small area as the pokémon on the hill were alright. Suddenly, a strong wind came from behind, nearly knocking him out of the bush. Watching the trees near the lake, Ben concluded that something inside the forest was sucking in the air. Then there was an explosion which shook the area and made the trees glow in a green light. Whatever it was, Ben didn't want to find out. He just ran as fast as he could to show the police what had happened here. Hopefully they would find the cause and put an end to this.

* * *

„Staraptor!"

A single Staraptor was flying over its territory near Floaroma Town looking for intruders or possible prey. It only saw two humans sitting on a grassy hill though, so it just flew up even higher. One of the humans it noticed was a raven-haired young man of medium height with brown eyes, who was sporting blue jeans, black shoes and a black shirt with short, white sleeves, and a blue logo of the Indigo Pokémon league on the front. As usual, he was wearing black fingerless gloves, and a black and red hat with a blue pokéball print on it; similar to the one he had been wearing during his first journey through Sinnoh. It was none other than Ash Ketchum, 20 years old, and the only reason he wasn't training right now was his 19 year old girlfriend Dawn, who had convinced him to take a day off.

She was lying next to him, her head in his lap. Her usual outfit had changed quite a bit with, depending on the weather, blue jeans or a black skirt and shorter black boots replacing her skirt and pink boots. She was also wearing a sleeveless, white shirt, a black vest, her old wristband with two pearls and the newest pokétch, which was much smaller than the older ones but still had all the old functions plus a few new ones. Unlike Ash, she didn't have any headwear, which was only due to the fact that he was running his fingers through her blue hair just as he loved to do in situations like that. Usually, she was wearing a white beanie with a pink pokéball print on it. Her sapphire eyes were closed so Ash had no idea whether she was asleep.

Years of traveling and training have given him quite the body, as Dawn would often say, but others usually didn't notice since he didn't show it off. That didn't mean Ash wasn't proud of it, though. He had quite a lot of scars, most of which she found quite attractive since they showed his dedication. There was only one big, ugly scar on the chest, near the heart, which his girlfriend absolutely didn't like. It wasn't because of the look, but because of the memories it brought back. His hair was the usual mess, something she didn't even try to change as she liked the look on him. He just wouldn't be the same Ash otherwise, no matter what other people thought about it.

Similarly, her body had become stronger and more curvy as she had to eat more due to the harder training. He did his best to protect her from any danger, taking any damage that was meant for her. Unfortunately, not even Ash could prevent everything. The biggest scar was on her lower back, caused by her flygon right after the evolution. Most people have only seen a few smaller cuts and bruises on her arms and legs, though. Ash just said that those little flaws made her even cuter but she wasn't sure whether he just said it because he was her boyfriend. Her silky and soft hair, which was longer than it used to be and almost went down to her waist, was still his favourite part. This was strange, considering how he neglected his own hair all the time but hers was just so smooth he couldn't resist running his fingers through it or, even better, bury his face in it. It was even more fun ever since she stopped using hair clips and just let flow like a waterfall. Although he often messed it up that way, she also enjoyed the attention and the feeling. Besides, he allowed her to wash his own hair in return, which she enjoyed quite a lot. So did he, even though he would never admit it. The only problem was the fact that she always needed a very long time to fix it every morning but fortunately, it was the only little obsession of hers that really affected him. She didn't use make-up at all as she knew how easily contest move gone wrong could make everything worse. Ash pointed out that the same could happen to her hair but it was no use.

The situation reminded him a little of what could be considered their first real date. A lot has happened ever since, not only their own lives have changed tremendously but also those of their friends and families. Ash couldn't imagine where he would be without Dawn, probably not where he was right now. His greatest achievement so far was defeating three of the Kanto Elite Four, only losing to Karen, the youngest, but strongest member, who joined after Lance had become the champion.

 **Flashback**

"Shiftry is unable to battle!" Karen flashed an amused smile.

"Thank you, Shiftry. Umbreon, it's your turn!" Whereas Ash only had Leavanny left, Karen still had an unknown pokémon, probably her powerful houndoom. But first he had to defeat the moonlight pokémon, which would be anything but easy. "What are you waiting for, Ash? Let's dance! Toxic!"

"Dodge it!" Evading the stream of liquid poison wasn't difficult but when he tried to look for his opponent, it was gone. "A feint attack. Use razor leaf to determine its location." Dozens of small leaves surrounded the pokémon, who just waited for the right moment. As soon as he heard the leaves behind him rustling, he used x-scissor while spinning, hitting the dark type before it could make contact. The razor leaves followed, hurting it even more. "Keep attacking!" However, it dodged the following x-scissor move.

"Double team and shadow ball!" Numerous copies of Umbreon appeared all around Leavanny and shot shadow balls at him. Although he knew that only one of them was real, he had no intention of finding out which one it was so he jumped up before they met in the center, forming an even larger shadow ball. It shot up right at Leavanny, who cut it with leaf blade.

"Now razor leaf!" He shot them in every direction, destroying the copies but now Umbreon was nowhere to be seen. A moment later, Ash's pokémon was hit from above by another feint attack.

"Pursuit!" Leavanny was pushed away by the feint attack and Karen wasn't going to let him get away.

"Blade shield!" Long, sharp leaves started circling the grass type, slashing anything getting too close. Umbreon was already too fast to stop and got cut. Now Leavanny was on the move and dealt serious damage as it was impossible for Umbreon to dodge both his attacks and the leaves.

Blade shield was one of the moves, which started as advanced combinations but soon Ash and Dawn felt that they deserved to be considered real moves. Unlike signature moves, those weren't for a specific kind of pokémon but for this particular individual, so they were sometimes called individual moves. At first they thought that they were doing something completely new but eventually, they got to know that powerful trainers like the local champions and the Elite Four have already done it, they just didn't use their moves very often so that they wouldn't become too predictable. Dawn had already tried to create a second set of individual sets for her pokémon since she had less pokémon but it proved much harder than the first one and so far, the results weren't too encouraging. The only thing that kept her going was the fact that Cynthia's Garchomp knew at least two so it was possible.

"Confuse ray!" Karen shouted. A yellow orb approached Leavanny.

"Whirling defense!" This was one of the most advanced combinations Ash knew. He created it together with Dawn and it has saved him quite a few times already. It was like an improved counter-shield, which reflected projectiles and dealt a lot of damage to anything nearby. Most importantly, unlike the counter-shield it didn't require a lot of energy unless he wanted to maintain it. Most of the times, though, he just needed it for one attack so it was very efficient. However, a lot of pokémon like Pikachu were only able to use a weaker version of the real move. With a quick spin, the grass type sent the orb right back at Umbreon. "Very good! Now x-scissor, full power!"

"Don't let it hit you! Protect!" However, the confusion prevented it from doing anything. Leavanny hit it twice with both arms before finishing it off with a powerful slash.

"Umbreon is unable to battle!" the referee announced. Now both Ash and Karen were down to their last pokémon. Karen wasn't worried, though, as her last pokémon was the perfect counter for grass types relying on physical attacks. The bug typing only made it even easier for her.

"Well done, Umbreon. You too, Leavanny. I guess I underestimated you. But now you have to face Houndoom. Go!" Against this opponent, Ash's pokémon was at an enormous disadvantage. "Inferno!"

The dark type shot purple fire right at the ground in front of it, creating a large ring of fire around itself.

"Use swords dance and razor leaf!" He released lots of glowing leaves while spinning but even with the power of swords dance, they got burned by the enormous heat around it before they could make contact. "Try seed bomb!" But even that move didn't make it. Ash could only imagine the damage Leavanny would take if he attacked the fire type in melee.

"Use hell vortex!" Knowing that it was safe from the grass and bug type's most powerful attacks, Houndoom started to place a large amount of fire spin traps on the battle field, which further limited his possibilities. "Now flamethrower!"

"Signal beam!" This move managed to get through although it was also pretty weak as he wasn't very good with non-physical attacks. He kept dodging the streams of fire for a while, waiting for an opportunity to strike, before he got caught by a vortex of fire on the field.

"Now! Fire blast!" Karen shouted, seizing the opportunity.

"Use protect!" Ash commanded and Leavanny managed to block the first attack but he was still trapped and receiving damage by the fire spin all the time. He also blocked the second fire blast. However, the third was too much. The moment he collapsed on the floor, unconscious, the flames on the battle field disappeared.

"Leavanny is unable to battle! Karen of the Elite Four is victorious!" the referee shouted.

"Damn it! But you did a very good job, Leavanny. Take a good rest," Ash said with disappointment clear in his voice, recalling his pokémon. In the end, the type disadvantage was too big and Karen's clever way of shielding her pokémon with fire prevented him from dealing serious damage to her pokémon.

"You're a very good trainer, Ash. You nearly overwhelmed me in the end. But I guess that wasn't our last battle," Karen complimented him. She didn't mention the fact that she could have let Houndoom mega evolve. That was to be left for the next battle. "You want to become Kanto's champion, don't you?"

"Thank you. And yes, that's my current goal," he admitted.

"Well, you sure impressed me today. Let's give a big applause to the challenger!" she told the audience after snatching a microphone from one of the employees there.

Ash immediately noticed Dawn among the others, clapping and cheering louder than anyone else with her smile making the disappointment vanish instantly. Instead, he came to appreciate what he had achieved this time and her role in it.

 **End of flashback**

That happened only a few months ago. It hadn't always been like that, though.

He closed his eyes, getting lost in his memories again.

His last journey through Hoenn was a disaster to say the least. It was special in two ways. Not only was Ash traveling alone at that time since he didn't want his girlfriend to waste her time at a grand festival she had already won but Dawn didn't even compete in contests in Sinnoh. She was actually defeating gym leaders to enter the league. The reason for this development was a small group of her pokémon that didn't really like contests but still wanted to participate in battles. But not in practice battles with Ash but real, official battles so that they could achieve something together. Ash supported her decision, claiming that she would do just fine as trainers and coordinators weren't so different, after all. Another reason was simply the lack of challenges for coordinators after winning a grand festival.

Despite traveling through different regions, they still met at least once a week to talk about their progress or go on a date. This wasn't easy as the regions were very far away so they had to find an effective way. The answer was teleport but in order to be able to teleport between different regions, their pokémon had to master the move at a special training facility, which wasn't cheap but they had earned more than enough money for that by now. This training was the only reason people like Mr. Contesta were able to judge every single contest in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. Unova was too far away even for their pokémon so it had its own judges.

There was something about him bugging her, though. She claimed that he was becoming increasingly distracted, careless and even arrogant after seeing him battle a few young challengers. It was like the success had changed him. The next time they met, she challenged him to battle, which should have given him something to think about since she knew that it was the best way to get his attention.

 **Flashback**

"You ready? I have something special just for you," she told him. She wasn't smiling, which worried him a bit. In fact, he has rarely seen her this serious during a practice battle.

"I'm ready. Bring it on!" he replied defiantly. "Pikachu! Go, buddy!"

"Lucario, let's do this!" she shouted, her face showing no emotion.

Their training battles rarely lasted longer than two minutes due to their tendency to take risks they avoided in real battles and two or three clean hits usually being enough to decide a battle. That wasn't the case this time, though, as both of them battled much more carefully, trying not to take any unnecessary risk, especially when Ash realized that she had prepared for electric types very well with Lucario using his bone rush staff as a lightning rod to render the electric attacks completely useless. Pikachu had only one way to deal proper damage and that's by using brick break with his tail, one of his newest combinations. However, Lucario dodged those easily and swung and whirled with his staff so quickly and smoothly that Pikachu had to be careful not to get hit. On the other hand, the fighting type couldn't make a clean hit either as he tried not to touch Pikachu because of his static ability and Ash's pokémon was fast enough to evade the staff attacks entirely. A few times, Dawn's fluid and elegant movements distracted Ash a bit. She had developed quite a bond with Lucario, was totally in sync with him and could therefore effortlessly copy his movements. Although Ash had a similar bond with his own lucario, his movements were usually much more crude but that was maybe due to the fact that she was a coordinator so she actually had to look like that.

When he saw an opening in the fighting type's defenses, he reacted quickly.

"Use electro ball!" Although he still managed to block it, the force from the brick break, which Pikachu used to strengthen the attack, pushed him back a little. Ash was determined to use it to his advantage. "Quick attack and brick break!"

"Now!" Dawn commanded. Lucario used detect to avoid the attack and, at the same time, swung his staff to pin the surprised opponent to the ground. Ash should have known as Dawn often used traps like this. Maybe he was a bit too arrogant this time?

"Use thunder!" Once more, the ground and staff made the electric attack useless. "Try brick break!" The tail wasn't long enough to reach the opponent, though. "We don't give up that easily! Protect!" A green shield raised the staff shortly but Lucario simply used feint to break it again before Pikachu was able to seize the opportunity and pinned him to the ground again.

"Alright, Ash. We've three ways to defeat Pikachu. We can use earthquake, aura sphere or finish him off with the staff. You better use another pokémon," Dawn told him, folding her arms.

"What?" The way she said it made him a bit angry. It sounded as if she was sure that she would win, which was ridiculous since Pikachu has always been a very difficult to defeat for her. "The situation isn't hopeless. We can still win!"

"Forget it. We can counter all of your moves and combinations. We have trained the whole week for this." There was something in her voice that made even him doubt that he could win. It was so serious and full of confidence. Much more than usual. But Ash wasn't one to just give up. "I give you one more chance to switch your pokémon."

"I won't! I have absolute faith in Pikachu." She just shook her head. For the first time in this battle, her eyes were fully of worry. But he knew exactly that attacking Pikachu directly would give him chance to escape and one move wasn't enough to finish off the electric type.

"Ash, there are battles you simply can't win. Sometimes you are just too much at a disadvantage." It was Ash who taught her this. Every pokémon had a weakness. Gyarados couldn't handle electric attacks very well. Torterra was relatively slow. Lucario was very vulnerable to super-effective attacks once they got past his active defenses. Pachirisu had real trouble dealing with ground type pokémon and moves and Pikachu was pretty much the same. "But you don't change your pokémon, it seems you keep using it because of the massive disadvantage. It's almost like you're making it more difficult for yourself just to get an adrenaline kick. It's frustrating. And worrying." She sighed and looked away as if she was ashamed of her decision. "Lucario, return!" Ash was surprised to say the least. Not only surprised but also furious. Furious because he felt that she was going easy on him. He didn't need pity! "Metagross, it's your turn!"

Pikachu hardly took any damage during the battle against Lucario even though his opponent got more than enough chances to do that near the end.

"One last chance, Ash. We have a new combination that will defeat Pikachu." She almost begged him with her eyes but he was adamant. "Fine, use the meteor combination!"

"Don't let it do that! Use thunderbolt!" Pikachu missed it, though, as it rose into the air with magnet rise. As soon as it reached an appropriate height, it put its legs below its body and would have created a drill if the legs hadn't been so wide. However, it created the same effect as it shot down straight at Pikachu with the tips of the legs glowing orange. It missed the electric type but dug deep into the ground, creating a shockwave, which dealt some damage. Suddenly, dozens of small, orange meteors rose from the hole into air only to come down again at the same time. Pikachu dodged them with a spin, jumping up high while the whole ground was blown up. Before he reached the ground again, Metagross emerged with the x on its head glowing purple. It smashed its head into Pikachu and followed up with bullet punch, which was blocked by a green shield. When it dissolved, it smashed one of its arms into Ash's pokémon. This hammer arm was too much for him as he fainted on the spot.

"I'm sorry, Ash," she exclaimed sadly, not really looking at him.

"You shouldn't be. It's a battle, after all," he replied, going to Pikachu and carrying him to the side of the battle field. "Good job. Don't feel bad about it."

He felt that it was his fault for underestimating this combination. After all, he knew exactly how vulnerable Pikachu and physically powerful Metagross was. The hammer arm on its own would have decided the battle so he should have made Pikachu's speed count more. It didn't matter right now, though, as he still had five more pokémon to turn this into a victory.

Ash soon caught up, leaving only two of her pokemon, a rather worn-out Metagross and another, unknown pokémon whereas he still had Krookodile, Gallade and Meganium. However, all of them were pretty injured and that was to be his downfall. Dawn's other pokémon turned out to be Gyarados, who, after one dragon dance, was fast and powerful enough to sweep through the rest of his team, defeating every single one of them. With Pikachu, Ash would have defeated him easily.

"That was a good battle. I'm proud of you," Ash said although he was still a little mad. "You were really well prepared."

"I hope you have learned something today," she replied carefully but he only rolled his eyes.

"Right. There were quite a few nice combinations," he answered despite knowing that she didn't mean those.

"Ash, I'm talking about your recklessness. If you aren't careful, it might lead to a bitter defeat. And it probably won't be just a practice battle," she told him almost desperately but he wouldn't listen.

"I don't need a lesson from you!" He was really annoyed by now. "I have won four leagues in a row! I have defeated Aaron! I don't need anyone to give me advice! I can do it alone!"

"You remind a bit of Drew at the Unova Wallace Cup. And of me at ... you know." She had her own, bitter experiences with overconfidence. "I hope you know what you're doing. It's just that I'm really worried."

"Oh." He realized that she was just trying to help although he still couldn't understand why. "I'm sorry. But I assure you I am alright. Practice battles are for testing, after all. So don't worry."

"I see. So how about we get something to eat now?" she asked, returning to her usual self. "I'm pretty hungry and so are you, I guess."

"Right!" he agreed, glad about the topic change.

 **End of flashback**

Only later did Ash find ways to counter the meteor combination, which made it look pretty weak. Still, she had managed to win quite a few battles with it.

When the Hoenn League started, Ash was happy to hear that Paul was also participating as he hasn't been able to battle one of his old rivals for a while now. He was hoping for an epic, final battle but first, he had to get there. Fortunately, the different leagues weren't being held at the same time so Dawn disrupted her own training to support him despite his protests.

It started with the first few opponents being not a real challenge for him. But then he had to face Andrew, an experienced trainer from Hoenn, in the quarter-finals. The first part of the battle was one big disaster for Ash. Despite massive type disadvantages, he didn't consider switching his pokémon as he felt that they should be able to overcome any challenge. However, it turned out to be too much so Charizard lost to a rampardos and Leavanny was defeated by a blaziken. After those losses, his pokémon slowly gained the upper hand again until only Pikachu and an unknown pokémon were left.

 **Flashback**

"Phew, that beginning had me worried but I think we have it under control now." Ash expected Andrew's last pokémon to be a water type so he had the type advantage for once. He gave Dawn a triumphant look and even expected her to apologize for doubting his abilities. Even now he failed to realize that she never doubted his abilities but was worried about his overconfidence.

"Go, Swampert!" Ash sighed. This might actually become a difficult battle as Pikachu was already tired.

"Pikachu, use quick attack and brick break!" The electric type surprised Swampert by quickly closing the distance and hitting it relentlessly.

"Protect! Then hammer arm!" A green shield protected it for a few seconds but its attacks were all dodged. Pikachu kept running around, striking it with his tail whenever he could. It dealt a lot of damage but it was also extremely tiring. "Use earthquake!"

"Protect!" Swampert stomped onto the ground, sending a shockwave towards Pikachu, who simply blocked the attack, closed the distance after being pushed back and continued his attacks.

"Enough of this! Use bide!" However, Pikachu just waited until the glow faded before he proceeded as a successful bide attack would have been the end for him. Ash was getting worried about his pokémon's endurance as the constant attacks took their toll now. His movement started to become slower and Swampert just didn't go down, proving its incredible toughness.

Then it happened. In just one moment, all of Ash's plans were destroyed when Swampert got hold of Pikachu's tail. He could use neither his electric moves as he would usually do in such a situation nor hitting it with his tail. He tried hidden power but the orbs were blocked by Swampert's own hidden power move. The water type was angry and frustrated and it was ready to take it out on Pikachu. It smashed Ash's pokémon into the ground with all its strength, not stopping until he was unconscious. It was horrible for Ash to watch his partner getting hurt like that without being able to do anything. Now he wished he would have listened to Dawn's advice. Leavanny would have defeated Swampert with just one or two extremely effective attacks but he was unconscious.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! The winner is Andrew!" the referee announced when Pikachu fainted.

 **End of flashback**

The fact that a trainer like Ash got defeated by an experienced but still pretty much unknown trainer was a huge deal. After all, the media claimed that he was about to become the next Kanto champion, speaking of a generation change after Alder got replaced by a younger challenger. But this battle made them question Ash's skill and maturity. Andrew lost to Paul, who didn't even bother talking to Ash, which only made it worse as Ash felt like no one respected him anymore. But his friends didn't just give him up and tried to help him, especially Dawn, who got two tickets to Kalos, a distant region, where he was almost unknown. There he could build up his confidence again without pressure and catch new pokémon at the same time.

Ash believed that being separated was a major cause for the disaster. Not only was training alone or with wild pokémon much less effective than having battles with other trainers but he also often caught himself daydreaming when he was supposed to be training. For some reason, a great deal of motivation was simply gone, so much that he even felt his skills dropping. Nevertheless, he was sure that he would win the league. After all, he had a winning streak. It was too late when he found out he was wrong. Dawn had similar experiences. However, her lack of motivation was mostly counterbalanced by the uncertainty of trying something completely new. In fact, she overworked herself and her pokémon as she was trying really hard to do well.

After that, Ash's training style changed. Resting became much more important, especially when his pokémon started to reach their physical limits. Overworking pokémon at this level could have caused serious injuries so he took it much slower. Only one year ago he would have called people crazy if they had told him that a good rest was just as important as hard work. Tactics and combinations also became much more important due to the limits. There was no way anyone could take down the Elite Four with brute force. Those battles were decided by superior strategy, clever usage of moves and luck. Fortunately, his training with Dawn and battles at the Wallace Cup made him very good with combinations, so much that he started to create his own moves. Dawn did the same. Hers were usually less effective but often had hidden functions, which made up for that. Training together also made their styles more similar although they were still very different. The moves of Ash's pokémon became much more elegant for some reason (their friends suspected that he might have wanted to impress her) but neither of them noticed until they pointed it out. Similarly, Dawn's pokémon became much tougher and her style more physical. The core remained the same, though, with Ash being the aggressive trainer, relying on speed and power whereas Dawn preferred to use her opponents' moves against them.

Ash opened his eyes again and looked at the surroundings. A few starly were singing in a nearby tree, under which Piplup was sleeping. He closed his eyes again, remembering their last journey through Kanto, where the penguin pokémn had caused quite a bit of trouble at the grand festival.

The rivalry between Piplup and Typhlosion caused quite a bit of trouble. Those two have never been on good terms, often fighting over trivial things like two little children who tried to catch their mother's attention. They seemed to get along lately but after having evolved into Typhlosion, the fire type got bolder and more aggressive. He often called the water-type a weakling, a little baby that needed to be pampered and used cheap effects to win his contest battles, overlooking the fact that Dawn created the combinations for those cheap effects on purpose. When Milotic stood up for him, she only hurt his pride even more. It wasn't supposed to be this way. He felt that he should be the one protecting her. Dewott wasn't any better since he has regarded Piplup as a rival ever since he participated in the Wallace Cup. Once, he even claimed that Ash was a better coordinator than Dawn and although Piplup was sure that he had just said it to provoke him, he was furious. This went on for weeks.

Right before the grand festival, the arguments turned into a real fight and Dawn was mad this time. Just scolding them wasn't enough. She had to think of something a bit more drastic. In order to show them that they were on the same side she teamed them up for the first battle despite their complaints and Ash's concerns about using a team like this at the grand festival. Unfortunately, their teamwork wasn't too good and their opponent was a powerful top coordinator called Robert with his milotic and arcanine. When Ash heard that she was going to battle Robert, he asked her to use a different, more experienced team but she didn't listen. Robert's pokémon managed to separate Piplup and Typhlosion so they had to fight on their own, Piplup against Milotic and Typhlosion against Arcanine. Whereas Typhlosion slowly gained the upper hand, Piplup's attacks had almost no effect on Milotic.

 **Flashback**

"Try to reunite! Piplup, use drill peck!" Dawn shouted.

"Stop it with twister!" The tornado coming from Milotic's tail fins blew Piplup's light body away. Meanwhile, Arcanine was standing its ground despite its opponent being slightly superior. Dawn had to admit that it was very tough.

"Typhlosion, rollout! Piplup, try drill peck again!" This time, he dodged the tornado, hitting his opponent in the face. "Very good! Now hidden power!" Piplup just kept spinning while shooting light blue orbs at it.

"Use aqua ring and iron tail! Then recover!" Instead of using the aqua ring to regain health, Milotic wrapped it around Piplup and smashed him into the ground with its tail. Then all of its wounds vanished in an instant. Even worse, Piplup had to use up almost all of his remaining strength to break the aqua ring.

There he was standing, breathing heavily and almost down. He had done everything he could, given everything for the victory, yet it wasn't enough and in this moment, Typhlosion decided to provoke him.

"What's the matter? Your energy already running out?" he asked while fighting off Arcanine.

It was enough to push him over the edge. With a cry and using his remaining energy, he seemed to charge at Milotic without Dawn's order, dodging the incoming twister and the following iron tail. Instead of attacking it, he went even further, jumping at Arcanine behind Milotic. The fire-type noticed him in time and got out of the way so that Piplup hit his ally instead. Little did it know, that was his original intention and he kept using peck on Typhlosion, who retaliated with a flame wheel. Somehow, Piplup managed to keep standing for quite a long time despite his injuries and didn't even stop fighting when a signal marked the end of the battle. The fight between her own pokémon had reduced Dawn's pokémon to zero. As a result, she was eliminated from the tournament, having only made it to the top 16.

 **End of flashback**

This was a huge hit on her career and her self-esteem. It wasn't even her early elimination, which was bad enough, given her high expectation after her last victory in Hoenn, but the fact that she didn't seem to have her pokémon under control. A fight between them in the middle of a battle at a grand festival so that everyone was able to see it ruined her reputation. As usual, she took responsibility for the disaster, which went too far even for Ash. Although he couldn't stand trainers blaming their pokémon for their own mistakes, such a lack of discipline wasn't something that could simply be ignored.

For everybody else, it was clear that Typhlosion had been foolish to provoke Piplup in the middle of a battle but Piplup had been equally foolish to react by attacking. At first, both of them were blaming each other but as soon as they realized that Dawn was trying to take the blame in order to protect them, they claimed that it was entirely their fault. Of course, she didn't accept their apology, believing there was no need for one. To make matters worse, this defeat greatly hampered her motivation as she had doubts about being any good as a coordinator despite her accomplishments so far, which resulted in the pokémon not getting a real chance to redeem themselves.

Piplup was suffering from another issue as he had been unable to deal proper damage to his opponent. Of course, his typing and style were far from optimal for that but it still bugged him a lot. As a result, he was much more motivated to learn new moves and train hard in order to avoid a similar situation in the future. The only problem was Dawn, who got distracted easily for some reason. Only after Ash's victory at the league did she return to normal but both he and Ash knew that she was trying to hide her pain. They thought that she would get over it eventually but for Piplup, that would take way too long so they had to help her out.

Since the next region was Johto, Piplup asked her to challenge Falkner and with Ash's help, he was well-prepared, resulting in two bitter defeats for the gym leader. Piplup's new style was acrobatic, something to make up for the missing strength of his evolutions. Instead of relying on overwhelming force, he tried to deal damage by hitting with extreme precision and use his size to evade the counters. It seemed to have the intended effect on Dawn and although Ash played a big part, he never mentioned it. Unfortunately, the rest of the journey wasn't as great. In fact it almost resulted in her quitting, or at least that's what he thought, so Ash quickly shifted his thoughts to other memories.

Those didn't have anything to do with battles for a change. They were about an event that happened one month ago. Although it didn't look like it at first, it became one of his favorite moments with Dawn, who felt the same way.

It started in Eterna City, where they were supposed to relax the whole day as they had been training for weeks now. But for some reason, they started to argue about something unimportant instead. Maybe it was because of the hot weather. Maybe it was because of the trainers, who kept irritating them by challenging them to battles. So they decided to go to another place, a lake near Eterna Forest, which they haven't visited for a while now as the training kept them busy. Dawn always thought that it was a shame since they had befriended a lot of pokémon there, even a few ghost types, who were friends of Dawn's Gengar, when they stayed there for a night. But this time, they simply wanted to have some peace, which was guaranteed because getting there wasn't easy. They brought swimsuits, food and other things for a nice, little picnic. The peace lasted only until it suddenly started to rain and soon turned into a real storm.

Since they were far away from the city and didn't have a pokémon with teleport with them, they had to find a shelter quickly.

 **Flashback**

They were running as fast as they could, trying to shield themselves from the extremely cold raindrops, at least compared to the warm air temperature.

"Well done, Ash. You have chosen just the right day for this!" Dawn complained.

"If I remember correctly, I had to choose this day because you didn't like the others!" he countered. "So it was kind of your fault."

"My fault? We might be back at the hotel already if we didn't have to find a calmer place because random trainers kept challenging you," she retorted.

"I wasn't the only one who got challenged, you know?" Ash started to imitate the coordinates who had talked to them. "It's the Sapphire Phoenix! Lady Dawn, can we have a battle? Can you show me how to evolve my pokémon?"

"Stop it, 'Dragon'," she replied. "I didn't choose my title, just like you."

"Whatever." He let out a frustrated growl. "It looked so nice half an hour ago."

"But it was your turn to bring a psychic type. That's definitely your fault," she exclaimed triumphantly.

"No way! I thought you ... ahhhhh!" Dawn turned around to see what happened but he was gone. However, she heard noises nearby, which led to her discovering a hole in the ground. Since there were a lot of large plants growing next to it, which covered the entrance, it was nearly impossible to spot.

"Ash? Are you alright? Please tell me!" She cried, trying to enter it herself. Pikachu jumped on her shoulder, making her shirt dirty but she didn't care at the moment as Ash's well-being was more important. He answered with a moan. The water running down made the climb much more difficult but in the end she made it without falling. Piplup wasn't so lucky. He slipped and fell into a small puddle. "Oh dear, are you two all right?"

"I'm fine. No need to worry, right?" Ash stood up, ignoring the pain for the moment. Fortunately, the injuries weren't serious. Dawn's pokémon also signaled that he was alright.

Ash looked around, spotting a small chamber where they were safe from the rain.

"How about we stay here until the weather calms down a bit?" he suggested. "I mean, pretty much everything's better than that storm out there."

"I don't really like resting in a cave which could be inhabited by powerful pokémon but it's really better than that." Loud thunder could be heard now, making the cave seem much more welcoming.

However, there was one big draw: it was cold inside. Despite their attempts to shield themselves from the rain, they were soaking wet and the cold air in the cave only made it worse. So they quickly took off the wet clothes until they were only wearing their swimsuits, which they brought as they often swam in the lake.

"Are you cold?" Ash asked upon seeing her leaning with the back against the wall, hugging her knees. The answer was rather obvious as she was shivering.

 _Even like that, she's still beautiful_ , Ash thought. _She needs me now. How could I ever stay mad at her? Maybe I've been too focused on battling lately. A single, lousy picnic can't possibly fix that._

"Just a second." He took the towel, which he wanted to use for the picnic before the weather made it impossible, out of their bag and wrapped it around her body.

"What about you?" she asked with a worried expression.

 _So typical. So selfless. And I have been so rude today. He doesn't deserve such a treatment._ She felt really guilty now. _No, he won't be the only one to freeze. It's either both or none of us!_

"I can handle this," he claimed but that wasn't true. She knew he was lying.

"Come here!" she commanded.

She wrapped the towel also around his body, which could only work since they hugged tightly. The fact that they were nearly naked made them blush a bit. Dawn wished she had pokémon like Mamoswine or Typhlosion with her as the fur or fire would greatly help them but actually, she didn't mind hugging Ash like that. The rain outside seemed to become worse every minute.

So here they were, hugging each other in a towel, Pikachu next to them and Piplup standing in a narrow corridor, which led to another part of the cave. Strange noises could be heard from there.

"Ash … I'm sorry," Dawn whispered suddenly. "I was a real bitch today. I …"

"Shhh!" He held a finger her lips. "I was just as bad. You know I would never stay mad at you because of something like this. So will you also accept my apology?"

"You don't need to ask," she whispered in his ear. They locked their lips in a deep kiss. "You know, this situation isn't that bad. Our clothes will be dry soon and the rain will eventually stop … I hope. I just wonder ... what's that noise coming from the deeper parts?"

"Maybe there is a pokémon living in there? It sure sounds like it." Ash guessed. "And no, I'm not going to explore the cave to catch it." She just giggled.

There was no need for more words. They just stayed like that, waiting for the rain to stop and sometimes snuggling up even closer. Eventually, they fell asleep and so did Pikachu. Piplup stayed awake to guard them just in case the source of the noises decided to remove them from its home.

A few hours later, they woke up again and discovered that the rain was still there but much weaker than before. Since their clothes were dry again and there were strange cries coming from deeper inside the cave, they just ran back to the city, ignoring the rain.

 **End of flashback**

One might wonder why Ash treasured those memories so much. It was due to the events in the cave, which showed him that even when they had a serious argument, they would reconcile quickly and in the end, their bond would be even stronger than before. Besides, it reminded him that Dawn needed more attention as he had been neglecting her a bit ever since his big loss, concentrating on the battles instead. And she learned that she should tell him whenever something like that happened or she might get frustrated and hurt him because of it.

But most of all, it was due to the snuggling.

Of course, they had their share of arguments. When he became her boyfriend he seriously believed that everything would just magically become great and at first it actually happened. But it soon changed. She needed more attention than just training all the time and the occasional date. Now he couldn't believe how naive he had been. Despite their similarities they were different people with different needs. But they did a great job at combining those. All in all, Ash didn't regret a single day.

Ash smiled, comparing it the current situation. It was so much more fun without a cold wind bothering them all the time. But his thoughts were soon replaced by a more serious matter. They have been together for quite a long time now. Maybe it was time to take it to the next level? Or were they still too young?

However, before he could even start making a decision, a voice interrupted him. It wasn't a normal voice but someone or something spoke to him telepathically.

"Help! They're after me! Please help! Anyone!" The voice sounded like it belonged to a small girl.

Dawn immediately got up, obviously having heard the same. So she wasn't asleep, after all.

"I can't run much longer! Help!" the voice told them again.

"Swellow! I choose you!" Ash wanted to find out what was going on. "I have no idea what we're looking for. So just tell us if you find anything unusual." Swellow nodded, flying up high to watch the whole area. Dawn also often had a flying type with her for scouting purposes.

"Crobat, please do the same!" Unlike Ash's pokémon, Crobat immediately stopped, pointing in a specific direction with one of his wings. "Huh? He's already found it without looking?"

"Reuniclus, please translate!" Ash was glad to have a pokémon who could speak telepathically as well but the voice still made him feel uneasy.

Unlike Gallade and Lucario, who had deep, masculine voices, Reuniclus's was really childlike, making it seem like he was sending a baby into battle. It fit the psychic type quite well since he was playful and innocent. Dawn didn't have such problems as her lucario's voice was similar to Gallade's, Espeon's was soft and mature whereas Alakazam's was like that of a young girl, almost a bit shrill but it has also become more mature lately.

The multiplying pokémon was the first one Ash caught during their short trip to Unova directly after the Indigo League. He was a weak, injured Solosis who had just battled a far superior bisharp. Fortunately, Ash and Dawn arrived just in time to save him. In fact, they took such good care of him that he decided to join Ash when he was back at full health. The training turned him into a powerful pokémon. Unlike many of Ash's other pokémon, he was really slow but his toughness and powerful moves, which were surpassed by very few pokémon in their team, more than made up for that. He loved pranks but they were mostly completely harmless and nothing compared to Zoroark's.

"He hears cries which are used by trained golbat to communicate while hunting prey," Reuniclus told them. "Humans and most pokémon can't hear them. And those almost certainly belong to poachers or other pokémon thieves."

"I see." It wasn't the first time they met such golbat so Dawn trusted his judgment completely. "Let's go!"

They quickly grabbed their stuff and followed Crobat along with Pikachu and Buneary, who had been sitting in the tree Piplup was leaning against. They didn't see anything until he suddenly stopped. In the distance, there was a scolipede accompanied by two golbat moving towards them but they weren't the reason why Crobat stopped. The reason was standing right in front of them, well hidden in the grass. It was a small creature with a white body, it's back was covered by a grass-like, green fur and two pink flowers with two leaves were at the sides of its head. It was looking at Crobat like he was death itself. Everyone prepared for battle.


	2. A shoking Crime

**This chapter introduces a few new members of the team, though most introductions will be done in a later chapter. Mostly it's the start of a mystery.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 2: A Shocking Crime

With the golbat approaching quickly, there was not much time for planning. Ash thought that his pokémon could take care of a few golbat without a problem so Dawn could protect the shaymin and her pokémon could protect their trainer.

"We'll handle those," he told her. "You make sure nothing happens to Shaymin," he added with a glance at the frightened pokémon.

"Right!" she agreed. "Crobat, please watch out for other dangers. I'm sure Piplup will be able to protect us from a few golbat or scolipede." He flew up high, which caused Shaymin to calm down a bit. "Please come here. We will save you from whoever tries to get you."

She got on her knees, holding her arms towards the grass type, who still wasn't entirely sure whether it could trust those people, wondering whether those were just other enemies. But the woman's smile looked genuine and her voice didn't sound like she meant any harm. Slowly, it walked towards her until a golbat's cry reminded it of the situation, which caused it to quickly jump into Dawn's arms and curl up right there, shaking with fear.

"Ssssh, it's alright," she whispered, trying to comfort it. "You're safe now. We won't let anyone hurt you." Her petting had a very soothing effect, it could have fallen asleep like that if it wasn't for the battle raging nearby.

Meanwhile, Pikachu and Reuniclus prepared for battle. Apparently, the poachers' pokémon weren't expecting any resistance so they had stopped in the meantime. Ash didn't want to fight them together with potential reinforcements, though, so he attacked before they could arrive.

"Pikachu, use electro ball! Reuniclus, make sure it hits all of them!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu quickly charged up an electro ball at the tip of his tail, then shot it at Scolipede with his tail. It wasn't difficult for Reuniclus to push the two golbat right into its the electro ball's way with psychic right before it hit Scolipede. Obviously, the pokémon weren't prepared for that kind of resistance. Whereas the golbat were knocked out instantly by the powerful attack, Scolipede was still standing. Groaning with pain, it shot several poison stings in Ash's direction but another psychic stopped them in midair.

"Finish it off!" A simple, quick thunderbolt was enough to knock it out but now two more golbat were attacking from behind. Fortunately, Dawn noticed them in time thanks to Piplup pointing at them for her. To his disappointment, she decided to let another pokémon handle the situation.

"Galvantula, please take care of them," she whispered before calling out the bug type. Shaymin was still in her arms and she didn't want to disturb it.

The story of the electric-type's capture was probably one Dawn's least favorite.

As a tiny joltik, the elespider pokémon had attached herself to Dawn's pachirisu. When she was discovered, Dawn was afraid that Joltik might absorb enough energy to hinder the elecric-type so she tried to shoo her away. It only resulted in the coordinator being shocked by the irritated bug type. While Dawn was lying on the ground, the tiny pokémon got into her clothes and started tickling her mercilessly. Ash and the others just stood there roaring with laughter since they knew that she wasn't in danger. Only after tickling her for about a minute, Joltik jumped on her nose. As soon as the poor girl was able to catch her breath, she gave the bug type an angry look, which was soon replaced by a weak smile. Joltik looked so harmless and cute, she just couldn't stay mad. Ash encouraged her to catch the pokémon and that's exactly what she did.

Upon evolving, Galvantula's attitude changed a bit. Although she was still very playful in her free time, she was much more serious during the training. It was clear that she not only expected a lot from herself but also from the others. Her new contempt for laziness and will to punish those she found guilty of it made the training more effective but also earned her the title 'Taskmaster' among the others.

Some people claimed that it was a bit weird for her to have a pokémon like that, considering her history with ariados but she wasn't one to judge a pokémon by its appearance, even if it reminded her of a pokémon that had caused her a lot of trouble in the past.

The golbat used air slash on the bug type charging at them. She countered with her individual move, storm web. It caught the blades and fully unfolded in front of the golbat before wrapping itself around them tightly and shocking them until they were unconscious. The remains that looked like a cocoon fell to the ground. The move would also prevent the opponent from recalling his pokémon but that wasn't even necessary this time.

"Good job, now use string shot on the others, please." Ash and Dawn didn't want any of them to escape and the binds would make sure of that.

Suddenly, a man, who looked like a normal trainer jumped out of a large bush near the defeated scolipede. The only thing that showed that he wasn't a simple trainer was the gun in his hand, which he raised to point at Ash. However, before he could do it, an energy blade cut it in half. He looked up to see a large crobat charging at him. Unable to defend himself, he just flailed around until Galvantula's string shot wrapped him up as well.

Just when they thought that it was over, another golbat shot down from the sky, right at the shaymin in Dawn's arms. Piplup though that he finally got to do something, but the flying type was hit by two aerial aces in quick succession, causing to it to crash into the ground, where Galvantula made sure it wouldn't escape. It was Swellow, who had just returned from his unsuccessful scouting mission.

"I think we're done here," Ash finally exclaimed. "Let's have a little chat with that guy."

"Alright!" Dawn gently put Shaymin on the ground although she would have preferred not to. It just felt so nice having such a small, warm creature in her arms, craving for a feeling of security but they had to know what they were dealing with. "Please stay here while we're talking to him. Piplup will protect you in case someone else comes along."

Together, Ash and Dawn approached the man who was still struggling unsuccessfully to break free. When they reached him he gave up with a sigh.

"Fine! You win! It's yours!" he yelled. "Just let me go!" At first he was afraid that they might belong to an enemy organization, but they didn't look like they did, and they certainly weren't police officers.

"Let you go?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "I think not. Who do you think we are?"

"I thought you were competition." The poacher had a closer look at them. "But you look way too soft. Especially the girl."

"Soft?" Dawn retorted, giving him a glare that could put a scary face move to shame. Being called soft or weak was something she absolutely despised, at least from people like that, and was among the few things that could make her lose her temper like this. "I can show you how soft I am to the likes of you!" His eyes widened in fear. Apparently, he was expecting the worst now as he struggled once more to escape even though he already knew it was pointless.

"Calm down, dear." She just looked too cute when she was angry or at least when she was angry at someone else. Ash tried to keep a serious face. "He isn't worth it. Besides, he said soft, not weak. And nothing bad about your hair," Ash added with a grin.

"When he says it, it probably means the same but fine," she replied before turning back to the poacher, who was curled up like Shaymin was a few moments ago. "Now tell us! Why did you try to catch Shaymin?"

"Uhm, well, someone really wants a lot of shaymin and pays quite a sum for each one he can get," he told them, talking very fast. Obviously, Dawn's little outburst had quite the effect the coward. "And the reward is really great. One shaymin is easily worth dozens of other pokémon. So everyone tries to get them. You can't blame me for trying. I need it. Come on, let's just forget about this."

"And who is that guy who wants them?" Ash inquired.

"No idea. It's not like he invites us over to his mansion and has a nice little chat with us. His henchmen do all the dirty work. They give free golbat and scolipede to anyone willing to work for them. They said something about them being specially trained to find and fight shaymin." He gained a little courage and made an offer. "Hey, how about I tell you how to contact them and you let me go? As I said, it's worth quite a lot of money." Now it was Ash's turn to get angry.

"Do you really think we would sell an innocent pokémon to a probably ruthless and criminal person?" he yelled. "We'll take you to the police right now."

"Swellow! Swellow!" Everyone looked at the flying type, who was pointing to the west with one of his wings.

"He says that there are many policemen near the lake," Reuniclus told them telepathically.

"What's the matter? What now?" the poacher asked.

"It looks like we don't even need to go very far," Ash told him with a smile. "So let's get it over with. Durant! I choose you! Please carry that guy and his pokémon."

Durant was the leader of a hive, caught during a trip to Unova after the Kanto League and was Ash's first steel type although she was soon followed by a bisharp. Her personality was very similar to Galvantula's but she favored brute strength and endurance. In fact, as long there was no fire involved, she was one of Ash's toughest pokémon. Additionally, her unusual size and strength made her ideal for carrying items or, in this case, prisoners.

She nodded and used her jaws to throw them on her back. They weren't too heavy but that human complaining all the time got on her nerves and she wasn't very patient. Fortunately for him, she was well trained and wouldn't attack him without an order. Dawn went back to Shaymin who was apparently practicing fancy battle stances with Piplup, standing on its hind legs. They seemed to have fun but now it was time to say goodbye.

"Well, it certainly looks like you're getting along. We're done here." Dawn kneeled down to talk to Shaymin. "You can go wherever you want," she told the grass type but it was still hesitant.

"Uhm, I don't really know how to say this but ... thank you. Thank you for your help," it told them telepathically.

"We're happy to help," Ash replied. "we've seen enough poachers to know how cruel they can be."

"Well, I'm ... I'm going to look for my friends now." Even though it was safe now, it still sounded very nervous. "Goodbye and thank you again."

"Bye and good luck!" They watched it walk into a nearby bush before returning to the task at hand. "Let's turn him over."

Although he tried to convince them to let him go they didn't change their mind. Actually, his offers only increased their disgust.

They knew the lake Swellow was talking about very well as it was the very same where they had ben surprised by the rain a few months ago. This time, however, many policemen were surrounding it, denying access to anyone coming along. A captain along with two other officers stopped them.

"Halt! This area is restricted due to a recent incident." Then he noticed Durant's 'luggage'. "What's this about? Explain yourselves!" Even Ash had to admit that it looked suspicious so he couldn't blame them.

"That's a poacher who was trying to capture a shaymin. We defeated him and brought him here for you to arrest," he explained.

"A shaymin?" The captain looked very interested now. "Do you have it with you? We could keep it safe." There was something in his voice that Ash didn't like, maybe greed. Perhaps he knew about the price for a Shaymin and would have sold it but since it was gone, there was no way to find out.

"No, we let it go after the battle," Dawn told him.

"That's a shame," he said with disappointment clear in his voice. "That ... kind of poacher has become quite common lately. They always have the same pokémon team. Someone very rich is paying them but we have no idea who that is. That shaymin is likely to meet other poachers." The words hit them hard. If they had known about this, they would have done more for it.

"I'm afraid we can't do anything about that now," Ash said, sensing Dawn's distress. "But what happened here? Why is this area restricted?" In the distance he saw even more officers patrolling.

"A terrible crime or accident happened here. We can't tell you anything specific. You'll have to wait for the news." Being his helpful self, Ash tried to convince him otherwise.

"Maybe we can help. We're pretty good at solving problems," he offered but the captain was adamant.

"Even if you were the champion of Sinnoh I wouldn't tell you. We thank you for taking care of that poacher -" Durant put him and the pokémon on the ground. "- but I have to ask you to move along now."

Ash was going to argue but Dawn put a hand on his shoulder. Clearly, the captain wasn't going to let himself get convinced otherwise.

"I don't think anything is going to change his mind. Let's just go home and hope that they can handle this," she whispered in his ear.

"Fine," he replied with a sigh.

They returned every pokémon except for Pikachu, Piplup and Buneary. Dawn called out Alakazam, who was the only pokémon capable of long distance teleportation, apart from Gallade.

She took them back to Pallet Town in Kanto, where they had their own home. It was a small two-story building with a small entrance hall, kitchen, bathroom and the living room on the first floor. The second floor contained another bathroom, so Ash didn't have to wait for Dawn to fix her hair every morning, the normal and a guest bedroom, and a recreation room. Their garden was more important to them as they grew a few useful berries there and it was also their training ground although fire type moves weren't advisable there. The money was earned through victories at the leagues and the Sinnoh Grand Festival mostly but their mothers also contributed a little. Anyway, they were very happy to have their own little place, which was also near professor Oak's lab so they were able to visit all their pokémon every day. But since they were able to simply teleport there it was just a minor detail.

Ash turned the keys, opened the door and took off his shoes before going straight to the living room, where he sat on the couch with Pikachu lying down next to him.

 _Why does this keep happening?_ he wondered _. Every time I have a good opportunity to ask her, something else happens. But maybe it was good? Otherwise I could have made bad decision. After all, we will be very busy soon. And distractions wouldn't be very good. Alright! I'll wait for now. There are other things to think about anyway. Like the Wallace Cup. I need a great appeal. After all, the best of the best will be participating and getting to the battle rounds won't be easy. My pokémon would never forgive me if I failed. Dawn can consider herself lucky. She doesn't need an appeal for the opening battle but knowing her, calling out the pokémon will look like one. I wonder who will be her opponent. It can't be Drew or May. Maybe Zoey? Or Solidad? Or Robert? Or Wallace himself? I guess we'll see. I can't wait to see Drew's face when he realizes that she was chosen. Always bragging about how he will be the first one. Even May got so annoyed._

Unbeknownst to Ash and Pikachu, Dawn, and Piplup were watching them curiously while Buneary was rolling his eyes. It was just so rare for Ash to just sit there and ponder but then Dawn remembered something.

"Ash?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Huh?" he answered, slightly startled by her.

"Do you remember what Shaymin said? Something about looking for its friends?" Ash looked up and nodded. "What if they were already caught? It might easily be the next."

"I ... I didn't think about that," Ash slowly answered. "But there's nothing we can do now," he added with a sigh. "We would need a pokémon trained to find shaymin."

"Like the poachers' golbat?" His face instantly darkened.

"Exactly," he whispered. "Listen, we did what we could. Just keeping Shaymin against its will wouldn't have been a solution either. I'm sure everything will be okay."

"You're probably right," she replied, already a little less worried. "I'm going to prepare supper now. Is there anything you would like?"

"Just do what you feel like. Everything you make is delicious," he told her with a goofy grin.

It wasn't exactly difficult to make food he liked but she really wasn't bad mostly because of Brock and her mother having been good teachers to her. Ash still thought that she wasn't as good as Brock, although he would never tell anyone, but there were two things she was better at: poffins and cookies. Just thinking about the cookies made his mouth water. Anyway, since it would take some time until the food was ready he concluded that he might as well watch TV.

The first thing that came up was something about the World Tournament Cup. In his opinion, it was overrated and meaningless but still every year powerful trainers from all over the world joined to give the people some good battles. The rewards didn't hurt either.

"Do you remember when we entered it last year, Pikachu?" he asked.

"Pika!" his pokémon answered, nodding enthusiastically. He had one of his best battles there.

"How about you, Dawn? Good times, eh?" She appeared at the door to the kitchen a few seconds later.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, trying not to get too distracted by him.

"The World Tournament Cup," he replied.

"Ah yes." She smiled broadly. "It was the first time those trainers actually took me seriously. Their faces were priceless when you said that you actually regarded me as an equal."

"It was even better when the battle actually ended in a draw. They had no idea what to do," Ash said, chuckling.

Nowadays a draw was actually quite common in their battles. Ash often tried to end it with one powerful attack, which Dawn tried to counter. Depending on the health of the remaining pokémon it knocked out either one or both of them.

"I still wonder what they would have done if you had wanted to battle Cynthia in the next round." He lost to her but it was much closer than expected. In the end, she was the one to win the tournament.

"I have no idea. But you deserved it. I have already battled her before so there was no need for another time." She returned to preparing the meal.

"She's way too humble in those matters," Ash mumbled, shaking his head. Pikachu wanted to watch but got interrupted by Buneary who insisted on helping Dawn in the kitchen. Ash was highly amused by the desperate look on his face as he was dragged away.

The World Tournament Junior Cup was a bit different as mostly local trainers were participating so he didn't think that it actually deserved the title. Additionally, one-on-one battles weren't too exciting.

Since it was getting boring soon, he changed channels a few times until he remembered what happened in Eterna Forest. He had to wait a few minutes for the news to start but what he saw made him gasp.

"Dozens of dead pokémon were found at Harmony Lake near Eterna City," the announcer said.

"DAWN!" Ash shouted. She immediately appeared at the door along with the pokémon helping her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a bit worried.

He just pointed at the TV, where the announcements at the beginning were about to end. She sat down next to him.

"Officials have reported the death of dozens of pokémon at Harmony Lake near Eterna City. The cause is currently unknown but the police is sure that it isn't natural." Ash and Dawn looked at each other with shocked faces. Pikachu, Buneary and Piplup got closer so that they wouldn't miss anything. "We have an exclusive interview with captain Torin. Good evening, captain Torin." His face appeared on a screen next to the anchorman.

"Good evening." It wasn't the same they had met.

"What can you tell us about the pokémon who died?" the anchorman asked.

"They were mostly local pokémon of nearly every type with the exception of poison. We haven't found a single dead poison type. There were still a few budew and spinarak walking around but also water types swimming in the lake like magikarp," the officer replied. "Apart from those, there were no survivors."

"What do you think this means?" The answer seemed pretty obvious for experienced trainers.

"We suspect that it was some kind of poison gas since those immune to poison and those who don't usually swim to the surface are still alive. However we found no traces, neither in the air nor in the bodies of the dead pokémon." Dawn grabbed and squeezed one of Ash's hands, which caused him to pull her into a hug. "We can explain the absence of poison in the air as the person who has discovered this, reported an event, which we believe to be the seed flare of a shaymin. It most likely cleaned the air and prevented more deaths but also made our investigations more difficult."

"How did the pokémon die?" Probably everyone watching the news was wondering this now.

"Their lungs were almost completely disintegrated. This raises a problem as there is no known poison with such an effect." Dawn paled visibly when she heard that, just like Ash.

"What a cruel end ..." she mumbled, burying her face in his chest.

"Where did the poison come from?" the anchorman asked again.

"We don't know anything for sure. There is no trace of a container or anything it might have come from," captain Torin said.

"Thank you for the interview, captain." The screen went blank.

The topic changed to something they weren't interested in so they turned off the TV. Ash noticed that his girlfriend was shaking a little, which wasn't surprising given the fact that they actually knew a few pokémon there. Buneary was also like that but she had Pikachu to comfort her. They stayed like that for a few minutes.

"It's hard to believe the police can't find anything," Ash finally said, breaking the silence. "I mean, there must be some sort of clue."

"Do you want to go there and start looking for yourself?" Dawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, why not? Someone has to do it." The coordinator immediately raised a finger.

"Ash, you're irresponsible, foolish, reckless," she looked him in the eyes and flashed a bright smile, "... and caring. That's the Ash I fell in love with. When shall we go?"

"Not now. The policemen would probably notice us right away. We should wait until it's dark," he suggested.

"Good idea," she agreed. "Hm, then we could also ask the ghost types there. You know, they should have survived since they're also poison types. Hard to believe the other ones are dead." He felt her pain and took her in his arms.

"They will be missed. But first we have to make sure this won't happen again. I promise you, whoever did this will pay dearly." Ash suddenly noticed a strange smell. "Uhm, is that smell coming from the kitchen?"

"The food!" Dawn cried, immediately getting up and running back. "It's ruined!"

"And you call me irresponsible," Ash mumbled. At least they noticed before she could burn down the house.

She made something else instead, which took a bit longer but he wasn't too hungry anyway. The excitement and worry was just too big. After the quick meal, they went to the pokémon center to take a few of their strongest pokémon with them as they had no way of knowing what they could find and explained the situation to them. Hours felt like days but, finally, it was dark enough to start their search. Ash's team consisted of Noctowl and Swellow for scouting, Gallade for transportation, Infernape for illuminating the dark, Lucario because of his aura abilities and the special move, and, of course, Pikachu. Dawn had Gengar, Galvantula, Typhlosion, Piplup, Buneary and Zoroark with her. The dark type's task was to distract the police with illusions, just in case they were noticed.

Whenever he thought about Lucario's capture, Ash couldn't help but feel that it was one of the most interesting ones, simply because it had felt so random at first.

Lucario joined Ash's team shortly after his victory at the Johto League. One day, he was simply standing in front of their home (he was still a riolu back then), waiting to be captured by Ash. When it finally happened, he told him that he has been waiting for this moment ever since his friend, another riolu that was rescued by Ash once, had returned. To the trainer's surprise he was also able to use aura sphere so Ash thought that he must be a very special pokémon. After a lot of training he was just as strong as Dawn's lucario but his real strength was in the aura bond he was sharing with Ash. It allowed him to give commands without saying anything, which was an enormous advantage in battles. Although Dawn had a similar bond with her lucario, it took her much longer to create it as Ash simply had more talent for aura abilities. He wasn't planning on learning others though, at least until he has become a champion.

Gallade teleported them right next to the lake, which was unnaturally silent. Even if they didn't know what had happened here, they would have felt that something was wrong. It didn't took long to find a haunter and three ghastly, who actually looked glad when they saw the trainers. They moved right through them, leaving a chill in their bodies and started circling them.

"Good to see you," Ash greeted them despite the cold welcome. "I'm sure you have noticed the incident here. But have you also noticed something that might have caused it?" The ghost types lowered their eyes in shame and explained the situation.

This time, it was Gallade's turn to translate. He looked a bit disappointed.

"I'm afraid they haven't seen anything suspicious. It appears to have happened out of nowhere," the psychic type told them telepathically. "They're just as confused as we are."

"There goes our only lead," Dawn said with a sigh. "Do you have any idea what to do now, Ash?"

"Nope." He thought about the situation for a while. "Is there any place around here, where something could remain hidden even from dozens of policemen?"

"Ash!" She sounded really excited now. "Do you remember that cave you found by accident?"

"Of course!" He gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "You're the best!"

"And if there's nothing down there?" she asked with a grin.

"Then we'll have to look for something else. But right now, that's our greatest hope. Let's just hope we can find it again." Haunter said something, which was full of spite.

"He says that they want to see those, who are responsible for this, dead." The trainers could understand his anger all too well.

They said goodbye before starting to look for the entrance. In order to increase their chances of finding the entrance, they split up and called out their respective 'scouting team'. However, it proved much more difficult than they had anticipated. Finding the entrance was hard but finding it in the dark was nearly impossible. One time, Dawn almost got caught when a nearby patrol heard her moving in a bush. Thanks to Zoroark, who created the illusion of a spinarak running away, they decided it was not worth investigating.

Most people probably would have given up but they refused and in the end, their stubbornness was rewarded. This time, it was Dawn, who nearly fell into the cave but since she was prepared, she could grab some of the vines covering the hole. Fortunately, nobody appeared to have heard the small shriek she let out. She quickly pulled herself up before telling her pokémon what to do.

"No need to worry! I'm fine! Crobat, please find Ash and tell him that we found it." He nodded before flying away. "Gengar, can you look whether there is poison gas down there?"

By the time Ash was there, Gengar had returned and told Dawn that she had found no traces of poison in the cave so they immediately entered it. Since it was very dark, Ash called out Infernape, whose flames lit it up a bit.

"Careful! We have no idea what we could find here," Ash told Dawn and the pokémon who just nodded. They called out every pokémon just in case they really ran into trouble.

They tunnel was very narrow but not very long so Ash soon stopped before pulling back.

"Observation camera," he whispered.

"Do you think it spotted you?" Dawn asked.

"I think so," he just replied. "Well, it's too late to change it now. Gengar, can you take care of it?"

"Gengar!" she nodded before diving into the ground.

She reappeared right behind the camera shortly after, destroying it with a focus blast. Then she returned to the waiting trainers.

"Did you take care of it?" This earned him another nod. "Very good. What else did you see there?"

Gallade told them about her discoveries, which were just a sleeping scolipede and a large metal container.

"Alright, let's take care of it! Infernape, use inferno punch!" Ash's pokémon quickly ran around the corner and knocked out the bug type with a punch as fast as a mach punch and as powerful as a fire punch. It would have also inflicted burning if scolipede had actually endured it. "Well done! Now let's have a look at that container!"

Even though it appeared to be safe, they walked inside very slowly and carefully. The metal container was empty so it's most distinctive feature wasn't the content. It was the huge, lightning shaped hole, which was seared into the metal.


	3. Taking Care of old Enemies

**This is what I consider the conclusion of the introduction. From here on things will get more serious, and more important characters are introduced.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Taking Care of old Enemies

"Sooo," Ash scratched the back of his head, still looking at the lightning symbol. "What do you think this means? That's probably the cause of the incident but we still have no idea who could have done that." As far as they knew, anyone could have done that since they didn't know any group or organization with a lightning as their symbol.

"Yes, this doesn't help us at all," Dawn agreed. "Maybe it's time to inform the police? They might know what that lightning means."

"Probably, but without revealing ourselves." He recalled all of his pokémon except for Pikachu and Gallade. "Let's just show them the location of the cave with signal beam."

"Good idea! Galvantula will take care of that. Zoroark, Typhlosion, and Gengar, return!" Buneary and Piplup were small enough so they could stay outside.

"Return, Infernape, Lucario, Noctowl, and Swellow." They needed Gallade to escape.

They returned to the entrance and, after Buneary made sure that nobody was too close to it, Galvantula first cut the plants covering the hole and then shot a signal into the night sky. There was no way anyone could miss this cave anymore so Gallade teleported them right in front of their house in Pallet Town.

"Thanks, take a good, long rest now." Ash said, recalling his pokémon. He knew that long range teleportation was exhausting and Gallade had to do it twice this evening so a rest was well-deserved.

For the second time this day, Ash opened the door and they entered their comfy home. They quickly changed and went directly to their big double bed. After all, if they had to talk about something they might as well do it in their cozy bed, as they were already pretty tired. As usual, it took Dawn a bit longer to get ready. He was exhausted, but she didn't want to sleep just yet.

"What do you think of today's events, Ash?" she asked, starting a conversation.

"Well, maybe we solved another big mystery, huh?" He was way too tired for a real talk right now.

"Well, kind of. We had larger ones, though," she replied, taking his statement way too serious. "Do you think we'll see that shaymin again?"

"Yeah ..." he mumbled, slowly drifting off to sleep.

"I hope we'll see the results of our little adventure tomorrow. But let's talk about something else now." Ash groaned. Couldn't she see that he was just trying to sleep? "Like ... the special day."

"Special day?" Ash had no idea what she was talking about. "You mean the Wallace Cup?"

"No, I don't." She slapped her forehead. "I mean YOUR special day. Your birthday!"

"Oh, that one." He felt a little stupid. "What about it?"

"I just wanted to ask whether there's anything you really want? Anything you need more than anything else?" It was true that she had some trouble finding a suitable present. Of course, it wasn't difficult to get something for him as something to eat always made him happy. But she wanted more. She wanted a present, which expressed her feelings for him, something he would treasure for the rest of his life.

"I really can't think of anything," Ash said after a brief moment of heavy thinking. That was already way more than anyone could expect from him at this point. "Don't worry. You don't need to get me anything fancy. I'll already be happy if I can spend the day with you." He turned around, showing that he didn't want to talk or listen anymore.

She sighed, having feared this answer. There was nothing she could do right now, though, as in this state, it was impossible to get his attention. She had already tried nearly everything to no avail. So instead of arguing she did the same and soon fell asleep.

* * *

Max Wright quickly made his way through the building, passing every security check while talking to various people on his special phone. It was annoying, but necessary since he was working for the international police. In fact, he was the one to increase the security measures since he has been the boss for nearly four months now. Not everybody was happy with the changes he'd brought, but Max didn't care. He did what he had to do to ensure the safety of innocents.

It was already past midnight but he was told important information about one hour ago, important enough to gather every high ranking member. When he finally entered the conference room, he saw that most of his officers were already there.

"Sir! I'm sorry I had to ..." One of them started, but was cut short by his boss.

"Don't waste our time! A lightning symbol you said?" he asked and received a nod. "THE lightning symbol?"

"Yes, sir. They also found remains of a security camera and an unconscious scolipede," Looker, who was sitting nearby, told him. He stood up and showed his boss a few pictures of the cave.

"Dan has already sent me those," Max barked, sending his employee back. "Any idea who showed them the location of that cave and why?"

"As I said on the phone, they just saw a signal beam and followed it. Nobody was there when they arrived," the officer called Dan answered. "The plants near the entrance were cut so we think someone wanted us to find it."

"Alright, search the area for more traces ..." His phone rang. "Just a second. Yes? Susan, why aren't you here yet?" His eyes widened. "We need to see it immediately!" He hung up before addressing the others. "It looks like Shira has sent us a little video."

It took Susan half an hour, which they used to discuss the event, to finally arrive with the video. Max wasted no more time, showing it to everyone. The face of Shira, one of the most wanted criminals in the world appeared on the screen. She was a tall woman with long, blond hair and blue eyes. Her outfit consisted of black boots and gloves, grey pants, a simple, grey shirt, and a long, black coat with a golden seam, which had a golden lightning symbol on the back. Her appearance reminded them of Cynthia but there was something cruel about her.

Her organization was known as the Storm Raiders, although they didn't have an official name. At first it'd been a bunch of cowards who wanted to appear strong and tough. Their former leader, an old biker known as Styx, was an intimidating brute, but lacked imagination to make anything decent with his power, so they'd been more of a nuisance than a danger. Their first name was Death's Chosen, just to make them sound more important than they were. Little did they realize that it only made them sound even more ridiculous. When Shira joined the gang, she began to slowly influence Styx until he was willing to do more d **a** ring operations. The members soon realized that she was way more capable than their old leader and she also didn't vent her wrath on them. Actually, she treated them really well as she would never demand inhumane things from her, rewarded good work and wasn't afraid of taking matters in her own hands if she felt that someone wasn't up to the task. When she planned to get rid of Styx, everyone not only was okay with that, they even helped her. During the next mission, he met a very unfortunate end at the hands of a rival gang as his minions were nowhere to be found. Under her leadership, the gang turned quickly into a deadly organization, which got rid of competition with ease, causing even more people to join them.

"Hello, my dear friends," she said with a malicious smile. "By now you should have seen the power of our newest weapon. If you look really carefully, you will find a container with our symbol. Our guard shouldn't be any problem for you. It's just to scare wild pokémon and foolish trainers away. As you may have noticed, our creation is a powerful poison. It kills slowly, but even little amounts are fatal. But enough of this. We have placed more of those babies in every major city." She stressed the last words and took a sidestep so that the camera was able to focus on the container behind her, which caused several gasps in the conference room. "They are well hidden and there are bombs which will blow up if someone opens the doors leading to them without entering the right code. Those explosions will give the poison gas access to the city. Of course, we can also blow them up manually." The focus was back on Shira. "The rules are simple. You won't look for the containers or we will blow them up. We will know whether someone actively looks for them or is just there by accident. You will not try to evacuate the cities. If we see any larger movement we will blow them up immediately so better make sure the public doesn't get to know anything about this. This is our little secret." She giggled like a little girl." Now to the interesting part." Her smile got wider. "We will soon send a list containing the sum for every city to pay and how to do that. I'm sure you will find the amounts most reasonable. As soon as we've got the money we will give you the location and the code for the door. Do whatever you want with the poison. It's not like you will be able to make an antidote. We hope for your cooperation." Just when they thought that it was over, she added with a devilish grin. "Oh, and congratulations on your promotion, Mr. Wright. I'm sure you will be a great business partner."

The screen went blank. This was something completely unexpected. Of course, Shira was dangerous, but blackmailing the world was a whole new level. There was probably someone backing her up, someone with a lot of resources as on her own, she wouldn't have been able to pull off a plan like this. The first thing to do, though, was to foil her current plan, which would be anything but easy considering the Storm Raider's current level of organization.

There was a long silence before someone spoke up.

"How do we know she isn't bluffing? For all we know it might be an empty threat." A great turmoil broke out but Max quickly silenced them.

"There's no time for that bullshit. It looks like we have sleepless nights ahead of us and I want everyone to do their best. No exceptions. So what are you waiting for? Get to work!" he shouted. "If only that idiot Torin hadn't given that interview."

Max would investigate the most promising lead personally.

* * *

At the same time, a small, young woman, maybe not even an adult, with scarlet eyes and long, black hair left the office of her boss. She was wearing black boots and a simple, dark grey uniform with a white lab coat covering most of it. Mostly due to her permanently emotionless expression, she couldn't be considered attractive or even cute.

"You there," she said to one of the guards next to the door. Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "Get Victoria."

"But I ..." he was clearly terrified.

"Tell her I sent you. Do it." The guard saluted before quickly following orders.

She put her hands in the pockets of the coat and leaned against the wall until a few minutes later he returned with a black eye and a furious young woman following him. Her long, curly, brown hair was a complete mess as well as her make-up. She was staring at the one who'd sent the guard with her green eyes.

"I hope for your sake that there is a good explanation for this!" she said calmly but the spite was impossible to miss. "Nobody disrupts my sleep without good reason."

"The boss has a mission for you," the girl replied calmly, not even changing her position.

"Oh." Victoria's anger instantly vanished, and she suddenly looked slightly embarrassed. "In that case I forgive you, Wraith. What is it about?"

"You know Ash Ketchum?" Wraith asked.

"Of course. Why?" She was really curious now.

"He was the one to find our little gas container in Eterna Forest. His girlfriend was probably also there. Boss wants you to take care of old enemies. And test your new toy. He'll give you the details personally." Having done her job, Wraith walked away.

"Very good. I'll just arrange my hair and then I'll talk to him," Victoria replied with enthusiasm.

She was already looking forward to this. It would be the most interesting mission she'd ever had.

* * *

 _I shouldn't have gone. I definitely shouldn't have gone._

The Shaymin Ash and Dawn had rescued was slowly walking towards the Floaroma meadows trying not to leave any traces. Strangely enough, there was not a single gracidea to be found which was highly unusual at this time of the year.

 _Why did I leave them_? it thought to itself. _I can't ... this is so scary. They could be anywhere. Those cries ... I would give anything just to be in her arms again. Or to find a gracidea flower. In my sky form, I feel so much more confident, more powerful, almost like I can defeat anything. But they're gone, like the others. What am I supposed to do?_

It looked at the moon and tears started forming in its eyes.

 _I'm so weak. I don't know what to do. Please, anyone, help me._

Shaymin was tempted to just burrow into the ground and sleep until everything was over but this area was probably full of poachers. They would find it eventually. With a sigh, the gratitude pokémon got moving again but it only got worse when it started to rain only a few minutes later. Everything seemed hopeless, when it saw a cage on a stump in the distance. Carefully it approached the cage, trying to remain hidden until it realized that another Shaymin was sleeping inside.

"Hey, wake up. Please wake up." The grass type tried to make contact telepathically. _"We have to get you out of here."_

Apparently it worked as the pokémon opened its eyes and had a look around but without seeing the source of the voice as it was well hidden in the grass.

"Don't come any closer! Run! It's a trap! Golbat are patrolling the area!"it replied desperately.

Exactly at that moment, two golbat, who had noticed the pokémon thanks to their sonic waves, used air cutter to destroy Shaymin's hiding places. It took way too long, though, so they tried toxic gas to force it out of the grass.

 _Oh dear._ Shaymin watched the purple gas approaching. _What do I do? What do I do? It can't end like this. Only hours after being saved by two humans. I can't let them down. But what can I do against the golbat? Piplup said that we are legendary and powerful pokémon. But I have never fought before, how can anyone expect me to do it now? He seemed convinced that I can do it. It's almost there. I have to ..._

Shaymin started sucking in the air, which caused its flower to turn black and the golbat to charge right at it.

"That's for my friends!" They were right in front of the grass type, their fangs glowing purple, when it released the energy. The blast smashed one of them against the stump whereas the other simply fell into a patch of grass nearby, but both of them were unconscious.

 _I did it? I really did it! That was so thrilling!_

"What are you doing? Get away!"The voice of the other Shaymin in its head interrupted the cheering. "They have probably alarmed the others. Run! You have no chance against all of them. Don't even try to free me, it's too late."

It was right as the seed flare was impossible to miss and the owner of the golbat would soon be there.

"But you're ... I can ... ah, someone's coming. Please forgive me. You will be free again, I promise you," it told its imprisoned friend before running away as fast as it could.

"... for delaying me. His death was too quick. Because of him, I could have missed this seed flare." A voice could be heard approaching not even a minute later. It belonged to a bulky man wearing black clothes and a mask, probably so that he wouldn't be spotted easily in the dark. "What the hell is this?" he mumbled upon discovering the unconscious golbat in front of the stump. A quick search of the area didn't yield any results. "Fucking useless creature." He kicked the golbat away out of frustration before taking the cage. "The cops must have seen the seed flare as well. This was a stupid idea to begin with."

Meanwhile, Shaymin found a small hole in the ground, where it could rest without getting soaked by the rain, at least for a moment. It had escaped the poachers' grasp twice in just a few hours but it had also failed to free a friend when it had the chance even if that friend told it to flee. At least, it had managed to defeat two of the golbat, which was an entirely new experience, one it would have never expected to make.

 _Maybe Piplup was right,_ it thought. _Maybe I am more powerful than I think. I have to admit, defeating those golbat felt good but they aren't the problem. The humans are using them to catch us. At least some of them are. The other two were nice. I hope I'll meet them again someday. With their help I could free my friends. But why would they? Why help a cowardly Shaymin who won't even free someone in need? They would be disgusted by my behavior. But in my sky form I could do something. Why are the gracidea gone? Perhaps those bad men don't want us to transform or to fly._

The hole was slowly filling with water so Shaymin decided that staying there wasn't safe. It went to the entrance and looked at the clouds.

 _I would do anything just to fly again. To feel the power, the courage._ It shook its head and stepped out into the open. _This is not the time for that. I have to find a safe spot somewhere. But where?_

* * *

The sound of heavy raindrops hitting the window woke Ash up. Opening his eyes revealed the giant piplup plush that Dawn got as a birthday present from May, in his arms. It was the second one as the original was destroyed when the house in SInnoh was blown up. Whenever she got up before him, which was usually the case, she replaced her body with the plush so that Ash would still have something to hug in his sleep despite his complaints. Slowly he got up and went to the bathroom. A few minutes later he was ready for the day. When going downstairs to the kitchen he heard Dawn's voice.

"It's about time, Ash. I'm making pancakes," she told him.

"Pancakes!" Ash exclaimed excitedly, rushing down the stairs and almost tripping.

Fortunately, he managed to keep his balance but still crashed against the wall at the bottom.

"Ash! How many times have I told you to watch your step?" Ash looked up to see her standing at the door to the kitchen, hands on her hips. She shook her head before returning.

"Well, that's your fault for mentioning pancakes!" he replied, getting up quickly and entering the kitchen. He couldn't see it but he knew that she was rolling her eyes right now. "Hey, where are they?"

"They aren't done yet, silly," Dawn answered.

"I hate it when you make me excited like this." Ash saw that their pokémon were already having breakfast. "Why are they already eating and I have to wait?" he complained.

"Well, they got up before you, do you want them to starve?" she asked with a grin.

When she said that, the pokémon looked up and gave Ash the puppy eyes. He immediately turned away.

"I give up! I give up!" He sighed. "Did you practice that scene?"

The pokémon just snickered, obviously amused by his reaction. In the end, he had no choice but to wait for the pancakes to be ready. The kitchen wasn't too big but it had everything Dawn needed. Ash just had to make sure that she wouldn't do anything while being mad for some reason. It would lead to a lack of concentration, which once led to a meal blowing up in the oven but usually, she was very careful. He sat at the table, which was next to window. The rain was really strong but Ash didn't mind too much. His training often took place in extreme situations and weather so a bit of water wasn't that big of a deal. In this case, however, he would have preferred sunny weather.

When the wait was finally over, he devoured them despite Dawn's warnings that they were still hot.

"So Ash, do you have any plans for today?" she asked before taking a bite.

"Mmmph, mh mmphemph," he mumbled, his mouth still full of pancakes. Most people would be disgusted by his eating manners but she thought he was cute like that or at least most times. Upon receiving a questioning look he quickly swallowed everything. "Sorry." At least she got him to apologize whenever it happened. "I said I wanted to create an appeal for the Wallace Cup."

"Oh." She suddenly got really excited. "I still have so many ideas. Do you want to use one of them? It would be no problem."

"Ehm, Dawn. You should know by now that I am perfectly capable of creating my own," he replied, turning down her offer.

"I know." She looked very sad now. "It's just ... forget it! No need to worry!"

"That's when I worry the most. Come on, what's the matter all of sudden?" Since she knew that he wasn't going to give up she just told him.

"It's just ... I have a lot of ideas but I rarely get to put them to use anymore." Ash wasn't quite sure what she meant, though.

"Why don't you enter contests again? Then you can also do your appeals." But she just shook her head.

"Don't you understand? Where's the challenge? Most of my opponents give up when they hear that they're up against me in the next round. But I can't just hold back now, can I? That wouldn't feel right." Ash understood. Even their pokémon stopped eating and waited for his answer but he didn't know what to say. So he stood up and hugged her from behind, which caused her to relax a bit.

Actually, she was right. There wasn't a lot for coordinators to do after winning a grand festival. He knew that Zoey was trying to convince Mr. Contesta to establish a system similar to the Elite Four but that might still take years. After all, they have just held the first official Unova Grand Festival.

"I'm afraid that's something I can't help you with," he replied sadly. "You'll just have to wait. But at least there's still the Wallace Cup."

"Well, not this year." She realized that she had barely touched her meal and quickly took a few bites. Ash also returned to his place.

"Well, you still have other things to prepare for soon, don't you?" he tried to cheer her up.

"Oh yes!" She seemed much more energetic again. "If I make it, it might become the greatest battle I ever had. Contest battle or not. I just don't understand why Wallace doesn't accept my challenges. I would rather not have to defeat the Elite Four just to battle him. And there's still the opening battle of the Wallace Cup. I wonder which pokémon I should use? I think Piplup would be a good idea. His last contest battle was quite a while ago and we can use our new whip combination." Piplup puffed his chest and nodded excitedly, already looking forward to it. "But who should be his partner? Lucario would be the natural choice but he has already seen a lot of action lately. Maybe Gengar. Or Bellossom."

"Well, the Elite Four shouldn't be too much of a problem for you." Dawn just laughed. He was always so optimistic but she loved that side of him.

"Ash, you know as well as I do that I will have to use everything I can to win against them." She looked out of window. "And then I will finally meet Wallace in battle. A childhood dream come true."

"Champion Coordinator Dawn, how does that sound?" he asked even though he knew exactly what she thought about it.

"Seriously, stop it! You're acting like I have a chance against him," she replied.

Ash shook his head. He couldn't really understand why she didn't believe in herself the way he believed in her. Was Wallace just too much of an idol so that she couldn't possibly think that he was beatable? He finished his breakfast while she was making up scenes of that battle in her head.

"So what are you going to do today?" he finally asked.

"Well, since you have an appeal to create I'll just train to keep my pokémon in shape." That was a lie, though. She actually wanted to go to the mall to look for an appropriate gift. Hopefully, Galvantula and Lucario would make sure that the others didn't just sit around all day.

"Great! I ..." He was interrupted by the door bell. "I'll go."

Ash wondered who would visit them this early in the morning but he certainly didn't expect a frightened girl. She was maybe six years old with short, black hair, which, like his, was a mess, mostly because of the rain, and sapphire blue eyes, just like Dawn's. She was sporting a cute, albeit soaked pink dress along with matching pink shoes. A gardevoir was standing next to her.

"Champion Ash! Champion Ash!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm not a ..." he started but was interrupted.

"Is Lady Dawn here as well? Please, you must help!" She jumped up and down until Dawn appeared right behind Ash.

"Did someone call me?" she asked before noticing the girl. "Hello there. What's your name? And don't just stand in the rain. Come in." She gave him a look of reproach for not inviting the girl into the house. Ash closed the door once she was inside.

"I'm Lucy. Please, I need your help. You are brave and strong. You are heroes." It was hard to resist the look she was giving them.

"Well, I'm not sure about the heroes part but tell us about your problem first," Ash answered, trying to calm her down a bit.

"Okay, but you mustn't tell my brother. I want to become a great coordinator, just like you, Lady Dawn." Dawn thought that she had noticed a hint of sarcasm in her voice but quickly dismissed it. "But for that I need pokémon. But I'm not old enough yet so I can't have any. So I borrowed my big brother's pokéballs. But then a bad man took them! He took all of them except for Gardevoir's because she was out of her pokéball. We followed him but he went to a scary place with many pokémon in cages so we left again."

"Pokémon in cages? Not poachers again!" Ash growled.

"Please, I don't know who else could help me," Lucy begged them. It was almost like she knew the charm move.

"We will help you but why don't you ask the police?" Dawn asked.

"They would tell my brother. And then he would be mad at me. I don't want him to be mad at me." She started crying and running around. "I would never become a coordinator."

"There, there. It's alright," Dawn kneeled down, trying to console the girl but she was too fast. "We'll help you, won't we, Ash?"

"There's no way we can let pokémon thieves get away with this!" Ash told her with a grim look.

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" Lucy jumped up and down. "Gardevoir can take us to the bad man. Use teleport!"

"Wait, there are still a few of our pokémon in the house. Just give us a few minutes." The girl nodded, waiting for them.

Finding the pokémon didn't take long so they were back soon. Now it was time to go to the thief's hideout and return Lucy's pokémon to her. With a bright flash they vanished only to reappear in a dark room full of wooden crates. "So where are the cages and the thief?"

Suddenly, the light went on, revealing every crate to have a red R on them, which looked awfully familiar. Lucy took a few steps forward along with Gardevoir before turning around and spreading her arms.

"Welcome- " she shouted with a creepy smile "- to Team Rocket HQ!"

With another flash she disappeared, leaving Ash and Dawn in the room, surrounded by walls of steel.

* * *

At the same time, a young man with very short, brown hair and a grim look on his face appeared at the door of their house. He was wearing blue jeans, a grey coat and had an umbrella with him due to the rain. He knocked on the door but since everyone was gone, no one answered. Frustrated, he stomped on the ground.

"Not again! And I had such a good feeling!" he complained. "Is that freaking idiot ever here?"


	4. Against Team Rocket

**Sometimes things are not as they seem.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Against Team Rocket

Ash and Dawn were standing there, trying to comprehend the situation but it just didn't make any sense. The whole room was illuminated with its crates, its walls of steel and its massive door. They didn't really care about that at the moment, though.

"That ... girl. Did ... did she lure us into a trap?" Dawn asked, still flabbergasted.

"It sure looks like she did. But why should a small girl work for Team Rocket?" Ash was clearly just as shocked.

"And why is nobody here? One would expect someone to wait for us." They looked around to make sure that was really the case.

"Anyway, let's get out of here! Gallade, I choose you!" Hopefully, he would be able to end this quickly. "Use teleport! Take us home!"

Gallade closed his eyes, concentrating on the destination but for some reason nothing happened. He tried again with the same results.

"It doesn't work," he told his trainer telepathically. "I don't know why. It just ... doesn't work."

Ash wasn't ready to give up just yet so he called out Infernape. However, neither fighting type moves nor fire could destroy the walls. In addition to that, Gengar couldn't get through the walls so that only left the door, which looked even stronger than the walls, though, but they had to try. They called out most of their pokémon, just in case.

"Are you ready?" Ash asked.

"Let's go!" Dawn nodded.

Surprisingly enough, it opened automatically when they approached it and even more surprising was the fact, that no one was in the corridor behind.

"This is really weird," Ash exclaimed, shaking his head. "Be careful. There might be traps around here."

Slowly, they moved forward, holding onto each other, expecting something to happen any moment. At least, they wouldn't meet Jessie, James and Meowth here since they knew that the trio had quit shortly after the Unova disaster due to their failure. Along with many others they tried to build up a new existence and forget about Team Rocket. Jessie became a coordinator once more and was quite successful at that, mostly because she didn't have to worry about having to catch a certain Pikachu anymore. James returned to his parents only to run away a few days later and nobody has heard of him since. Meowth became the manager and mascot of a small noodle restaurant, which soon grew to be one of the biggest and most successful in Sinnoh. Giovanni would have them all killed but Team Rocket simply didn't have the manpower to punish every single traitor so he chose to hide in the shadows, waiting for the right moment and also because none of those people knew anything important they could tell the police. Everything went well until Max Wright became the leader of the international police, starting a massive campaign against Team Rocket, which almost annihilated the organization.

The tension was almost unbearable and ice cold air didn't make it any better. Suddenly, one of the doors at the side opened with a Team Rocket grunt running straight into them. A quick psychic move by Gallade forced him to the ground. He struggled to get up again but it was no use.

"Who the hell are you? And how did you get inside?" he yelled. "First the teleport blocker! Then the cameras and the traps! Is anything here still working? Fuck this damn technology!"

"Shut up and answer our questions!" Ash retorted, already annoyed by the complaints. "But before we start ..."

"String shot!" Galvantula wrapped him up tightly. "Now if you are cooperative we will let you sleep until this is over."

"You're way too nice. The likes of him don't deserve it." Ash looked at the prisoner with contempt. "He would abandon his pokémon and companions for even the smallest amount of money. Now tell us! Do you know a little girl called Lucy? Did you send her?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" the man shouted. "We're Team Rocket! We don't work with little girls! Not that I would mind," he added with a sick look. "Now listen! I don't know who you are or where you came from. Maybe you don't even know where you are. This is Team Rocket territory! Our leader is here! And he will crush you no matter who you are or why you are here!"

"Your threats don't scare us," Ash just replied. "Are there any working traps in this base?"

"No answers from me! Go to hell! You and your bitch!" Now even Dawn had enough.

She gave Gengar a quick nod, causing her to use hypnosis on their prisoner. Then they hid him in the room he came and hoped that no Team Rocket Grunt would find him there.

"Calling me a bitch ...," Dawn grumbled after they were back in the corridor.

"He didn't even deserve the attention. Relax!" Ash tried to calm her down. "But he helped us more than he wanted. He said something about a teleport blocker. And traps not working. Maybe they really weren't expecting us."

"You're right but we still have to be careful."Ash and the pokémon nodded before venturing further into the base.

They met several other grunts running around aimlessly. Fortunately, they seemed to be surprised to see intruders so defeating them was no problem. Most of them were already down before they could draw a pokéball or weapon or even call for help. Only the last one let out a cry before going down.

"Damn it, we have to hide." Ash wasn't too keen on fighting the reinforcements, at least not without the element of surprise. "Let's hide until we see who's coming to help him."

They were pretty surprised when only one grunt appeared and kneeled beside his sleeping friend.

"George? Who did this?" He looked at the door right next to him. "This is Ferris' office. I knew it! Just you wait, you bastard. I know what you're up to."

He drew a knife and entered, shutting the door behind him. Ash followed but decided to just eavesdrop at the door for the moment.

"That's risky. What if we get surprised by other grunts?" Dawn turned to their pokémon. "Be on your guard and tell us if anyone is approaching."

"You don't happen to know what knocked poor George out. do you?" the grunt asked someone inside.

"Why would I? Wait ... what are you doing with that knife?" It was the voice of an old man.

"He's lying on the ground just outside your office. Can you explain that?" Te voice was getting louder and louder.

"How the hell would I know? I haven't left this office lately." Apparently, the grunt had enough as a shriek could be heard.

"Lies! You're responsible for this trouble, aren't you?" the grunt asked.

"You know that's not true. I'm loyal to Team Rocket and Giovanni. You can't make baseless accusations just because you hate me." The other one sounded rather desperate now.

"Maybe you can trick the others but not me! You probably paid someone to get into the control room. You want to destroy Team Rocket. And now you pay." The old man let out a loud scream.

Ash opened the door leading to the room carefully, trying not to alarm the men inside. He and Dawn saw a grunt holding a knife at a scientist's throat.

"Wait! You can't do this! I'm innocent. Please, you have to believe me," the scientist begged.

"I can and I will," the grunt replied with a sick smile. "I've been waiting for years to get rid of you."

"Gallade!" Just when he tried to slit the poor man's throat, he realized that he couldn't move. The blue aura surrounding him showed that he was under the effect of a psychic move.

"What the ...?" His hand slowly opened, causing the knife to fall to the ground. Then he was smashed against the wall, which knocked him out.

Now they had time for a closer look at the other one. He was an old man wearing black pants, a white lab coat and a blue shirt with a black tie. The white beard of medium length made him look like a stereotypical scientist.

Since it seemed like he was too shocked to speak up, Ash did it for him.

"Why did he try to kill you?" he asked.

"He's hated me ever since I reported him for being drunk on duty a few years ago. He tried to frame me but he's way too stupid for that. I guess he just tried to use these problems as an excuse to get rid of me. It would have been his end, Giovanni doesn't like people destroying his 'property'." Apparently, he didn't know that he wasn't talking to other members of Team Rocket as his eyes widened when he looked up at them.

"You said you're loyal to Team Rocket?" He almost collapsed on the spot.

"You're not one of us, are you?" Before they could reply, he continued talking with increasing speed. "I'm not! I mean I'm not loyal. To Team Rocket. You have to believe me. I just said to him so he wouldn't attack. Which he did anyway. But you can't do that. I'm just an old man." He spoke so fast he had to catch his breath now.

"Calm down and answer our questions. Can you do that?" He nodded. "Good. Who are you?"

"Ferris. I'm Dr. Ferris." He took a deep breath. "I ... joined Team Rocket several years ago and worked on projects for them. I'm not proud of it but the pay was impossible to resist. But that doesn't mean I'm loyal to them."

"Then you won't mind sharing a few secrets with us, right?" Dawn asked with a strange smile.

"Of ... of course not. What do you want to know?" It looked like he didn't want to betray Giovanni but his fear of those two was stronger right now.

"Alright, let's talk about the base first," Dawn said, pleased with his answer. "This is Team Rocket HQ, isn't it?"

"Of course it is! How can you be here without knowing it?" he asked, his fear replaced by confusion for a moment. "But then again, the fact that you are here is surprising enough. It's like a fortress, full of deadly traps. Well, this is not the case right now."

"Do you know why?" Ash asked, still not sure whether to trust him.

"I only know the things the guards told me. According to them, the door to the central control room is locked and not even Giovanni himself can open it. Whoever is responsible for this is probably in there." Now he got a bit more daring. "Do you mind telling me how you got here?"

"We ask the questions, Dr. Ferris," Ash made clear. "Do you know a little girl called Lucy?"

"What kind of question is that?" Ash just took a single step closer and this was already enough for Ferris to start talking. "I mean no. There are no little girls here. I really have no idea what this has to do with me."

"We tried to escape via teleport but it didn't work. We heard something about a teleport blocker. Is that thing responsible?" Dawn asked, dropping the other topic for the moment. Maybe he was able to provide information on how to make it work.

"Yes, the teleport blocker. We have one of those." He got very excited all of sudden. "A marvelous device. It imbues a large area with dark power, making teleportation impossible and even prevents ghost types from passing through solid objects. It's a must have for anyone looking to prevent others from getting into places they aren't supposed to."

"I see. Is there ...?" Ash started but Ferris just kept talking.

"Of course it requires a lot of energy to maintain the effect, more than most people can afford. But for Team Rocket and similar organizations it's essential. Well, it used to be. There's something new. Darksteel they call it. A metal, which is already imbued with the same dark power. Walls and doors are made of that stuff, which creates pretty much the same effect. You can't teleport within these walls. This material has a lot of advantages. For example, it doesn't need electricity to be maintained. Also, it can't be turned off or manipulated. If people still want access via teleport, they build a small chamber just outside of the base, which is usually small so that only few people can enter at a time and it's full of traps so invaders can get eliminated quickly." Ash and Dawn just looked at each, wondering when he was done. "This requires monitoring but it's foolproof if done correctly. Although the material is amazing, I still like the teleport blocker. I was among those who created the first prototype, did you know that? Making the device strong enough to endure the radiation without losing power was quite a challenge. Before we managed that, they usually exploded after five minutes."

"Yeah, fascinating," Ash mumbled, barely paying attention anymore. "Hey, Dawn. Maybe the blocker was only disabled for a short time and got turned on again before we could escape."

"That's possible. In fact, it's the only explanation I can think of right now." Dawn leaned against the wall next to the door and thought about it for a while before turning to the waiting scientist. "So is there any way to escape?"

"Not without heavy weapons. Unless ..." He was lost in thought for a while. "Giovanni might have a personal escape route. But I doubt that he would retreat unless the situation was looking really dire. You see, this is basically Team Rocket's last base."

"Can you take us to him? We will defeat him and get out of here." The confidence in Ash's voice shocked the scientist.

"Defeating Giovanni? Do you even know who he is? Defeating Giovanni." He laughed at the thought but stopped when he saw the serious look on his face. "Wait! You aren't really going to do that? It's suicide!"

"It's better than waiting here for him to appear. Believe me, together we'll be able to beat him," Ash said, earning a nod from Dawn and their pokémon. "Team Rocket has committed unspeakable crimes. It is time they pay for it."

"You're serious? It's madness." He went to the door leading to the corridor. "But I won't stop you. I will even show you the conference room where he should be at this very moment."

"Very well. Lead the way." Dawn didn't really trust him so kept an eye on him all the time.

The trip to Team Rocket's conference room, where the leaders were probably talking about the situation right now, was short but they had to defeat several grunts patrolling the corridors. They were no problem, though, and were taken out before they could alarm the others. Finally, they were standing in front of a massive steel door but for some reason they just knew that it would open automatically upon approaching, just like the others.

"You'll have to do the rest without me," the scientist told them, slowly backing off. "I'm no fighter so I wouldn't be of any use anyway."

 _And I certainly don't want Giovanni to see me helping you_ , he added in his thoughts.

"Anyway, good luck." Ash suspected that Ferris wanted to warn the rest of the Team Rocket grunts now but they would be ready.

Now that they were close to the infamous leader of Team Rocket they were suddenly very nervous.

"Are you scared?" Ash suddenly asked.

"Scared? Of what?" She laughed but soon stopped. "Well, maybe a little. I know that together we can handle everyone in a pokémon battle. But he might use other, dirty methods and that's what I'm afraid of."

"Yeah, that's also what I fear most. If he did something to you ..." He caressed one of her cheeks with his right hand. "I wouldn't forgive myself. But don't worry. I won't let that happen."

"You're too protective. I can handle myself and you know that." She took his hand and squeezed it.

They really were afraid. It wasn't the first time they would face Giovanni. Only a few years ago, Team Rocket tried to capture the Kami Trio and even though it resulted in an utter defeat, Ash wasn't really happy in the end since he lost easily to Giovanni in a pokémon battle. Although he and Dawn only played a minor role in Team Rocket's defeat as most of the work was done by Hilda, a young woman and the new Unova Champion, the gym leaders, including Iris and Cilan, and Cynthia, he has been feeling bad about his failure ever since. But now he had the chance to make it better. Failure was not an option this time for he was stronger than ever. Still, he was a bit unsure. What if he failed to protect Dawn? What if Giovanni was too strong once again? He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away. No, he just hat to win. Giovanni had to pay for his crimes.

Ash suddenly wrapped his arms around Dawn's waist before kissing her hard.

"That's just in case ... something goes wrong," he whispered upon noticing her questioning look. She just answered by kissing back.

"Nothing's going to go wrong," his girlfriend tried to reassure him. "Now let's do this! And be careful!"

"Right!" He gave her another quick kiss on the lips before they approached the door, which opened just as expected.

The conference was small but there was a large table in the center. Every single high ranking Team Rocket officer was there, discussing the current situation. Farthest away was Giovanni himself in his grey uniform and next to him both his secretary and his favorite pokémon, Persian. Everyone looked at the intruders, obviously not expecting visitors so Ash and Dawn had the element of surprise.

"Any news from ...," one of the officers started but stopped when he saw that the intruders weren't wearing Team Rocket uniforms. "What the hell? Who ...?"

"Hypnosis!" both trainers commanded.

Gengar and Gallade released a lot of glowing symbols, which put their targets to sleep instantly. The only enemies not falling asleep were Giovanni and Persian since he had the door to the next room right behind him so he could escape before the move got him.

"Galvantula, tie them up! The rest, follow us!" Dawn shouted. They went to the door, through which Giovanni had left. Unlike the others, this one wasn't automatic.

"He might have prepared an ambush. Lucario, use aura bubble to protect us!" The aura pokémon nodded, creating a large aura sphere in his hands which expanded to create a large protective shield. It was both his and Dawn's Lucario's individual move. Since it was bigger than the shield of the protect move, it was able to protect a whole group but it also took slightly longer to build up than a protect move and he couldn't attack while maintaining it. The shield itself was nearly impossible to penetrate with Alakazam being the only pokémon to have ever destroyed it without help so far.

"Alright, go!" Dawn threw her body against the steel door but she was simply pushed back and fell to the floor. Ash laughed until he saw that she looked like she was in real pain.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a concerned look.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mr. Strong. Why don't you try pushing that door open?" she asked, a bit annoyed by his laughter.

Ash had to admit that it was really heavy so help from Gallade was highly welcome. As soon as it was open, they were greeted by several stone edges and an angry Team Rocket boss, shooting at them with a gun. Fortunately, the aura bubble blocked every single projectile so that they were able to enter unharmed. The room looked like a gigantic battle hall and was probably used for training or weapon tests. At the sides, a steelix and Rhyperior were trying to stop them while Giovanni and his persian were running across the hall to a console. When he reached it, he started to type something. Whatever he was trying to do, it probably wasn't good so Ash had no intention of letting him do that.

"Gallade! Stop him! Teleport assault! Swellow, help him!" he shouted.

"You too, Crobat!" Dawn added.

Gallade appeared right next to the Team Rocket leader, breaking the gun with a quick strike before pushing him back. Usually, pokémon weren't able to attack directly after a teleport but needed a short time to recover. It was usually enough for the opponent to at least prepare for the impact but Gallade's special move didn't have that disadvantage. It allowed him to use the surprise to full effect and made him much more unpredictable than any other pokémon.

However, Persian was right next to him and attacked him with a flurry of shadow claws, dealing heavy damage. Just when it tried to use a particularly powerful move to finish him off, a purple stream of liquid forced him to cancel the attack. Crobat and Swellow went next to the fighting type, ready to protect him from Giovanni's favorite pokémon.

He quickly realized how bad the situation looked for him as his enemies were blocking both access to the console and the exit. Ironically, a fair fight looked like the best solution. Their pokémon outnumbered his but he would win if he could defeat them one by one. He knew their strengths and ambitions but they couldn't possibly defeat the world's most powerful criminal mastermind.

"Alright, stop fighting," he shouted, raising one of his hand. "Why don't we solve this like real trainers? A full battle. Fair and square."

From his mouth it sounded plain wrong but it might keep him from trying dirty tricks so they agreed.

"Single or double battles?" Dawn asked, which gave him an idea. With two pokémon he could unleash more powerful attacks and thus end it more quickly. Besides, Steelix needed protection while charging up.

"Let's do double battles," he replied.

"Alright." With their teamwork, Ash just knew that they couldn't lose. "But you will fight on this side." He pointed at the ground below. "I don't want you on the side of the console. Who knows what you can do with that thing."

"You dare make demands?" Giovanni growled. "You insolent brat! Fine! Since you will lose anyway I don't care."

"Good." He turned to Gengar, Zoroark, and Noctowl. "Please stay in the conference room and take care of any grunt trying to help Giovanni. We don't want any reinforcements to show up." They nodded and entered the room before closing the door. It was so heavy that if Giovanni tried to escape through it, he would be knocked out before he could open it.

Without taking a look off each other, they went to their respective sides and waited for the others to make the first move.

"Let's start! Infernape! I choose you!" Ash finally shouted. His pokémon ran onto the battle field.

"Typhlosion!" Dawn also chose her fire type.

"Steelix, Rhyperior! Show them true strength!" Giovanni said with a smirk. The type advantages would end this battle quickly. "Earthquake and stone edge!" The first attacks were simple tests.

A massive shockwave forced the fire types to jump only to be greeted by large stone spikes.

"Burning fury!" This was Typhlosion's individual move.

"Mach punch!" Infernape destroyed the spikes with a flurry of punches while his ally was spinning in the air faster and faster until his flames turned blue. The move was an improvement of flame wheel, which was not only stronger but also raised his speed and attack power and made his skin almost impenetrable for a moment. The color change wasn't merely cosmetic but showed that the fire had become a lot hotter.

"Use iron defense, Steelix! Then charge up for hyper cannon!" Giovanni wasn't the type of person to take stupid risks. That fire looked dangerous so he was going to use Steelix's experimental move. Rhyperior stepped in front of the steel type to protect it while it was vulnerable. Of course, Ash and Dawn weren't too keen on finding out the power of that move.

"Fire blast!" they both shouted in unison.

"Bulldoze!" Rhyperior stomped on the ground, shattering it and also creating a wall in front of it, which protected Giovanni's pokémon from the fire blasts. "Stone edge!"

"Use mach punch and get closer!" Ash shouted. His pokémon smashed the rocks again while Typhlosion was dodging them with his increased speed. Finally, Infernape reached his opponent, knocking it back with another mach punch. Despite its size, though, it proved to be quite agile as it quickly changed targets and prevented Typhlosion from hitting Steelix with its rock blast but it wasn't able to stop the following flamethrower, which dealt quite a bit of damage.

"Rock wrecker!" It turned its attention back to Infernape. Small rocks were coming out of the holes in its hand, forming a single, massive rock.

"Focus punch!" Ash's pokémon smashed the rock when Rhyperior threw it at him but he got grabbed immediately after.

Meanwhile, Steelix was finally ready and blocked a fire blast with its tail, albeit not without taking a lot of damage. Then it looked at Infernape, who was held right in front of Giovanni's other pokémon. It opened its mouth, revealing a white energy orb. The Team Rocket leader just smirked.

"That went faster than expected. It's over now. Fire!" he shouted, petting his persian all the time.

"Oh no, you won't! Smoke screen!" Dawn commanded. Typhlosion shot black smoke right into Steelix's face just before it could shoot a bright, white energy beam, causing it to miss Infernape and hit the steel wall instead, which was almost breached. A direct hit would have been devastating. Now the flame pokémon saw its chance to escape the rock type, who was still tired from the rock wrecker. With a double kick, he freed himself from its grasp and followed up with a powerful focus blast, which was powered up by a focus punch.

"Very good! Focus blast again!" This time, however, Rhyperior was ready and used protect to block the move. The rock type had taken quite a lot of damage, though, and wouldn't be able to last much longer.

"Block its view with shadow fire!" Typhlosion created a large ring of blue fire, which emitted a large amount of smoke, around Steelix. "Now energy ball!"

"Use inferno punch!" Rhyperior prepared itself but got pushed aside by Typhlosion's energy ball. Infernape went right through the flames, hitting Steelix.

"Burning fury again!" Typhlosion also launched himself at the steel type, ignoring the other opponent for the moment and allowing it to recover a little.

They fought inside the ring of fire until a massive energy beam smashed the fire types into the ground in front of their trainers. Steelix jumped through the fire, ignoring the pain and instantly fired another energy beam at Infernape. Taken by surprise, he had no choice but to endure it. Fortunately, a second beam was blocked by Typhlosion's protect move. The first one activated Infernape's blaze, though.

"Catch!" Giovanni knew that despite its massive defenses, Steelix was close to fainting and threw a small bottle at it. Using crunch, it devoured the contents and its wounds healed instantly so it had to be a full restore potion or something similar.

"Use fire blast!" Their trainers commanded but it was no use. Despite pushing back the beam a little at the beginning, it soon completely overpowered them, hitting Typhlosion this time. Both pokémon have only been hit by one hyper cannon each but they were almost finished already. Whatever this move really was, its power surpassed even a hyper beam. One more direct hit and they would be done for.

"Useless," Giovanni mumbled, grinning widely now. Nothing could possibly stop Steelix now.

Dawn thought about using Galvantula instead of Typhlosion since one disable could completely screw Steelix over. But she saw that her pokémon was determined to finish it so she had to find another way to stop that hyper cannon.

"Burning fury!" she shouted, hoping that the increase of power would be enough but Ash was convinced otherwise.

"This isn't going to work unless ..." He thought about possible combinations and suddenly he got an idea. Judging from the look on Dawn's face she was thinking the same. "How about ...?"

"A push?" she completed his question. "Let's try it!"

"Just give up! Finish them off!" Giovanni shouted, already certain of his victory.

"Bulk up and use inferno punch on Typhlosion!" Ash's pokémon threw his ally in the air, trying not to burn his fingers in the process since the flames were extremely hot, even for a fire type, before hitting him with the empowered move, which didn't only activate the flash fire ability but also sent him flying extremely quickly towards Steelix, who used hyper cannon right at that moment.

Unlike before, however, Typhlosion, who looked more like a fireball, cut right through the beam and flew into Steelix's mouth, blocking the rest of the beam.

"Keep spinning! Flamethrower!" To Giovanni's horror, large amounts of fire were shot in every direction but the flames shot into the steel type's throat were certainly hurting the most.

"You pathetic thing! Crush it!" He knew exactly how strong it jaws were but Typhlosion's temperature didn't allow it to actually close its mouth without experiencing infernal pain. Ash realized that this was the right opportunity to attack.

"Close combat!" Rhyperior was too surprised by its ally's situation and too busy blocking the quick but powerful punches and kicks to help the steel type. Now Typhlosion was finally back again, leaving Steelix, who was barely conscious, glowing bright red and huge amounts of smoke leaving its mouth. "Finish it with energy ball!"

"Focus blast!" The fire types shortly looked at each other before going in opposite directions. Typhlosion hit Steelix from behind whereas Infernape pushed Rhyperior, who was completely lost without commands, towards the steel type. Obviously, Giovanni had given up on those two and just left them to their fate. The energy ball, which resembled a green fireball at that point, finally finished off Steelix, causing it to fall right on top of Rhyperior, knocking it out as well.

Ash and Dawn cheered and gave each other a high five, same with Typhlosion and Infernape although the latter almost burned his hand. On the other side, Persian grumbled when Giovanni petted it a bit too roughly out of anger.

"Well done, you two," Ash congratulated them. "You should take a long rest now."

Despite the heavy damage they have taken their flames were still strong and typhlosion's even were still blue. But they were also really tired so taking a break seemed like a good idea.

"Swellow, it's your turn." The flying type eagerly entered the battle field.

"Galvantula, please help him." She was happy to be chosen for this battle. Finally a real challenge!

Giovanni was still mad and tossed the pokéballs containing his fallen pokémon to the side. Due to its overuse of hyper cannon and the damage taken, Steelix wouldn't be able to use another move for days, maybe even weeks.

"We'll talk about this later," he said before readying two others. "Nidoking, Nidoqueen, go!"


	5. Cat and Mouse

**This is the last one uploaded during holidays, so from now on, updates might be much more irregular.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Cat and mouse

He was very amused right now, to say the least. Not only was he in the main control room of Team Rocket HQ, there were also corpses around him, and he was able to watch an epic battle between the legendary leader of that criminal organization and two young and ambitious trainers.

Boris, "the Butcher", "the Blade" or "the Bloody Scourge", as he was often called, was a man in his thirties with long, light blue hair and green eyes. Although he was wearing the uniform of a Team Rocket grunt, it was clear that he didn't belong to them or not anymore at least. With great interest he watched the final combination, which defeated Giovanni's first two pokémon.

"Now I can see why the boss wants those two," he mumbled, licking his lips. "That girl is hot. And they sure know how to battle. Maybe they can finish this quickly. I want to get out of this miserable base as soon as possible."

However, even with a battle raging on the screen, he got bored. A quick glance at the dead grunts gave him an idea.

"A stick! I need a stick!" he mumbled.

* * *

"Not bad, but play time is over," Giovanni exclaimed. "I will show you not to mess with Team Rocket. Rock armor!" Nidoking and Nidoqueen attached small stone spikes to their bodies, creating a spiky armor, which would damage anyone foolish enough to make contact. "Come on, attack them! You will fail like everyone else who has tried to defeat me. You clearly lack the intelligence to do this."

"Oh yeah? Even if that's the case, it's still better than being an evil and heartless bastard like you!" Ash retorted. "Air slash!"

"He's right! It's over now! Energy ball!" The attacks were blocked by green shields.

"Simple minds. You are so predictable. Stone edge!" Instead of large stone spikes, Nidoking created dozens of tiny ones, which were sprayed by Nidoqueen with toxic. The following attack was impossible to dodge due to the sheer number of spikes and managed to poison both Swellow and Galvantula.

Giovanni laughed. His taunts had exactly the effect he was hoping for. In their anger they neglected their defenses. Since he didn't regard Swellow as dangerous without his physical moves, he told his pokémon to take out Galvantula first.

"Ignore that pathetic bird! The bug is much more dangerous now!" he commanded.

"Pathetic bird? Let's show him! Use aerial fury!" As if Giovanni's words weren't bad enough, his pokémon actually completely ignored the flying-type, hurting his pride even more. But when he started his move, he felt why he was so sure of his victory. The spikes both drastically reduced the damage and hurt the attacker badly with a few of them even getting stuck in his body. After three hits he had to cancel the move due to extreme pain. "Return!" Ash tried to recall his pokémon, feeling that he was too much at a disadvantage but Swellow refused to give up and dodged the beams.

"It looks like he is just as stubborn as you are," Dawn remarked. He could hear a little frustration in her voice but they couldn't blame the pokémon.

"You don't even have full control of your pokémon," Giovanni shouted. "You're even worse than the bird. Earth power and stone edge!"

"Storm web!" Dawn quickly commanded.

Her pokémon shot the web while spinning, wrapping herself up and creating a kind of cocoon. The attacks hit it with tremendous power, sending it flying all around the room but couldn't break it.

"Hyper beam!" Giovanni had enough.

The beams smashed it against a wall and for a few second everyone feared the worst but the cocoon turned out to be completely fine. In fact, even the wall itself had taken more damage. Now she had time to fight back.

"Hidden power! Then storm trap and giga drain!" The small hidden power orbs burned thought the cocoon like it was paper, revealing Galvantula to be completely unharmed from the attacks. Then she shot a large web at the ground types, pulling them together when it wrapped itself around them. Since she was still connected to the web via a string coming out of her mouth, it allowed her to absorb power right through the strings.

"Earth power and stone edge!" Giovanni yelled. His pokémon recovered from the hyper beams faster than expected, hitting the bug type despite the web. Whatever she had gained with the giga drain, she lost again.

For nearly two minutes, Galvantula was busy dodging the rocks Nidoking was shooting at her while Nidoqueen was trying to tear the web apart, albeit unsuccessfully. As soon as Giovanni realized that it was no use, he decided that it would be better to make her attack as well.

"Help him out with earth power!" Now it became so much more difficult to dodge the rocks with the ground erupting in front of her occasionally and the poison was getting stronger all the time. When one of the rocks hit her feet, making her much slower, Dawn knew that her pokémon wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

"Dawn, please let him do it," Ash whispered. She wondered what he meant but then she noticed Swellow having prepared a powerful sky attack and understood.

"Discharge! Get rid of those spikes!"Galvantula shot the electricity through the web around her opponents. It took quite a bit of energy but in the end, the move destroyed the spikes. Now it turned out that ignoring Swellow and allowing him to charge up his attack was a bad idea. He immediately shot down, hitting Nidoqueen's head from behind with full force, smashing her against the wall on the other side of the room and knocking her out instantly before attempting to do the same to Nidoking but he dodged the attack and countered with stone edge, which defeated Ash's pokémon. Then he turned his attention back to Galvantula, who had used the rest of her energy for another energy ball, which hit him in the face but wasn't enough to knock him out. Just when he was about to retaliate, she also fell unconscious due to the poison.

Despite the victory, Giovanni was far from happy. Without Nidoqueen, Nidoking was basically useless to him. Ash and Dawn, on the other hand, praised their pokémon for their courage and strength.

"Well done, Swellow, you really showed them." Ash couldn't help but feel proud of his pokémon's determination.

"Don't worry, you did a good job," Dawn mumbled with a smile.

"What are you waiting for?" Giovanni yelled. "Get rid of that useless pokémon as well. I don't need it anymore."

Ash was disgusted by this attitude but gave Gallade a quick nod, nonetheless. The psychic type teleported right behind the drill pokémon and defeated the abandoned pokémon with a single psycho cut. Without another word, Giovanni recalled his fallen pokémon but he wasn't going to give up. In fact, he had another plan.

* * *

Finally, Boris was done. He had a good look at his creation before letting out a crazy laugh.

"I'm a fucking artist!" he exclaimed loudly. "I hope they will appreciate my present."

He decided to watch the rest of the battle when his phone rang.

"Yes? Oh, it's you." He sounded disappointed. "Want to join the fun? Alright, let me just turn this off for a second. You do have a pokémon that knows the location, do you? Ah, yes, I remember now."

He went to a console and pushed a small, yellow button. The deep sounds coming from a large, round machine in the middle of the room stopped, indicating that it wasn't active any longer. About a second later, Victoria appeared with her Gardevoir next to him. Once more he pushed the button, activating the machine again. The base was safe for now.

"What ... what's ... you ... this bullshit here... What the fuck?" Victoria walked backwards until her back met the wall. "Are you trying to open a butchery? This is disgusting. Especially this ... thing," she added, pointing at his surprise for Ash and Dawn.

"Aw, you don't like it? I put so much effort into it," he replied, feigning hurt feelings. "Don't forget. This is my job and I do it the way I like. You have a problem with that?"

"No, but you could have been a bit more ... tasteful. Anyway, how are they doing?" she asked.

"Just look at them. Four of Giovanni's pokémon are down and they still have many left. I don't think he will last much longer." He scratched his chin and slyly looked at her from the side. "Makes you wonder who will be replaced by them."

"What? He never said anything about replacing us. They will just join us," Victoria replied but didn't sound very convinced.

"Oh really? Don't you think five is the limit? No, if they join, two of us will die. I can already guess who will be among them." The glance he gave her made clear who he was talking about.

"No way! He would never, I repeat, never replace me. Never!" she protested.

"You think so? Let's have a look. Shira, the rising star, certainly won't be one of them. Seth may be an arrogant bastard but he has his uses. And finally, there's no way that I will be replaced by anyone. Which leaves only Wraith and you." He laughed. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"What makes you think you're immune? The reason he keeps you right now is the fact that you are strong and would do even the dirtiest job. But you're clearly lacking the brains for the more complicated missions. That's why he needs me." Even now, she couldn't hide a hint of nervousness, though.

 _Maybe I'm not as tough as you but I have something you or the others will never have: his love. He may not always show it but I just know it to be true. And that's the real reason why he wouldn't kill me off._ However, that was a thought she kept to herself.

"As for Wraith, I think you're underestimating her. As far as I know, he needs her for a new kind of pokéballs." Boris gave her a strange look.

"New kind of pokéballs? What for? We already have those ... I can't remember that stupid name ... now I remember, renegade balls. Why would he need others?" he asked.

"I have no idea. I just overheard them talking about something called Okcha balls, which she was supposed to create. When i asked her about them, she refused to talk. Whatever they are, Boss wants them to remain a secret for now." She gritted her teeth. The fact that her love wasn't telling her everything was bad enough, but others knowing about those secrets was even worse. It was almost like he didn't trust her.

"Okcha? Sounds weird. Never heard of anything like that. Maybe a name. Who cares?" He looked at the screen showing the battle. "It's about to end, I better make the call now."

Boris took his phone and dialed a number. It took a few seconds until someone took the call.

"Hello there, this is Boris. You know, the Blade, the Butcher or whatever name you gave me. Now shut up and listen. Today, I have a present for you. A very big present. A huge present." He made gestures as if the person at the other side of the phone was able to see him. "I present to you, Team Rocket along with its infamous leader Giovanni. The traps are deactivated, the doors will open automatically ... well, except for the main entrance. But you can't expect me to do everything for you now, can you? That's the one thing you have to do yourself, then you can claim all the glory for the victory over Team Rocket."

"Don't forget to tell them the location. Otherwise this would be rather embarrassing," Victoria remarked.

"I was just about to do that, thank you very much," he retorted. "Go to Celadon City. The address you're looking for is 23 Emerald Road, there's a secret entrance in the basement, which I'm sure you'll find without my help. If everything fails, just blow up the damn thing."

He smashed the phone in his hand before starting to work at the console.

"Now to unlock the doors," he mumbled. "Deactivate the blocker. Alright, let's get out of here."

* * *

"Mr. Sorlan will speak to you now," the secretary told the waiting leader of the international police. "Please follow me."

Even though he didn't have to wait long, Max Wright was still annoyed. But it wasn't like he didn't expect it. After all, Nathan Sorlan was still young and hadn't been the president of his company for too long. He'd succeeded his father after the tragedy which was known as the "Sorlan Massacre". Shira's men had stormed the building where an important conference had been taking place at that very moment and slaughtered nearly everyone in charge there, including Nathan's father. Nathan himself obviously hadn't been there because of the traffic.

The secretary led Max into a rather humble office where the new president of the Sorlan Company was waiting for him. He quickly motioned for the secretary to leave the room before shaking hands.

"I'm happy to see you, Mr. Wright. I suppose you're here because of the incident at Eterna Forest?" the young man asked.

"You're an intelligent man so I won't lie to you," Max answered. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm here for. As we suspected an unknown poison caused that. You know Shira has quite a bit of money, but she can't just create an entirely new kind of poison gas."

"So you think her men stole the 'recipe'?" Nathan asked.

"Your company is one of the largest in the world and famous for its healing potions, antidotes, venoms and more." He threw a paper at the table between them. "These are out observations. Is there any secret poison that matches those?"

Nathan Sorlan read it carefully before shaking his head.

"I might have been the president's son but there were still things I didn't know. On the other hand, I can't say that it isn't possible. I'm afraid only my father and a few of his advisors could have given you a clear answer. I'm really sorry." After a moment of silence he spoke up again. "But what about Team Rocket? You surely know that they've stolen one of our shipments recently."

"We don't think that Team Rocket still has the power to do that," Max said, not mentioning the video from Shira.

"Yes, the other case seems likely, doesn't it? Shortly after the massacre they suddenly have a new chemical weapon." Nathan looked out of the window, thinking about the possible consequences.

"Very likely. I would like to speak to every ..." the sound of his phone ringing interrupted him. "Excuse me for a moment."

Max went near the door. After only a few seconds of listening he suddenly yelled so loudly that Nathan almost fell out his char.

"WHAT? WHERE?" Upon receiving the answer, he quickly calmed down. "Alright, gather my team. I'll be there as quickly as possible."

"Something important, I guess?" the other man in the room asked him with a smirk.

"Yes, it is," Max answered coldly. "I have to go now but my subordinates will want to talk to you and the employees here."

Without another word he left the room, slamming the door behind him and leaving a rather amused president behind.

* * *

"You have shown me that you're quite a powerful team," Giovanni admitted. "But can you hold your ground against my pokémon without help? I challenge you to single battles."

"Just how stupid do we ..." Dawn shouted.

"We accept!" Ash interrupted her.

"Ash?" She gave him a worried look. "Are you mad? We almost have him! Why do you want to risk everything now?"

"Because this is just what I've been looking forward to for years." Ash looked at Pikachu. "Last time, we lost miserably but now is out chance for revenge."

"You men and your stupid pride!" Dawn groaned, hitting her forehead.

"Pleeeeease?" Ash gave her a look she just couldn't resist.

"Fine!" she replied. "He only has two pokémon left, anyway, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Giovanni, we ... accept your challenge."

It was just as the Team Rocket leader had expected. Ash's actions were very easy to predict.

"Very well. Tyranitar, it's up to you." The called out Tyranitar was almost twice as large as a normal one so its power was probably enormous.

The natural choice would be Lucario due to his massive type advantage and this was exactly what Giovanni was hoping for. Without the aura bubble, he would be able to kill the trainers and their pokémon much easier.

"I'll take care of this. Buneary, spotlight!" Dawn shouted before Ash could react.

"Are you sure?" Ash asked, a bit worried about the opponent's size.

"Absolutely. It'll be over before you know it. Right, Buneary?" the blunette replied.

"Bun!" The rabbit pokémon obviously wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

Ash decided not to question her choice as he knew exactly how dangerous Buneary was, especially if underestimated. Giovanni, on the other hand, didn't look impressed at all but still a little angry.

"This should be an easy task for you. Stone edge!" After a quick glance at its tiny opponent, Tyrantitar shot a lot of massive stone spikes at her.

"Dodge it and use agility!" With the increased speed, dodging the spikes was no problem at all. "Now ice beam! Close the distance!"

Instead of shooting it at Tyranitar she used it on the ground, freezing it so that she could move faster by sliding on it.

"World wrecker," Giovanni simply said.

Tyranitar created a white glowing orb, which started floating right above its head. It apparently caused large boulders to appear, similar to rock slide but covering almost the whole hall. It would have even hit Ash, Dawn and their other pokémon if it wasn't for Lucario's aura bubble. Even Buneary had trouble dodging every boulder, so much that she even had to smash a few of them with brick break.

"Ice beam on that orb!" Dawn commanded. She had noticed that the area around Giovanni wasn't affected so Tyranitar had a certain control of it and boulders appearing above the trainers wasn't a coincidence. But just as she suspected, the orb was rather fragile and the freezing was enough to shatter it along with the ice. Ice spikes fell down on Tyranitar without dealing any damage, though. But now she was close enough to prepare her own attack.

"Brick break!" Giovanni shouted. Unlike his pokémon, he knew that Dawn wouldn't call out such a pokémon for no reason. It looked a bit funny when Tyranitar tried to smash its opponent with its short arms but fortunately, Buneary managed to dodge and went behind the armor pokémon. "Use iron tail!" Once again, she dodged the attack from the side by jumping up but this time, Tyranitar was ready. "Crunch!" It quickly turned around, grabbed her but when it tried to take a big bite, Buneary simply vanished with a poof noise. "A substitute?"

"Use arctic kiss!" Giovanni couldn't see her kissing her left paw, which started to glow blue, since the towering body of his pokémon was in the way. Then she punched the tip of its tail lightly but even a mere touch would have been enough.

Within a second, the tail was completely encased in ice, which quickly spread to the other parts of Tyranitar's body. It could only watch in horror as the ice was making its way further up until only its head was free. However, even that quickly changed and finally it was completely trapped inside a large block of ice.

"Break out of it, you useless thing!" Giovanni yelled, not having expected something like this.

Due to his own experiences with the move, Ash knew that the battle was basically over. Frozen kiss created a prison, which was not only incredibly strong but also highly resistant to fire. Only the strongest fighting, rock and steel type moves were able to break it from the outside.

"Use work up and then focus punch!" A red aura surrounded the rabbit pokémon briefly before she punched the ice prison with her right ear, sending a massive shockwave through Tyranitar's body. It wasn't enough to break the ice, though, but that wasn't her intention anyway. A second punch with her left ear caused the first cracks to appear. The third broke the lower part of the prison so she quickly followed up with another, completely shattering it. Dawn was surprised to see Tyranitar still standing despite the super-effective attacks. Obviously, it was extremely well trained and not only big but also tough. Buneary had enough time for a fifth punch and this time, probably due to the direct hit, the armor pokémon finally fell unconscious, creating a powerful shockwave when it hit the ground.

Giovanni was both surprised and furious. A tiny pokémon defeated one of his strongest minions. A few minutes ago he would have laughed at the very thought. But now he didn't know what to do anymore. With only one pokémon left, his defeat was unavoidable.

"That was amazing! You and Buneary did a good job," Ash congratulated his girlfriend.

"Oh stop it." Dawn blushed a little. "We just had the perfect counter to large pokémon like Tyranitar. Well done, Buneary." She turned to Ash. "It's up to you now. But be careful. I doubt that he trained those pokémon himself so there was no bond between them and defeating them wasn't too difficult. I think our stubbornness was our greatest enemy here. But this persian looks different."

"No need to worry." He looked directly at Pikachu. "We have been waiting for quite a long time. Now let's finish this quickly!"

"Pika!" his loyal pokémon replied, running onto the battle field.

"Persian, we'll show him that Team Rocket won't be defeated that easily." Giovanni was surprisingly quiet now. "Shadow fury!"

"Volt charge!" It was clear that both them were counting on their pokémon's attack power so the battle was unlikely to last long. Pikachu got surrounded by a yellow, sparkling aura before charging right at Persian with a speed similar to quick attack. Fully charged, the strength of the move was close to volt tackle but Pikachu didn't have to suffer from recoil damage and the damage increased while charging so a bit of distance between them was actually good for him.

Dawn was a bit worried about Ash's recklessness but she couldn't exactly blame him. After all, she would probably do the same if given the chance to defeat an old enemy like Giovanni. Pikachu slammed his body right into Persian, who countered with a flurry of slashes. Their moves were evenly matched so the force of the attacks knocked them back a bit.

"Use power gem!" Pikachu dodged the move just in time.

"Volt charge and iron tail!" His special move wasn't that strong this time as they were already close but the following iron tail hit Persian's head critically. It quickly recovered, though, using another shadow fury attack to deal major damage but it also paralyzed it due to Pikachu's static. "Thunderbolt!"

"Power gem again!" Despite the paralysis, it managed to use the energy beam to hurt Pikachu, yet also got hit in return.

Both of them have already taken quite a bit of damage so the battle was already close to the end. It wasn't just about winning about also about showing strength so nobody had time for fancy tactics.

"Finish it! Volt charge!" Ash shouted.

"Shadow fury! Full power!" The two pokémon charged right at each other.

Once more, the attacks were evenly matched and neither Pikachu nor Persian wanted to back down now. Using all the strength they had left, they tried to break through but it wasn't until the paralysis kicked in that Pikachu gained the upper hand and hit Persian so hard, that it smashed right into the wall next to Giovanni. He looked in shock at the only pokémon he'd ever cared about. It was too late. It was unconscious.

"You did it! Congratulations!" Dawn hugged Ash from behind before he even realized that it was over. When he did, he simply smiled.

"It's over. Good job, Pikachu, everyone. I'm so proud of you." Pikachu, who was really tired, slowly made it to his friends, where he was greeted like a hero.

"I can't ... believe it," Giovanni stammered, gritting his teeth. "Beaten by those brats. I wonder ..."

He still had a few weapons on him. He could still kill them, but it wasn't worth it. Their pokémon would probably tear him to pieces if he did, so he chose not to. He valued his life more than a bit of revenge.

"Fine! You have beaten me! But tell me, how are planning to get out?" he asked.

Finally realizing that Giovanni was still there, Ash also remembered about what he had tried prior to their battle.

"What about that console?" he asked. "Didn't you try to escape?"

"Well, it was the only exit independent of the central control room and I'm the only one knowing the right code. But it doesn't matter now." For some reason he seemed way too happy, considering his situation.

"What do you mean by that?" He simply pointed at the console, which was completely destroyed.

"It looks like one of Steelix's beams got it," he explained.

"And isn't there another exit we could use?" Dawn asked but he shook his head.

"Looks like we're all trapped." That explained his evil smile.

"Well, at least you can take a nap. Gengar!" Dawn yelled and her pokémon came right through the door. "Hypnosis!"

"No, you ..." Before he could finish the sentence, a small yellow symbol hit him, making him fall asleep instantly.

"Now please look for weapons. We don't want any nasty surprises," she added.

A thorough search revealed two guns and a knife, which were destroyed by Typhlosion, just to be safe.

"It's over ..." Ash finally exclaimed. He looked tired but really happy. "It's over. He's finished."

"We did it!" Dawn looked equally glad. "But how do we get out now? He ..."

She was surprised by Ash just silently hugging her. They stayed like that for nearly a minute until Ash finally pulled back.

"You can't imagine how relieved I am." He almost had tears in his eyes. "We're still alive, Giovanni is defeated and will pay for all the terrible things he's done. Don't worry, we'll find a way out eventually."

Obviously, his rage and shame had been far greater than she had imagined but at last, his old enemy was vanquished. It only made her feel even more sympathetic. However, there were other things to do. After all, they were still trapped inside the Team Rocket base and there might still be grunts around.

"Lucario, please carry Giovanni. We can't tie him up since Galvantula is unconscious." The pokémon understood and despite Giovanni being taller, he was able to easily carry him. "Let's go! Maybe we can blast that door to the control room the scientist was talking about."

Since she didn't have any better idea, this was their next goal. Upon entering the room next to the battle hall, they found a pile of unconscious grunts lying next to the table. Apparently, they tried to help their leader but were knocked out by Noctowl and Gengar. Just in case others arrived, they decided to let them guard the room a little bit longer.

Dr. Ferris surprised them just outside the room.

"You are back? And ..." His eyes widened when he spotted Giovanni. "You ... you defeated him. You really did it. Unbelievable!"

He thought that Steelix's move would crush them. The hyper cannon was an extremely powerful move, which permanently lowered the pokémon's power with every use. A normal trainer would never use something like that but Giovanni had no qualms.

"I ... I don't know what to say. To be honest, I didn't expect you to return," he admitted. "If I may ask, did you find a way to escape?"

"Yes, we did, but it was destroyed in the battle," Dawn told him. "I'm afraid we don't know any other way."

Suddenly, there was an announcement from the central control room.

"Attention, please. The repairs in the central control have been completed and it is open to the public again. Complaints are to be addressed to the central management. We apologize for the inconvenience." It was rough voice but Dr. Ferris knew it.

"That's Boris!" Ferris exclaimed. "He joined Team Rocket a few months ago. We ... they needed a lot of new recruits so he was accepted rather quickly. Apparently, too quickly. It looks like he's the one causing all this trouble. I have no idea what he's talking about, though."

"Warning! The leadership has been eliminated. Self-destruction sequence in progress. 30 seconds remaining. Please go straight to hell. Thank you for your patience." Ash and Dawn looked at each other in horror. "Ha! I'm just messing with you. You should have seen the look on your faces. But enough of this. Ash, Dawn, I've been waiting for you but I didn't think you'd be so naughty. Don't even try to deny it. You've just arrived and already taken out your host. What kind of first impression is that? But don't worry, I'm not offended so I won't hurt or even kill you. There's one thing you have to understand, though. We're watching you all the time, but you can't see us. Maybe we could be friends? It would be good for your health, which would be very much in danger otherwise. You have to make a decision eventually, and it better be the logical one. But for now, enjoy the rest of your day, which should be rather busy. I will open the door to the central control room now. Oh, I nearly forgot. I have left a present for you. I hope you enjoy it." The last thing they heard was a cruel laughter.

Ferris led them to the door, which was wide open now and one quick glance was enough to understand what kind of present Boris had left. The head of a Team Rocket grunt was impaled on a stick, which was held in position by ice. Bowels were attached to it so that it looked like a sick sort of maypole. Blood was still dripping from its ends to the floor, where other body parts were lying around. The eye sockets were empty, and there were scars at the sides of his mouth, giving him a permanent, sick smile. Dawn instantly turned around with a strong urge to vomit and even Ash could feel his breakfast coming up again. Suddenly, a strong explosion shook the base, nearly causing them to fall. The scientist was the first to enter the control room and have a look at the screens.

"Oh boy," he mumbled. "Looks like we have visitors."


	6. Aftermath

**One thing I have to make clear: Most of the restrictions of the games, the tiers, they have no meaning here. Pokémon can learn more than four moves here, though they are limited by the number of types they can learn. Dual types are a little more flexible in that regard. While things like physically strong or resistant to special attacks still exist, there is no single pokémon, who's best at one of them. Some Pokémon may also know moves they can't learn in the games if it makes for them to know those.**

 **As for this chapter, it is truly the last introduction chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Aftermath

Ash and Dawn couldn't see it but the screens showed a group of policemen entering the base through the blown up entrance. Only a few seconds later, they could already hear the footsteps.

"Hands up!" The policemen turned out to be members of the international police and now they were pointing their guns at the two trainers and the scientist with several growlithe standing ready. "The pokémon too!" Reluctantly, their partners did as well as they could.

"We've found some people," one of them shouted, causing more of them to appear.

"Those two don't belong to Team Rocket. Don't you know them?" A tall man with short, black hair and a rather ugly face full of scars said. "I'm not sure about the other one but that guy definitely is a member of Team Rocket," he added, pointing at the sleeping Giovanni.

The whole corridor fell silent and only whispers could be heard until the leader of the international police appeared.

"What is this about? What are you staring ..." He stopped upon seeing Giovanni sleeping. "Interesting." His face showed no emotion at all.

"We found them like that," the man with the scarred face told him. "No idea how that happened."

"I know those two," Max mumbled. "Take them to my office. I want to hear their story with my own ears. And as for that guy..."

He called out a poliwrath.

"Use wake-up-slap!" The pokémon hit Giovanni's cheek so hard that he was smashed against the wall. Holding his cheek, he slowly got up.

"Oh my, if it isn't Max Wright. How is your family?" he asked with a wicked grin, ignoring the pain.

"I would do the world a favor by burning you alive," Max replied coldly "But most likely you will just be rotting in an isolated cell for the rest of your live. I will see to that personally."

"Do you really think there is a prison that can hold me? I thought you were smarter than that." Even in defeat, Giovanni remained defiant.

"I do. Get him out of my sight!" A few of the policemen took him away."Why are they still here? I thought I told you to take them to my office."

"Right away, sir," the man with the scars replied.

"This one looks like a Team Rocket scientist. Arrest and interrogate him." When they put handcuffs on him, Ash finally spoke up.

"He helped us even before Giovanni was defeated. Don't be too harsh to him." But he only earned a glare from Max.

"You only speak when I ask you a question. You're lucky I don't arrest you for interfering with our business." For once, Ash knew exactly when to keep his mouth shut.

Ash and Dawn were escorted out of the base into a basement of some sort, where one of the policemen called out an abra, who teleported them to the headquarters of the international police. Apparently, everyone working there was very busy but they hardly noticed anyone apart from those at the security checks, which were far more numerous than they thought necessary, even for the international police. In addition, they had to go without their pokémon as those were sent to the hospital wing. Unbeknownst to the trainers, their pokémon were also interrogated by another pokémon using telepathy to translate to its masters. Suddenly, their guide, the tall man with the scarred face, spoke up.

"I have to warn you. Whatever you do, don't ever mention his family." He didn't sound like he was joking.

"Giovanni asked him about them. Did he do something to them?" Dawn asked carefully.

"You're smarter than you look." Before they could think about whether to be offended, he continued. "A few years ago, Mr. Wright was a young and ambitious officer of the international police. Team Rocket was his target and he did his job well. In fact, he was so good that he caught Giovanni's attention. So that bastard looked for a way to hurt him. Badly."

They could already guess where this was going but they didn't dare interrupt him.

"He had Mr. Wright's family killed in a brutal way and their house burned to the ground. His wife, his children, all dead. The youngest one wasn't even one year old." Neither Ash nor Dawn wanted to imagine that cruel scene. It must have been a horrible blow to the poor man.

Even the people working there stopped talking when they realized what the story was about. Obviously, it was well known among them.

"Giovanni tried to break his spirit. He wanted to show everyone what would happen to anyone foolish enough to mess with Team Rocket," the guide added.

"Obviously, he wasn't successful," Ash remarked.

"He wasn't. I think he underestimated his opponent. Instead of breaking his opponent, he created his worst nightmare: a man who had nothing to lose. In addition he now had the full support of pretty much everyone here. The brutal murder of his family rallied them to his cause." He couldn't help but smirk at the thought. "So Giovanni basically dug his own grave. During the next months, his best men were eliminated, his operations disrupted, his business ruined. We gained the upper hand and soon Team Rocket was reduced to a pathetic excuse of an international organization. And today we finally got Giovanni himself."

They remained silent until they arrived at Max's office.

"Now remember. Don't mention his family. Just answer his questions truthfully and you'll be fine," he said before turning around. "By the way, call me Thomas. I'm sure we'll see each other again."

Before they could reply, the door to the office automatically opened. A rough voice called for them. As they entered it, they had a good look at the room. It didn't look like the office of an important person but more like one that belonged to a poorly paid clerk. Large amounts of books and files on cheap tables and cupboards. The chairs didn't only look cheap but they also felt like it. The only thing in the entire room which looked fit for a man of his position was the computer. But since Ash and Dawn didn't really know a lot about such things, they couldn't tell whether it actually was.

Max, who looked pretty tired right now, motioned them to sit down. Apparently, he had less trouble getting through all the security checks, which wasn't surprising, considering he was the boss of the organization. For a whole minute, he was just looking at them, showing no emotion. Finally, he spoke up.

"How?" His voice was almost a whisper. "How did you find the base? How did you get inside? We have been trying to do that for almost two years now. And then you just appear out of nowhere and defeat Giovanni. I don't know what to think."

"You probably won't believe us. I know I wouldn't." Ash looked at Dawn, who could only agree with him. "A small girl's gardevoir teleported us there."

"A small girl?" Other would have laughed or replied with sarcasm but Max remained completely serious.

"Yes, she said that her name was Lucy. But she escaped before we even knew where we were," Dawn added.

"The grunts we interrogated stated that you pretty much appeared out of nowhere. And until we can prove the opposite I have to believe you." He leaned back a bit. "But one question remains. That base has an anti-teleportation device. It shouldn't have been possible to get there. Someone must have turned it off temporarily. We believe it was the same person who took over the central control room." He sighed. "Enough of this. My men will ask you more questions. Thomas will show you the way."

"So that's it?" Ash had expected much more.

"Yes." He turned to his computer, signaling them that the conversation was over.

Of course, he knew much more than he told them. For example, he could already guess who the person in the control room was. But there was no way he would ever tell them his secrets.

Right outside the office, Thomas was waiting for them.

"Are you alright?" He showed much more concern than his appearance suggested. "Our boss is grumpy at times but he means well."

"Showing the witnesses the way around, are we?" A man with long, red hair, wearing the same uniform as Thomas shouted from a distance.

"Hey, we don't get famous witnesses like that every day," Thomas replied, grinning widely.

"Well, you better make sure they don't get lost, Thommy. I'm off to see the boss." He gave the trainers an arrogant look. "Not the most professional performance at Team Rocket HQ but that's alright. At least you got the job done." As soon as the door was closed, Thomas apologized.

"I'm sorry about his rudeness. Just like Mr. Wright, he doesn't like outsiders meddling with our affairs, even if they're successful. But enough of this, you probably want to get it over with. Please follow me." Once again, they followed him to different people, who seemed to ask them the same questions over and over.

Stan closed the door behind him and approached his boss slowly. The last thing he wanted was catching Max in a bad mood, especially since the news he was carrying weren't too pleasant.

"You have something for me?" Max asked without looking up from the files he was reading.

"Yes, sir. Bad news, I'm afraid." He looked up expectantly.

"Well, spit it out. I haven't got an eternity," he yelled, making Stan shrink a little.

Instead of telling his boss, he just handed over the document and the photos he was carrying. Max took them and had a brief look over them. When he realized that it was important, he sat down and had a closer look. Stan knew that interrupting him wasn't a good idea so he also sat down and waited for him to finish. After all, this was an important matter and there was no way Max would just ignore this.

"Interesting," he finally said. "And I thought we got rid of every traitor."

"We don't know his reasons or who received the information or even if it's just a misunderstanding. There's merely a strong suspicion," Stan explained. He wouldn't want to be called responsible in case this turned to be a false alarm.

"But it's still worth investigating. Tell me, do you think he's a traitor?" That was a question Stan had to think about for a while.

"Well, on the one hand the document strongly suggests it but on the other hand there's no real evidence." He scratched his chin. "I can't really imagine him doing that. He doesn't seem the type to sell our information."

"In any case I will take care of this personally. Return to your other duties." Stan complied happily as Max clearly was in a very bad mood.

For a few minutes Max was just sitting there, staring at the document without actually reading it. There too many thoughts rushing through his mind to concentrate on anything properly.

 _Simmons a traitor? Hard to imagine but I can't just ignore this. Without a confession I won't be able to find him guilty, though. I wonder ...yes, I have to do it. There's no other way._ Max stood up and took the phone but put it down again. _No, I have to do it in a different way._

He went to a device at the wall that looked like a videophone. It the same machine that trainers used to exchange their pokémon at a pokémon center. He needed a very specific one, Beheeyem, the master of memories. Then he picked up the phone again and called Simmons.

"Simmons, I need to speak to you. Come to my office immediately," he just told him before hanging up.

It took the presumed traitor a while to arrive, probably due to the security checks, but when it happened, Max looked up and offered a seat to his employee.

"Do you know why I wanted to see you?" he asked.

"No, sir," Simmons replied immediately.

"I'll be blunt. Someone claims that you are selling vital information to our enemies." Simmons looked shocked and even a bit indignant. "What do you have to say about this?"

"That's utterly ridiculous!" he yelled. "Sorry about that but I am loyal to the international police. Unless that someone has proof, he should stop making accusations like that."

"Well, why should I believe you instead of him?" Max asked, completely unfazed by the outburst.

"You ... you don't really believe him, do you? I can assure, I'm completely loyal!" The boss turned around so Simmons was faced by the back of his seat.

"You aren't answering my question. Why should I believe you instead of him?" he repeated.

"I've been working here for more than ten years. My loyalty has never been questioned and without proof I won't allow anyone to do that." For him, the conversation was over.

"Tell me, Simmons. Who are we working for?" Max suddenly asked.

"What do you mean? I'm working for you." He just shook his head.

"That's not what I meant. I mean the whole international police. Why does our organization exist. Who or what are we all doing this for?" he asked again.

"The people?" Simmons guessed.

"The people." Max nodded and turned around. "We are doing this for every citizen. We are doing this so they can live in peace and justice. So that they don't have to fight. We are their servants. We are NOT servants of the law."

"What do you mean?" Simmons was confused. "We are fighting anyone who is breaking or trying to break the law. Doesn't that make us its servants?"

"No! If anything, we are servants of justice. But law and justice are two entirely different things." Now Simmons was wondering whether he was called to discuss philosophical questions. "There are many people in this world, who are good, just and kind on the outside. We couldn't arrest them for anything even if we wanted. But they treat other people like dirt, humiliate and ruin them and maybe even force them to break the law. They are enemies. Not the petty criminals who might even become good citizens if they were given a chance. Yes, the deceivers were just as bad as scum like Giovanni, maybe even worse since they used the law as protection. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

"I'm afraid I don't," the confused employee admitted.

"Don't you understand?" Max stood up and went behind Simmons. "The law can be our friend or our enemy. So if we really are to be servants of justice, we have to break it sometimes."

"Why ... why are you telling me this?" Simmons was very nervous now, especially with Max standing behind him.

"I want you to understand what we have to do sometimes. I want you to understand the sacrifices we have to make. If you truly understand my lesson, you also understand why I can't take a risk now. No, I have to find the truth about those accusations against you. I'm afraid, it is absolutely necessary. Beheeyem!" He called out the psychic type in front of the frightened man. "Make sure nobody disturbs us."

The pokémon created a force field in front of the only door, making it impossible to open it. Then it used psychic on Simmons so that he wasn't able to move at all.

"What are you doing?" he screamed.

"Are you that dumb? Beheeyem will find the truth in your head." He paled immediately.

"You can't do that! That's torture!" Max shook his head.

"Weren't you listening at all? The truth is more important. But don't misunderstand me, I don't like doing this. It's just ... necessary." He gave Beheeyem a nod and its right arm started to glow blue. "We all have to make sacrifices. It's part of our work."

"They will find out! You'll never get away with this!" The am came closer and closer to his face and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't move.

"I don't think so. All you will remember after this procedure is the talk at the beginning and parts of my lesson. Then you will receive a mission, which depends on what Beheeyem finds. Oh, and don't try to confess now, I find words caused by torture or the threat of torture most unreliable." Max sat down again. "It will hurt at first but you won't remember any of that so don't worry. We'll talk again soon."

"No! Mercy!" As soon as the digits on the arm touched his forehead, a sharp pain went through his body, which felt like it was being torn apart. At first he felt like screaming but mouth wouldn't open.

For about five minutes, his head was feeling like countless burning needles pierced it at once. The feeling of helplessness, the infernal pain and the knowledge that it was his own boss who ordered this nearly drove him mad. Just when he thought he couldn't take it any longer, he finally fell unconscious and Beheeyem removed its arm.

"So what did you find?" Max asked. His had watched the whole procedure without showing any emotions.

Using telepathy, the psychic type flooded his mind with images and explanations.

 _So he did send information to others but not to our enemies. Not very important information_ , Max thought, trying to understand Beheeyem's message. _He meant well, he didn't even ask for payment. No, he regarded is a friendly turn. That's not what I expected._

"So he isn't an evil man after all. Weak, misguided, but not evil." He sighed. "Modify his memories. Let him keep the lesson, he'll need it."

 _I have to find a mission for him to fail, a mission seemingly important enough so that a failure justifies a layoff._ He looked at the unconscious employee. _With Shira being more active than ever, I should test all of them. Who knows where I could find traitors._

* * *

After a few hours of waiting or boring interrogations, Ash and Dawn were allowed to have something to eat. It was then that they noticed that it was already getting dark but it would take nearly one more hour before they were finally allowed to leave. On the way down they noticed that the people were far more excited than before, a few looked full of hope but most of them were in a very gloomy mood. Something big must have happened but for now, they just wanted to go back home. At last, the abra took teleported them right to Pallet Town.

Even now they had no idea where the Team Rocket base and the headquarters of the international police were located. But they didn't care right now. Ash turned the key, opening the door to their house. Their pokémon, who were just as tired, quickly found a place to sleep. Only Lucario didn't rest completely. Instead, he entered a meditative state, which still allowed him to sense danger. Dawn's Lucario was the only other pokémon capable of doing that so Ash's Lucario didn't have to do it every night. Fortunately, it has been quite some time since the last incident but they preferred to stay safe.

As usual, Dawn took a very long shower but didn't bother brushing her hair this time since she was going to sleep anyway. Ash was sitting upright in the bed when she returned, which told her that he wanted to talk about something.

"Big surprise," she mumbled with a tired smile. "Too much has happened to simply go to sleep, huh?"

"You're right," he simply stated. "You know, I thought defeating Giovanni would give me a huge boost but instead, I'm just feeling tired. It's so weird. Even though ... I mean ... it's good that he's in prison now. But ..." He sighed. "I don't know how to describe that feeling."

"You've never been good with feelings, you know," she said, trying to cheer him but truth to be told, she was also a bit down. "Maybe you're afraid of big events that might follow?"

"Yes, yes, that's it! As he said, the prison might not hold him for long. And if he manages to escape, what do you think will be the first thing he'll do?" he asked.

"Revenge," Dawn simply stated.

"Exactly. I don't even want to imagine the things he would do to our friends, to our family, to our pokémon, to you." He cupped her cheek before giving her a tender kiss. "We have already had way too much excitement of that sort." With a shudder he remembered all the times they got injured or nearly died.

Dawn, sensing his worry, hugged him tightly. For a moment all the bad feelings were gone. Only the warmth of her body and the love she put in the hug were left.

"No need to worry," she whispered. "Together, nobody will defeat us. We have seen worse than Team Rocket."

"That's not the only thing I'm worried about, though." She looked him straight in the eyes. "The girl and that guy in the control room. I don't know what to think. They might be our enemies as well. We might be their next targets."

"But that guy had plenty of opportunity to kill us. After all, he had full control of the traps, didn't he?" Dawn pointed out.

"True," Ash replied with a sigh. "And the international police probably knows a lot more than they tell us. It's not like I blame them but still ..."

"I feel bad for Mr. Wright. He has lost everyone he loved, all at once. No wonder he seemed so bitter. I can't imagine the pain." And she certainly didn't want to experience it.

"I can't help but admire him." Dawn looked up, wondering what he meant. "Many people would have broken. But he used his pain and fury to do something. He made the world a better place by hunting those responsible."

"You have a point," Ash's girlfriend admitted. "He seems very determined and competent."

"Well, there's no point in worrying too much now." He gave her a quick kiss. "Goodnight, my phoenix."

"Stop calling me that!" she answered, giving him a playful punch. "Sweet dreams."

 _I might have to punish him if he keeps calling me that_ , she thought. _No matter how it fits me, it's still childish. Every time I think he's grown up, he proves me wrong. Well, sometimes I'm not much better in that regard but still, Iris is often right. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for a while. I hope she will visit us during Ash's birthday, like everyone else. Why am I thinking about this right now? It's time to sleep. At least I should be thinking about today's events. Great, now I won't be sleeping for a while. Team Rocket is gone but what about that girl? She seemed so harmless but in the base, the look on her face really creeped me out. There's definitely something wrong about her. She reminded of one of those creepy girls from a horror movie. Come to think, she behaved a bit strangely even before they got there. 'Lady Dawn', she said. Maybe didn't just imagine the sarcasm. But I have never seen her before. Why would she have something against me? I hope we'll never see her again. That little adventure today was already enough for a lifetime. Especially now. Ash is finally going to become a true champion and I won't let anything or anyone get in the way. Don't worry, Ash._

Dawn relaxed a bit but she still had the feeling that she was forgetting something. Something she had wanted to do today. Then she remembered,

 _Ash's birthday! I wanted to get him a present! Stupid Dawn! Stupid Dawn! But I had no time for that today. I'll have to do it first thing in the morning. There's still more than enough time. No need to worry, Dawn. You will get the best present ever. Just be sure that nothing gets in the way this time!_

Determined to finish it the next day, Dawn finally found some rest and slowly drifted off. Ash, on the other hand still had other things on his mind.

 _I don't care if that guy in the control room helped us. He brutally slaughtered the other people there so he can't be a friend. But if we meet him we won't even know it. And I have a feeling we will. Otherwise he wouldn't have helped us. If he hurts Dawn or my pokémon ... well, he would regret it soon. But scum like that would attack my friends or family without hesitation. I can't protect them all. And just when I am so close to becoming a champion and Dawn is about to challenge Wallace. I thought those big adventures were over. All the times I had her worried and all the times she had me worried. Honestly, she can be incredibly reckless, especially when it's about her pokémon. So much like me. I guess that's one of the reasons why I fell in love with her although it can be annoying at times._

Ash slowly opened his eyes and saw his girlfriend resting peacefully next to him. Her breathing was slow and relaxing with a little smile gracing her lips.

 _So beautiful. I have to protect her no matter what. And maybe ... maybe I should finally propose to her? People will say that we're too young. That we don't know what true love is. They are the ones who don't know anything. We have been together for a long time now and I feel it is time. But ..._

He suddenly had doubts.

 _It would probably be too much of a distraction. With all the big events coming up I should probably wait a bit longer. Once everything is over, I will ask her._

Soon Ash also fell into a long, dreamless sleep. After a long and hard day, he finally found the rest he needed.

* * *

"So, tell me. How did they fare?" the menacing man asked the two other persons standing in front of his desk.

"They're horribly naive," the woman, Victoria, told him. "They fell for my trick immediately."

"But they're strong in battle," the tall, muscular man said. It was Boris, the man who helped them from the central control room. "They defeated Giovanni without losing even half their pokémon. With their training, our pokémon could become very strong."

"Do you really thing those do-gooders would join us?" she retorted.

"Of course. We just need to use the right tools." Victoria shook her head.

"I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes." Somehow she already knew what Boris was about to say.

"You really don't have a lot of imagination, do you? Maybe that's why you failed as a coordinator." She gritted her teeth at his remark. "Don't even try to deny it, you know it to be true."

"Shut up!" she yelled. "The judges hated me. Those assholes always gave low scores even for my best combinations. That's why I wasn't successful." She folded arms and looked away, showing him that the conversation was over. Boris, on the other hand, wasn't done yet.

"Oh really? They hated you? That's an easy excuse. So much easier than just accepting that you're pathetic." She was ready to attack him but their boss called her back.

"Stop it, both of you." Although it was quite amusing, he still had to give them new objectives. "I'm surrounded by a bunch of fools arguing over unimportant things."

"Unimportant? My career is not unimportant," she replied but he just laughed.

"What career? You are working for me now and -" He got very serious all of sudden. -" you won't waste any more time with that bullshit. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes, master." She tried to keep a straight, which was difficult especially since Boris was barely containing his laughter.

"Very well. Sometimes I really wonder why I keep you around." Boris winked at Victoria, reminding her of their conversation about replacements, which caused her to pale visibly. "But then I remember how much fun you are to mess with. Enough of this. Boris, you already have your orders. Viccy, you will make those two trainers join us," the boss told them.

"What? But how?" she asked desperately.

"You really lack imagination. How fortunate for you that I don't expect you to do this alone. Seth will help you with this task." Instead of calming her down, the news made her even more nervous.

"You can't be serious! I won't work with that creep!" Boris smirked when she said that. He already knew how his boss would react.

"Are you refusing my orders?" He sounded surprisingly calm but his intense look into her eyes made clear that refusing was not an option.

"Uhm no! I didn't mean it like that!" she answered quickly. "Of course I will do anything you want."

"Good." The boss suddenly started laughing. "Good! Killing you because of something like that would be a real shame, wouldn't it?" Victoria paled again while Boris was roaring with laughter. "What are you idiot still doing here? Get to work! Go!"

Now it was Victoria's turn to smirk when he left the office without another word. But before she could leave, her boss stopped her.

"This is a mission of uttermost importance. I want those two. I don't care how. But they have to join voluntarily. If we force them, they will only betray us eventually." He put his hands on her shoulders. "Do this for me and you might become my favorite again. Just imagine Shira's face when she hears about your success."

He gave her quick kiss on the lips, which caught her by surprise. Then he went back to his desk to get other work done.

 _You can count on me , master!_ she thought. _I will show that bitch who is the best around here!_


	7. Old Friends

**A rather well-known character will join in this chapter (you will know who I mean). I have to make clear that this is NOT the character from the anime, but was inspired by the games before it happened in the anime.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Old friends

The next day started just like the others, only a bit warmer and more sunny. All in all, it looked like a great day for training but even the sun couldn't make Ash wake up sooner. As usual, he was the last to get up and only arrived downstairs when their pokémon were almost done with their meal. They looked up and greeted him when he entered the kitchen.

"Ah, my slaking is finally awake," Dawn teased him. "A bit later than usual."

Ash looked at the clock. It was 9:32 AM. Yesterday, the girl rang the bell at the very same time.

"You know ..." Suddenly, the door bell rang. "What the hell?"

"What's the matter?" She sensed his nervousness although she didn't know why.

"Yesterday, at the same time ... she appeared at the door." Ash didn't say who he meant but this time, she knew it.

"Oh well, it's just a coincidence," Dawn exclaimed after a short moment of silence, laughing nervously. Neither of them were superstitious, but the timing seemed just too perfect. "I'm going to open the door."

Ash didn't protest. However, he gave his pokémon a signal to follow him and fight in case something happened. Dawn slowly opened the door, revealing a young woman of medium height with long, blonde hair. She was wearing a red skirt, black shirt and long, black stockings. Her eyes were blue, a bit lighter than Dawn's, and a red hat with sunglasses was resting on her head.

"Aaaash! Daaawn! Long time no see!" she shouted.

"Serena!" both Ash and Dawn exclaimed.

"Pikaaa!" Pikachu was obviously happy to see their friend and jumped on her shoulder, where he got some petting.

"Surprised to see me? You didn't seriously think I would miss one of my mentors' birthday?" the girl told them but Ash was still surprised.

"How did you know about that? I can't recall having told you," he said, scratching his chin.

"I did," Dawn clarified. "She asked me so I told her. She said that she wanted to travel through Kanto anyway and your birthday would be a good start."

"I see. Come in, come in. We can't just let you stand in front of the door, even if the weather is so nice." The other pokémon also cheered when she entered.

Serena was one of the two young trainers traveling through Kalos with Ash and Dawn and some kind of childhood friend of Ash. Her straightforwardness and honesty reminded the others a bit of Zoey, but she was more naive and less experienced. She was also more prone to sudden outburst but those were still rare. She enjoyed shopping, especially when it was about fashion, and dancing, but her greatest passion was singing. There was no doubt to them that her voice was one of the greatest in the world, and she put it to use whenever she could.

Memories of her first journey were still vivid. At first she wasn't sure whether to become a regular trainer or a coordinator so she asked her friends but they couldn't really help her. In the end, she decided to do both. Having two experienced tutors, she became powerful quite quickly. And even though she still lost badly to Ash at the league, it was a wonderful journey. She wasn't the only one to benefit from traveling together. After the disaster in Hoenn, Ash was glad to find someone who valued his experience.

The other one was called Calem. Unlike Serena, he usually kept to himself. Since he wanted to become a champion, he tried to learn as much as he could from Ash. Eventually, he fell in love with Serena but she didn't return his feelings. So he left them shortly before the league to find his own way and to forget about her. They haven't seen or heard from him since.

"I'm very hungry. Could You give me something to eat?" Serena asked upon sitting down in the kitchen.

"I'm afraid I only made breakfast for two but Ash will share his food." The way Dawn said that made it clear that he had no choice.

With a groan he fetched another plate and put part of his meal on it before offering it to his friend.

"Thank you, Dawn," Serena replied with a wink, happily accepting her meal. While eating, she had a good look at the kitchen and everything else she could see from her seat. "You have a very nice house. I wish I had my own apartment at last, but mom says I'm still too young."

"It'll happen sooner than you think," Ash mumbled, still disgruntled about his breakfast. "Besides, this house isn't even that big. I think the garden is much more interesting."

"A garden?" She got up, almost knocking her chair aside. "With berries and wild pokémon and all that stuff? You have to show me!"

"We'll show you, no need to worry. Don't get your hopes up too much, though," Dawn replied, laughing.

"If it's anything like the Oak ranch, it'll be good enough. I saw some of your pokémon, Ash. Most of them were really nice to me. Most of them." Ash could already guess who wasn't. "Your bisharp mostly ignored me and your hydreigon just snarled."

"I'm not surprised," Ash said before Dawn could protest. "Bisharp is a proud pokémon, who won't talk to you until you have proved yourself. And as for Hydreigon ... she's Dawn's pokémon, not mine."

"What? But isn't it too aggressive and brutal for a contest pokémon?" Serena asked. "I mean, the things my pokédex said ..."

"Actually, she really likes contests, just not the people watching them," Dawn clarified.

"And is she always that rude?" Dawn was about to answer when Ash interrupted her.

"Oh, you should see her when she's alone with Dawn. Like a puppy," he said with a chuckle.

"Better don't let her hear that. But I guess I am the only one she really loves being around. She has come to like Ash, our pokémon, family and friends, especially Iris. She's intimidating but also very loyal and devoted." Ash chuckled again.

"Meaning that anyone making sudden movements in her presence will die a horrible death," he joked.

"Don't listen to him. They might have to stay in hospital for a few months but they will live." Now Serena wasn't sure whether Dawn was kidding or not. "But that makes me wonder, haven't you seen last year's Wallace Cup? She was one of my pokémon in the final battle."

"Well ..." Serena looked at the ground. "I must admit I haven't seen it. I heard that you've won it but no details. You see, I was rather ... preoccupied with ... certain affairs. I don't really like talking about those so please don't ask." Since she was red in the face and clearly embarrassed, they decided to drop the topic.

"No problem. Maybe you should have a look at a few videos. It was easily one of her best battles," Ash told her.

"Hey, don't get her expectations up too much," Dawn protested.

They remembered how they'd caught those two pokémon. It had been during Team Rocket's operation in Unova.

* * *

Flashback

"There it is," Iris said, pointing at a camp at the brink of the forest near Striaton City. "A lot of Team Rocket grunts have visited it lately."

Ash, Dawn, Iris and Cilan believed that it had something to do with the increased activities of said team but they were wrong. It was simply a poacher's camp, a large one, but still merely a poacher's camp. However, that didn't make it any better and they were going to act nonetheless. Others might say they were being reckless but they didn't care. In their opinion, it was a crime not to do anything, especially after seeing all those poor pokémon suffering in their cages.

A plan was made. Dawn's crobat would start the battle with his individual move, scream of terror. It was one of the very first (working) individual moves and even though some people claimed that it was simply an improved supersonic move, it remained Crobat's specialty. The horribly loud and shrill noise had a chance of confusing anyone hearing it. In addition, they would be rendered deaf for a short time, making communication between trainer and pokémon difficult so they told their pokémon what to do beforehand. The poachers, on the other hand, weren't prepared at all.

The attack went just as expected. In the chaos, they managed to disarm the guards and defeat their pokémon with ease. Unfortunately, they didn't consider the fact that the scream would also frighten the captive pokémon. Several of them tried to escape but only few succeeded. A deino, whose cage door was destroyed by a pokémon attack, and a birsharp, who managed to break free on its own, were among them.

"I'll find the deino and bring it back!" Dawn told the others. It was too dangerous for the pokémon to just run away. Iris had already gone to catch an axew and Cilan was busy with a ferrothorn.

"Wait! Let me go ..." He got distracted by the rampaging bisharp and when he looked back Dawn was already gone. "Reckless girl! Where did she go? I have to take care of that bisharp first. Charizard, I choose you!"

The fire type released a mighty roar, which immediately turned Bisharp's attention towards him.

"Listen. I don't want to fight you. But if ..." Before he could even finish, Bisharp charged right at his pokémon. "Fine! Let's do this."

Despite fighting bravely, the steel type didn't really stand a chance against Charizard. Even when he was already lying in the dirt, he was still trying to stop Ash but couldn't get up.

"Shaaarp ..." he cried all the time.

"What the hell was that about?" Ash asked. "Solosis, please translate for me."

The psychic type was reluctant at first, probably because it was a bisharp, who beat him up before he met Ash. Nevertheless, he told him what the steel type was trying to say.

"He begs you to spare the pawniard and take him instead." Ash looked at the cages behind his opponent. They were full of frightened pawniard.

"So he was just protecting them. But still, he was a danger to every pokémon here." He turned to Bisharp. "We aren't here to take anyone. We Just want to free the pokémon from the poachers. All we ask is that you stay here until the police have arrested them."

Of course, Bisharp wasn't sure whether to trust him. However, he didn't really have a choice. When the things Ash said turned out to be true, he decided to join him as a thanks for the help and because he was impressed by Ash's skill.

Meanwhile, Dawn was having a hard time finding the escaped deino. Suddenly, she jumped out of a bush, tackled her and bit the coordinator's arm. She winced in pain but didn't fight back. After all, this poor creature was confused and lost. It was shivering. Besides, in her haste, she had forgotten to take a pokémon with her so there was nothing she could do. Except to talk.

"I'm sure you are afraid, tired and hurt. I can only imagine what you gone through, what those bastards have done to you." Deino loosened her bite. Obviously, the effect of the scream had worn off. "But you must understand, I'm not your enemy. I want to help you. We want to help you. Please don't be afraid."

Deino let go of her, giving her a slightly puzzled look.

"I guess you have only met those bad people. But not everyone is like that. We care about pokémon. You will be free, don't worry about that," Dawn assured her.

She didn't know why but it seemed her voice had a very soothing effect on the dragon type. It almost stumbled and at first, the coordinator was afraid that Deino might be hurt but she just put her head on Dawn's lap before soft snoring sounds could be heard. Instinctively, she used her uninjured hand to pet her.

"Get some rest. Nobody will hurt you now," she whispered.

Dawn thought about carrying the pokémon back to the others but soon realized that with her injured arm, it was impossible. It was quite a dilemma. She couldn't just leave Deino or she might never trust another human again but on the other hand, the bleeding was getting worse. Fortunately, Ash found her a few minutes later. When he tried to help her, Deino woke up and attempted to attack him but was convinced to stop by Dawn. Together, they returned to the ruined camp, where the police was busy arresting the poachers. Pokémon stolen from trainers were returned to those whereas wild pokémon were free to go wherever they wanted. Deino didn't want to leave Dawn, though. She kept following her until Dawn held out an empty pokéball. Without a second thought, she got herself captured.

End of flashback

* * *

Even now, she wasn't sure why Deino started to trust her. Maybe the reason he started to trust her blindly was her soothing voice, which was the first thing she heard after the shock of experiencing the scream of terror. It didn't matter to her. She had a new friend. After the final evolution, everyone was afraid that Hydreigon would forget about everything, that she would be become uncontrollable. Fortunately that wasn't the case, only strangers felt that she was even more aggressive and distrustful.

"I wish I could ..." A sudden ring at the door interrupted her. "Oh, who could that be?"

She followed them to the door. Opening it revealed a young man with short, brown hair and green eyes. It was the same guy who was there the day before. There was a brief look of relief on his face, which was replaced by something more grim almost instantly.

"It's about time!" he shouted. "I challenge you to a pokémon battle!"

"Oh, not this again." Ash groaned. "Can't I finish my breakfast first? It's not like there will be any surprises this time."

"It will be different today." He sounded impatient. "Now, do you accept or do you want to chicken out?"

"Look, Marcus. I have a lot to do so can't we do this tomorrow?" Ash asked.

"No, I ..." Marcus noticed someone he didn't know standing behind Ash. "And who is this?"

"I'm Serena from Kalos," she took his hand and shook it. "I'm one of his friends. And you are?"

"Call me Marcus." He turned back to Ash. "Now what about the challenge?"

"Please accept, Ash. I haven't seen you battling for a long time." Serena told him with her best puppy eyes.

"I don't have time for this." Ash wanted to turn around but Serena got in his way .

"Please?" she begged.

Marcus wanted to tell Serena to mind her own business but he couldn't. After all, she was just a child who craved for a good battle and she did help him so he gave her a nod as a silent thank you instead.

"Fine!" Ash yielded. "We can have a battle in our garden. There is a small field there. Just follow me."

The only one not following him was Dawn, who stayed in the kitchen. Serena, upon seeing this, asked her why she didn't want to watch them.

"Oh, I do want to watch them but I have to make some coffee for all of us. Otherwise, Ash will be grumpy the whole day," she added, laughing.

"Alright, see you soon." Then Serena went to join Ash and his challenger.

When she arrived at the garden, Ash and Marcus were already standing at the opposite corners of the field, pokéballs in their hands. The weather had only gotten better so it was a perfect day for a battle. Only sun blinding the pokémon on Ash's side was an issue but he didn't seem to mind at all.

"A three on three battle enough for you?" Ash asked. Since Serena didn't know how strong Marcus was, she wasn't sure whether Ash sounded arrogant or just confident.

"Good enough for me." Marcus waited for Ash to call out his first pokémon.

"Alright. Noctowl, I choose you!" Ash felt that the flying type could use some real action.

"Oh, look at the color. It's so pretty!" Serena exclaimed.

"Very unusual. Let's see whether it's also unusually strong. Go, Ampharos!" As expected, he used a pokémon with a type advantage. He had to, as this particular pokémon was new to him. "Start with thunderbolt!"

"Dodge it and counter with night field!" Noctowl had no trouble evading the simple move before creating a large field of dark mist, which made watching the battle almost impossible, much to Serena's disappointment. "Echoed voice!"

Not only did the sound waves seem to come from everywhere but they also became stronger all the time. In addition to the dark mist making its eyes useless, the stench almost made it vomit and it couldn't hear where the attacks were coming from.

"Clear it! Use flash!" His voice seemed distant but the electric type heard him and its tail started to glow but the light was absorbed by the darkness almost instantly. "Damn it! Discharge!"

Most of the electricity missed but Ash was a bit afraid that the rest might paralyze his pokémon. Fortunately, this wasn't the case.

"It appears we're not loud enough yet. Use hyper voice!" A powerful, echoing shriek could be heard from within the darkness.

Now Ampharos wasn't able to hear its trainers commands anymore so it started to flail around with thunder punch. The battle continued like that with Noctowl taking almost no damage at all while Ampharos was getting down quickly. Finally, the noise subsided and the mist was cleared by a whirlwind, revealing Ampharos to be unconscious already. Ash's pokémon, on the other hand, was barely injured.

"What the hell was that? And why wasn't your pokémon affected?" Marcus asked in frustration.

"Night field is a move I created myself. Due to his eyes, Noctowl can see just as well whereas other pokémon often have real trouble. Most of our pokémon have moves made specifically for them," Ash told him proudly.

"Amazing, isn't he?" Dawn was suddenly behind Serena, holding four cups of coffee. "Those moves are among our greatest creations. This particular one was to simulate a night battle, in which Noctowl is superior due to his keen senses,"

"I can see that," she replied, taking one of the offered cups. "He has become so much stronger."

"Oh yes. I'm always telling him that he's ready to face Lance but he insists on waiting for me to be ready for Wallace. I don't know why and I don't even know whether I will ever truly feel ready for that," Dawn told her. "But enough of this, you came here to watch this battle, after all."

" Ampharos, return! Staraptor, go!" Marcus hoped that he could use whirlwind just like Noctowl did to get rid of the night field if necessary. "Use quick attack!"

"Wait for it." Noctowl let his opponent hit him. "Now hypnosis!"

From that distance, he couldn't miss and the result was Staraptor falling to the ground. Marcus cursed himself for falling for that simple trap.

"Use dream eater! Then air slash!" The trainer had to watch his pokémon getting hit by several attacks, including a few energy blades until it finally woke up again. However, it had taken so much damage that the battle was basically over.

"Right above you! Endeavor!" It shot right up, hitting Noctowl just as he was about to finish it off.

"Not bad," Ash admitted as his pokémon was hit for massive damage.

"Finish it with quick attack!" Marcus commanded.

"Dodge it and use psychic!" Ash's pokémon dodged the attack just in time. Then his eyes glowed blue and Staraptor was smashed into the ground.

"That was weak. Return!" Its trainer growled.

"It did its best. No need to scowl it," Ash told him with a grim look. "Good job, Noctowl. Take a rest now. Marcus, do you really want to finish this battle? I ..."

"Of course I do!" he retorted.

"Fine. Gallade, I choose you!" The fighting stood proudly. Nearly all of his friends in this team had gotten a battle but now it was his turn.

"Oh great." Marcus had no pokémon with a type advantage left. "Tangrowth, it's your turn! Start with vine whip!"

Two large tentacles emerged from the mass and shot towards the fighting type.

"Counter with psycho cut!" He shot two energy blades from his arms, cutting the tentacles and hitting Tangrowth's body. Apart from cutting a few more tentacles, they didn't do much damage, though. "Very well, we have to try something a bit more effective. Use ice punch!"

He teleported right in front of the grass type before hitting it twice with his icy arms. However, more tentacles came from its body, wrapping themselves around his arms, basically entrapping him. No matter how much he pulled, they were too strong.

"Very good! Now use sleep powder and giga drain!" Gallade was hit by the powder right in the face, putting him to sleep instantly. Then the tentacles around his arms glowed green and started to drain energy from him. "Keep it up!" But suddenly, he woke up.

"Get out of there with teleport!" Gallade vanished with a bright flash only to reappear next to Ash.

Thanks to a special training, Ash's pokémon were slightly resistant to status effects like sleep and poison, waking up earlier and taking less damage. It took years but in the end, he felt it was worth it. Dawn had other priorities, her specialty was controlling the opponent and their moves.

"Use vine whip, full power!" Dozens of tentacles were coming towards Gallade.

"Whirling defense!" He extended his purple glowing arms while spinning rapidly, cutting every tentacle coming close enough. "Alright, let's get really serious now. Use ice punch on psycho cut!"

He created several energy blades, which were held in the air by psychic. before using ice punch on them, both turning them blue and shooting them towards his opponent with tremendous force. Upon impact, there were massive, icy explosions but Gallade wasn't done yet.

"Now ice punch assault!" The explosions pushed the grass type back, where Gallade teleported to follow up with another ice punch from behind. "Now finish it with another combo!"

"Attack it with power whip!" Marcus shouted desperately.

Two even larger tentacles tried to tie Gallade up but he teleported next to Ash before it could happen. Then he held his left arm, which now glowed purple, vertically in front of him. His right arm started glow blue and her started slapping the other one with it, releasing blue energy blades with each hit. They started flying around Tangrowth, who tried to block them with protect but as soon as the shield dissolved, the blades hit it at the same time, knocking it out.

"Well done. Take a good, long rest now," Ash said, recalling him.

"Damn it. Return!" Marcus felt more frustration than anger. "Why? Why can't I win against you or the Elite Four? I've been training so hard but I stand no chance."

"You always make the same mistakes. Use more combinations. So far you've only used simple attacks. The strength of your pokémon is clearly on Elite Four level but they seem a bit tired and frightened. I think you may have pushed them a bit too hard," Ash explained.

"I didn't ask you for your advice!" Marcus yelled.

"See, you don't even listen to me after this battle," he pointed out. "You have to learn or face the consequences."

Marcus's resistance to good advices and his poor treatment of his pokémon made Ash angry and frustrated, he wasn't unlike the old Paul in that regard. The difference was that Ash was superior in every way, which almost made it worse since he meant well and just couldn't understand why someone like that wouldn't listen to him.

"He's right. Please calm down," Dawn said, offering him a cup.

"I don't want your advice or your coffee!" He slapped her hand, spilling the coffee.

"MARCUS! You will apologize immediately!" He froze as he knew that voice all too well.

"Sis? When did you arrive?" he asked.

"Dawn opened the door for me while she was making coffee," she replied. "Now apologize!"

Serena had a closer look at the new face. It was a young woman, probably around 20 years old, with light green eyes and brown hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a white shirt, black socks and a black skirt, which went to her knees. A younger girl with long, silver hair and purple eyes, perhaps around fourteen years old, was behind her, looking upset.

"And if I don't?" She answered immediately by slapping him. "Hey, not in front of ..."

"What did I just say?" she asked.

"I won't ..." He got slapped again. "Alright, I'm sorry." He picked up the cup and handed it to Dawn. "I won't bother you any longer." Without another word he turned to leave and Serena followed him.

"Hey, no need to be so grumpy. Ash is really powerful. You handled yourself quite well," she told him once they were far enough away.

"You don't understand. I've been training for years to challenge the Elite Four but I haven't been able to defeat even one of them." He sighed. "Only four league victories. I also won at the battle frontiers in Kanto and Johto but those don't count. They were laughably weak. Without their legendary pokémon they would be nothing."

"Come on, you can't say that isn't impressive," she said to him. "Many people don't get that far. Hell, I would be happy to have one league victory. Somehow, I always mess up or get extremely powerful opponents. You have four and I'm not that much younger than you."

"Yeah, yeah but I want more than that. I have to become a champion. A true champion," he explained.

"Why? Why do you have to?" she asked.

"I owe it to my father. He has been my motivation to get this far. If only he were still alive ..." He shook his head.

Actually, Marcus had no idea why he was telling her this. Maybe it was because she was the first one to be impressed by his accomplishments so far, including his father.

"Well, bye," he simply said.

"Okay. See you. " Serena was curious but even she was sensitive enough not to ask about his father.

Still lost in thoughts about that battle, she returned to Ash and Dawn. Marcus's sister greeted her.

"I'm sorry you had to see this. Marcus can be a real brat sometimes." She stepped aside so that the younger girl was in plain sight. "This is my younger sister Eileen. I'm Catelyn Tanner, but just call me Cat. Everyone does. Pleased to meet you," she introduced herself.

"Hello." Eileen offered a bright smile, but she didn't sound really enthusiastic.

"My name is Serena. Pleased to meet you too. That name sounds familiar." Everyone was quiet all of sudden, which only made her more curious. "Is something wrong?"

"It's alright, we're used to it. You have heard of the Sorlan Massacre?" Cat asked with a sad smile.

"Yes, now I remember," she blurted out. "That traitorous guard's name was also ... oh."

"Yes, he was our father." Serena was quite embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," she stammered.

"It's alright. As I said, I'm used to it. Just don't mention it in front of Marcus. He gets upset easily," Cat told her.

"Now I understand. He said he wanted to make his father proud."At this moment, Serena was really glad that she hadn't inquired any further.

"He's a fool." She looked up, a bit shocked by those words. "Our father failed as a trainer and got the idea that his son might do it for him. I don't know why Marcus looked up to him like that. He wasn't a good father. Was too busy for his family. I took care of his son for him. But of course, his death made things even worse. I don't know whether he really was a traitor. Marcus doesn't think so. Anyway, other people started to blame him as well so please forgive him if he acts a bit grumpy. It's a really bad situation for him."

"I see." Obviously, Ash and Dawn already knew about that.

"Of course he was already quite grumpy before. He has been trying to defeat the Elite Four for months now but he's failed miserably every time so far. I think he simply lacks talent. But there's nothing I can do about it. He doesn't respect me. Sometimes he's so rude that I have to slap him until he sees reason." Serena chuckled, remembering the scene a few minutes ago. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you with this."

"It's no problem. At least now I can kind of understand him," the blonde answered.

"I wish I could." Cat sighed. "I'll try to make him stop bothering you, Ash."

"The battles aren't the problem, just his attitude. And sometimes he really chooses an odd time." Ash wondered how those two could be related.

"Don't be so hard on him and dad, Cat," Eileen suddenly said. "Hitting him won't improve anything. He just does what he thinks is best."

"Which it obviously isn't. You don't have to protect him." She sighed. "Alright, I better get moving now. There are still so many things to do. Bye, everyone." It was then that they realized how tired she looked.

Ash and Dawn knew that she worked as a nurse in Saffron City. It was a hard job with low pay but she needed the money for the family as she was the only one actually earning money since her father's death. Their mother had died of cancer when Marcus was still a small child. Even in Cat's free time, she was busy taking care of a spoiled brat who didn't show any gratitude. At least Eileen behaved, and helped whenever she could, trying to please everyone. Without her efforts to keep the family together, it might have broken a long time ago.

Together with Serena, Ash and Dawn finished their meal before starting to talk about their plans for the day. Ash wanted to create his appeal for the Wallace as he tried to do the day before. Dawn still wanted to get him a proper present but of course, she pretended that she wanted to train and even invited Serena to join her. However, once again, before they could do something else, the door bell rang.

"What the hell is wrong today?" Ash groaned.

When they opened the door, a tall man in a black suit bowed deeply. In front of their house, a rather large and expensive car was standing.

"It is an honor to meet you. I bring you a letter from Nathan Sorlan, the president of Sorlan Corporations." He handed them the letter, which Ash opened.

 _Dear Ash and Dawn,_

 _I am a great fan of both of you so I've been hoping to meet you in person for a while now. And I believe your victory over Team Rocket is good reason to meet you and thank you for everything you have done (you don't need to deny it, I have friends at the international police who told me about your accomplishment). Because of those, we were able to recover many stolen things from Team Rocket._

 _I understand you are busy preparing for the upcoming battles so I won't take too much of your time. Since, as you may have heard, there has been quite a tragedy lately, it would mean a lot to me (and also to my pokémon)._

 _A special present is waiting for you at our company buildings in Viridian City. The man who brought you this letter can drive you there if you wish (the seats in the car are really comfortable, you should try it). I hope to see you in a few hours._

 _Yours,_

 _Nathan Sorlan_

"Well, that was a lot less formal than I expected," Ash finally said. "What do you think?"

"If it really means so much to him, we should do it. You do remember that tragedy he spoke about don't you?" Dawn didn't even need to ask.

"Of course. We spoke about it when Cat was here." Ash put the letter back into the envelope.

Sorlan Corporations were specialized in pokémon medicine, venoms and, recently, pokéballs. With the help of a traitorous guard, who was believed to be Marcus's father, Shira's organization found a way into their headquarters during an important conference. They not only stole a lot of materials but also butchered every single man and woman attending the meeting, including Nathan's father. Nathan himself was late for the meeting due to technical problems with a plane. When he arrived, he could only watch as the lifeless bodies of his father and nearly every high ranking member were taken to the morgue. The traitor got his reward as he was betrayed by the criminals and shot along with the others. As a result, Nathan became the president and immediately increased the security.

"Alright, let's do it. Shall we drive or teleport there?" Ash finally asked.

"Teleport. It's much faster. Besides, I don't like getting into a stranger's car." Then she remembered something. "But we should ask where it is. After all, we only know that it's in Viridian City."

"You're right." He turned to the man who brought the letter. "We'd like to teleport there. Can you tell us where to find those company buildings?"

"Of course, it is your decision. The buildings are in the east of the city, near the gym. You will recognize them immediately as the main building is the largest one in the entire city. There is a large ekans, formed like an S on it," he explained.

"Oh, it's a shame I can't go with you," Serena suddenly said. "Your rewards will probably be amazing." She decided to ask them later what those accomplishments were.

"Well, you can feel at home here or you can visit the Oak lab. There you can also meet nearly all of our pokémon. It would probably take you a while to get to know all of them." She just squealed, already looking forward to it.

"I can't wait. You two also have fun. Bye!" Before they could answer, she was already gone.

"She really should meet Barry and Bianca. I think they would be good friends," Dawn said, laughing.

"She probably will if they accept our invitation. Let's go now. Thank you for the information," he told the messenger.

"It was my pleasure." He bowed once more before getting into the car and driving away.

"Gallade!" Ash called out the psychic type. "Please take us to the Viridian City gym."

In an instant, they were already next to the gym but there was also a new building nearby. Just as the messenger had told them, there was a S, which was actually an ekans. It was a symbol for both its powerful venoms and the useful medicine made from it.

"Thank you, you can rest again." Ash recalled his pokémon.

Then they went to the entrance of the building. The doors opened automatically, revealing a futuristic entrance hall. Soon they would meet .


	8. A new Ally

**Disclaimer: I don't own POkémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 8: A new Ally

Ash and Dawn were still looking at the entrance hall in awe when a friendly woman approached them. Judging from her formal outfit, there was no doubt that she was working here.

"Welcome to Sorlan Corporations," she greeted them. "The president is already waiting for you. Please follow me."

"Of course!" Ash replied.

The rest of the building looked just as modern as the entrance hall but Ash and Dawn also noticed a large amount of security checks, which wasn't surprising, considering the history of the company. Fortunately, their guide took care of those so they didn't have to do anything and could have a good look at the rooms. After about 15 minutes, they finally arrived at the door leading to the president's office.

"Here we are. Please wait for a moment." She entered the room and returned a few seconds later. "The president is ready to meet you."

"Thank you." When they entered the office, the door closed behind them.

The office itself was like the complete opposite of Max Wright's office. It was full of beautiful pieces of art and comfortable, modern furniture. Since the office was at the top of the building, there was a great view. Many plants and the brightness of the room made it look very welcoming. The president was already walking towards them, a big smile on his face.

"Welcome! I am so glad you are here. Ash, the future champion of Kanto and maybe even more, also known as Dragon among the coordinators. Your strength is an inspiration to me and my pokémon." He held his hand towards Ash, who shook it. "You will challenge the Elite Four again soon? I'm looking forward to it, especially after the last time. You know, most challengers just choose a team full of pokémon with type advantages but you have shown that a balanced team can do the job. You even used pokémon most people wouldn't have even considered and triumphed, at least until you met Karen but it was still close. Oh, I'm being impolite." Then he turned to Dawn but instead of shaking her hand, he kissed it softly. "And there is Dawn, top coordinator, Sapphire Phoenix and Light of Sinnoh."

"Oh, I've never heard that last one before," Dawn told him, both confused and a bit embarrassed.

"Probably because I just made that one up," Nathan admitted. "But it fits you well. Will you enter this year's Wallace Double Cup?" he asked expectantly.

"I'm afraid not," she replied to his disappointment. "This time, someone else has to win it."

"It's a shame. I really enjoyed the last one, especially the final battle. You probably surprised everyone with your choice." It had been Hydreigon's first and most important battle.

* * *

Flashback

"Welcome to the last battle of this year's Wallace Double Cup!" the MC announced. "The first finalist is -" The light on one of the sides went one, revealing Zoey in a stylized, red and white suit. "- Zoey, top coordinator from Sinnoh, also known as the Ruby Tiger. On the other side -" Dawn shown in a blue and black dress with a red collar and six black bow ties on her back, which looked a bit like wings. "- Dawn, also top coordinator from Sinnoh and known as the Sapphire Phoenix."

It wasn't Ash's favorite costume of hers but he still thought she looked gorgeous. It reminded him of one of her pokémon and since her dresses sometimes looked like the pokémon she would use, he could guess what would happen next even though she told him it was a surprise.

"Ready, Dawn? You will remember one of my pokémon but the other one will be a surprise for you," Zoey told her with a smirk.

"I could say the same. You will never expect this," Dawn replied.

"I can't wait. Now, curtain!" She threw her pokéball in the air.

Upon opening, a burning tornado was released, which emitted a strange song. A spinning pokémon emerged from the top before spreading its wings and removing the tornado with the wind. Dawn immediately recognized it as a volcarona. A humming altaria was revealed where the tornado was raging before.

"Not bad," Dawn admitted. "Now it's my turn."

At first a large cloud of black smoke appeared but then a pair of glowing eyes appeared inside, which was soon followed by another and another. In the end, six pairs of eyes were staring at the audience. Three of them left the cloud and turned out to be a scizor, showing off the pincers. He made a few moves before stopping in front of the cloud. An ear-shattering roar shook the contest hall and blew the smoke away, revealing Hydreigon. Although the entrance technically wasn't part of the battle and thus didn't affect the score, it had become kind of a tradition to make them as epic as possible and seals weren't enough nowadays although they also had become much more customizable with time. Even the most expensive seal wouldn't impress anyone without a lot of training. Some people like Ash disliked putting extra work in something that useless in battle. At least, he didn't have to do it very often. Others, like Dawn, enjoyed creating new ways of entering the battle but they usually would only show new ones at the Wallace Cup as it was difficult and time-consuming. Those entrances were also a way of making contest battles stand out compared to league battles. The appeals, on the other hand, had to be done without that show nowadays, often even without seals.

The people became nervous as they knew how dangerous that kind of pokémon could be. Even Zoey looked a bit uncomfortable. Ash was also worried as he still remembered the last time she used a completely new pokémon in a final battle. It resulted in her loss against Zoey at the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

"Are you sure she knows what she's doing?" May, who was sitting next to Ash, asked with a little panic in her voice.

"She must be crazy to use a hydreigon. Doesn't she know how dangerous they are?" Ash ignored Drew's remark. He knew that she was able to control the dark type, the problem was winning.

"Uhm, begin?" the MC shouted nervously.

"Let's turn this into a proper arena!" Zoey shouted. Her volcarona used a modified hurricane move to create a dome around the field, which was able to reflect almost every projectile. "Now sing and safeguard!" Altaria shot yellow glowing notes in every direction. They got reflected by the dome and were soon flying around the whole stage.

"Scizor, use swords dance. Hydreigon, dodge them!" Thanks to levitation, the dragon type had little trouble evading them and only had to use crunch on them from time to time. Scizor destroyed most of them with his spinning move but one of them came from above, the weak point of this move. It put him to sleep after a short struggle, thus leaving Hydreigon on her own for the moment. If Altaria managed to hit her as well, it would be devastating for Dawn so she decided to become a bit more aggressive. "Use dragon rush!" Hydreigon smashed Altaria towards the wall of the globe where it was reflected and greeted with a dragon tail by the waiting Hydreigon, who attempted to play ping pong with the pokémon as the ball.

"Use cotton guard! Volcarona, flamethrower on Scizor!" The next time Altaria moved towards its opponent, it was covered by a fluffy ball of cotton, which took most of the force.

"Save Scizor with dark pulse!" The right arm of Hydreigon shot a beam of black and purple circles at the flames, causing a large explosion before they could reach the bug type. However, he was still vulnerable so Dawn wanted Hydreigon to return to his side. "Fire blast on Altaria!" The move burned away the cotton and the force pushed Hyreigon back towards Scizor.

"Let's see whether you can block this. Fire blast on dragon pulse!" Altaria created a dragon pulse orb in front of Volcarona, who shot a fire blast right through it at Scizor. It turned the move into a bright, turquoise star but Hydreigon was ready.

"You know what to do. Dark pulse!" She shot a beam of rings, which got wider like a cone and as the star traveled through them, it got smaller and smaller until it was small enough for the dragon type to eat it with a simple crunch move. Zoey watched with a shocked expression as Dawn's pokémon completely absorbed the power of the move. "Now get rid of that dome!" Dawn and her pokémon knew the weak point as Espeon had a very similar move, albeit much smaller. The head shot a concentrated dark pulse at its highest point. The arms used dragon pulse and fire blast respectively to help with the destruction and they were successful. At first cracks showed and then the dome shattered with the slivers dissolving. "Amazing that this was created by a modified hurricane move," Dawn had to admit. She wasn't sure whether Hydreigon could have done it without the extra energy. Fortunately, Scizor was woken up by the noise.

"Alright, use the lava combination!" Altaria smashed the ground below with a dragon pulse and Volcarona used flamethrower on the cracks, which moved towards Dawn's pokémon with the flames following closely behind. Occasionally they erupted from the ground, creating searing fountains.

"Stop it with earth power!" Hydreigon diverted the flames by making the ground around herself break so it was like a ring of fire around them in the end.

"Fire blast!" The powerful move made the ground below Dawn's pokémon shake as if it was going to explode.

"Get them away!" Ash shouted.

"Scizor, absorb a dragon pulse. Then use bullet punch and locust's bite on Altaria. Get out of there!" His right pincer 'ate' a dragon pulse created by Hydreigon before he launched himself at Altaria, hitting it with the same pincer, dealing extra damage that way. The left one grabbed one of its wings and started to absorb its energy. Hydreigon flew up high enough to avoid the explosion beneath her, which left a smoking crater. "Use the lingering dark field combo!" A dark pulse used on another dragon pulse orb created a purple orb, which was smashed into the crater. Then Hydreigon used earth power to shield it with large stone spikes emerging from the edge. It caused black lightning to periodically shoot from the ground and hurt any pokémon on the field except for Hydreigon. Scizor had grown to be slightly resistant to it, otherwise Dawn wouldn't have ordered its use.

"Get rid of Scizor! Use sing! Volcarona, fiery dance!" However, before it could open its mouth, Scizor forced it shut with his right pincer, using locust's bite on it as well. He tried to drain even more energy, several fireballs made him flee, though. "Now the flame wave!" This time, Volcarona used fiery dance while spinning after Altaria flew just above it. They got surrounded by a flame tornado, which started to expand when Altaria used whirlwind.

"This doesn't look good at all." The wall of fire moved slowly but there was no doubt that a direct hit would be devastating. There was no way Hydreigon could absorb this so she had to rely on Scizor this time. "Use protect!" He went in front of his ally and activated the shield. Even with the shield up, they could feel the heat as the wall of fire passed them with agonizingly slow speed. Just when they thought that it was over, another turquoise star was shot at them but Scizor reacted quickly and reflected it with whirling defense. Unfortunately, Altaria and Volcarona dodged it and it looked like they were preparing for another combination. As soon as the wall of fire reached the edge of the battle field, it dissolved. "Wow, that was close."

"Those two sure are showing off their new pokémon. I guess I was wrong about Hydreigon," Drew admitted, slightly impressed by their performance and that was saying a lot.

"Not bad." The last combination reduced Dawn's points quite a bit so now Zoey was ahead of her again. However, that could change any moment, so she decided to use her most powerful move to ensure her victory. "Use infernal arena!" Altaria flew up high so it wouldn't get caught in the following move. It was like the first hurricane dome with the fire type at the center but with two big differences. Firstly, the dome was on fire and anything touching the walls would take a lot of damage, and secondly, it got smaller. Soon there wouldn't be enough space left to navigate properly.

 _I should have expected something like that from Zoey_ , Dawn thought. _I've never seen something like this. We have to defeat Volcarona before the dome closes completely. Don't be too confident, I have yet to reveal one of my most powerful weapons._

"Hydreigon, use the black star combination! Scizor, absorb a dark pulse and protect her!" The head used draco meteor, which was infused with dark energy by the left arm. It didn't explode, though, but stayed in the air, as if it was waiting for something. Meanwhile, the right arm shot another dark pulse at Scizor's right pincer. They were attacked by ice beams , which passed the dome from the outside without a problem, but Scizor was able to either endure or absorb those. Apparently, Volcarona was too drained to use any significant offensive move at this very moment.

"Whatever you're trying to do, it won't work. Keep attacking, Altaria. Volcarona, use fire spin." After a short pause, it spread its wings and created several fiery vortexes around itself as a kind of protection.

"Get ready!" Hydreigon's head created another dragon pulse, which the arms ate to power up their next move. "Now!" Scizor launched himself at Volcarona who countered with flamethrower but the bug-type avoided it with the spin move.

 _Even now that spin is invaluable,_ Ash thought, grinning.

"Attack!" Then everything went very fast. Scizor used feint with his left pincer to break the shield, which was about to form before hitting the fire type with the charged, right pincer. Apparently, this activated the draco meteor as countless black orbs shot right at Volcarona and to ensure that they would hit, Scizor grabbed one of its wings with locust's bite to drag it down. At the same time, the two arms of Hydreigon shot a white lightning at Zoey's pokémon, which turned grey upon impact. The head countered an incoming ice beam with flamethrower. The sun pokémon flapped its wings desperately, but its own fire vortexes helped Scizor, as they were were pulling Scizor towards the ground, which helped him preventing it from flying away.

There was a massive explosion when the different moves hit it all at once, which was followed by a lot of smoke blocking the view. The fire dome simply disappeared seconds after the hit so, Dawn could truly hope that Volcarona was finished. When the smoke cleared, it was lying in a large crater, not moving at all with Scizor next to it. He was injured and exhausted, but still conscious. A few more seconds passed before the picture of Volcarona was removed from the display, indicating that it was knocked out and this took enough of Zoey's points for Dawn to take the lead. Only 30 seconds were left now.

"Holy shit," Drew exclaimed.

"Certainly didn't expect that. Are they trying to wreck the building?" May wondered.

Only Ash knew that the lightning move was Hydreigon's individual move, called chaos lightning. Its base power was pretty low but it was able to change its type according to the target's greatest weakness. In Volcarona's case, it was a rock type move and thus extremely effective. This ability made her able to hit every pokémon super-effectively but unless the opponent had a double weakness or couldn't be hit effectively otherwise, other moves were more effective. Ash's reuniclus had a similar move called chaos beam, which was slightly more powerful but also a bit slower.

"Impossible!" Zoey exclaimed. She wasn't going to give up, though, as Altraria had barely taken any damage from the last attack. "Return, Volcarona. Thank you. Altaria, use sing!"

Only 20 seconds were left.

"Whirling defense!" Dawn wasn't going to let Scizor sleep this time. It easily dispatched even the notes coming from above while doing dance-like moves, reducing Zoeys points in the process. Even though Hydreigon was exhausted, dodging was even easier this time as there was no dome to reflect the notes again.

She had to stay ahead for ten more seconds.

"Sky attack and dragon rush!" her target was Scizor as he was way more injured. The dark orb in the ground appeared to have been destroyed by the move, which was good as Dawn was afraid that it might finish Scizor off. It wasn't as effective as she had anticipated anyway. Altaria was surrounded by a crimson aura for a moment.

It was almost over.

"Hydreigon! Dragon rush!" Altaria shot down towards Scizor but was hit in midair and smashed into the ground.

Then the signal marked the end of the battle. Dawn had more points left, mostly due to the knockout.

"The winner of this incredible contest battle is Dawn! Congratulations!" the MC shouted at the audience, which erupted into cheers.

"We've done it." Dawn sank to her knees, slightly shivering.

Scizor was the first to reach her and gave her a tight hug, which she returned. Hydreigon, on the other hand, preferred to keep her distance as she wasn't fond of showing affection in public but Dawn could sense that she was just as happy.

"Thank you. Both of you were amazing. Incredible. I'm so proud of you. I ... I don't know what to say anymore." She got up and hugged Hydreigon anyway. "I'm so lucky to have partners like you."

She looked at Ash, who cheering as loud as he could and gave him a thumbs up. He helped her with the preparations and never stopped believing in her. There was no doubt that he deserved a big reward.

Then noticed Zoey, who was trying to console Altaria. Slowly, she approached the defeated rival. Despite the great victory, Dawn felt bad for her. It was the second time Zoey made it to the finale but she lost again, the last time it was against Robert.

"Congratulations," Zoey told her with a pained expression. "You deserve it. That was probably the best battle I've ever had." One could hear the disappointment and pain in her voice, it gave the victory a slightly bitter taste. After all, she was one Dawn's best friends and almost like a mentor, who helped her during the start of her journey. "Hey, no need to worry, right? This your day. Enjoy it as much as you can."

"Thank you, Zoey. You and your pokémon were incredible and I had to use everything I had to make this possible. You definitely would have deserved to win." Zoey just shook her head.

"Don't worry about me. I'll win eventually. Oh, and don't think for even one moment that you're better than me because of one battle," she added with a grin.

"It'll be my pleasure to prove it again when we meet next time." Dawn offered a hug.

"You mean you will try. I'm looking forward to it." Zoey accepted it.

"Please follow me. Your ribbon is waiting for you," the MC told her, interrupting the moment.

Dawn did as she was told. No one could ruin this day now.

End of Flashback

* * *

Double battles were something new in the Wallace Cup. Actually, there were two Wallace Cups right now since the number of participants was getting so high that the appeals round took way too long and they decided to split it. The original Wallace Cup with single battles remained as a contest for young, promising coordinators. Those who had entered at least two grand festivals or major leagues weren't allowed to enter so they wouldn't ruin it for the young coordinators. They had to enter the Wallace Double Cup instead, which was often also simply referred to as the Wallace Cup. Unlike the former, it had double battles and appeals and the winner got the Ocean Ribbon, which was pretty much like the Aqua Ribbon, except for the added prestige. It had come to become the highest trophy any coordinator could get and every year, the best of the best competed for it, hoping to become the most respected coordinator for a year. So far, Robert, Solidad and Dawn had won it, in this order.

There was another novelty, something referred to as the Opening. Two coordinators were chosen to battle each other for ten minutes as a kind of appetizer before the actual contest started. So far, Wallace had been one of them twice with the other ones having been his former rivals. Being chosen for it was an honor beyond comparison so Dawn really freaked out when she got the invitation. Since the choice was secret she didn't know who the other one was and she hoped that it would be Wallace himself. Of course, it also meant that she couldn't tell the others, no matter how much she wanted to see their faces. Since Ash had looked over her shoulder while she had been reading the letter, he was the only human to know but even if he hadn't, she doubted that she would have been able to keep it a secret from him.

"Something wrong?" Nathan's words interrupted her thoughts.

"No, I was just thinking about that battle," she replied, waving her hands.

"It was truly remarkable. A hydreigon. Nobody has ever dared use such a pokémon in a contest. Too violent. Impossible to control. But you showed them all. You won. Against one of the best coordinators in the world. You know. I like you two. You're not afraid of trying new things, something which often goes unappreciated. Please, take a seat. Would you like something to eat or drink?" They sat down but declined politely. "Now let me tell you again how much I am in your debt. Those materials are not only worth millions but you have also prevented Team Rocket from using them for their evil goals. The rest will be used to create potions and antidotes, so that also helps pokémon around the world. You can be proud."

"Wow, I didn't know our deeds had such an impact. We were glad to help," Ash told him.

"Absolutely," Dawn agreed.

"Glad to hear but you will still get a reward. Unlike Mr. Wright, I can be very generous. But first, there are other things to talk about. As much as I'd like to hear them from you, I won't ask you for details about the battle against Giovanni. Instead, I'll get straight to the point now. Would you like to battle?" He only earned confused looks from them. "I may not look like it but I really love training pokémon. Some people call me a pokémon collector but that's not very fitting. While it is true that I am very picky about my pokémon, I don't choose them because of their rarity or strength. I'm always looking for pokémon who fit my personality and then I try to train them to their full potential."

That was something Ash could respect. Collectors usually got the pokémon just to display them as a trophy so he was glad that Nathan seemed different. However, he already had a rather disappointing battle in the morning so he was still reluctant.

"I'm not sure. I really have a lot of things to do today," he answered.

"That's a shame. How about you, Dawn?" Nathan asked, turning to Ash's girlfriend.

"I thought you only meant Ash," she had to admit. "But alright, I accept your challenge."

"Very good." He took a pokéball and called out the pokémon inside. It turned out to be a hypno. "Take us to the battle hall."

It teleported them into a huge hall, which wasn't unlike the league's official battle fields.

"This a relatively new part of the building. In fact, it was build shortly after ... that tragic event. Let's not talk about it." He went to one side of the battle field. "I think a one-on-one battle will be enough. I choose Hypno as my pokémon."

"Gengar, spotlight!" For some reason, Nathan smirked. "You can make the first move."

"Use focus blast!" As expected, the attack went right through the ghost type.

Now Ash was glad he didn't accept. Someone who didn't even know that fighting type moves had no effect on a gengar, wouldn't have been a challenge.

"Use dark pulse!" Dawn commanded. With one hand, she shot a black ray of energy at Hypno and with the other, she shot at the ground, creating a wave of energy. That way, it was still hurt despite dodging the ray.

"Nightmare avatar!" Nathan shouted.

That caught Ash's attention. He had never heard of a move with that name.

A wave of black energy covered the whole room, putting Gengar to sleep when it hit her. Then Hypno spun its pendulum, causing black smoke to leave Gengar's body. At first Dawn was glad that it seemed to have woken her up but she became worried when the smoke started to take shape. It looked like a dark image of Hypno and even though she didn't know what it was for, it probably wasn't good.

"Now focus blast again!" Once more, the attack went through the ghost type but this time, a psychic move by the shadow hypno caused the blue orb to turn around, hitting Gangar in the back. "I knew it. It's Zoroark, isn't it? Miracle eye!"

"Not bad." Dawn often let Zoroark take the disguise of Gengar since it covered his weaknesses well. while also pretending to be weak to ineffective moves Maybe she was getting a bit too predictable. "Alright, you can show your true form."

He canceled the illusion, revealing himself as Zoroark.

"But why didn't the first focus blast work?" Nathan asked. "Is it one of its special moves?"

"Exactly. Let me demonstrate! Zoroark, use shadow diver!" He suddenly became partly transparent before 'diving' into the ground. A few seconds later, he jumped out of the ground right behind Hypno. "Night slash!" The attack was so sudden that it had no chance to dodge or block it. Then he used shadow diver once more to return to his original location.

This move could not only be used to move through most solid objects like a ghost but also to avoid physical attacks and even many other moves. However, in this state, Zoroark was extremely vulnerable to light based moves like signal beam, flash cannon or solar beam. Getting hit by a move like that while in that form would reduce his defense considerably. But of course, Nathan didn't know that.

It was also a very useful move outside of battle. Ash could still remember the day Zoroark perfected it.

* * *

Flashback

"Ash! Get out this instant!" Dawn yelled, knocking on the door to the upper bathroom.

"Why? Just use the other room," Ash shouted back.

"I need my good shampoo and it's in this one so either get out of there or at least give it to me!" she demanded.

"Why can't you just use another?" he asked.

"Because there is a contest today so I have to use the best," she replied.

"And why can't you just wait until I'm done? It's in a few hours, isn't it?" Slowly, she was getting annoyed by his questions.

"I can't. I'm sweaty and tired because of the training. Just give it to me!" She knocked again, a little harder.

 _Girls_ , Ash thought, rolling his eyes. _Why do they have to be so irrational sometimes._

"But I don't want to leave the shower just yet." Now she was really angry.

"Ash Ketchum, you will do it now or ..." she started.

"Or what?" he interrupted. "Try and make me."

 _Stupid, stubborn fool. He really makes me do this_. Dawn called out Zorark.

"I'm sorry but I have to ask you to take me into the bathroom with shadow diver." He gave her a worried look but she waved it away. "Don't worry. It worked the last time you did it, didn't it? I'm sure it won't be a problem."

By pure chance, they discovered that he could also put the move's effect on other pokémon by simply holding onto it when starting the move. However, he didn't know whether it would work with a human.

"Hurry," she told him.

 _If he gets out before I can get in, it will be a devastating defeat for me_ , she thought.

"Alright," her pokémon told her telepathically.

At first, it didn't feel special at all but as soon as she touched the wall, it was strange. She would have described it as like passing through water but that wouldn't have been entirely true. It felt more like she was made of water or maybe gas. Zoroark dragged her through the wall before she could get a better grasp of what happened. Without wasting another thought, she walked towards the shower, where Ash was looking at her wide-eyed.

"What's the matter? Didn't expect me to get in, did you?" she asked with a proud smile.

Then both he and Zorark started laughing uncontrollably. She was about to yell when she felt that something was different about her. Looking down revealed that she was completely naked as her clothes obviously didn't make it through the wall.

"Stop laughing!" she shouted but with her head being so awfully red, nobody could take her seriously.

"I guess the move doesn't work with objects," Zoroark told her between the laughter. "You should have seen your face."

"Ash!" She got close to him, very close. "Since I'm already like that, do you know what I really want to do now?" she asked in a voice so seductive, that he felt the blood in his body shifting very quickly.

"I think I do," he answered, already imagining it.

"Good." She grabbed one of his arms and flung him at Zoroark. "Because I want to take a damn shower. Leave the room now!"

The dark type dragged him through the wall before he could realize what had happened. It was so sudden, he didn't even get a good impression of the shadow diver.

"What the ...? Hey, my clothes are still inside," he shouted upon regaining his senses.

"Too bad. If you can't hand me one shampoo bottle I can't be bothered to give you your clothes," she answered.

He was about to reply when he was interrupted by Zoroark, who was rolling on the floor, roaring with laughter.

"This is pure gold," he told him. "Hard to believe I didn't plan it."

Ash knew that she wouldn't leave until she was done so he had to find a way to have his revenge. A short look at her new, which she had placed on the bed in advance , gave him an idea. He hid them in the house so she had to look for them for a long time. Of course, she did something to him in return and it went on like this for the rest of the day. Later in the evening, they laughed about it together but there was still one problem.

End of flashback

* * *

They made Zoroark promise not to tell anyone about it. So far, he has kept his promise.

Nathan seemed amazed by the move.

"Wonderful! But we also have a few tricks left. Use disable and focus blast!" A blue aura surrounded Zoroark for a second before his special move was blocked. Without it, he had no choice but to dodge the following attack. "Now psychic!" Hypno tried to turn the focus blast to hit Zoroark from behind again.

"Use night slash!" Instead of waiting for it and maybe having to dodge it countless times, he attacked as Hypno wasn't able to defend and control the blast at the same time. However, right in front of his opponents, he stopped, surrounded by another blue aura. Apparently, the shadow hypno was perfectly capable of its own powerful psychic moves. Even though he broke the psychic move trying to control him quickly, it wasn't fast enough to evade the focus blast, which made a critical hit.

"Very good! Now hypnosis!" The real hypno swung his pendulum, sending yellow symbols at its opponent.

"Counter with dark pulse!" The ray of dark energy both overpowered the hypnosis move before it could take effect and dealt a great deal of damage to Hypno. Apparently, it tried hypnosis again but this time, it released dozens of smaller symbols, which kept floating nearby. When they stopped and turned towards Zoroark, he knew what was about to happen. "Whirling defense!" He closed his eyes and started spinning in a dance-like way, sensing and destroying the symbols which were coming from everywhere. Since they were too small to be reflected, they got destroyed instead and even if he got hit, they wouldn't make him fall asleep but only stun him for a moment. It seemed that hypno thought that Zoroark was too busy with the hypnosis move that he wouldn't be able to defend against another focus blast. However, he reflected it as if it was nothing and now it was flying towards the psychic type with even greater speed. Only with a quick teleport, it was able evade its own attack. As soon as all the symbols were gone, he opened his eyes again and took a fighting stance. Now Dawn was wondering how much damage that nightmare avatar could take.

"Now night daze!" Not waiting for a counter attack, he slammed his fist into the ground, creating a crimson energy field, which rapidly expanded and dealt damage to his opponent. Upon touching it, the shadow hypno literally melted but not before shooting another focus blast at him.

"You should have gotten rid of that earlier," Ash pointed out, earning a glare from his girlfriend.

"I also know that now," she snapped back. "Finish it with night daze!"

"Use teleport and focus blast!" It teleported right behind the dark type and followed up with the attack almost as quickly as Gallade with his teleport assault, hitting Zoroark before he could release all of the energy into the night daze but it wasn't enough to stop him entirely.

For a few second, both pokémon struggled until Zoroark collapsed, making Nathan the winner of this battle.

"Wow, it looks like I heavily underestimated you," Dawn said, still a bit shocked. "Uhm, I don't mean that I only lost because of that, you're really powerful but ... I shouldn't have lost. Thank you, Zoroark. You did your best. It was my fault."

"Even with a type advantage you lost," Ash teased. "Mr. Sorlan, I changed my mind. If you still want to battle me, I will accept."


	9. The Family

**This chapter has a focus on smaller battles, but also introduces the rest of the teams. A few members might come as a surprise.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 9: The Family

Nathan smiled when Ash finally accepted his challenge. Convincing Ash by showing him his power was his plan and it was successful. After all, meeting Ash without battling him would have been a terrible waste to him.

"Great. Return for now, Hypno. that was a great battle. Charizard, time to battle!" Ash was impressed by the size of the pokémon, but it wasn't only the size. It also looked really powerful so Ash was sure not to underestimate it.

"Almost as big as mine." There was no doubt that it had to be Lucario this time although he was at a disadvantage. "Lucario, I choose you!" In the following battle he used the aura bond to communicate without the need for words.

"Start with flamethrower!" Nathan commanded. Even Ash had to acknowledge that the attack was quite impressive.

"Dodge it! Swords dance!" Lucario evaded the flames with a spinning move while powering up his own moves. "Now aura sphere and thunder punch!" With one hand he held the sphere and hit it with the other, shooting a charged aura sphere at Charizard.

"Aerial ace!" With one of its wings, it blocked the sphere but not without receiving a bit of damage by the electricity. Then it charged right at Lucario.

"Use force palm!" Lucario held his paws in front of him, creating a force field. For a few seconds, Charizard was struggling to break through. In order to prevent it, the fighting type blew up the force field, pushing both pokémon back.

"Fire blast!" Nathan commanded.

"Counter with stone edge!" Although Lucario was not a rock type, Ash knew that it would deal massive damage to Charizard as he had learned it the hard way. The rocks stopped the fire blast but were blocked when Charizard used steel wing to shield itself. "Now extremespeed!"

Lucario moved so fast that he was already on Charizard's back when it removed its wing shield.

"Use stone edge!" Ash told his pokémon.

"Get rid of it!" It flew right up. By increasing the power of the flame on its tail, it was able to use it like a torch. That way, it interrupted the stone edge move and caused the aura pokémon to fall off. "Seismic toss!" While still in the air, Lucario was grabbed by Charizard and, with a powerful swing, thrown towards the ground. "Finish it with flamethrower."

"Stone edge!" Ash was so excited now that he shouted it instead of using the aura bond. Before he was smashed into the ground, Lucario shot several sharp rocks at his opponent. Although they couldn't stop the fire and he got engulfed by the flames, they still got through, dealing massive damage. To Ash's shock, it was enough to activate blaze, but not to knock it out.

"Very good! Now flare blitz!" With a powerful roar, it shot down at Lucario, surrounded by a crimson aura.

There was no doubt that even if he dodged the attack, the shockwave would finish him so he had to use his most powerful technique.

"Aura bubble!" An aura sphere appeared between Lucario's paws. Then it expanded quickly, forming a protective shield around him. He had more than enough time as Charizard didn't attack until its attack was fully charged.

"Let's see how it likes the taste of piercing claw!" Charizard's right claw glowed purple and with one slash it shattered the shield before resuming the flare blitz. Its power was enough to knock out Lucario instantly but it also nearly caused Charizard to faint due to the recoil.

Ash didn't really know what to think. One the one hand, he knew that he wouldn't win easily but on the other hand, he didn't expect to actually lose.

"You did well, Lucario. Mr. Sorlan, you have my respect. That was a great battle," Ash said, offering his hand, which Nathan shook.

"It wasn't only me but also Charizard. He's amazing," he replied before recalling his pokémon. "Ah, I really enjoy those battles, no matter how short they are. It's always a nice change."

"By the way, what kind of move was that? It cut through the shield like it was nothing. I've never seen anything like it." Ash was intrigued by that move.

"Basically, it is a mixture of fire, dark and psychic elements. We made it to penetrate any defenses, As you could see, we were successful. The damage on the other hand is subpar at best," Nathan explained. "But that bubble wasn't bad either. It's probably invaluable in your position."

"What do you mean?" he asked, a bit surprised.

"You are a powerful trainer. Strong and smart. You are bound to attract the attention of other powerful persons, good or bad. A few may try to help you but others will try to take everything from you. That's the price you pay for your power. It is important to find allies and friends you can trust but even then, they won't be able to save you every time. In fact, those you love might be targeted to hurt you. Believe me, it has happened to my father more than once so be careful." That didn't sound very encouraging, and Ash certainly didn't want to hear that but he simply nodded.

"Well, we had a lot of fun but I really think it's time to go now." He looked at his girlfriend who gave him a nod.

"I understand. But first, I would like to give you a gift. Hypno, take us back!" Although it was still injured, it had no trouble taking them back to Nathan's office. "Thank you. Now to the good part ..." He took a small suitcase next to his desk and opened it, revealing two shiny, blue pokéballs. "As you may know, this company has started to produce its own pokéballs. At first, we made the usual crap like super balls and ultra balls. But we feel that the trainers deserve more than just pokéballs with increased chances of catching a pokémon, even if it's something like the infamous master ball. These -" He held up one of the blue pokéballs "- are our newest creations. We call them regeneration balls. They slowly heal any pokémon inside and only need to be charged every few days. The charging device is also inside the suitcase. Of course, there are legal issues so you can't use them in official tournaments, but I'm sure you will find them most useful. After all, they're like a mobile pokémon center. Those are prototypes but they're safe to use. I'll give you one each. Please don't forget to tell us if you like them. We're always happy about feedback."

"That sounds amazing," Dawn mumbled, accepting her gift. "Thank you very much."

"Yeah, those things look great," Ash agreed. "But there's still something I would like to ask you. You are a very powerful trainer. So why don't you compete in leagues? I think you even have the potential to become a champion."

"Do you know my father?" Nathan simply asked.

"Not really," he answered truthfully.

"He loved pokémon. More than humans. Especially more than his own family. He was also very strict. Maybe I would have become a pokémon trainer if I had been born into a different family. But since I was his only child my future as the president of his company was set." He didn't sound very happy. "So it became kind of a hobby. Now I really don't want to bother you any longer. Besides, it's not like I don't have work to do." It was clear that they had touched a weak spot and he didn't really want to talk any longer. "One of my employees will show you the way. Oh, and feel free to visit me anytime."

They shook hand one last time before they left his office again, where another woman was waiting for them. The way back down was just as uneventful as the way up. Gallade took them home but Serena was nowhere to be found. Apparently, she thought that the Oak lab was a better place to spend the time at. Since they wanted to change their teams anyway, they also decided to go there.

During the walk, Ash noticed that Dawn looked like something was bothering her.

"What's the matter?" he finally asked.

"What do you mean? I'm fine. No need to worry." The moment she said that, she knew that now he would be worried. "Don't say it. Alright, that defeat bugs me a bit."

"Really? Come on, it was just a bit of training." When she didn't react, he really got worried. "As I said, it wasn't an official battle. You probably underestimated him and had no idea what to do against that move. He, on the other side, knew your style very well as he said he was one of your fans. And most importantly -" He hugged her from the side. "- I lost as well. Feeling better now?"

"A little," she answered with a weak smile. "It just made me wonder whether I'm really ready for Wallace. Oh well, I'll have to analyze the battle."

"You'll be fine. Trust me. I'm also upset. I ... shouldn't have underestimated him after your defeat." Now they were already in front of the entrance to the lab. "Let's look for Serena first."

It was a bit difficult to find her as their pokémon were happy to see them and wanted attention. In the end, they found her leaning against Milotic. Piplup immediately waved at the water type, catching her eye and causing her to move towards him. Dawn smirked. She knew he hated it whenever his loved ones paid more attention to others than to him. Serena didn't seem to mind, though, since she was happy that her friends were back.

"Ash! Dawn! I had so much fun. I didn't know you had so many pokémon. And so pretty ones, too. I have waited for a long time to see the legendary pokémon. " As if it was called, a large blue bird-like pokémon landed next to Ash, where it received a pat on the head.

"Ah, Articuno. Good to see you." Serena stared in awe at the ice type.

"I just love the blue feathers. I also saw your latios but only for a moment. Tell me, Ash. How did you catch them?" she asked. "You didn't have them back in Kalos."

"That's quite an interesting story." Ash proceeded to tell about his capture of Latios. Unlike Serena, Articuno already knew the story from Latios so it flew away again.

* * *

Flashback

He has been chasing Latios ever since the first sightings along with many others. Latios were already rare but single Latios were even rarer. Many had already given up but Ash wasn't willing to do that despite Latios turning invisible every time he got close. But then, next to a lake near Oldale Town in Hoenn, it suddenly appeared at the brink of the forest before fleeing into the woods. Maybe it was his lucky day? After all, it had never shown itself like this. However, just when he was about to chase it, he heard a cry nearby. A quick search revealed it to be a mudkip, covered in poisonous slime. It held one arm towards Ash as if begging for help. Now he had to choose between chasing Latios and helping the mudkip.

 _No,_ he thought. _There is no choice. What kind of trainer would forsake an injured pokémon for his selfish needs, even if it's about catching a legendary pokémon._ Since Dawn was looking for the same latios somewhere else, he had to help the water type. _Dawn, I hope you are more successful._

He quickly called out Feraligatr, who got rid of the slime. That was already enough for Mudkip to be able to lead them to the source of the problem at the heart of a lake next to the forest. A bunch of grimer led by a few muk were polluting it with their presence. Many of its former inhabitants were hiding behind the trees, waiting for someone to drive the poison types away instead of doing something about it. The water was dark and probably full of the pokémon. At first, Ash tried a diplomatic approach.

"Listen, you are hurting the pokémon living here and destroying their habitat. Please leave and look for a more suitable place to live or I will have to make you," he shouted.

As a response, a grimer jumped out of the water straight at Ash but Feraligatr sent it right back with a powerful hydro pump. More grimer emerged from the water and were ready to attack but so was Feraligatr.

"Use surf!" A massive wave hit the lake with enough force to wash the poison types away. "Thunderbolt!" Pikachu called down lightning on the grimer and muk, which was powerful enough to cause the first ones to flee. It set off a chain reaction, that led to all of them running away in panic. Even Ash was surprised how well it worked but he was happy about the result. The other pokémon obviously felt the same as they quickly returned to the water and the mudkip even rubbed its head against Ash's right leg.

"I see there are still strong and compassionate trainers left." Ash realized that someone was speaking to him telepathically and looked around. Directly above him, Latios was levitating. His voice was soft, calm and strong. Maybe he was the reason the grimer and muk fled so quickly. "Not many people would have done this for a mudkip. You were trying to catch me, weren't you?"

"Yes, I did," Ash admitted. He didn't know what to say so he just told the truth. "I couldn't just ignore its pain."

"I think you are the right one." Ash gave him a questioning look although he had a good idea of what he meant. "I left my family because I was looking for adventure and challenges. You have shown strength, courage, and compassion. I sense a lot of ambition. Yes, you are the right one. I would be honored to join you. Do you accept?"

At first, Ash thought that Latios was joking. After all, he had been trying to catch the eon pokémon for quite some time and now he wanted to join him without a battle? The more he thought about it, though, the more it made sense. His pokédex once told him that a latios would open his heart to a compassionate trainer. By helping the mudkip he lost a chance to catch the legendary pokémon but apparently, it was this decision that made Latios reveal himself. What if he had chosen to continue his chase? He probably would have found nothing at all and the eon pokémon would have been out of his reach forever. Maybe this was like a test?

"What do you say?" Latios got a bit worried due to Ash taking such a long time to answer.

"Oh sorry, I've been ... lost in thoughts. I gladly accept. Welcome to our little family." He took out an empty pokéball and held it in front of Latios.

"Pikaa!" Ash's pokémon were also excited about a new friend.

"Before I do this, I have to warn you. If you change for the worse, I won't hesitate to leave you. I can't and I won't do bad things for anyone." Ash smiled and nodded.

"I hope we will never see that day," he replied.

Latios pushed the buttonm allowing himself to be absorbed into the pokéball and the red light vanished after a short struggle.

"I caught Latios!" Ash shouted into the sky.

Without a doubt, it was one of the best moments of his life. Seeing a legendary pokémon was rare enough but capturing one was even more difficult. He couldn't wait to see Dawn's face.

End of flashback

* * *

"It was a truly remarkable experience." Ash could almost feel the envy radiating from Serena.

"No doubt about that. What about Articuno? Did you also convince it to join you?" she asked.

"No, that was a capture in a more traditional sense," he explained. "Our training is very hard and often in extreme situations. We've been on top of mountains, in deserts, underwater, ..."

"And under the effect of the gravity move," Dawn added. "You can't imagine how much that adds to their toughness."

"Yes, it's quite ... amazing." Ash shuddered when he remembered the long evenings and the walk back home, with barely enough energy left to get up the stairs. "Anyway, Mt. Silver was one of our training locations. But this time something was wrong."

* * *

Flashback

"Snow? At this height?" Dawn was slightly worried.

"It's also much colder than usual. Very strange. Maybe that's the reason why we saw so many pokémon climbing down. Maybe they were trying to escape from the cold?" Ash wondered, already shivering. "No matter, it only makes the training more intense."

Fortunately, Mamoswine was with them and his fur made the journey tolerable. The further up they got, the more that changed, though. They weren't even near the top and it was already so cold that even he was shivering and Mamoswine's fur wasn't enough to protect them from the snowstorm anymore. Ash wasn't happy but training under such circumstances was pointless as the temperatures would make their pokémon too weak rather quickly. Besides, the storm impaired their sight way too much. Suddenly, a pokémon shot down at them. It was a large flying type with light blue plumage, a dark blue head crest and tail, and a grey beak. It used ice beam on the nearest target, which happened to be Piplup, thus it wasn't very effective. It disappeared in the snow storm directly after the attack, leaving the trainers in the cold.

"An articuno! So that's why it's so cold out here. It probably has a nest on the top," Dawn had to shout as the wind was very loud.

"Do you want to catch it?" Ash asked.

"What?" She sounded surprised. "I thought you would want to catch it. You know, with Lance using powerful dragon types..."

"Hey, I already have Latios. You should catch this one," he protested but she was adamant.

"No, you need it more than I do." Ash gave her a hurt look.

"You mean I need a legendary pokémon to defeat Lance?" he asked. "I thought you ..."

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it," she replied a bit more forcefully before speaking more softly again. "I don't feel ready for this and I know it would be an awesome addition to your team."

"Fine, I'll try." He knew that arguing was pointless and, in this case, dangerous as the cold was getting worse and worse. "Talonflame, I choose you. Use flame charge right now."

The moment the flying type was hit by a gust, he knew why Ash wanted him to use flame charge without a target. With the flames surrounding him, the cold was easier to endure. Furthermore, Ash was hoping that the flames would lure Articuno back to them so that they wouldn't have to go to the top of the mountain. He was right as the ice type shot out of the sky mere seconds later and tackled its opponent, causing it to smash into the snowy ground. However, he got up quickly and charged at Articuno with flames surrounding him once more.

"Use flame charge and keep it up." Ash didn't want his pokémon to freeze to death during the battle.

The articuno tried to counter with ice beam, which got overpowered quickly so the pokémon was hit by the super-effective move. It cried in pain but recovered before Ash could even consider using a pokéball. It used hurricane to blow Talonflame away and even though it was unsuccessful, the ice, which was carried by the wind dealt quite a bit of damage.

"Flame drill!" The move looked like a drill peck with a fiery aura surrounding the pokémon and a wall of flame following it. Articuno was smart and fast enough to dodge the drill, but it had to pass right through the flames, which dealt a lot of damage. Ash tried to seize the opportunity and threw a pokéball, which got frozen by the watchful freeze pokémon, though.

As a result, it changed its strategy by empowering the raging snow storm and striking from a distance with blizzard moves. At first, Ash tried to counter with flamethrower but he soon realized that it was too hard to hit in the storm. Since Talonflame's strength was slipping away, he had to finish it quickly.

"Use aerial ace! Then combine brave bird and flare blitz!" Nobody had to tell him that this combination was just as dangerous to his pokémon as it was to the target. He just saw no other way to win this battle as the weather conditions gave articuno a huge advantage. Just as expected, the aerial ace hit the ice type and pushed it back a little. Then Talonflame got surrounded by a blazing red aura and charged at it with incredible force. Not even the blue energy beam of the following sheer cold move was able to stop it so it resulted in a huge explosion when the attack hit. A moment later, Ash saw two pokémon falling down and immediately threw a pokéball at the blue one.

"Togekiss, save Talonflame," Dawn knew that Ash didn't have another flying type with him so she called out her own pokémon to catch him midair before he could be even more hurt by hitting the ground. She returned to her trainer with Ash's pokémon on her back.

"Are you alright?" Ash asked with worry clear in his voice. The pokémon nodded as he didn't have the strength to do anything else. "I'm sorry, that was reckless of me. I shouldn't have done that. You certainly deserve a good rest now. I'm proud of you." He recalled his victorious partner. "Thanks for paying attention, Dawn."

"Someone has to," she just replied. Although she didn't mention it, she was slightly mad at him because of the risky combination. Then she noticed something. "Uhm, something is different."

All of sudden, the weather was clear with the wind and snowfall gone and even a few rays of sunlight getting through the clouds. They took a deep breath, which felt much better now since it was still fresh but not freezing cold. There was only one way this could have happened. Ash got off Mamowine's back and walked through the snow, looking for a pokéball. After a brief search he found it undamaged and, most importantly, containing the legendary pokémon.

"I did it," he exclaimed loudly, holding it towards the sun. The pokéball disappeared with a red flash only seconds later. He could only imagine the look on the professor's face when he saw his newest catch.

End of flashback

* * *

"Tell me, Ash. Is it true? Are legendary pokémon really that much stronger than the others? Unstoppable forces?" Serena finally asked.

"No, they aren't," he just replied.

"Really?" She sounded shocked. "But I thought ..."

"... that legendary also means incredibly strong?" Ash finished the sentence for her. "I can't deny that there is a difference but it isn't big. There are two main reasons why people seem to think that. Firstly, wild legendary pokémon are highly superior to the other wild pokémon. And secondly, most trainer who actually manage to catch one believe that as well so they spend more time with them, train them harder and so on. So it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. And when people watch him battle, they see that his legendary pokémon is much stronger than the rest. The truth is, I don't care whether they're one of a kind or the most common pokémon in the world. All of them are amazing and an important part of our little family. Those who need legendary pokémon to win their battles are usually the weakest trainers."

"Wow." Serena certainly didn't expect that. "The next time I see one of those battling, I'll remember what you just said. I also heard that they are not only difficult to catch but also very hard to train as they are often disobedient."

"At first, it really was slightly disobedient but with time, we came to respect each other," Ash told Serena. "Don't be surprised if it's a bit rough. It doesn't trust strangers."

There were more new members of their team like Scyther, who was caught during a bug catching contest in Johto. She's a highly aggressive and competitive pokémon, who sometimes looked like she was willing to battle to the death. Her extremely hard training made the others train harder as well, although she, unlike Galvantula, didn't care about their training. In contrast to Dawn's scizor, she greatly relied on her speed and that was the reason she refused to evolve. That didn't stop her from falling in love with him and the two were making a great team and couple.

Greninja was the first pokémon Ash caught during the journey in Kalos. His speed and elegance were amazing but, surprisingly, so was his laziness, which increased every time he evolved. This often lead to arguments with Lucario and Galvantula and in the end, he often started training anyway. Nevertheless, he loved battles and fought with great passion and the stubbornness, which was so common among Ash's pokémon.

Ash would usually catch the first flying type he came across in every region and Kalos wasn't different in that regard but Talonflame had the advantage of not only relying on his physical strength like the others. Of course, his speed was still his greatest strength and it even rivaled Swellow's. He was a very docile pokémon who enjoyed the simple things in life like flying around, eating and fighting.

Trevenant's capture began with a misunderstanding. While he was fighting Ash with the other trevenant of the Winding Woods near Snowbelle City since he believed that the trainer was part of a group of humans, that was chopping down trees illegally, but the guilty party was doing that somewhere else. Fortunately, Ash and Dawn managed to convince them that they didn't mean any harm and together with the trevenant they drove the criminals off by destroying their equipment. Out of gratitude, he joined Ash's team and now he was like a wise grandfather due to his experience and wisdom. Other pokémon often came to him looking for advice.

Aurorus had no particular reason to join Ash. Serena thought that she would have been better of becoming Dawn's pokémon since she liked contests more than gym battles. However, she refused for some reason, which turned out to be something like a little crush on him. It was a little weird for him but she wasn't the first one to be like that. She was fiercely protective of him and was always fighting for attention. Annoying her was always a bad idea as she was quite short-tempered and would sometimes use her power to cool down anyone close.

The final pokémon Ash got in Kalos was Carbink, a gift from a trainer they helped. Since it has been sleeping for a long time, it was incredibly curious and willing to learn just about anything. It took a liking to contests, so much that soon a trade was considered. It took many more months, though, before they actually did it and Gyarados became Ash's pokémon in its stead. He wanted battles against the Elite Four but at that time, Dawn was still hesitant to challenge them. His greatest dream was battling Lance's red gyarados, something only Ash could provide him. Nonetheless, he still had a strong bond with Dawn and would always protect her. Carbink became one of her strongest support pokémon, who only had steel types to fear.

It wouldn't remain their last trade. Hitmontop, a pokémon found as an egg in Johto, was so fascinated by contests, that Dawn's training always distracted him. Magnezone, on the other hand, was getting bored of them and was looking for a new challenge so another trade was done. Ash valued his new pokémon's power and quickly created a suitable move for it. Hitmontop became a powerful defensive fighter, who made the small hits count thanks to his technician ability and his use of spinning techniques. Metagross was another pokémon that wasn't too keen on contests but it wasn't looking for a challenge either. In fact, it seemed rather content with just protecting his trainer from any harm and fighting battles for her, no matter which kind. Besides, it was too loyal as she was the one who saved it from the dull job at the international police, something it would never forget. Dawn sometimes wondered whether that really meant anything as Metagross were known to never forget.

Finally, there was Sylveon, Ash's only fairy type. She was the daughter of Ash's Lucario and Dawn's Espeon. It wasn't easy to decide who got to be her trainer as she was interested in both gym and contest battles. For a long time, she technically remained a wild pokémon traveling with them until she saw a sylveon participating in the Kalos league. On that day, she decided to join Ash's team as Sylveon. A few weeks later she evolved and got officially caught. Sometimes she was a bit insecure, maybe because she always had to make important decisions without clear answers. She trusted Ash completely, though, and would do anything he asked of her.

Ambipom returned last year after having achieved almost everything it could as a ping pong player. Her integration was swift and soon she was on the same level as the other pokémon but even now her former career showed as reflecting projectiles was a specialty of hers.

In the distance, they saw Tracey approaching them. As usual, he looked pretty tired as the work at the lab was getting harder due to the professor getting older and not being able to do everything by himself anymore. Gary was already dreading the day his grandfather would retire as he would have to take care of lab although he preferred working in the wild.

"There you are," he shouted. "May and Drew just called. They wanted me to tell you to call them back as soon as possible. It seemed really important."

* * *

 **The legendary Pokémon will play their part, but they won't be invincible or the only powerhouses. They're still members of the team, like all the others, so you shouldn't expect too much from them.**


	10. Unexpected Find

**This chapter is a bit different, at least in term of the involved characters.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 10: Unexpected Find

"Come on! Or we'll miss the contest," May said to Drew, a bit annoyed by his low speed.

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to carry tons of food and all the other stuff," he complained. It was true, the weight of the bags he carried was slowing him down considerably.

"You're not a little sissy, are you?" she teased. "A big, strong guy like you shouldn't have a problem with that."

"If it's so easy, why don't you carry them yourself?" he asked.

"I need to save my strength for the contest. Now hurry up!" She even picked up the pace a little.

"All the things I do for love ..." Drew mumbled.

They were currently in Viridian City. After a long break, May was ready to enter contests again and this city's was the first one. Then they would be off to Pewter City before going to Pallet Town for Ash's birthday. They haven't seen him for a while and it was also the perfect opportunity to meet other friends again.

Suddenly, the bags dropped to the ground with Drew massaging his arms.

"I can't ... my arms hurt," he told her.

May shook her head and started complaining. Because of that, she didn't notice a grimer opening a grate to the sewers from inside. It slithered towards them slowly and grabbed one of the bags. When May noticed this, it was already back at the grate and even waved at her before going into the sewers. Drew, not knowing what happened, got scared by the demonic look on her face.

"There ... was ... food ... in ... that ... bag," she said, clenching her teeth.

Without a second thought, she went to the grate, climbing down the ladder, followed by a confused Drew.

"Someone stole the bag? Do you really want to go down there? For a bit of food?" He should have known her better by now.

"I can't let anyone get away with it. If you don't want to get your shoes dirty you can stay here," she retorted.

"No, I'll help you." As soon as he was in the sewers as well he regretted this decision. The stench was almost unbearable and he would need a miracle not to ruin his clothes. "But what about the contest? You'll be late."

"Forget about the contest! This is more important." She noticed the same grimer waving at her again from the distance. "There it is!"

The journey through the sewers wasn't pleasant at all but at least following the grimer was easy, almost too easy. In fact, it was as if it wanted to be followed. Drew was about to tell her to give up when they saw that grimer standing in front of a heavy metal door. With a console next to it, it looked out of place in the sewers. The poison type found a tiny hole below the door and, having no solid form, slipped through it before unlocking the door from the inside. It opened so that they could hear voices from inside.

"... cameras are installed. Now to the bomb," one of them said.

"Alright, but be careful. We don't want to get blown up," another one warned.

"Watch out for those grimer. They don't seem to like out presence here." May and Drew looked at each other. Did that grimer lure them here because of this?

"I wonder why. If this thing blows up, they will be the only ones left and the whole city will belong to them." They didn't have to hear anything else. Those people were clearly criminals and needed to be stopped. "Woah, those fucking things again!"

The battle between the men and a group of grimer led by a muk was already raging when they entered the room. It was full of technical equipment and a large container with a lightning symbol on it. Apparently, the criminals, who were wearing grey uniforms with the same yellow lightning symbol on it, were winning with a mix of Crobat, Scolipede and Galvantula. May and Drew, however, had the element of surprise on their side. This was no contest. They had strike quickly. Calling out a few of their strongest attackers silently, they smashed the door open and attacked.

"Beautifly, use psychic to disarm them! Glaceon, ice beam!" May shouted.

"Flygon, dragon pulse! Absol, use night slash!" He could have called out Roserade as well but didn't want to make her fight in this stinking hole.

Using psychic, Beautifly crushed every gun in the room. Absol took care of any pokémon standing in its way with quick and precise slashes. Several pokémon made the mistake of standing a bit too close together, resulting in Glaceon freezing all of them at once. The rest was defeated easily by Flygon's dragon pulses. But even without their pokémon, the men refused to surrender and had to be knocked out as well. Once it was done, it was Beautifly's job to tie them up with string shot.

As soon as the battle was over the muk started to talk to them. May called out her gardevoir, who translated for them using telepathy.

"He says that those guys just showed up yesterday and made camp in their territory. So they made you help them fight those. He thanks you for defeating them," she told them. "Oh, and he wants you to leave immediately."

"We'll be glad to leave," May assured. "Just tell us next time instead of stealing our stuff."

When leaving, she picked up the bag, which was still lying in front of the door. If it wasn't for the food inside, she wouldn't have bothered as there still was a bit of slime on it.

"I'm afraid they will have to suffer the company of policemen now. We need to call them," Drew told her.

"Yes, let's do it immediately," she agreed.

Getting out of sewers proved to be far more difficult than expected. So difficult that Gardevoir had to teleport them to the pokémon center, where they called the police at once. It didn't take them long to appear and take the coordinators to the local police station for questioning. At first, everything seemed normal but then a few members of the international police appeared and took them to one of their bases instead where they were interrogated for a few hours. A huge man with a scarred face was the one to interrogate May. Drew wasn't so lucky as he got a way more impatient person to do that. Not only that, but he also had absolutely no respect for the top-coordinator and when Drew tried to outsmart him, he wasn't amused at all. The questions got worse and more private the longer it took until, finally, he had to leave for some reason and someone nicer continued. But even now he didn't manage to get any information for himself. Just when he thought it would never end, he was reunited with his girlfriend and they were allowed to leave.

Finally, they were back in Viridian City. Noticing how she felt, Drew took matters in his hand.

"You look tired and hungry. Let's eat at a more ... appropriate location." She nodded, just happy to get something to eat.

May had no idea that he meant the most expensive restaurant in the city. When she realized that, she gave him the tightest hug he could imagine.

 _Sometimes, Drew can be really sweet and caring,_ she thought. _Sometimes._

The staff working there obviously didn't approve her table manners but she didn't mind at all. The food was great, that was all that mattered to her.

"You know," she started when she was full. "This has to be important if the international police is involved."

"Of course it is. Didn't you listen to those crazy people? They tried to blow up the whole city. That container was probably full of explosives." He thought about it for a few seconds. "Those policemen could have been a lot more grateful. We saved their sorry asses and they didn't even thank us properly."

"This time I have to agree with you. That was a bit cheap," May said. "We should call Ash now. He's probably expecting a lot of people so we should tell him that we would like to stay at his place."

"It has been a while since we saw him last." Drew frowned. "He doesn't meet up with his friends very often. It seems like training is more important to him nowadays."

"Don't say something like that! He's close to achieving his lifelong dream so he's very busy." However, even May was a bit annoyed. "He just needs a bit more time."

"Even Dawn complained about it. She didn't say it directly but I know she wants to spend more quality time with him." May smirked. "You know it's serious when even she thinks he trains too much. There's nobody who enjoys training with him as much as Dawn."

"Well, I'm glad she convinced him to throw a big party. I was starting to think that she was just as obsessed with her goal. Maybe a big meeting will change their minds a bit," she said, a bit upset.

"I don't understand what's so big about battling Wallace," Drew mumbled, shocking May. "He isn't even competing in contests anymore. I bet I could beat him."

"Then why don't you? You could become the coordinator champion." He just laughed.

"That's merely an unofficial title given to him by his fan girls," he told her. "Besides I would have to get eight badges, win the league and rip through his Elite Four. That's so not worth it."

"You know that I think? I think you're just afraid. Because he's the best coordinator in the world and you know it!" She folded her arms and stuck out her tongue.

"If you're trying to get me to do it by provoking me, I have to disappoint you," he answered. Before she could reply, he asked for the bill.

A waiter arrived shortly after and gave it to him. He paid it, ignoring the disapproving look he was giving May because of her table manners.

 _Some people don't recognize beauty even if it's staring straight at them_ , he thought.

May was glad to leave as the restaurant was a bit too fancy for her liking. There was still something on her mind, though.

"Should we call them now?" she asked when they were already in front of the pokémon center.

"I think we can wait one more day. After all, -" He gave her a big smile. "- they will be delighted to hear about your decision to compete in contests again. You should have at least one ribbon to present."

"You're damn right! Let's go to Pewter City!" She grabbed his right hand, dragging him along.

"Wait! What about the pokémon center?" he asked.

"There's another one in Pewter City." It was no use. He had to come along.

The journey through Viridian Forest took longer than expected and it was already getting dark. After a bit of training for the contest they went to sleep. May was sure she would win it. There was no way she would let all the hard training go to hell. She could still remember the day of her second victory at a grand festival. She wasn't very motivated back then, probably due to Drew criticizing her at every step. In addition she made a lot of unnecessary mistakes but somehow still made it to the finale against him. It didn't go too well until he made a grave mistake by using a dragon pulse combination which was very easy to counter for May. She knocked out one of his pokémon that way, and with her pokémon outnumbering his, the rest was rather easy.

At first she was happy about her victory but soon there were doubts. Why did he use that combination? He knew exactly how it would end. He hasn't used it ever since she had perfected the counter. Did he do it on purpose? Did he want to lose? Those were the questions running through her mind. In the end she came to the conclusion that he really did it. However, she didn't confront him about it as she assumed that he just wanted to help her. That didn't mean she forgot about it, though.

Having seen the musicals during her stay in Unova, she decided to give it a try the same night. Of course, Drew, her friends and fans were devastated but she wouldn't listen to them. Her new career was rather successful but she just didn't feel the same enthusiasm. It felt forced, even a bit boring. So she stopped after nearly one year. But instead of becoming a coordinator again she tried to do gym battles and this time she realized even earlier that this career wasn't for her. She would have quit immediately, but her pride prevented that. She felt it would make her look weak and foolish. So she got eight badges and even competed in the league before she decided to take a nice, long break. Most of her friends thought that the experience was worth it and that it would help her if she decided to return to contests. And she did.

Unlike May, Drew didn't do anything but contests. By his third victory at a grand festival, he was recognized as one of the most gifted coordinators in the world so his fans even gave him a nickname, the 'Emerald Blossom'. And he never got tired of reminding everyone of that fact. On the other side, he also respected May, although he rarely showed it, and tried to convince her to return many times. With his three ribbon cups, the only thing missing in his career was a victory at the Wallace Cup.

With this year's Wallace Cup approaching quickly, he trained hard to become a true legend among coordinators. Nobody would stop him this time. Neither May nor Ash nor anyone else.

* * *

"Shira?" the man exclaimed when her face appeared on his screen. It was unusual for her to contact him this early in the afternoon. "What a nice surprise. I hope everything is going well?"

"There was a problem in Viridian City." Her face showed no emotion but she didn't sound happy at all. "Apparently, the grimer living in the sewers were more resourceful than we anticipated. They lured two fools to the bomb and they made short work of our men before they could set up the bomb or lock the place. I think they are coordinators called Drew and May. Why don't we try to get those two instead?"

"I would consider it if we had another Team Rocket to test their strength. But they were crushed just a few hours ago. Boris and Viccy have already told me about the results. Now, do we have another Team Rocket? No? Such a pity," he told her in a way that made her smile. "My decision is final. I hope you don't want to ..."

"I wouldn't dream of it." She could guess what he was about to say. "But still, now we have a city that won't pay and our enemies have a container full of gas."

"It doesn't matter. Even if they manage to create an antidote, it will take a long time. The money will be ours and then we'll have no further use for the poison. Maybe an analysis of the gas will even show them how hopeless and pressing the situation is. Who knows?" He pointed at her. "The important thing is that you shouldn't let this happen too often. I don't care about how much money you make as long as it's enough for the next stage of my plan."

"Understood. How much longer until it's done?" she asked.

"They say they're very close. A few more days perhaps. But that's none of your concern at the moment. Just get the money and I'll inform you when the time has come." Shira knew when to shut up quiet and nodded. The screen turned black, leaving an amused boss.

 _May and Drew. I bet they would have made good soldiers._ He wondered whether they would have been a better choice but came to the conclusion that it was impossible to say now. _Well, too late. Maybe if they had appeared only one day earlier ..._

* * *

Later in the evening, a call disturbed Max Wright while he was performing his duties in his office.

"Yes?" He was visibly annoyed.

"The test with the poison have shown first results. Dr. Derrec would like to talk about them," one of his officers told him. Max nodded at Beheeyem.

"Alright, send him in." He hung up and recalled the psychic type after its work was done. Then he turned to the woman in his office, who looked very confused for a moment. "I need to discuss a pressing matter with Dr. Derrec. We will talk again later."

"Oh, yes, sir." She wondered whether she fell asleep for a moment as she couldn't remember what they were talking about in the first place. On her way out, she almost ran into a tall man wearing a white lab coat.

"Hey, watch your step," he complained.

"Sorry," she replied, almost tripping. "Not feeling so well today ... I should get some rest."

Dr. Derrec ignored her and went to his boss, putting a large folder on the desk.

"We have already discovered a lot despite having so little time," he told Max with a lot of pride.

"Stop wasting my time and start talking. And tell me in a way I understand." Max was no expert on these matter.

"Alright." Derrec loved confusing others with his knowledge so it was kind of disappointing for him. "The poison gas is a heavily modified version of the scolipede venom. It's barely recognizable but we did it." When Max didn't show any reaction, he continued hesitantly. "Okay, the effect is unlike anything we have ever seen. It basically turns the body against itself."

"How?" his boss asked.

"Well ..." He tried to make it sound as simple as possible. "The poison attaches itself to body cells, in this case lung cells. Once such a cell is marked, it is regarded as a foreign object and eliminated by the body's immune system. If the victim takes in enough of the poison, it may lead to an almost complete dissolution of the lungs. Not a pretty sight, i can assure you. The dangerous part is that the poison itself isn't fought and even small amounts are enough to inflict lethal damage. One of my colleagues thought the poison showed signs of intelligence, but that's just ridiculous. Anyway, this must be the creation of a whole team of crazy, psychopathic experts with a lot of resources for the sole purpose of killing. They must have a factory because we believe they'd need large machines to produce this stuff." This only confirmed Max's suspicion that Shira stole it from old Sorlan. But why would he develop such a vile substance in the first place? Was it just one of his men working on his own account? And how was Shira able to produce the poison, let alone such large amounts? Derrec wasn't able to read his thoughts, though, so he interrupted them. "Sir?"

"Is there any way to counter it?" Max asked after a brief pause.

"If you are talking about a classic antidote, I have to disappoint you. Once a cell has been marked, it's doomed and that happens rather quickly. However -" The doctor raised a finger. "- it might be possible to protect the cells by stopping the poison from attaching itself. We aren't anywhere near that stage, though, and even if we were, we would have to make countless tests to make sure that it is safe and without negative side effects."

"That poison in the container, can you tell me how much damage the poison gas could have done if released into a city?"Max already feared the worst.

"We believe this large amount would have been enough to kill more than fifty thousand grown men. Of course, a lot of gas would have been blown away by the wind but since it's heavier than air, it would have caused damage somewhere else." Derrec waited for his boss to speak up he was just scratching his chin. "Sir?"

"You can go. Thanks for your hard work but now I need some time to think about it." He wasn't too upset about leaving the office again as he still had a lot of things to do. He saluted briefly and left returned to his own office.

 _Fifty thousand. Fifty thousand people._ The more he thought about it the more terrifying it sounded in his head. _If we don't find another way, the cities will have to pay up. The shaymin could help us but they've become rare and we'd need many more to stop all the damage. I knew I couldn't rely on that Plasma scum. Four lousy shaymin. If they don't speed up, I will get rid of them or good._

* * *

The next morning, May woke up with renewed energy. Having missed the contest in Viridian City had only increased her motivation, which also made Drew happy. A hearty breakfast was followed by a few hours of hard training and a large dinner. Then they only had to wait one more hour till the beginning of the contest.

May was really excited but also a bit worried that her skills might have dulled over time. When the MC announced her, she walked on the stage very slowly and took a deep breath before calling out her pokémon.

"Beautifly, take the stage!" The bug type appeared in a cloud of golden dust. "Start with whirlwind!" It created a small tornado in the middle of the stage and began to circle it.

 _Not this again,_ Drew thought while watching the appeal. He expected a rather old combination with silver wind, which she hadn't used in years. _She'll have to do better than this if she wants to make it to the battle round._

"Use stun spore and quiver dance!" To Drew's surprise, the wings emitted golden dust, which got sucked in by the tornado while Beautifly was dancing in the air around it. Soon it turned golden as more and more dust was swirling inside.

 _Not bad. Why didn't she tell me about this? Sneaky, sneaky May._ Drew couldn't help but laugh. _Of course she didn't. She wants to impress and seeing or even hearing about it beforehand would make an appeal boring._

"Now morning sun!" It's body started to glow golden just like the tornado and the bug flew in front of it. "Psychic!" The tornado disappeared but the remaining cloud of dust took the shape of Beautifly and even copied its movement, which made it look like a large avatar.

 _Not bad at all,_ May's boyfriend had to admit. _Maybe I underestimated her a bit. Or maybe coordinating is something you never really forget._

"Time to finish it." Beautifly and the dust avater folded their wings before spreading them with force, which caused the avatar to explode and cover the stage with a golden mist.

"Amazing! No doubt this coordinator will be back at the top in no time," the MC shouted and the audience replied with ear-shattering cheers.

 _It's just like at the beginning. Yes, I made the right choice,_ May thought while waving to her fans.

On her way back she found a young woman leaning against the wall. She had deep blue eyes and was wearing her black hair in pigtails. Her outfit consisted of a large, expensive silver dress, which almost made her look like royalty. She was giving May an arrogant and condescending look.

"Well, well, well. Just look at you." For some reason May had a bad feeling. "May's the name, isn't it?"

"It is. And you are?" May asked, causing the woman to laugh.

"I forgive you for not knowing my name. After all, you haven't entered a contest for quite some time now. Allow me to introduce." She spread her arms. "You're standing in front of Miranda, top coordinator, rising star of Kalos and the next Wallace Cup champion."

May was sure that Dawn mentioned that name at least once and what she said wasn't very nice.

"And what makes you think you will win and nobody else?" she asked, trying to sound confident.

"Who's going to stop me? You?" Miranda laughed heartily. "Your appeal was rather weak. Maybe enough for a grand festival but not for the Wallace Cup. You'll need a lot more to make it."

"You came here just to mock me?" May's face was flushed, her cheeks puffed.

"No, I came here to get to know one of my opponents. There's nothing bad about that, right?" She looked down and shook her head, smiling widely. "Well, it wasn't necessary in this case but better safe than sorry. I wonder, where is your little boyfriend?"

"I'm here." The girls turned around to see him coming around the corner with a cold look on his face. "And you better stop insulting May." Obviously, he'd been listening to their conversation.

"Or else?" Miranda laughed again. May was already getting sick of that sweet, girly laugh. "I'm just telling the truth. She won't make it very far like this. But you, maybe you will make it to the finale just to lose again." Drew clenched his fist. Never before has he been this close to hitting a girl. "Oh my, I better get going. It's obvious I'm not welcome here. Take care and good luck. The coordinators here shouldn't be too much of a problem, even for you."

May and Drew watched her going away, not wanting to say anything until she was out of hearing range.

"What a bitch. Do you know her?" May finally asked.

"Not in person," he replied. "But I heard very ... mixed things about her. It seems people either love or hate her. After this meeting I already know which side I'm one."

"Same here." May chuckled. "Maybe we should ask Dawn about her."

"Yes, yes, but first you have to win this contests. By the way, nice appeal. It appears you still got it." He winked at her, causing her to blush. "And don't listen to that bitch. You'll do just fine at the Wallace Cup, I'm sure of that."

"I'll worry about that later. As you said, I have to win this first." Together, they went backstage, unaware of Miranda having returned and eavesdropped on them.

Needless to say, she made it to the battle round without a problem. The first battles showed that she as powerful as ever, maybe even more powerful as her pokémon were tougher and stronger due to the gym training. Most of her opponents were knocked out easily before the five minutes were over, which surprised even Drew. Only the last opponent looked like he could put up some resistance.

"Abomasnow! Stage on!" May shouted. He was one the pokémon she had caught in Sinnoh. When she called him out, a hail storm engulfed the battle field.

"Arbok, your turn!" The opponent was a young, slightly obese man wearing thick glasses. "Start with poison sting!"

"Counter with icy wind!" Arbok shot a lot of purple darts at Abomsnow who froze them easily, causing them to drop to the floor. "Now grass whistle!" A leaf appeared in his hand and he used it to create a beautiful soothing sound, putting Arbok to sleep. "And now create a prison with icy blades. " He shot several very long leaves into the air before following up with blizzard, which turned them into swords of ice. One by one, they smashed into the ground next to the sleeping pokémon, making them look like the grates of a prison. Then he followed up with ice beam to create a roof of ice. Needless to say, Arbok was quite surprised upon waking up. "Frost breath!"

"Use dig to escape!" It evaded the attack just in time.

"Ingrain!" Roots emerged from Abomasnow's hand and dug into the ground. They allowed him to determine its position, thus he could dodge the attack with ease. "Ice punch!" His fist was caught by Arbok's mouth, which hurt him with his poison but the ice also 'glued' them together, both damaging the poison type and keeping it in place. In addition, his other hand was still free. "Icy blades again!" A single leaf was turned into another ice sword with ice punch and he used it to slash Arbok's upper body several times before throwing it away and hitting it with an ice punch powerful enough to break the ice in its mouth and send it right back to its trainer. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't finished yet.

"It's tough," May had to admit.

"It was an honor battling you, Princess of Hoenn," the man said. He knew exactly that he had no chance to begin with, he was nowhere near her level. And now, not only was his pokémon heavily injured but his points were also nearly gone. "Let's finish this! Use acid spray!" Arbok's mouth opened but nothing came out. "Arbok?" It fell forward, completely stiff. In the end, the snowstorm had finished it off.

"And the winner is May. Congratulations!" the MC announced.

"We did it!" May hasn't felt this enthusiastic for months, maybe even years. "Good job, Abomasnow. You have earned a nice rest."

"Well, we never really stood a chance. Thank you for your efforts, Arbok." He bowed to May before turning around and leaving the stage.

Only a few minutes later she was backstage again with a new ribbon and new motivation. Drew was already waiting there to take her out to another, a bit less fancy, restaurant to celebrate her victory. There were so many people there that they hardly noticed the two coordinators. Actually, Drew wanted to call Ash but he also knew that he shouldn't do that with May being hungry.

So they went to the pokémon center and called. However, nobody seemed to be at home so they called Delia and then Johanna but even they didn't know where to find them. The next place they tried to find them was the Oak lab. And this time they were in luck. The professor told them that Ash had arrived only a few minutes ago. Since he was probably with his pokémon right now, he sent Tracey to look for the trainer. Tracey returned with Ash, Dawn and another girl about ten minutes later. Although he'd have liked to chat with them, the professor's assistant was needed elsewhere.


	11. A suitable Present

**The last chapter before the three birthday chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 11: A suitable Present

Apart from their old friends, May and Dawn also spotted someone they didn't know on the screen.

"Ash! Dawn! So good to see you again. But I don't think I know your friend," May exclaimed happily.

"Hey, May. This Serena," Dawn told her.

"Ah, yes. I remember you telling us about her. A trainer and coordinator from Kalos if I remember correctly. I've never met her in person, though," Drew said.

Serena, on the other hand, had no trouble recognizing the coordinators. She had seen them on TV quite often. In fact, she admired them a bit.

"Wow! It's an honor to meet two of the best coordinators in the world," Serena shouted.

"You mean 'the' two best." Dawn gave him a disapproving look. "Alright, top three." Since he was going to stay at their place, Drew didn't want an angry Dawn against him. In the end, she'd probably make an alliance with May to get her revenge.

"Hey, Dawn. Guess what." May had a wide grin on her face.

"Uhm." She had no idea what to say. Then she squealed. "Tracey said it was important. Are you two getting married already?"

"What? No!" May shook her head violently, blushing like crazy. "Haven't you seen the Pewter City contest?"

"No, we were quite busy." Slowly it dawned on her. "Wait a second ... did you enter a contest again?"

"Tadaaa!" May held her new ribbon right into the screen.

"Wow, congratulations," Ash told her.

"Does that mean you'll do it regularly again?" Dawn asked full of hope.

"That's exactly what it means! You have another rival back." Dawn giggled.

"Is that a challenge? Anyway, your fans will be overjoyed." She looked at Ash. "And so are we. We always thought you were made for contests. Will you also enter this year's Wallace Cup?"

"She will," Drew answered for her. "But don't get your hopes up. She's still needs to get used to contests again."

"Excuse me, mister. I'm still as strong as ever," May retorted, a bit annoyed by his remark.

"Hey, you might get disappointed. After all, I will also be participating." Dawn decided to calm them down a bit.

"Serena will also enter the contest. And so will Ash," she told them.

"It'll so much fun battling the world's elite," Serena mumbled.

"What about you? I thought you'd enter again but I've heard otherwise," Drew asked.

"Oh, it's just ... I think one Ocean Ribbon is enough." She felt he didn't believe her.

"Oh, really?" His voice was full of sarcasm. "I guess that's why you entered it the year after your first triumph."

"Well, I just felt like it. But this time I won't." Drew couldn't help but think that she had something to hide. "Anyway, you two are coming to our little party?"

"Yes, we'll be there tomorrow. I hope we won't bother you?" May asked.

"Not at all. There's still plenty of room," Ash assured them.

"Very good. Oh, there's something I wanted to ask you. You know a coordinator from Kalos called Miranda, right?" Dawn's smile turned into a frown.

"I wish I didn't," she confessed. "Why do you ask?"

"She met her after the appeal," Drew answered for May. "She made fun of May and insulted her although she claimed that she was just there to get to know her opponents."

"That sounds exactly like Miranda," Serena exclaimed. "You better just ignore her. That bitch doesn't deserve any attention."

"She's right. Don't let her provoke you," Ash added.

"Sounds like you don't like her very much," Drew remarked, which earned him a glare from the blonde.

"Are you fucking kidding me? I hate her. She represents everything that I despise." She stomped on the ground. "When I started my journey, she was already an experienced coordinator and for some reason decided to pick on me. She humiliated me, beat me every time she got the chance and actively looked for ways to sabotage my performances. And all the time, she's acting so cute and innocent. But we know what she's really like. When nobody is looking, she treats her pokémon like slaves, hitting them and throwing them away when she gets bored of them. Have you ever seen her in a contest? They are terrified of her. Whatever methods she's using, they can't be good." She sighed. "Sorry about the rant. This girl just makes my blood boil."

She could still remember her first grand festival and the bitter defeat at the hands of her worst enemy.

* * *

Flashback

"You really think you stand a chance?" Miranda laughed at the mere thought. In front of her, her samurott and her male mewostic were getting ready for battle.

"I do! This time, I'm prepared." Her pokémon were Delphox and a white flower floette. "Use mystical fire and moonblast!" A large fireball merged with the fairy type move, creating a pink fireball which moved towards Samurott.

"Pathetic. Use water pulse." The water orb met the fire and completely neutralized the combination. "See? You're clearly too weak to beat me. I'll show you a real combination. Flying swords!" Samurott threw its seamitars at Serena's pokémon and Meowstic used psychic to make them fly even faster and to control their movement. While the pokémon were busy dodging the blades, Samurott used ice beam on the ground below them, making them trip and get hit a few times. "I wonder what your two trainer friends are feeling right now. Probably pure disappointment. But I guess that's nothing new for you. After all, you're a constant disappointment to your own mother."

"What? Now you've gone too far. Energy ball and psyshock!" The formidable pokémon blocked the attacks with its arms.

"Is that all you got? Attack!" The blades returned to Samurott, who caught them before charging at Delphox with aqua jet. "An ordinary trainer, isn't that what she wanted you to become? Such a primitive choice, but a mother's wish should always be considered. Yet you thought you were too good for it. What will you tell her when you have failed? Will you come crawling back? Will she forgive you?"

"Shut up! Shut up! You know nothing! You hear me? Nothing! Nothing about me. Nothing about my family." Her anger was getting the best of her as she couldn't do anything to stop Miranda's pokémon from dealing massive damage with simple attacks. In her blind rage, she tried to crush her opponent with the most powerful moves, forgetting about combinations altogether for the moment."Fire blast and moonblast!"

"How unimaginative." Once again, Samurott used water pulse to counter the moves. "How about some more flying swords?" They used the same combination and nearly finished the pokémon off even though they were trying to counter it. Delphox psychic wasn't able to break Meowstic's control and the blades sliced through every move shot at them.

Never give up. That's what Ash had taught her. When the seamitars returned to Samurott, the control was broken just before it could catch them.

"Use the blades against it!" With a psychic move, Delphox caused them to fly a bit lower so that it couldn't grab them and they sliced its hind legs instead, causing it to fall down. Then the blades turned and hit its back from above. "Now psyshock and moonblast!"The moves hit its neck without dealing a lot of damage, though. The greatest effect was the laughter coming from the audience.

"You ... you made me look like a fool." Miranda's smile was gone and replaced by an expression of pure rage. "I'll make you pay. I'll crush you like a joltik! Hydro cannon!" A large blue orb appeared in front of the water type but it stayed still for the moment. Miranda wanted it to recover from the move and Meowstic helped by paralyzing his opponents with psychic. "Now crush them with ice!" An ice beam turned the orb into a massive and spiky ball of ice, which finally got fired at Delphox. Although Serena's pokémon managed to dodge it, Samurott hit it with the following aqua jet and finished it with a few razor shell slashes and a powerful mega horn. "Good. Now put the other one out of its misery as well." While Floette was being controlled by Mewostic, Smaurott use fury cutter continuously until she collapsed.

"The winner by knockout is Miranda!" the MC announced.

"You did your best and I'm proud of you." Serena said although her pokémon weren't able to hear her.

"You should get new pokémon. I do whenever mine disappoint me," Miranda added with a side glance at Samurott and Mewostic. Those two would never be seen in contests again.

"I'll never be like you. I'd rather never become a top coordinator." She retorted, turning around to leave.

"And what a big surprise that would be." For once, she decided to ignore the sarcastic comment. It was better to get out before she'd try to kill Miranda.

End of flashback

* * *

Even now, the memory filled her with rage. The league wasn't much better as Miranda entered it as well, as if just to mess with Serena and eliminated her once more. However, she had to face Ash in the next round and suffered a bitter and devastating defeat as Ash used pokémon from his previous journeys just for this occasion. Ever since that battle, she hated him almost as much.

"Her father is an incredibly rich businessman in Kalos. Whenever she wants something, he buys it for her. Apparently, it turned her into quite a spoiled brat," Ash explained. "She's already famous in Kalos but hardly anyone in the other regions knows her. I guess she plans to change that."

"I can see why you don't like her. Anyway, we'll see you tomorrow and then we can talk. Take care." Maybe Drew would even tell them about the incident in the sewers.

"See you," the others said before hanging up.

"Alright, let's have some fun for the rest of the day." With one quick movement he lifted May into the air. "You've become a little heavier. Have you eaten a bit too much?"

"Shut up!" She hit his head. "I can't help that the food is so delicious. Besides, I'm not fat. I'm not heavier than other girls of my age."

"Hey, I was just kidding. Now let's go. I know just the place." He left the pokémon center for a more secluded area.

* * *

"So what do are your plans for today?" Serena asked after the call.

"I want to create my appeal for the Wallace Cup," Ash told her. "Do you ..."

"... want to join? Of course I do!" she answered before he could finish the sentence.

"Great. As for me, I still have to make some calls and go shopping. Nothing too exciting I'm afraid," Dawn said with a sigh.

"Don't worry. You'll get some excitement soon enough," Ash replied, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll love the 'excitement'," Serena said with a sly grin.

"What?" She made a distinct movement with her hands, causing his face to turn red."NO! I didn't mean it like that. Let's go before I die of embarrassment."

"Suuure you didn't. I know exactly you're not as innocent as you act, Ashy." Nevertheless, she followed him quickly, probably to embarrass him a bit more.

Dawn watched them leave, her face also quite red. She waited until she was sure that it was gone before turning on the videophone and calling someone. In fact, it was already the last call she had to make. The people she wanted to invite were her childhood friends Kenny and Leona, who were currently traveling through Unova. She had heard that they were dating, which would be good for all of them as it would mean the end of Kenny's advances. The first few calls were unsuccessful but, finally, she found them, or rather Kenny, in the pokémon center of Mistralton City.

"Hey, Kenny. I haven't seen you for three years now," she greeted him.

"Yeah, three long years. You have grown quite a bit." Judging by the way he looked at her, it was clear what he meant.

"Kenny ..." She had a dangerously annoyed look on her face. "You better stop that immediately or I might tell Leona about this."

"No. NO! Please don't tell her!" he begged, looking desperate now. It was clear that he didn't want to lose her. "Can you really blame me for admiring them?"

"I can and I will. Why don't you stare at May's or Serena's instead? Theirs are just as big." She realized what she just said and blushed slightly. "Why am I even telling you pervert this? The reason I called is Ash's birthday. And guess what? You're invited!" she told him, hoping that he would forgot what she'd said as soon as possible.

"Oh, okay." Kenny wasn't too enthusiastic about meeting Ash again. Despite being in a relationship now he still didn't really like Dawn's boyfriend. But for the sake of their friendship he tried to act normally. "I'm not sure ..."

"Please?" Dawn put on her puppy look, knowing exactly that he wouldn't be able to resist. "Almost everyone will be there. And we haven't seen each other for such a long time now."

"Alright, we'll come. When is this birthday?" He gave up surprisingly quickly. Maybe he also wanted to see his old friends.

"In two days," she replied, smiling brightly now. He almost got lost in her eyes when he realized that they would have to hurry.

"What? How are we supposed to do that?" he cried.

"I'm sure you'll find a way. By the way, where's Leona?" Dawn asked.

"She's buying a few things. She left about ten minutes ago so it'll take some time until she's back", he answered.

"Okay, that reminds me that I also have things to buy. I'll leave the rest to you. Tell Leona I said hi and I'll see you in two days," she said before trying to hang up.

"Wait a second. You never told me who this Serena was," he complained.

"I didn't? She's a friend from Kalos. Both regular trainer and coordinator and quite talented. She's quite direct so better be prepared. And don't even try to flirt with her." He gave her a puzzled look. "Firstly, we would tell Leona and secondly, she probably wouldn't be interested in you, anyway."

"Alright, I understand. See you later, bye." Now he had to wait for his girl to return to tell her about the thing he agreed to without asking her. Although she would have agreed without a second thought she would probably still give him hell.

Despite not really looking forward to the party, meeting Dawn again would be worth it. Actually, he wasn't completely over her. Maybe one day he would get his chance.

Now Dawn had to find a suitable present. Since the attempts to find one in Celadon City and Goldenrod City had been unsuccessful, she wanted to try the shops in Veilstone City. So she changed her team to include Alakazam since she was her only pokémon capable of long range teleportation. Because of the enormous amount of energy required, Alakazam was done for an hour or two so her trainer was stuck in the city. Naturally, the department store was her first destination. However, even after several hours of going through the department store and other shops she hasn't found anything great. She was tired and about to try Lilycove City in Hoenn when she decided to try a rather 'alternative' shop. It contained mostly crap but maybe there would be something useful as well? She wanted to give it a try at least.

"Hello, can I help you?" An old woman with short, white hair and a wrinkled face asked her. Obviously, she was the owner of the shop.

"Yes, I'm looking for a gift for my boyfriend. It's his birthday in two days but I couldn't find anything I liked in the large shops," Dawn told her.

"Those shops often have valuable things. Useful things. Pretty things. But you're not looking for something like that, yes? You're looking for something that shows you true feelings, yes? Something really special?" She didn't know what to say. It was like the old lady was reading her mind. "Many people only look at the price tag. But many good things are really cheap. Often for free. Please follow me."

They went to a rather dark corner of the shop. There were a lot of products with no obvious purpose here but she stopped in front of a set of pretty amulets.

"These are called aura stones." Dawn had never heard of anything like that. They looked like two simple, copper amulets with rather large, round gems attached to them. One of them was blue, the other one red. "They're very old relics which used to be somewhat common among lovers in the past but modern technology made them obsolete. Allow me to demonstrate."

She called out a tiny abra and put the blue amulet around its neck.

"Please teleport to Solaceon Town." It disappeared with a white flash but suddenly, the red gem on the remaining amulet glowed red and even got slightly warm. "You saw that the glow appeared once abra was far away, yes? That's how the aura stones work. The farther the distance the stronger the glow and the warmer the feeling." The woman watched Dawn holding onto it tightly. "It feels nice, yes? It gives comfort and hope since no matter how far away your loved ones are, their warmth is always there. And as long as the gem shines, you know they are alright."

"That's amazing." Dawn continued to watch it with a mesmerized gaze."How do they work?"

"Legend says that aura guardians first created them so that they were able to communicate with their partners even when they were separated. Others saw the gems and wanted them as well. The guardians created more primitive variants for their friends but that was a long time ago. Nowadays they aren't produced anymore. I don't know whether the knowledge still exists so they have become quite a rarity. But it's not like they're needed anymore with all the modern technology." There was a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I think they're beautiful. A phone may enable to hear my loved one's voice but it can't let me feel his warmth when I'm trying to fall asleep. It can't show me the way with light when I feel lost. No, these aura stones have different qualities. They show me that wherever I am, someone is thinking of me and we will see each other again, no matter how desperate the situation may seem. They would have made the lonely nights so much more bearable." She was thinking of the time they spent apart, all those nights she couldn't fall asleep because she was missing him. There was a strange coldness, a void in her heart that the weekly meeting weren't able to mend. Those were hard times and she often found herself ready to just abandon the training and go to him. Even though they met every week to discuss their progress it wasn't enough. Not at all. But in the end, she remained strong. Judging from what Ash told her, he had similar feeling. She couldn't change the past but maybe those aura stones could give them the warmth and the hope they needed and make the distance seem less important. Perhaps it was silly relying on an accessory. The woman gave Dawn a curious look.

"You love him very much, yes? Please wait here, I have something else for you." She went into another room and returned two minutes later. She was carrying a piece of paper. "Have a look."

Dawn realized that it was a poem.

 _I still see your face before my eyes.  
thinking of happy times,  
of the way you made me smile,  
now it seems far away._

 _Maybe I can fool my friends, my family, but not myself  
I'm all alone again._

 _The sadness hurting my soul,  
the doubts in my heart,  
your absence feels eternal,  
agonizing and cruel._

 _I am longingly waiting for your return, your eyes, your smile,  
so that you restore what's left._

 _I stare at the pictures you sent,  
to remind me of you,  
I listen to your soft voice,  
Every time you call._

 _Can't you see the wound in my heart or the pain in my eyes?  
Because I can see it in yours._

 _I know we will see each other again soon,  
for I remember the promise you gave me.  
Our hearts, our dreams, our souls are connected,  
by a bond of love that nothing can break._

 _I know you have your own dreams, your own plans, your own wishes,  
but who says we can't achieve them together?_

Just like the amulet, it reminded her of the time they spent apart when he thought that she shouldn't have to travel through Hoenn again just because of him.

 _For I remember the promise you gave me_ , she thought _. Who says we can't achieve them together? Yes, I think this poem is perfect for situations like that. I hope it will never happen again but if it does, we will have something to remind us that it is only temporary. A bond of love that nothing can break._

"I like it. It's so fitting. How did you know I'd like it?" Dawn asked, a little surprised.

The woman's voice changed a bit. It sounded a bit more dreamy and also sad.

"Dawn, my dear. You remind me a lot of myself at your age, you know?" A sad smile graced her face.

"You know me?" Immediately, she realized that she wasn't exactly unknown. "Sorry, my mistake."

"Yes, a lot." Dawn knew what she meant this time. "So full of hope and dreams. And like you, I had someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But we got separated for a long time. That's when I wrote this poem."

"It was made by you?" Dawn was clearly surprised.

"Yes, I was really depressed when I created it. I'm not a poet and it's probably nothing compared to what a professional could make but it described my feelings well enough," she admitted. "I hope you will have better luck with your friend."

"What ... what do you mean?" Dawn was a bit afraid to ask.

"The day the ship was supposed to arrive in Sinnoh ... it was a disaster. It sank to the bottom of the sea. He was among the dead." Her voice nearly cracked.

"I'm sorry I brought it up," the coordinator said, lowering her head.

"No, don't be. I moved on and found someone else. However, my first real love still has a special place in my heart." She gave Dawn an encouraging look. "Take the poem. And heed my advice. Don't waste time. You will never know when the happy times are over. Life can be cruel."

"I can't accept that. It's yours. If it means so much to you I ..." she was interrupted by the woman.

"I'm old. My time will come soon. I'd rather see it in your hands than forgotten in an old chest. Now is there anything else you'd like?" Obviously, she wasn't going to accept no for an answer.

"No ... just the amulets please," she replied a bit hesitantly.

"A good choice. You boyfriend is a lucky guy." Dawn blushed a little. "Would you like me to wrap it up? For free, of course."

"Sure, if it's not too much of a bother." Dawn noticed that the amulet wasn't glowing anymore. "Where's Abra?"

"Probably teleported into my bedroom, the lazy creature. Please wait for a moment." She turned in front of a door. "I almost forgot. You have to wear the amulet for the other stone to work. But that's quite obvious, yes?"

One minute later she was back with the other amulet and proceeded to put them into a small red box. A blue ribbon completed the look.

"Here you go." She gave it to Dawn. "I'm sure he'll like it. Have a nice day."

Dawn said goodbye to the nice shopkeeper before leaving the shop with a good feeling. Finally, she had a proper present for Ash. One the other side, she also felt a bit bad for the woman. Losing her boyfriend just before the reunion must have been terrible. Dawn wasn't sure whether she would have been strong enough to endure the pain. Hopefully, she'd never make the same experience. Now it was time to return. Maybe Ash and Serena were already waiting for her, or rather for supper.

* * *

"It's perfect!" Serena exclaimed. "That was fast! I didn't know that was possible. Your pokémon really are quick learners."

They were currently at the Oak lab with a lot of pokémon, not all of them theirs, applauding them. Of course, Ash had already envisioned the appeal before but actually creating it was always a bit more difficult.

"You should see Dawn's pokémon. They are even faster with appeals. Anyway, well done, buddies." He recalled all of his pokémon except for Pikachu. "Now let's get back home. Dawn should be back by now."

"Then let's go! I'm hungry," she shouted.

Ash and Pikachu followed their slightly overenthusiastic friend back home. However, Dawn wasn't there.

"What should we do now?" she asked. "Can you make us something to eat?"

"I'd rather not. I can make simple things but they can't compare to a hot meal. And speaking of those ..." He sighed. "The last time I tried it turned out ... not too enjoyable."

"I can relate. My mom tried to teach me how to cook but would always end up yelling at me for burning the food to crisps." She scratched the back of her head. "I guess some people just aren't meant for cooking. Maybe we should wait for Dawn? She can do it, can she?"

"Yes, she can. Not as well as Calem, but better than the things I can make, I can guarantee that." Ash went to the living room and sat down in front of the TV.

"You're lucky to have found someone like that. Have you ever thought about proposing?" Somehow, this question wasn't unexpected. At least not from her.

"I have but ... with all the upcoming events it would be a huge distraction," he admitted.

"So you're not worried about her saying no at all?" She laughed when he gave her a puzzled look. "Obviously you're not. It's clear that she would love to be your wife."

"Could we please change the subject?" Ash begged.

"Oh sorry. I was getting a bit too personal? Don't worry. I won't bring it up again." Ash was relieved and looked back at the screen.

There wasn't anything too interesting on TV but at least it kept them entertained until Dawn arrived with two heavy bags. Since she didn't want to raise his suspicion, she also bought quite a lot of other things they needed anyway.

"Well, well, well. Look at that lazy bunch." Ash and Serena couldn't help but grin at the remark.

"Want me to help you with those bags?" Ash asked.

"I can do it by myself just fine, thank you very much. But apparently, you are completely helpless without me. I'll make you something as soon as possible," she added to their delight. "Oh, by the way, you'll have to help me do the dishes."

The waiting for the food felt awfully long but at least they still had the TV. And finally, Dawn's voice put them out of their misery.

"Supper is ready," she shouted and within seconds, everyone was at the table and devouring the food she made. "Yes, don't even thank me for making this. It's not like I'm horribly exhausted." With a large thud her head hit the table. "Ouch."

"I'm sorry." Ash stood up and lifted her head before hugging her from behind. "It was just because we were so hungry. We appreciate your efforts, right, Serena?"

"We do. Please don't be mad," she replied, forgetting about the hunger for a moment.

"I'm not mad, just ... tired. Tired and stressed. Tomorrow won't be any better with so many preparations to be made." She quickly regained her composure. "Don't let me disturb you. Eat up. Thing will go back to normal soon enough."

They still felt that she was stressed enough and did the dishes all by themselves, allowing her to relax at least for the rest of the evening.

* * *

"Come in!" The door opened, revealing Wraith, who entered her boss's office slowly. He was in a good mood but apparently, she had some bad news for him. "What's the problem?"

"Several issues. First one is about the galactic bomb," she replied.

"What's wrong with it? Don't tell me those idiots failed again." Unfortunately, that was exactly what she was about to tell him.

"That's the problem. They say they need someone who worked on the original project to recreate it." The boss kept grinning despite his obvious disapproval.

"Sometime I wonder what I pay those pathetic morons for? Highly qualified personal, my ass! Can't handle a simple task! Do they want me to get Charon himself out of prison? Fine! Fine!" He chuckled to himself. "I have something else to do there anyway. I'll get him out. And when the bomb is ready, I'll have their heads. I'll take care of this myself. I was getting bored lately."

"There are also two problems concerning the Shaymin," Wraith continued with a monotonous voice.

"Do they have trouble with them?" "He laughed. There's no way those little buggers can cause any trouble, legendary or not."

"Not about the pokémon themselves, about the money. There are more of them than we thought so the costs are too high. If we have to buy even more there might not be much left for the materials." For the boss, the solution was simple.

"Then acquire the Shaymin from those poachers ... with a little more force. Besides we can still sell them for a bit of extra cash after Shira is done. Since Viccy and Seth are busy, you and Boris will do this." He received a nod. "Now what's the other problem?"

"People attacking the poachers . We caught one of them and he told us that he belonged to Team Plasma," she told him.

"Team Plasma? I thought they were defeated a long time ago?"he answered.

"They were. This is an entirely new organization. They kill any poacher they find and set their pokémon free." He thought about those news for a while, then he got an idea.

"That's an interesting turn of events." He pointed at her. "You will make your attacks look like glorious Team Plasma liberating the poor and helpless Shaymin. They will keep working for us and Team Plasma will get the blame. It's perfect. Is there anything else?"

"No, that was all." She turned around to leave but he spoke up again.

"Very well. But next time you have something to report it better be something good." He stood up and slowly walked so that he was facing her back. Others would have become nervous with him behind them but she didn't care. "I'm tired of you bringing me bad news all the time lately," he whispered.

Without another word, she left the office, leaving him to his thoughts. Maybe Team Plasma's appearance was a good turn of events, after all.


	12. The special Day part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 12: The special Day Part 1

The next day was pretty uneventful apart from May and Drew arriving. Ash used his free time for even more training. This time, he had to do it with just the visiting coordinators, though, since Dawn was busy making the final preparations for his birthday party with Serena following her around and lending her a hand whenever she needed one. Fortunately, Delia and Johanna were also a great help so they didn't have to do everything themselves. Ash also offered to help but then a lot surprises would have been spoiled so they declined.

Exhausted, Dawn fell into the bed, where Ash was already lying, watching her with a funny look.

"Tired?" he asked.

"What do you think?" she replied, not even looking at him. "Walking around all day. Making sure that nothing will go wrong. And much more. Yes, I think I'm tired."

"Poor girl. And all that just for that day." She turned and looked at him.

"Not for that day. For you. You've been training so hard. You deserve some rest. And I'll be more than happy to give you a day that you'll remember forever. I love you so much but ..." She had a bit of trouble saying that. " ... you train so much, I feel a bit left out, even if I train with you. There are so many other things I'd like to do with you."

"I'm sorry. I'm trying to give you the attention you deserve but I get distracted easily and now that I'm so close ..." He sighed. "That's no excuse. I'm just an idiot who will probably never learn."

"You're not an idiot! Well, maybe a little," she said, giggling. "It's just that you're ambitious and dedicated. And now stop worrying about those things. Tomorrow we will celebrate."

She pounced on him, pinning him down.

"Looks like someone isn't as tired as she claimed," he said with a grin.

"Well ..." she whispered in his ear. " ... it's been a long time and I still have some energy left."

"You'll need it," he said, pulling off her jeans.

Little did they know, someone was watching them through the keyhole in their bedroom door. Someone who was very amused by their talking.

"Oh my!" she mumbled. "I better leave them for now. I'll probably hear enough, anyway."

She sneaked back to the guest room but as expected, the moans from the bedroom made sleeping impossible. In order to shut them up, Serena kicked the wall.

"Either calm down or let me join," she yelled. It was a shame she couldn't see their faces, which were probably as red as tomatoes at this very moment. But since they got the message she didn't mind. Meanwhile, Ash and Dawn were lying in their bed, thanking Arceus for the fact that May and Drew were staying at Delia's house. Those two would never let them live this down.

* * *

Although it was already late in the evening, Max didn't even consider going to sleep just yet. Of course, as the president of the international police, he was used to working late but he'd never done it this often in a row. Just when he was about to finally give in, he got a call from Thomas.

"Sir, Mr. Sorlan would like to speak to you," he told his boss with a tired voice.

"At this hour?" Max looked at his watch, which showed that it was 2 am. "Fine, I'll speak to him."

A few seconds later, Nathan was at the other end of the phone. The two men couldn't have been more different. Whereas Nathan was in his well-lit office, sitting lazily on his comfortable chair with his feet on the desk, Max was in his dark room, barely illuminated by a weak lamp, which was just strong enough to allow him to read the files on his desk. Both his clothes and his hair were a mess, his face was pale and there were large rings below his eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked bluntly.

"I hope I didn't interrupt your sleep." Max gritted his teeth as he hated these kind of apologies.

"No, you didn't," he replied, trying not to yell. "Now tell me, what is this about?"

"Well, there is a piece of information you might want to hear. It's probably nothing but I still wanted you to know as soon as possible. It's something I have known for quite a long time but it didn't come to my mind until now." Max sighed, getting tired of the excuses. "You're looking for the people who produced that poison which was used in Eterna Forest, aren't you? Well, there is an abandoned factory close to Lavender Town. Locals have complained about sounds of machines at night, yet every time someone has a look inside, they can't find anything. Some people even say that there are ghost types messing with the machines but I don't know whether that's true."

"And what's so important about this that you deemed a call at 2am necessary?" Max asked. He already had the urge to just hang up.

"You see, this particular factory was used to produce all kinds of industrial poisons and repellants. When it was closed a few years ago, most of the old, malfunctioning machinery was left there. Not a very smart decision, I admit. What I'm trying to say is that with a little know-how someone would be able to repair them and use them for his own purposes." For a moment, he was interested but then he sighed again. As Nathan said, it was probably nothing.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll make sure someone will take care of this matter," Max reassured him as he probably meant well.

"Alright, I hope you'll find something useful. Oh, and you should get some sleep. You sound awfully tired." It was almost like the exhausted man could hear him snickering. "Good night."

Max raised the phone and was about to smash it on the table but remembered that he needed it and dialed a number instead.

"Thomas? Tell Looker that I want to see him in my office as soon as possible," he told his underling.

Although he considered Looker one of his best agents, the sheer amount of work had decreased his efficiency sharply. By giving him an easy assignment, Max hoped to refill the energy and make him ready for future missions. It was still worrying, though, that one of his most experienced agents could have become so unreliable and the others weren't much better in that regard. It was like Shira was merely toying with them, but he doubted that she was working alone as her resources were too vast for a gang like hers. Someone else had to support her, he was sure of that, but so far he had no proof. Another matter that worried him was those young trainers getting involved in their affairs. Whereas Ash and Dawn's connection to her was still unknown, May and Drew disrupted her plans in Viridian City so it was possible that there would some kind of retribution. Maybe he had to keep an eye on them. Picking up the phone again, he dialed the same number once more.

"Thomas, you should come to my office immediately. And tell Dan that I want to see him as well," he said before hanging up without even waiting for an answer.

Those two were among his best men and unlikely to fail him. Perhaps it was cruel to wish for the trainers to get attacked but he needed more information and prisoners were the best source.

* * *

When it was 9 am, Ash stirred and woke up. Although he didn't expect to find Dawn next to him, he at least expected to find her in the house. But she was gone and not even her pokémon, who were still there for some reason, knew where she was. Ash would have worried if it wasn't for a small note he found in the kitchen. It said that she had to prepare a huge surprise, which required her full attention. Even more importantly, she couldn't attend the party until late in the evening. Needless to say, Ash was very disappointed. Even if it wasn't a very intimate day, the least she could do was to be there. Or she could have warned him in person.

The guests slowly arrived, starting with those staying at Pallet Town like May, Drew, Gary and Tracey. Others from Kanto like Brock, Misty, her sisters and Ritchi followed. Iris, Cilan, Bianca and Barry arrived shortly after and soon Max, Solidad and Zoey were also there. The last ones to show up were quite famous. Due to their ambitions, Ash and Dawn would often have contact with Lance, Wallace and Cynthia, so much that they considered them friends. So the champions took a day off just to attend the party, something Ash greatly appreciated. In the end, the only ones missing were Kenny and Leona. Others, like Paul, were invited, but they declined.

Of course, a lot had happened to them as well.

Misty was known as Kanto's most powerful water trainer and managed to turn her gym into one of the most feared despite her sisters' meddling. She was considered one of the possible future Elite Four members with Forrest and Sabrina being her greatest rivals. Soon Agatha would step down and then one of them would take her place. Apart from power, they also needed ambition, something Misty certainly wasn't lacking but neither were the others. Due to the increasingly intense training she hardly traveled anymore and preferred to stay at her gym. It also meant that she had no time for a boyfriend so she kept rejecting the many boys who tried to win her favor. Once she reached her goal, she would find the right one.

Brock was already very close to becoming a real pokémon doctor, but not one bit closer to finding a woman he liked who wouldn't reject him. However, there were rumors that he'd actually found someone. But since his behavior hasn't changed at all, most of his friends had serious doubts about that story. Actually, they felt a bit bad for him as everyone around him started dating, even his brother Forrest. Although he was very busy as a gym leader, he felt like he still had enough time for a girlfriend. After all, he still had Flint to care of the Gym if necessary. Being a real doctor would probably help Brock find someone but he also had to be careful that she didn't just want him because of his title and earnings.

May's brother Max was real trainer now. He may not have won a league yet but his battles so far demanded respect. His main pokémon was Gallade, the same he had met as a ralts many years ago. His father Norman wished for him to become the next Petalburg City gym leader but Max wasn't sure. Maybe he should try to become something greater? His first league battles were in Hoenn, Kanto and Johto, where he managed to be among the top eight.

Zoey wasn't nearly as active as she used to be but she still entered a contest every now and then. With three ribbon cups she was already one of the most successful coordinators in the world, successful enough to get her own stage name by her fans, the 'Ruby Tiger', which was a reference to her hair, eyes and her main pokémon. A lot of people were shocked when Glameow evolved into Purugly as they considered it way more ugly and unfit for contests. However, Zoey proved them wrong as her performances improved quite a lot. The only thing she needed to complete career was the new Ocean Ribbon. So far, she had been beaten every time but it wouldn't stop her from trying. After all, there were only three winner so far, Robert, Dawn and Solidad, a group of people she wanted to join as soon as possible. Due to the lack of things to do as a top coordinator, she tried to convince Mr. Contesta to establish a system similar to the Elite Four, albeit without success. Together with Solidad, with whom she had become good friends after their first battle, she founded a school for young coordinators to teach them both the basics and advanced tactics. Judging from the rising number of people visiting the school, they were quite talented as teachers.

Despite treating his pokémon much better than he used to, Paul was still his old, grumpy self. His career was very similar to Ash's but unlike his greatest rival, he chose to accept Cynthia's offer, when he was asked to take Bertha's place in the Sinnoh Elite Four. From this position, he was able to challenge the champion and he was sure that in time, he would be able to defeat her and take her place as the Sinnoh champion.

Cilan was still a gym leader although he didn't battle very often nowadays. It was mostly due to visiting Iris very often. Their love was pretty much an open secret but they still kept denying it. Apart from his gym leader duties and relationship with Iris, he also liked to solve mysteries, something he was very good at, as shown when he played a vital part in Team Rocket's defeat in Unova.

With more dragon types at her side, Iris could finally consider herself a true dragon trainer. Her most powerful pokémon was a very grumpy but loyal Dragonite. Hesitantly, she accepted her new role as the gym leader of her hometown, becoming one of the youngest dragon masters ever. However, she wasn't able to defeat master Drayden so far, no matter how hard she tried. She hoped to take his place one day or maybe even become the Unova champion. She still missed traveling, though.

After a quick rise, Trip had experienced an equally quick fall. But with each defeat, he'd learned something new and become a little less arrogant. Many people claimed that he simply was very unlucky with his opponents, for example, he got to battle Paul when he was in a very bad mood. It was an event he was still trying to forget. His very first league victory was in, of all the regions, Kanto, which changed his opinion of Kanto tremendously as it was suddenly not a bad place, after all.

Bianca had managed to persuade her father to let her travel through Johto. In Goldenrod City, she and Barry ran into each other, literally. Upon realizing that they had a lot in common, their friendship grew gradually and soon turned into love. Now they were rarely seen on their own. Ash was always afraid of meeting them as together they had double the destructive power.

Dawn's mother Johanna entered contests in Sinnoh again after her ribbon cup was destroyed. Getting the ribbons necessary to enter the grand festival was an easy task for her and her performance there showed that her skills haven't dulled in the slightest. Although her opponents certainly weren't amateurs she sure made them look like it and basically rushed through, winning another ribbon cup for herself. Many people were disappointed when she retired again but Delia wasn't one of them. The two women got along very well and Ash's mother needed a good friend with her son traveling all the time. Since Johanna was living in Pallet Town now, she tried to establish something similar to the Twinleaf Festival, albeit without success. When Dawn wanted to make Ash's birthday party bigger than ever, she was the one to suggest to make it even better by hiring a lot of people who were responsible for the Twinleaf Festival. She was hoping that it would show the residents the fun they were missing.

Ash received a lot of different present, most of them had something to with pokémon like powerful pokéballs, potions or items like life orbs, even some scizorite. Obviously, someone didn't know that Ash's scyther didn't want to evolve anytime soon. Others included books, movies or music. Unsurprisingly, many people just chose to get him something good to eat.

The party itself was near the Oak lab as the space near Ash's house was too limited. It proved to be a good choice since there was a small lake and the lab itself where all of their pokémon could stay and play for the whole duration. Ash soon realized why Dawn had been so tired the day before. The organization was perfect with a lot of activities. There was a lot of music, usually songs Ash liked, many different activities, games, even a water show by Misty's sisters and, of course, pokémon battles. The highlight was a short but intense battle between Cynthia's garchomp and Lance's dragonite.

Unfortunately, Ash only arrived when the battle was about to end. Both pokémon were already heavily injured and breathing heavily.

"Use dragon rush!" Lance commanded.

"Dig!" Garchomp quickly escaped into the ground, forcing Dragonite to cancel his attack.

"Now dragon pulse!" It created a homing orb and increased its speed with a punch. Just when it entered the hole, Garchomp emerged behind Dragonite.

"Dragon rush!" Garchomp made a brutal hit before retreating quickly as the dragon pulse was about to hit her. Cynthia obviously hoped that it would hit Dragonite instead.

"Deflect it!" If it wasn't for its quick reflexes, the orb would have caused some serious damage. But a powerful punch sent it flying towards its real target. As she was still in the air, she had no chance of dodging it. As a result, she was smashed into the ground but got up quickly again.

"It's time for the draco meteor shower!" The dragon type shot a single orange orb into the sky.

Lance knew that move all too well. Cynthia only used it when she was sure to finish off her opponent as it also considerably weakened her own pokémon. The only way to turn this around now was to use his most powerful move as well.

"Dragon fury!" Dragonite was surrounded by a glowing red aura and charged right at Garchomp. It was basically an improved outrage as it still had enough control to change its move if necessary. She had no choice but to block the powerful attacks, waiting for her own attack to take effect. Just when she was close to fainting, a huge amount of small meteors hit Dragonite and the area around it, creating a large cloud of smoke.

The clearing smoke revealed two unconscious pokémon, thus the battle ended in a draw.

"Good job, Dragonite," Lance said, recalling his pokémon. "I see your skills haven't dulled, Cynthia. We should battle more often."

"Thank you, Garchomp. And you're also as strong as ever. We should talk about future battles after this," she replied.

"Majestic, aren't they?" Iris had appeared behind Ash. "Those are the strongest dragon types in the world. Non-legendary of course."

"Don't let your dragonite hear this," Ash joked.

"Don't worry, your ice types have taught him humility. Especially Glalie and Mamoswine," she told him, slightly shuddering.

"I just wish I could have seen the whole battle." She gave him a questioning look. "I was watching the water show."

"You're such a kid. Why watch a water show when you can watch a battle between dragon types?" she exclaimed incredulously.

"I'm out of here." Ash wasn't in the mood for another argument, not one bit.

The most important part of the party for him was the food. And he had nothing to complain about. Dawn had organized a large variety of delicious food and both alcoholic and soft drinks. So despite the many things to do, Ash could often be found devouring everything he could find there like directly after the battle between Cynthia and Lance.

"I knew you were here." He turned around to find May standing there with a tired look on her face. "Mind if I join in?"

"Not at all." To his surprise, she put some food on her plate before hiding below a table. "Why are you ...?"

"Hiding? I'm exhausted, but Drew wants to dance. I need a bit more energy first. So how are you?" she asked.

"Great!" he answered. "I can't decide what to do next. If only ..."

"If only Dawn was here?" May shook her head. "I can't believe she wouldn't spend the day with you. That's just cheap. And she could have told me about her plans. I mean, we are best friends! I hate being left out."

"I'm sure she had her reasons." It was true. He was disappointed, very much so. However, he wasn't in the mood to talk about it. "Alright, I'll check out a few games. See you later."

May just stayed there, thinking about the conversation. Maybe he should have just admitted that he was angry and sad about Dawn's absence.

The more Ash looked at the party, the more impressed he was. He had no idea to what lengths Dawn went to organize such a thing, which really reminded him more of a festival than a party, although their mothers probably also played a big part. If she worked so hard for this day why would she miss it? Maybe she saved the best for the end. It was the only reason he could think of so he just spent the day with his friends, waiting for the huge surprise she promised him.

A sudden noise nearby interrupted his thoughts. He found Brock lying on the ground, a hand-shaped mark on his face, with a furious Serena next to him. Croagunk was out of his pokéball but he looked confused as this time, someone was faster. She was about to slap him again when Ash interfered.

"What did Brock do to you?" he asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"That's Brock?" She was obviously surprised. "I thought he was a random pervert. Uh, sorry about that."

"It's alright. Croagunk's poison jab is much worse," he said, slowly standing up.

"Are you saying I'm weak?" She raised her hand again.

"No, no! Your hands are much stronger than they look," he replied, hoping that he didn't say anything that could be misunderstood.

"I see you're still as smooth as ever with the ladies," Ash mocked him. "I highly advice you to stop hitting on Serena. Why don't you try the nurse Joy taking care of the injured pokémon?"

With pokémon battles taking place, a nurse Joy was necessary at the party.

"You're right! I can feel it in my bones! This time, she will return my feelings. A love as bright as the sun and as strong as aaahh ..." He was stopped by a quick poison jab. Croagunk started to drag him to an unknown place.

"He's just as hopeless as you described him," Serena mumbled, shaking her head.

"It looks funny but it's really sad," he replied. "He's been looking for a girlfriend for such a long time now. I mean, even I got a girlfriend before him even though I was so focused on my goals."

"Hey, Ash." He turned around to see Catelyn walking towards him. "Awesome party. Would you like to dance?" She pointed towards the stage, where only a few couples were dancing at the moment.

"I don't know. What if ..." She grabbed his hand and began to drag him to the stage.

"Everyone knows we're just friends and this dance is just for fun." As soon as they were there, a slower song started. Hesitantly, he joined the dance and to her surprise, he wasn't half bad, even Serena was surprised. "So still no sign of her?"

"Not you too. I'm tired of this topic," Ash groaned. "I know she's not here. On my own birthday. And yes, it's bugging me."

"Don't you think it's bad keeping it bottled up? You want to talk to me about it?" she asked, looking concerned. For some reason, he felt it was time, maybe because she was very reliable and gave good advice.

"Well, this party is great and big and everything but ..." He took a deep breath. "I would trade it for just a normal day with her. It's just not the same without her. It makes me feel angry. Why would she let me enjoy everything alone? Why would she ignore the one wish I made? Maybe she doesn't know me as well as I thought? I don't understand it!" He got a bit louder than intended and felt the looks of the others on him. "I mean, I don't think there's any surprise than can possibly outweigh spending the day with her."

For a while she just smiled and they continued to dance. Then she spoke up, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Listen, I know that you are hurt. Missing your birthday party isn't very nice, no matter what she's planning. But there's one thing I know. She loves you dearly and if does that she must have a good reason or at least she thinks she does. Everyone makes mistakes so you will confront her and talk to her about this. If she doesn't understand, send her to me and I will beat some sense into her," she added with a wink. "But whatever you do, don't let this ruin your day. It is yours, after all. Enjoy it as much as you can since everyone tried so hard turning it into such a big success."

"You know what? You're right. I'll make the best out of the situation. Thanks." He stopped dancing and went to do something, with a big grin having replaced his grim look.

As the party went on, more and more guests had to leave. Soon it started to get dark with mostly former traveling companions left. Because of the rapidly dropping temperature and the starting rain, they decided to return to Ash's house. A few workers were paid in advance to take care of the remaining party equipment. Even now, there was still no sign of Dawn.

They were playing cards when the door bell rang.

"That's probably Kenny and Leona. How nice of them to show up," Zoey exclaimed.

Ash stood up to open with Iris following him. To his surprise, it wasn't Kenny or Leona, it was Dawn standing in front of the entrance. Her clothes and her hair were completely soaked, especially the white shirt, which would have revealed a lot if it wasn't for the black vest, and she had a lost look on her face. He could only guess how long she had been standing in the rain.

"Dawn, come in! Just look at you!" he said but she shook her head.

"Can we talk in private?" Her voice was hoarse and just loud enough for him to understand her. Whatever it was, it had to be important.

Ash nodded, quickly grabbing an umbrella to cover her. Together they went a few steps before she was sure that nobody could hear them. Iris had seen them and called the others, who were currently standing at the entrance, watching the two trainers.

"Now tell me. Where have you been?" Ash asked but she just kept staring into the distance. "What's wrong?"

"Ash, I ..." She hesitated for a moment. "I think it would be better if we broke up."

For a moment, it felt like his heart stopped beating. The umbrella fell to the ground. She wanted to break up? Why? What had he done wrong?

"W-What? You can't be serious. Why ... this is a joke, right?" he stammered.

"I'm afraid not. I'm really sorry, Ash, but I just feel like I'm a burden to you." He couldn't believe what he was hearing. A burden? They had discussed this often enough. "I know this must be a shock for you ..."

"A shock? A SHOCK?" he yelled. "On my own birthday, after missing the whole day, having promised me a huge surprise, you tell me that you want to break up with me! How do you think I feel? And those last few days, they have no meaning for you? Did you just fake your happiness? And I thought about proposing to you ..."

She just lowered her gaze, staring at the ground.

"I'm really sorry. It's for the best." She turned around. "I won't bother you any longer. Goodbye, Ash. It was nice knowing you."

Dawn started running but he wasn't going to give up so easily. He got a hold of her arm, to which she replied by slapping his hand.

"Don't make it even more difficult than it already is. Don't make me hurt you even more," she begged him, tears leaving her eyes. As if to protect herself, she took one of her pokéballs. holding it in front of her.

"You've already broken everything that could be broken," he simply replied.

Once again, she started running away. This time, instead of following her, he sank to his knees, still unable to understand what just happened.

"Ash?" Serena's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"What's wrong?" May asked.

"Why did she run away?" Drew wondered.

It seemed that they had seen everything but had only been able to hear his yelling.

"She broke up with me," Ash whispered just loud enough for them to hear.

"What?" they all replied in unison.

"Why would she do this?" Misty asked him.

"She said she was just a bother to me and that ... it's for the best." He tried to suppress the tears but they just started flowing. What would his friends think of him? But then again, he didn't care about that at this very moment.

"That's bullshit!" Zoey shouted. "I'll talk some sense into her."

"Hey, you can't just do that. It's too dark!" Brock claimed.

"Don't worry. I have my pokémon with me and Luxray can see perfectly fine no matter how dark it is." Before someone else could say anything else, she was already gone.

"Hey, let me help you." Catelyn was stopped by Brock. "What are you doing?"

"It's too late. And since you don't have pokémon, it's too dangerous to go alone," he explained.

"Maybe you're right." She looked at Ash, who had a look of unimaginable misery on his face. "Ash ..." She put a hand on his shoulder but he brushed it off.

"I'll go to bed. Please ... leave me alone for now." He stood up and made his way towards the house.

"Ash, please ..." Misty was stopped by Brock as well.

"Leave him. He needs some time to get over it." It was strange. He used to do the same thing to Dawn whenever Ash was really upset.

Ash's pokémon were surprised to find him depressed like that. Fortunately, at least Pikachu seemed to understand that he wanted to be alone for now and made sure that neither human nor pokémon would disturb him. Dawn's pokémon were even more confused. They haven't seen their trainer the whole day and now Ash was back like that? Something bad must have happened.

Their friends returned to the living room, sitting there in silence for a while and drying their hair. It was hard to believe what just happened and they had no idea what to do. The future looked very grim at that moment.


	13. The special Day part 2

**AshxDawnaddicted**

 **Thank you for the review. I realized this chapter was ended with a major cliffhanger, so I decided to upload this one a bit earlier.**

 **There have been some things that didn't seem to fit. This chapter should answer some question, though not all of them, and it gives some background information. The following chapter will be a darker one.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 13: The special Day Part 2

 _What went wrong?_

That was the thought Ash just couldn't get out of his head. Why did she break up with him? Was it his fault? What did he do wrong? He gave her his heart and she just left him! For someone else? No, he didn't think so but it was still outrageous.

"Damn it!" he shouted before punching his pillow several times. "You could have at least told me why!"

Memories of her flooded his mind. He remembered the ice cream date after her second loss in the appeals round, her little show after his defeat at the hands of Paul, her battle against Maylene just so that the gym leader would battle him. In front of his eyes he could still see her dancing in her cheerleader outfit, showing him a new move to give to him, and her stunning beauty when she was posing as a princess. The way she took care of Pachirisu when she was sick, the way she tried to train Mamoswine even though he showed no interest at all, the way she could turn a certain loss into a blazing victory, that all reminded him of himself. They had so much in common. They'd gone through so much together. And now she decided to leave him just like that?

He buried his face in the pillow. tears now streaming down his face. He didn't care. Nobody would see him like that. And even if they did, it wouldn't matter to him at this very moment. Slowly the anger after the shock was replaced by sadness and hunger for the truth.

 _She said something about being a burden_ , he remembered. _But we have talked about this often enough. She never ... wait. Maybe she wasn't talking about that. Maybe ...oh no. I should have seen it coming._

Everybody knew about Ash's goal of becoming the Kanto champion. However, hardly anyone knew about his second, greater goal. Ash didn't just want to become a champion. He wanted to be the very best, the champion of champions, a true world champion. Dawn was one of few who knew about his plans.

A very specific conversation was on his mind. It was during a brief holiday at Undella Beach shortly before Ash's defeat at the Hoenn league. They met Cynthia, who had a villa there. Together, they managed to convince Dawn to take the next step by challenging the Hoenn Elite Four and, eventually, Wallace himself.

One evening, Ash almost revealed his plans to the Sinnoh champion.

* * *

Flashback

They were watching the sunset from the balcony while having supper. Ash was in a very good mood as he had finally managed to convince Dawn to challenge Wallace. They sat there in silence until Cynthia asked an unusual question.

"You always knew what you wanted to be, didn't you, Ash? I wonder, is there someone who inspired you to become a pokémon trainer? Someone you idolize?" He thought about it for a while.

"Well, no one in particular. At least I don't think so. I just love pokémon and every time I saw a powerful trainer, I just said to myself: I want to be just like that," he replied.

"I see. At first, I thought of a very special trainer but I guess I was wrong." If she wanted to get his attention, she was successful.

"Who are you talking about?" he asked.

"He was active when you were still a baby. A trainer from Kanto, who wanted to become the best. Let's call him Red. He was very powerful trainer, using a rather revolutionary battle style at that time. It was no surprise when he became the youngest Kanto champion ever. But that wasn't enough for him. Soon he also defeated the champions of Johto and Hoenn and took their titles," she told him.

"That sounds like an amazing trainer." Ash hoped he would be just as successful.

"If he was so great, why haven't I heard of him before?" Dawn asked.

"That's because his success didn't last," Cynthia explained. "In fact, it's a very sad story. Before he became the Sinnoh champion, the former Kanto champ defeated him, taking back his title. The Johto champ followed soon after. They had heard about his plans and they weren't amused at all. It was a matter of honor. In the following years, he defeated many champs but also lost to just as many. He was never able to keep more than two titles at the same time ever again. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Ash asked, a bit afraid of the answer.

"Because others adapted to his battle style until they knew him inside out. He had become predictable. They adapter faster than he could come up with new strategies because whenever he found one, he had to use it to regain his advantage. And he forgot about the most important part of any battle between equally powerful trainers: luck. As much as it's bugging us, a single miss can decide a whole battle. And with so many battles to fight, he was bound to be unlucky at some point. I heard some people say that I'm the best in the world, but that's bullshit. in my mind, as long as there are trainers who can defeat you, there is no best trainer. And the other champions could very well do that. But I'm digressing, this isn't about me." She took a deep breath. "Those defeats were just the beginning. Red thought harder training would give him the strength to defeat anyone. He failed to realize that bodies have their limits and that his pokémons had reached theirs a long time ago. As a matter of fact, the harder training and the increasing number of battles only managed to weaken them until he didn't have a single title. His friends and family begged him to stop. Begged him to concentrate on just one title but he didn't listen. In the end, even his own pokémon tried to convince him to stop. Once again, he refused. So he lost them. His friends, his family, even most of his pokémon gave up on him."

Dawn gave Ash a worried look.

"Even then he refused to give up. Instead, he went to live at Mt. Silver. There he wanted to train until he was ready to claim what he felt was his. Then the new champion of Johto, who was an admirer of his skills, found him and challenged him. It was his last known defeat. He disappeared entirely. Nobody has seen or heard of him for fifteen years now." Ash had a very bad feeling now. Did she know about his plans?

"That's a very sad story," Dawn said.

"But one you could learn something from. Even if you have the talent to become a legend, don't overreach or it might ruin you. Knowing one's own limits is an invaluable strength." Cynthia gave Ash a strange look. "It's better than having someone show it in the most painful way."

"Why are you telling me this?" He finally asked.

"Because you remind me of him. His strength, his passion, his ambition. You have it all. Oh, and don't misunderstand me, I don't consider him a failure at all. Actually, he was one of the best trainers in the world and he taught the old and rusted champions true fear. He pretty much turned the battles into what they are today by himself." Ash wasn't sure whether it was a compliment. Was she trying to hold him back by convincing him to stop when he could do much more? Or did she think he was not good enough? He would have to verify that story soon. "Sorry, I didn't want to judge you," she said as if she was reading his mind. "You aren't Red and you have to know your own limits."

They spent the rest of the evening in complete silence.

End of flashback

* * *

 _Was she worried that I might become like Red? Was she afraid of being pushed away by me? How foolish. She knows I would never do that. Right?_ Suddenly he had doubts. _How far would I go to achieve my dreams?_

She had hurt him a lot. It left a wound that would take a long time to heal. But maybe it wasn't too late yet? Ash hit the pillow again. Why didn't she talk to him about this? They had solved worse problems that way so why not this time? If not for themselves, then for their pokémon. Several of them were more than just friends like Lucario and Espeon, Scizor and Scyther or Pikachu and Buneary.

Dawn had a hard time training Buneary as the unrequited love destroyed her motivation. She convinced Ash to convince Pikachu to give her a chance. In the end, he did. On their first 'date' he realized that she wasn't nearly as bad as he thought as once they were actually spending time together, she acted rather normally. Soon there was a second and then a third date. Slowly, their friendship turned into something more. Delia and Johanna would often point out that their relationship was much more like their trainers' now. A break up would be devastating for them, especially for Buneary.

 _I have to speak to her! I will convince her to return. And I will certainly not become like Red._ He thought about it for a while. _But wouldn't that mean giving up on my dreams? Maybe Cynthia was right. Maybe there is no best trainer. If it wasn't for my defeat in Hoenn I probably wouldn't believe it. It doesn't matter. I will try, but I won't forsake anyone if I don't succeed. We will talk and I will decide whether I can forgive you. Even if our relationship may never be the same again._

* * *

"I can't believe the bitch did that!" May spoke up after several minutes of silence. They were sitting in the living room. "And to think I called her my best friend."

"I have to agree with her," Iris added. "Breaking up with him on his birthday was a horrible move."

"I thought I knew her. I was wrong," Brock mumbled.

"What's the big deal? Can't Ash just find another girl?" Max asked.

"You obviously know nothing about love," Drew said, rolling his eyes. "Otherwise you wouldn't have said something that stupid."

"Leave him alone. He's just a child," May retorted, which earned her a glare from Max.

"Poor Ashy boy. He loved her with all his heart and now she repaid him by dumping him on his birthday. That was low."Even Gary felt really bad for his former rival.

"There's something wrong," Serena finally pointed out. "There's definitely something wrong."

"Of course there's something wrong. Thanks, Captain Obvious." Drew rolled his eyes again.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Serena slammed her fists on the table.

"Oh, then what did you mean? Please tell me, wise master." She looked like she was going to kill him now.

"Stop being such an idiot, Drew," May scolded him. "You're always like that when you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk," he retorted but it was clear that he was quite intoxicated. He may not have passed out like Barry and Bianca but his behavior left no doubts. He was sometimes unusually aggressive when he was drunk.

"What do you mean, Serena?" Brock asked.

"This was so unlike Dawn. Maybe she was forced to do this?" They looked at her like she was crazy. "Alright, I'll tell you why. I asked Dawn about her birthday present for Ash yesterday. She told me how she had to visit many shops until she found a present she considered worthy. It was really sweet. Why would she try so hard if she wanted to break up with him soon? Nobody changes their mind so quickly. But that's not everything. I got to listen to their more ... private activities in the night. It sound like they were unhappy. Not at all."

"We're talking about the same Ash, right?" Misty asked. "He still seems so dense and innocent."

"And I thought he would remain a child forever. How about some details?" Iris added.

"You should ask them. I won't discuss that here. My point still stands, though." Serena folded her arms, waiting for an answer.

"We can't ignore that. This whole affair has a foul taste." Cilan scratched his chin. "Wait a second. Dawn's pokémon are in this house, right?"

"Yes, I brought them here since she wasn't there," Brock replied.

"And didn't Dawn hold a pokéball out there?" He raised a finger. "That means, either the pokéball was empty or it wasn't hers. But where did she get one?"

"You must admit, it still sounds like bullshit." Drew remained skeptical.

"I don't remember asking you about your opinion," Serena retorted. She was starting to wonder why she ever admired him.

"I don't need a permission to tell you my opinion. As I see it ..." He received a slap on the back of his head by Catelyn.

"Just listen to yourself. Ash is having the worst day of his life and you're bickering like little children." Everyone looked down in shame. Her words just had that effect. "Serena does have a point, though."

"Let's have a look at the facts." Serena still tried to convince them. Cat left the room and went upstairs in the meantime. "Firstly, they showed no signs of being unhappy. Of course, you can't know that since you've only arrived recently but I can assure you that Dawn loves him just as much. Secondly, I have been with her yesterday, helping her at making the final preparations for this party. She wouldn't have worked so hard if she was going to break up with him the very next day. She was so worried that things might go wrong. Same with the present. And thirdly, there's the issue with the pokéballs. If ..."

"All six of them are upstairs." They turned to Catelyn, who was standing at the door again. "Drew, can you explain this?"

"I don't know?" He shook his head. "Maybe ... she could have ..."

"Thought so," Serena remarked with a smirk. "So I was right all along."

"Besides, where did Dawn go?" Cilan asked. "This is her home. Her family's house is in the town. So why did she run into the woods?"

"Maybe Zoey ..." Before May could finish her sentence, the door bell rang.

"Ash probably doesn't want to answer that right now. I'll go." Gary was followed by the others. They hoped it was Zoey along with Dawn.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be Kenny and Leona.

"Uh, sorry about being late. We arrived here in the morning but they have just left the house. Then we got a room in Viridian City to get some sleep before the party but overslept in the end and ... well, here we are. Sorry again," Kenny explained.

"I don't really care and I doubt Ash will. He's in a really bad mood right now," Gary replied.

"Why? What's the matter?" Leona asked. "Why are you looking so grim?"

"Dawn broke up with Ash," Drew answered nonchalantly.

"What?" Kenny didn't really know how to react. On the one hand, this might be his chance to start anew with Dawn. On the other hand, he also felt bad for Ash.

"How is that possible? They looked so happy in the morning," Leona mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Cilan was intrigued now.

"As Kenny said, we arrived in the morning. We saw them leaving the house and teleporting to some place. She didn't look unhappy at all," she explained.

"That's interesting. Ash complained on several occasions about not having seen her all day," Cilan pointed out.

"Well, I can assure that we saw both of them," Kenny told him.

"Then we should tell him about this. I feel this is really important," Misty said, receiving a nod from everyone.

Together they went to Ash's room only to find him about to leave it.

 _I knew he wouldn't stay there too long_ , Brock thought, smirking. _Still a man of action._

"What are you doing here? I don't want company right now," Ash growled.

"This is important," Misty insisted. "Kenny told us he saw you leaving the house with Dawn in the morning. What time was it?"

"About 7am," he replied.

"That's impossible," Ash exclaimed. "I wasn't awake until much later."

"See? There's something wrong here," Serena told him. "Many small things but they add up. How come Dawn had a pokéball when all of her pokémon and pokéballs were here all the time? If Kenny saw a fake Ash this morning, maybe this Dawn was also fake?"

"If that's true where's the real Dawn?" Iris asked.

"Maybe we should call Zoey and ask what she's found out?" May suggested. Just when she was about to call, her phone rang. "Now that's convenient. It's Zoey."

* * *

Dawn was moving fast, very fast. Due to the darkness, the speed, and another thing Zoey was worried about she called out Luxray and Weavile.

"Luxray, Weavile, come on out! And be very quiet." The pokémon were slightly confused. "Weavile, use dark field and maintain it. Then jump on Luxray's back."

Weavile crossed its hands, creating a field, which was impossible to see in the darkness and prevented teleportation in a large area. It was a move they created to counter very fast teleporting pokémon like Alakazam and Ash's gallade. Now she was afraid that Dawn might escape by teleporting. The coordinator also got on the electric type's back.

"Please follow Dawn. As quietly as possible," she whispered.

Luxray was lucky that Dawn left a lot of marks as her scent was completely different this time. However, they had to be fast since the rain was starting to wash them away already. Finally, it found her leaning against a tree, which blocked most of the rain. She was staring at her left arm, probably at her poketch to be exact , and a tall, slender figure was nearby, probably a gardevoir. Before Dawn used the thing, she turned to the figure.

"Can you try it again?" she asked.

Zoey couldn't see that it tried to do, she could only hear a disappointed response.

"Gar ..." it mumbled. So she was right.

"Strange. Well, I'll call Seth now." Just as Zoey guessed, it was a pokétch. She decided to wait until the end of the call. "Hey, they fell for it. So what about your mission?"

Only Luxray was able to see Dawn rolling her eyes at the answer.

"Sorry," she replied. After a while, she spoke up again. "No need for that." Now she actually sounded frightened. "Well, just keep it up. Without her, Ash will fall easily." She ended the call and now it was Zoey's time to act. Someone was faster, though.

"Arcanine, use extremespeed!" A large pokémon came from nowhere and tackled Gardevoir to the ground. A man followed it, pointing a gun at Dawn. It was Dan from the international police but Zoey didn't know that. "It's over, whoever you are. I don't know how you're creating these illusion but we'll find out soon."

 _Illusions? That would explain a lot_ , the redhead thought. It was probably better to just watch them for now. After all, she had no idea who this man was.

"What ... who ..." Dawn was in panic for a few seconds before regaining her composure. "Who are you?"

"You don't ask questions around here. Now, who are you? I know you're not Dawn." If Zoey eyesight had been as good as Luxray's, she would have seen Dawn having a very uncharacteristic glare on her face.

"You ... you think you're stronger? Gardevoir, use Arcanine as a shield!" She touched her pearl bracelet with her other hand and her pokémon started to glow all of sudden. With a psychic move, it moved the fire type in front of Dawn so he had to shoot his own pokémon first. He pointed the gun at Gardevoir, whose skirt was wider and most of the green parts of its body were white now. Before he could fire a shot, the barrel was deformed, making it unusable.

"Damn it! Attack!" A coragunk and a noctowl emerged from the shadows but were stopped almost immediately.

"Well, well, well. Just look how the tides have turned. Let's get rid of those useless pokémon first." Gardevoir smashed Arcanine against a tree and followed up with a psyshock on Croagunk and a thunderbolt on Noctowl. The attacks were more than enough to defeat them so Dawn turned to the man."Now we have a lot to discuss. Let's see how much pain you can take before your spirit breaks." She slowly walked towards him, laughing all the time and that was the moment Zoey knew she had to act.

"Weavile, take care of that gardevoir. Luxray, make sure Dawn doesn't escape and teach her the true meaning of fear," she whispered. Both pokémon nodded. "Alright! NOW!"

Weavile was so fast, it grabbed Gardevoir's throat with its claws before it could react. Meanwhile, Luxray jumped on the unsuspecting coordinator, pinning her down and showing her the scariest face it could muster. Zoey tried to stop the man but he was already gone along with his pokémon.

"Damn, that guy is fast," she muttered. Without Luxray following him in the darkness was pointless so she decided to find out the truth about this Dawn instead. Apparently, she was still under shock and Zoey wasn't going to give her time to recover. She grabbed Dawn's shirt but it felt like a coat. "What the ...? Alright, listen to me, you little piece of shit. You have three seconds to answer my question before Luxray will rip your heart out. Who are you? You aren't Dawn. She doesn't have a gardevoir," she yelled.

"W-what? I'm not ... I mean I am ..." Luxray raised its right paw, exposing its claws. "No! Don't do it! I'm not Dawn! My name is Victoria!"

 _Victoria?_ Dan was, in fact, not gone but simply hiding in a bush nearby, something he was very good at. He didn't dare to have a look, though, since Luxray would spot him immediately so he had to listen for now. _That name sounds familiar._

To her relief, Luxray lowered its paw again. She was safe for now.

"How?" This time, the pretender replied quicker by simply showing her.

In an instant, her body changed into something slightly taller but also a bit thinner. The hair was brown now and her face was covered by a white mask, which had a large, round, red gem on it, with only her green eyes being visible. She was wearing an adorned, grey uniform. The poketch was slightly different although it seemed to serve the same purpose.

"A wise choice." Zoey was glad her bluff was successful. She took her own cell phone and called May since hers was the first number she could think of and she knew that May was still at Ash's home. "You better don't move a muscle."

She really wanted to tell Ash the mixed news but May spoke up faster.

"Zoey! We have reason to believe that the Dawn you're chasing isn't the real one. I hope you haven't lost her." If it wasn't for the grim circumstances, Zoey would have laughed.

"I haven't. In fact, she is right here. And she has already confessed that her real name is Victoria." There was a moment of silence. Then she heard Ash's voice.

"And where is Dawn? That's more important than everything else right now," he shouted desperately.

"I'll ask her." The way she said it made Victoria flinch. "Where is Dawn?"

"I won't ..." Luxray's powerful roar made her change her mind quickly. "Viridian Forest! Viridian Forest! Just get that thing off me!"

"Viridian Forest," Zoey quickly replied.

"Alright, we're on our way. You take care of that fake Dawn," Brock answered as Ash ran off the moment he heard about the place.

 _That voice ... she must be it._ Dan almost gasped when he realized who she was. _Yes, Victoria, that failed coordinator. She disappeared after that embarrassing loss at the grand festival. I never thought she would do something like this, let alone have such a strong pokémon. Was it just a sick joke or is she involved in something more sinister?_

Victoria recovered from the shock now but had to think of something quickly. If she got caught during this mission, she was as good as dead. Fortunately for her, she still had her mask. Suddenly, several Fearow charged right at Zoey. Her pokémon, noticing that she was in danger, abandoned their positions to defeat the attackers, who simply disappeared upon getting hit. Gardevoir reacted quickly, hitting Weavile with a focus blast from behind. The pain broke its concentration, allowing the psychic type to teleport again. More fearow appeared out of nowhere and distracted them long enough for Gardevoir to teleport itself along with its master to safety. The flying types instantly vanished.

"Damn it!" Zoey shouted. "I hope Ash finds her in time."

* * *

Currently he was trying to find every single flying type in the Oak ranch and those who could walk very fast, both his and Dawn's. Gallade was also there to teleport them straight into the heart of the forest. The rain has weakened a bit but would still be a problem during the search.

While he was doing that, Lucario was telling him what he knew about the recent events. Apparently, Dawn had left the house early in the morning voluntarily with someone, whose aura he knew so he hadn't considered that person a threat. So whoever was responsible, they'd met that person at least once before.

As soon as all of them were gathered in one place, he climbed on Charizard's back.

 _So it wasn't because of that story about Red_. Ash was almost a bit relieved. _We have to talk about it. But first, I have to get her back._

"We have to be quick. Dawn is somewhere in Viridan Forest." It was now that Ash realized that he should have asked for more details. "Her safety is of uttermost importance so don't hesitate. Her fate lies in your hands. Please do your best. Now get close to Gallade so that he can take us near our destination."

With a bright flash, that illuminated the darkness of the forest for a moment, they appeared between several large trees. Gallade joined Ash on Charizard's back as he wanted to take her to safety as soon as possible.

"Go!" They spread out to cover a large area. "Don't worry, Dawn. I will save you. And then I'll make your kidnapper pay."

* * *

Vicoria was leaning against another tree, catching her breath. This tree didn't block the rain very well, something she didn't really care about. The important part was that she was safe now.

"That Weavile must have prevented teleportation," she whispered. Gardevoir was very smart to have attacked the dark type. She stood up and hugged the nearby pokémon tightly. "Thank you. You saved us."

"I couldn't have done it without your illusions distracting them," it replied telepathically.

"Let's just say we're both awesome," Victoria said, laughing. The laughter stopped when she remembered how she almost got caught. "That fucking bitch. But who was that guy? Because of that stupid darkness I couldn't see his face."

For a simple robber he had too many different pokémon and why would he look for someone in the middle of the woods at night? No, his presence was no coincidence but why was he there? Who was he working for? She kept thinking about the different possibilities until her phone vibrated. It was probably Seth who wanted to tell her about his success.

"Yes?" she said, activating it.

"You better have a good explanation..." It wasn't Seth's voice. It was the voice of her boss. "Seth isn't answering my calls."

"He ... he complained about my call disrupting his work. Maybe he blocked further calls," she guessed.

"And now he blocks my calls instead? Genius!" her boss yelled. "Anyway, abort the mission immediately!"

"But he said he was nearly done." She knew saying that was a mistake the moment the words left her mouth.

"Nearly done? Really? Let me tell you something. He wants to break her mind." he replied calmly.

"W-What? He didn't say anything about that. How did you know?" The boss just laughed. Was she seriously thinking that he wasn't observing their every move?

"Sometimes you really make me doubt your mental capabilities." He could almost feel her frustration. "Anyway, if you can't reach him via phone, go to him and tell him to stop."

"Bu he never told me his exact location. Only the place where I should take her to. My Zoroark's illusions would guide her to him," Victoria explained desperately. "But he only told him, not me."

"Very well. It's not essential for me. But maybe for your lives. If this happens, there might be ... dire consequences." He hung up, leaving a terrified minion.

She didn't know how he knew about Seth's plan or why he didn't approve. Actually, she didn't care. The only thing that mattered now was that failure would mean death for her.

* * *

At the same time, Dan was reporting the recent events to his boss in his own office. His natu had brought him there. Max was walking around the table while he was talking.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. Victoria was impersonating Dawn this time for some reason with illusions. I still don't know how she did it but the glasses showed me the truth," he said.

"First Ash, now Dawn. I wonder what she's trying to do. Anything else?" Max asked.

"Yes, she called someone whose name was Seth. You know him, right?" The boss stopped for a moment.

"Seth ... there's a mercenary with that name. Also called 'the Voice'. Dangerous man. So she's not working alone and there's probably a larger group behind this or they wouldn't have been able to pay for Seth's services." The more he thought about it the more worrying the situation became. "Is there more you can tell me about this Victoria?"

"Nothing really important," Dan replied, shrugging. "She simply disappeared two or three years ago. Not a big loss for contest fans. The pokémon she mainly used were Kirlia and Zorua."

"I see. My scouts haven't found Dawn so far but return to the forest anyway. If she gets out of there in one piece, see if you can plant a tracking device on something she always carries around. This won't be the last attack." The subordinate saluted before Natu took him back.

Catching Seth would be a huge success but Max didn't expect it. That guy was harder to catch than a legendary pokémon.


	14. The special Day part 3

**As I already said, this chapter will be darker than the others, though other, much darker ones will come eventually.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 14: The special day part 3

Slowly, Dawn's eyes opened. A quick glance at the clock revealed that it was 6:30 am. Ash was still lying next to her with his usual goofy grin. She gave him a tender kiss on the forehead before heading to the bathroom. Although she'd have liked to sleep a bit longer, she had a lot to do. Once she was done, she went back to the bedroom, got dressed and then she was off to the kitchen. An awesome day should be started with an awesome breakfast.

Only a few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. She guessed that it was a slightly overenthusiastic guest but opened nonetheless. To her surprise, it was Ash.

"Ash!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing out there? You were still fast asleep the last time I saw you. Happy birthday!" She tried to kiss him but he prevented her from doing that for some reason.

"Thank you." He smiled but she could tell that something was odd. "Save your affection for a bit later. First. I have a big surprise for you, no, for us. I left the house briefly with Gallade to prepare it but now it's ready."

"Is something wrong?" she asked. She had a bad feeling about this.

"It's nothing. I'm just a bit excited. Let me take you to a special place where I have to tell you something important." He grabbed her left arm. It felt strange for some reason, maybe because of the new gloves. "Please follow me. I can't wait."

"Wait, what about the breakfast?" she asked. "It's almost done."

"Oh, if that's the case, please finish it first. It will be the proper way to start the day once we're back," he said.

They went to the kitchen and he sat down, watching her finish everything, including the pokémon food.

"Let me just get my pokémon," Dawn told him, hurrying out of the kitchen but once more, she was held back by him.

"No need to take them with us. It's very personal," he said, dragging her out of the house. Unbeknownst to her, he had left a small note on the kitchen table.

Once they were far enough away, he called out Gallade.

"I found a very special place just for us. It's a bit far away so Gallade will take us there," he explained.

"Oh, you didn't have to," she replied.

"Alright, do it!" The pokémon took them to their destination.

It was a tiny, crescent-shaped lake within a forest, probably Viridian Forest, Dawn guessed. Gallade quickly went away and hid behind a tree, probably to give them some privacy. Now it was time to give him his present.

"Ash, I hope you like your present." He took the small cask and opened it hesitantly, eyeing the amulet for a few seconds. "It has a very ..."

She stopped when he let it drop to the ground. At first, she thought that he was just clumsy but then he stepped on it, burying it in the mud. There was a pained expression on his face.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I can't do this any longer. We have to ... we have to go separate ways."

"What?" Dawn couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You heard me right. I'm breaking up with you." He took a few deep breath, not even looking at her now. "I just don't think it's going to work. With all the upcoming battles I don't want any more distractions. I'm sorry. You're a wonderful person but ... I just had to make a decision."

"How can you do this to me?" she screamed after a short pause. "After everything we've been through. After everything I've done for you ..."

She sunk to her knees. Ash still wasn't looking at her.

"I guess I am just a distraction to you." She shook her head. "No, we can fix this! We can talk about this."

"I'm afraid not. And I can't look at you like this any longer. Please find someone who can appreciate you. I'm sure there are dozens of men who would kill for you," he told her.

"But I don't want them! I want ... where are you going?" He went to Gallade.

"I hope you find happiness again." Without another word he disappeared.

 _He left me. He just left me. Why?_ Dawn sat down, thinking about him. _Just like that. I thought he loved me. I really thought he loved me. I actually thought we could get through anything together. Damn you, Ash._ She let out a piercing scream. _That felt good. I'll talk to him. And if he won't listen I'll make sure he gets to know what I really think of his decision. Poor Buneary. And the others. He and his pokémon were like family to them. It will hit them just as hard. Ash, just what were you thinking? Or rather, were you thinking at all? Anyway, I should get back home first._

She looked around but she couldn't see any clear path. In fact, the forest only looked darker than before.

 _And he even left me here without my pokémon. Well done, Ash_ , she thought.

After searching for a while, she found a tiny path. Since it was the only one, she decided to follow it. At first everything seemed normal. Pidgeys were chirping in the trees and caterpies walking around. The more she walked, though, the more silent the forest became. Only when she stopped for a quick rest, she noticed that it has become completely silent.

 _Strange. Why is it so quiet in such a big forest?_ she wondered. _Probably just a coincidence. I better get moving again._

However _,_ the sounds didn't return. Instead, the forest was becoming increasingly darker with every step. She almost hit a branch with her head and noticed that the leaves were red like blood. The branch itself was very dark, almost black.

 _I haven't seen a tree like this before. This forest sure is full of surprises._ Dawn tried to touch it but backed away when she saw multiple thorns on it. _Full of surprises indeed._

Another look at the surroundings revealed a lot of briars growing all around the path, making an escape very painful at best. She decided that it was probably better to go back to the friendlier parts of the forest but suddenly a wall of thorns was blocking the way back.

"Alright, this is getting creepy" Dawn admitted.

It was merely the beginning. As much as she wanted the sounds of the forest to return, what followed was even worse than the silence. It started with the sound of monotonous drumming in the distance. It was slightly faster than a beating heart and made her really nervous. Strange noises from the bushes followed. Just as she expected now, there was nothing in the bushes. Apparently, it was just to freak her out, at which it wasn't entirely unsuccessful. It was the reason she didn't stop to rest despite her feet starting to hurt. Then the temperature suddenly dropped significantly. Now the sounds in the bushes vanished and got replaced by whispers. Dawn could neither make out where they were coming from nor what they were saying. In fact, they seemed to come from every direction.

 _What the hell is going on here?_ She was afraid. There was something wrong about this forest. Or someone was playing a very dirty trick on her, which wasn't much better. After all, that person could have something very bad in mind for her.

Even worse, glowing eyes were appearing in the distance like stars in the night sky so she felt watched all the time now.

Suddenly, she felt something grabbing her right ankle and even though it disappeared immediately, it made her feel even more vulnerable. Just when she turned to continue a branch shot right towards her. Fortunately, she dodged in time but instead of smashing into the ground, it simply stopped midair and faded into nothingness.

 _Calm down, Dawn. Calm down!_ She took a few deep breaths. _Keep your cool and just walk along. Don't run unless necessary. Alright, ready._

Apart from the constant noises, the next few hours, or at least it felt like hours, were rather uneventful. Still, it was more than enough to keep her extremely nervous.

There she was. Tired, lost and thirsty. The landscape seemed to change permanently. For hours, she hasn't seen a single wild pokémon nor a human. The noises, the sense of being followed and the increasing darkness were driving her crazy.

"What the hell are you trying to do, stupid forest? Are you trying to kill me?" she finally shouted.

Suddenly, the volume of the whispers increased dramatically until it was almost unbearable. However, it stopped just as quickly. Instead of the whispers, there was now a light in the distance. Since it seemed to be a better choice than the permanent darkness, she decided to follow it. It guided her to a green glade, which looked much friendlier than the dark forest. In the middle, a tall, bald, dark-skinned man was sitting with his eyes shut. He was wearing a long, white mantle along with white pants and shoes. Dawn didn't know that she was facing Seth the Voice.

"Welcome, child," he said to her without opening his eyes. "Have you come to seek guidance?"

For some reason, his voice had a very soothing effect but there was also a weak pain in her head, probably because she felt like she was about to die from thirst.

"Do you ... have something to drink?" she asked desperately.

"I do." He reached into a bag behind him and took out a bottle of water, which he threw towards her. She caught it and gulped down the water eagerly.

"Sorry, I was almost dying of thirst," she apologized. "Thank you for your help. Can you tell me where I am?"

"In Viridian Forest," Seth simply answered.

"Uhm, yes, I know that. I was asking for something a bit more specific," she said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"It doesn't matter. This is a safe place between the darker parts of the forests. You look tired. Why don't you sit down and relax?" She nodded although she didn't really want to stay. Maybe it was for the best.

"Why are you here? This is in the middle of nowhere." She started to lose every feeling in her limbs, probably because she was so tired. Even if she wanted she couldn't leave.

"It's a good place for meditation. But this isn't about me. I'm not important. You, on the other hand, are quite an interesting person. You look like something very sad happened to you. Otherwise you wouldn't be wandering around in the woods, frightened, exhausted and thirsty." He stood up, gave her a warm smile and kneeled down next to her. "Don't be afraid. I am your friend. I want to help you. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"My boyfriend broke up with me." She didn't even know why she told him this. After all, he was just a stranger she met in the middle of the woods. Why would she trust him? There was no denying that there was something about him that she couldn't explain. Maybe he was friend?

"Is that all?" If anyone else had said something like that she would have yelled at him but she just couldn't be mad at this one.

"Well, we've been together for years now and I thought about spending the rest of my life with him. You know, marrying, starting a family. And then, out of nowhere, he broke up with me. Without an apparent reason. I ... just don't understand." She wanted to cry, to let it out but she couldn't. Instead, it started to rain, as if the sky was doing it for her.

 _What's wrong with me?_

"I understand. You had hopes and plans for the future. Now they're all gone. You have every right to be sad." His voice was both calming and unnerving.

 _He understands you._

"Ash was my everything. We went through so much together. It was his birthday, I organized the party together with our mothers." Suddenly she noticed how emotionless her own voice sounded. "I'm not feeling so well."

 _I don't even know his name._

"It's no surprise. You went through a lot." He stood up and slowly walked around her, careful not to frighten the coordinator. "Maybe you should move on. Look at you, a brave, strong woman. You deserve more than this."

 _He wants what is best for you._

"Do you really think so?" she asked and he put his hands on her shoulders.

 _His touch makes me feel uneasy._

"Yes, you're one of the best I know. Don't let things like this get you down," he reassured her.

 _He can be trusted._

"But what should I do now? I have no plans, no hopes, nothing." She looked down. "Nothing left."

 _Why can't we just try it once more?_

"You still have yourself. Forget about Ash, he isn't worth it." The man became a bit more forceful now. All of sudden, her head started to hurt badly. "Come with me. I am part of an organization that's trying to make the world a better place. We need strong and dedicated people like you. We are like a family and take care of our own. We would like to welcome you, give you our love and make you feel whole again."

 _That's exactly what you need._

The darkness of the forest was spreading until only a small are around the man was still normal.

 _Make you feel whole again._ His words kept echoing in her head, making the pain even worse.

"Really? But before I agree, I should know more about this organization." She blinked. "Right?" Her vision started to get blurry.

 _There's something fishy about this. It does sound tempting, though._

"Does it matter?" He laughed softly. "No, it doesn't. You will join us. You will become one of our most powerful and most loyal members."

 _Is he trying to ... he can't ... he's a true friend._

Dozens of different thoughts were rushing through her mind, many of them conflicting. It was pure chaos, only the soft voice of this man could be heard. It urged her to agree, to stop resisting, to just let go. In her current state, it seemed like the most sensible thing to do. After all, she had nothing to lose, right? Her eyes were wide open and she was staring at him with an expressionless face. He had to be a friend since he was the only one unaffected by the darkness that was consuming the surrounding area and she didn't want it to consume her as well. Maybe he knew a way to stop it? And there was still the pain in her head that just wouldn't stop. For some reason, she was sure that he knew what to do. Yes, she needed him.

"Maybe ... maybe this is my destiny," she muttered, her trembling hand reaching forward.

Just when she tried to take his hand, his phone rang. His hand glowed blue and he shot something at her head. All of sudden, the voices were gone and replaced by a soothing silence. Dawn fell asleep within a few seconds.

"Victoria!" He roared. "She better has a good reason to call me."

"Hey, they fell for it. So what about your mission?" What made him even madder was that she sounded awfully proud.

"You called me because of that trivial stuff? I almost had her. You're lucky I managed to put her to sleep so quickly or I would have to start all over again," he yelled into the phone.

"Sorry," she just replied.

"Sorry? That's not enough. You nearly ruined everything. I don't know why, but she's pretty resistant to my abilities. A few sentences are usually enough but she kept questioning the thoughts. " Finally, he calmed down a bit. "Anyway, you won't call me again. Understood? No more calls until success. As I said, I'm almost done and the boss wouldn't like to hear about me failing because a certain woman decided to call me. That would be most unfortunate, wouldn't it? So don't disturb me again and I won't need to mention this little detail."

"No need for that." He smirked when he heard the fear in her voice. "Well, just keep it up. Without her, Ash will fall easily."

Once it was over, he turned off the phone as he didn't want to get interrupted again, and this woman was prone to mistakes. He shot a light blue beam at Dawn, waking her up again. She blinked a few times before her mind became clear again. He felt that something was wrong. When he tried to approach her, she backed off slowly.

 _Great, now I may have to start all over again,_ he thought. _Just working in peace, is that too much to ask? Bloody idiots everywhere._

"I had a most interesting dream," she told him suddenly.

"You did?" He was surprised that she was able to speak properly already.

"At first, there were moments with Ash. Both good and bad moments. They reminded me why I fell in love with him and why we stayed together. So precious, these moments." He didn't like where this was going. "Then he broke up with me and I had to walk through the dark forest again. There was only one difference. At first, I heard your voice, trying to convince me to leave Ash for good, then the voices of my friends and rivals, mocking me for giving up so easily. And you know what? They were right."

The man almost smashed the phone in his hands when he heard that. So his efforts so far were futile, after all.

"I won't give up. We have solved many problems, maybe not as serious as this one but I'm sure we will find a way. I don't care about you or your organization but if you're trying to tear us apart, you can't be a friend." It looked like he had to use a method he didn't enjoy one bit now.

"Are you a psychic?" he asked all of sudden.

"What?" The question caught her off-guard. "No, I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"Because you're more resistant to my ... efforts than most people," he explained.

"Well, my pokémon have completed a special training to increase the power of their psychic and control moves and make both them and their moves more resistant." The reason was more and more coordinators using the move to ruin her combinations. It was a very effective method but with the training, only the most powerful pokémon were able to do that. The training was the equivalent to Ash's resistance to status moves. "I also participated because ... well, I'm their trainer. Now, if you'll excuse me."

She turned to walk away but stopped, surrounded by a blue aura.

"My dear, did you really think I can let you leave like this? No, I have other ways of dealing with you. It's most regrettable, but it has to be done." Dawn didn't see him approaching, she could only feel a head grabbing her head. "I'm sorry."

It felt like dozens of burning needles piercing her skull to say the least. The pain was so bad that for a moment, she wished for a simple, quick death. Fortunately, she fell unconscious shortly after, falling to the ground.

"This will take a while. Make sure nobody disturbs me this time," he shouted into the forest. "At least Victoria wouldn't be able to thwart my plans this time."

He cupped Dawn's head with his hands. Her whole body started to glow blue with the glow on the head being the strongest by far. When it intensified, she screamed as if she was having nightmares. The screams were so horrible, even the guard pokémon in the forest took pity on her and it was the reason he hated this method. Unfortunately, he had no other choice in this case. He's already been doing this for a few minutes when he suddenly got nervous. Voices from the forest got louder and more frequent until they stopped altogether. Suddenly a massive flock of pidgey and pidgeotto came out of the forest, straight at him. Nearby, a zoroark was overwhelmed by the sheer mass of pokémon but the man just pushed them back with a wave of his hand. Only one of them, a large pidgeot and obviously their leader, got through.

It was Ash's pidgeot who had returned to him after he felt that his friends were strong enough to defend themselves against any intruder. Using the pidgey of this forest as scouts, he was able to find Dawn faster than the other pokémon and he had already sent a few of them to tell Ash about their success.

He blocked the flying type with a barrier but then he was attacked from behind by a few pdgeotto so he teleported to get into a better position. First he created several dagger-like psycho-cut-blades and shot them at the flock, killing a few of them instantly- However, the pokémon were pretty much everywhere by now, with even more appearing allow the time and several of them guarding Dawn's body.

"The boss won't like this. Not one bit." Instead of keeping fighting, he teleported next to the defeated zoroark and took them both to a safe place.

* * *

Ash arrived soon after, getting off Charizard's back as soon as they were on the ground and took her in his arms. It was a huge shock to find her completely unconscious.

"Dawn! DAWN! Wake up," he shouted desperately. To his relief, she was still breathing and without any visible injury. "Wake, you're safe now." He shook her until her eyes slowly opened.

For a moment, she looked at him and the pokémon surrounding her.

"Dawn, you're safe now. Let's get you back home." He gave Gallade a nod but before he could do anything, her confused look turned into a terrified one.

She let out an infernal scream that felt like it could shatter diamonds. Ash could only watch in horror as she looked directly into the night sky, screaming all the time. It was the stuff of nightmares.

"What's wrong? Is something here? Please tell me?" he begged.

It seemed to have an effect as she stopped screaming and slowly turned her look towards him without actually looking at him but at something far in the distance. He mouth, which was still wide open, slowly turned into a weak smile and then into an emotionless expression. Maybe looking into these dull, empty eyes was the worst part of the whole day.

"It' alright, I'm here. Let's just go home and ..." He stopped when she looked terrified again and expected a scream but this time, she remained completely silent even with the mouth open. She grabbed her head with her hands as if she was experiencing massive pain. Pushing Ash away, she took a few steps in the opposite direction before kneeling down and weeping.

"What the hell is going on?" He looked at his pokémon helplessly and Gallde spoke up.

"Pidgeot told me that a psychic did something to her. Maybe he messed with her mind?" he suggested.

"You're a psychic type. Can you find out what happened?" The desperation in Ash's voice was almost heartbreaking.

"I can't." Fortunately, he knew someone who could. "But Alakazam is a master of the mind. Unless she started looking for Dawn on her own, she should be at home."

"Then let's go." Ash gave Dawn a sympathetic look while she was laughing madly for no apparent reason. "I can't stand seeing her like this. Hurry."

He was next to her with Gallade, when she suddenly hugged him tightly. At first he had a glimmer of hope, which turned into pain when she dug her nails into his back.

"Ow, it doesn't matter. Take us home, Gallade." He turned to the other pokémon. "Please find the way home without us for now. I have to get her back quickly."

They nodded, understanding his situation. Gallade did as he was told and a few seconds later they were standing in the middle of the living room. For the moment, Ash ignored his friends and the pokémon, who were understandably surprised and worried, given Dawn's sudden appearance and especially her strange look. Piplup was probably the worst. Gallade picked her up and carried her upstairs while she was changing her behavior constantly. Fortunately, they found Alakazam along the way and entered the bedroom together with Gallade remaining outside as a guard.

"Do you mind telling me what happened?" Dawn's pokémon asked.

"A psychic did something to her that caused her to behave really strangely. Can you do something about it?" he asked.

"Foolish question. I'm one of the most capable psychic pokémon in the world, nothing concerning the mind is beyond my skills." She certainly wasn't lacking confidence. A quick hypnosis move calmed her trainer down although she still seemed to suffer from nightmares, judging from her pained expression. Alakazam laid one of her hands on Dawn's head. "Interesting. I daresay, whoever did this was no amateur."

"Did what? Please tell me," he begged her as he wanted to understand what happened to his love.

"He or she attempted to crush her mind. Had he been successful, her memory, her character, just about everything could have been altered." It was a terrible thought for Ash as he didn't want her to change, especially the way this psychic wanted. "Fortunately, I'm here to solve this problem. He wasn't able to get too far so this is a trivial task for me."

"Oh thank you. Please be careful," he urged her.

"Unlike a certain trainer, I never do anything without considering every possible outcome. Be assured that I will work with uttermost caution. However, in order to accomplish anything worthwhile, I need to concentrate. I'm afraid your presence is a risk I can't take." Although Ash was disappointed as he didn't want to leave her, he didn't complain for once and left the room without another word.

In front of the door, he found pretty much everyone who was still there.

What the hell happened? Is she going to be alright? Who did this to her? Those were the kind of questions he was bombarded until he had enough.

"Will you shut up for a moment?" he yelled. As if Dawn's situation wasn't bad enough, they were annoying him to no end. "Sorry, I had to do that. I know you're anxious to know what happened but you must also understand that I'm extremely tired. So please ask your questions one at a time."

"You also must understand that you're not the only one worried about Dawn," May told him.

"Well, we were a bit brash," Catelyn admitted.

"Do you want to know what happened or not?" Drew asked, clearly even more drunk than before. As much as he tried to deny it, he was just as worried as the others and the drinks managed to distract him, at least for a short time.

"You should hear yourself talking." Cilan rolled his eyes. "Now, I think there are three major questions to be answered. Firstly, what happened to her? Secondly, who did this? And finally the most important question, is she going to be alright?"

"It's about time you calmed down. Alakazam told me that she can fix the problem so there's no need to worry." This simple message made the atmosphere much more relaxed. "As for the other questions, it seems a psychic attempted something called a mind crush."

"That doesn't sound very nice," Iris remarked.

"How do you think it was for me finding her as if she had lost her mind?" Ash asked, which caused many of his friends to shudder. "We were lucky that he couldn't complete it." He took a deep breath. "Well, all we can do now is wait. You should go to sleep."

"No way!" Misty protested. "She's also our friend. I won't leave until I know she's alright."

"I will stay here as well. If I hadn't let this bitch slip away, we would have more information on who did this and why," Zoey added. Ash knew that she was feeling guilty so he tried to console her.

"You did your best and without your actions we wouldn't have been able to find her in time. For that, I'm forever in your debt," he told her and she calmed down a bit. "But you really don't need to stay here. Alakazam reassured me that she's going to be alright and make sure that nothing else will happen."

As if on a cue, she opened the door and left the room, the eyes of everyone on her. Clearly unimpressed, she slowly closed the door being and even attempted to just go away. Simple walking was also part of her training. A lot of alakazam neglected their bodies so much that they needed their psychic power to move at an acceptable pace but Dawn insisted that she didn't do the same. Although it was exhausting, there were two major advantages. Firstly, she was tougher than most alkazam even though she was still vulnerable and secondly, she could use the energy for something useful instead of supporting her body.

"Are you going to tell us whether you were successful or not?" Ash asked, slightly annoyed.

"I completed the task successfully. There was no other option." Talking telepathically to so many people at the same time was tiring so she tried to keep it short and sweet. "She will need a tremendous amount of time to recover, though. I advise you to be as gentle as possible, otherwise her recovery will only be delayed."

"Hey, I'm always gentle," he protested, which caused her to stop, her expression turning into a smirk.

"Really?" Since the atmosphere was so grim, she decided to lighten it up a little, at Ash's expenses. "The noises from last night told me otherwise."

Ash's face turned red as he felt the stares of his friends on it, some of them merely grinning, others laughing.

"Did you have to say it in front of everyone?" he shouted. "They didn't have to know that."

"Oh, but they already did." The young trainer felt anger building up inside him, looking at Serena who was the only one who could have told them.

"Can't anyone here keep a secret?" Although it wasn't addressed at anyone in particular it was clear that he meant her. Even Pikachu was laughing at him and it was the first time in hours Ash actually noticed that his partner was still there. Who could blame him, considering the past events?

"Maybe you should buy a house with thicker walls?" Drew suggested, rubbing salt into Ash's wound. The laughter was interrupted by Alakazam's voice in their minds.

"Please calm down, you don't want to wake her up, do you?" she told them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm in dire need of some rest."

Although a few of them still wanted to stay, they also understood that all of them would be too noisy so they left. Serena stayed in the house but went to the guest room. In the end, only Ash, Pikachu, Buneary, Lucario, Piplup and Alakazam, who still had something to tell, remained.

"There's one more detail. It was necessary to remove her memories of the mind crush itself. Experiencing the pain is usually more than sufficient to drive most people insane, and in a certain way, this is the mind crush's key component." Ash was wondering what was so bad about this. "Unfortunately, despite my skills, it was also necessary to erase the memories of the events directly before the mind crush attempt."

"I understand. I trust you know what you're doing." He looked down at his sleeping beauty. There was no way he would want her to be troubled by memories like this.

"I guess it's time to for me to leave. And more thing ... thank you. I have to admit I was relieved when I heard you were successful and when I found out that it's not too late." He gave her a surprised look as it was rare for the psychic type to show her emotions so openly. "You wouldn't have been the only one to be devastated if anything serious had happened to her. Try not to hurt her too soon, alrght?"

"You can count on it." With a flash, she disappeared.

With Lucario being on his guard, nobody could approach the house without being noticed so Ash was able to get a bit of sleep. His only hope right now was to be awake when she woke up.


	15. Recovering and Regrouping

**Not much action in this one, mostly a preview of the things to come.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 15: Recovering and Regrouping

The atmosphere was tense and relaxed at the same time. Ash and all the pokémon were gathered in the bedroom, waking for Dawn to finally wake up. Although they knew it was going to happen eventually, waiting for it wasn't too pleasant as they got more and more impatient. If Alakazam hadn't reassured them that the blunette was going to be alright, they would have been worried by the paleness of her skin. At least her breathing was stable, which was somewhat soothing.

Their friends were currently downstairs as they respected his wish to be the first to see her wake up and explain the situation to her. A lot of them were still suffering from a terrible hangover, especially Barry, Bianca, Gary and Drew. The only ones completely unaffected were Zoey and, strangely enough, Cilan, who had tasted almost every drink they could find. Either he was more resistant than the others or he was very good at hiding it. Delia and Johanna still didn't know anything about the recent events as Ash felt that Dawn should wake up first and his friends thought that Ash and Dawn should be the ones to tell them once they felt that the moment was more appropriate.

During the night, someone unknown approached the house but before Ash could find out who he was, that person was already gone. Whether it was the psychic or someone else didn't matter to him at all. In the end, the incident only confirmed his suspicions and caused him to be even more alert than before. He asked Noctowl to patrol the area around the house, just in case, and the flying type happily complied as he was usually active during nighttime anyway. The trainer was still worried, though, as anything could happen now. Fortunately, it remained the only incident that night.

At 10 am, the wait finally ended. At first, she only stirred a little, then she let out a long groan and her eyes opened slowly. The first thing she was saw was a bunch of faces, those of her and Ash's pokémon to be exact, and in the middle of them, there was Ash giving her a warm, albeit slightly worried smile. She returned it as well as she could before trying to get up. A piercing pain in her head stopped her quickly, though, causing her to sink back, grabbing the head with her hands. Ash put a hand on her chest, preventing her from trying it again.

"Everything's alright," he said with a soothing voice. "Relax. Take a few deep breaths and then try to speak."

She did as she was told and the pain subsided. Still, she didn't dare move her head again, the feeling was still present.

"Ash, everyone ..." Alakazam was relieved as she had feared that Dawn would be suffering from amnesia after the treatment. "What am I doing here? What happened?"

"Relax, I'll tell you everything. What do you want to know first?" There was something she was dying to know.

"Are you still mad at me? Or can we start over again?" Her voice almost cracked when she said that. Just listening was painful to Ash but he could also hear hope and there was no way he was going to disappoint her.

"We can't start over again because we didn't break up." At first she felt pain, then relieve and finally confusion. They didn't break up? Did she just imagine everything? "I see you're surprised. To put it easy, the Ash you saw was an imposter who tried to break us apart. I know because a fake Dawn broke up with me. Zoey caught her and it turned out to be someone called Victoria but that's already everything we know. I'm afraid she got away."

"Really? So we are still together?" asked although she already knew the answer. She just wanted him to say it.

"Yes, we are. Nobody will break us apart," he reassured her, carefully stroking her head.

For a few moments, she just enjoyed the feeling with her eyes closed. If it wasn't for the pain in her head, she would have felt reborn. There were still a few things she wanted to know, though.

"How did I get here?" she finally asked.

"I don't know any details," Ash admitted. "Pidgeot's friends found you in the clutches of a strange man, who tried to do something Alakazam called a mind crush. Apparently, she successfully healed you."

"Really? I guess I'm in your debt. Thank you." Pidgeot wasn't with them but at least the psychic type was and replied with a simple nod. "Guess who will get some extra poffins once I'm back to normal. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm sure you all did your part. You will all get something nice to eat."

"They deserve it. All of them showed great concern when you were gone," Ash told her.

"I'm starting to remember about this man. He was friendly, the first good sign after this demonic forest. It was like a maze." Her memories of the journey through the forest weren't too good but still caused her to shudder. "It was like a nightmare. I never imagined something like that could be in Viridian Forest. It just felt so wrong. And there he was, waiting in the only safe spot, comforting me, trying to build up my confidence. It felt like he was the only friend I had left." The memories became clearer and clearer. "Yes, I could even hear his voice in my head, asking me to forsake you, to make a new beginning without you, to join him. His voice ... it was strange. It felt so soothing and commanding at the same time. We argued in my head and ..." Her voice got very quiet. "I lost. I tried to resist but it was too powerful. I almost gave in. Even though I came to my senses in the end, I ... betrayed you. I'm sorry."

Ash's heart almost broke when he heard her sobs. How could anyone hurt his little angel like that? He wanted to cradle her, stroke her head and run his fingers though her hair until she fell asleep. Her pain, sorrow and guilt, he wanted to vaporize them. And finally, he wanted to make the man who did this to her pay. In his opinion, the crime was unforgivable. The psychic, the imposter and whoever they were working for, had to be punished.

"Listen to me." His voice was clear and strong. "You didn't betray me. Don't you ever think like that. He was a psychic. You hear me? A psychic. He probably manipulated your mind. Doesn't it already say everything that he had to resort to such methods? I refuse to believe that you would have given up otherwise. I know you too well to believe that. So don't feel guilty. I love you with all my heart and there's nothing that could change my feelings."

Their pokémon agreed with him, nodding all the time and she seemed to understand. There was something fishy about that guy in the first place and the psychic bit explained a lot of things.

"Thanks. I really needed that." She tried to give him a hug but the pain stopped her once more. Instead, he and the pokémon gave her a soft hug.

"I know you love me." He gave her a tender kiss. "You don't need to prove it. Your everyday actions tell me more than enough."

"You really know how to make me feel better," she replied, giving him a weak smile. "Sometimes I just wish you would do it a bit more often. But now I'm tired ... so very tired. My head is killing me. I'd like to sleep a bit more or is there something else you'd like to talk about?"

"No, you should relax. For the whole day if necessary. Our friends wanted to see you but you're too tired for that." She wanted to shake her head but it only caused her even more pain.

"Ouch. I mean no, I want to see them as well," she said.

"I thought you wanted to relax? You change your mind rather quickly," he remarked with a grin.

"I didn't get the opportunity to do that yesterday, silly. There was so much I wanted to talk about but now most of them are probably gone." Unlike her, he could still shake his head.

"As I said, most of them are waiting downstairs. Would you like me to get them?" he asked.

"Yes, please." He turned to leave but his left hand was grabbed by her. "I also wanted to say thank you. Thank you for saving a damsel in distress."

"It was my pleasure." He knew that she hated being like that so saying it wasn't easy for her. Once more he tried to walk away and he was stopped again.

"There's one more thing. I missed your birthday. I couldn't give you your present but I promise you will get it later. There's something I have to say right now, though." He looked at her questioningly. "Happy birthday."

* * *

The air was so thick, Victoria had trouble breathing. On the other hand, maybe it was just because she was so nervous. She was inside her boss' office, sitting right in front of him with Seth next to her. Unlike her, he showed no emotion. Maybe he was just more confident, but she didn't think that anyone could be that calm after screwing up a mission like that. She hoped to get it over with quickly, but her boss insisted on talking to them in the morning after a good night's rest.

Even now he was making them wait. For a few minutes, they just sat there in complete silence with only their boss sometimes saying something like 'interesting' or 'wonderful' while reading a magazine. It was like he was teasing them with his actions although only Victoria appeared to be affected. During this time she felt on the verge of breaking apart several times when he seemed to finally turn to them only to return to his magazine again. Once she thought she noticed him looking at her and his expression was frightening, as if he was enjoying the fear he was causing. She could only imagine the impression she was making by shivering all the time.

Even when the boss finally put the magazine down, he didn't talk to them. Instead, he stood up, staring at nothing and walked around the desk. A cold wind hit Victoria when he moved past her so horribly slowly, which was also probably just to terrorize her. As soon as he was behind her, he suddenly stopped. The silence was almost unbearable but the following sound of steps towards her was even worse. She held her breath, expecting him to do something to her from behind. At least didn't have a weapon or did he? All of sudden, she wasn't so sure anymore. There was only that strange earring with the blue, diamond-shaped gem, the same kind that was on her mask. What kind of power could it grant to him? She breathed a sigh of relief when he moved away again, past Seth and back to his chair.

For a moment, he was tempted to just pick up the magazine again and let them wait a bit longer but decided that he had enough.

"Sooo." Even when he finally started, he was sluggish. "That was quite a fun night, wasn't it? Illusions, break-ups, and lies. Nobody could hope for a better birthday than that. Too bad about the ending, though."

He slowly went behind Victoria again and put his hands on her shoulders. She thought he would yell at her but he turned to Seth instead.

"Seth, I really expected more of you. But maybe you just misunderstood me. I said I wanted them. BOTH of them. TOGETHER. As a TEAM, not two individuals hating each other's guts. They would be worthless to me that way. So your plan was flawed to begin with. Effective, funny, but flawed." The boss let out a laugh. "Oh yes, it was so much fun. I even decided not to stop you since those little flaws could have been fixed eventually. But when you tried to do the mind crush ..."

"It was the only way..." Seth started but he was interrupted.

"Don't you understand?" his boss asked. "Where's the challenge? Where's the fun. I want them to join me voluntarily. I want to see them crawling, begging me to spare them. I want to break them. But not like that. I don't want mindless slaves. Well, maybe I do but not now. The mind crush isn't fun. It's boring. It's lame. Bad for my game." He laughed again. "Hey, that rhymes. Anyway, I wouldn't be so mad if you hadn't blocked your phone. You know, nobody blocks my calls."

"I wouldn't have had to do it if it wasn't for Victoria calling me in the middle of the process." She gave Seth a dirty look. "Her unnecessary meddling made me do it."

"Unnecessary? I did what I thought was best," she protested.

"Really?" The grip on her shoulder got stronger. "You thought it the best you could do?"

"Yes, I completed the mission. I did everything you asked of me." His only reaction was laughter. "What's so funny?" Even now she didn't dare turn around.

"You think you did well? Let me tell you, there's nothing special about it. Everyone could have done it with that mask of yours. Illusion and voice change. Amazing thing. More amazing than your performance, which is nothing to be proud of. It was so pathetic you even got caught." The words ripped her heart in half. "Aw, don't be sad. You know what? I won't punish any of you."

"What?" Now she actually turned around and despite everything inside her warning her, she asked the question. "But why?"

"Because you failed. And thus I can correct your mistakes by taking care of this matter personally since I can't trust anyone with this. But the main reason is my extraordinarily good mood." Seth and Victoria looked at each other, wondering why that was the case. "It appears our men finally found the mistake and made the material much more stable, possibly stable enough to give the Okcha a proper comeback. Follow me."

While following him, they thought that shadows on the walls were moving very irregularly. Those were probably gengar guarding him and moving freely as only the outer walls were made of darksteel.

"The money is already flowing. The mayors are afraid of Shira and rightfully so. They know exactly that she means business so they don't even want to wait a bit. We almost have enough for the next phase of my plan. Once we can mass-produce the Okcha, we're only missing the bomb and I already have a solution for that. This will be so much fun." They went through a door which led to a section they had never been to before. "You can't imagine how excited I am. Years of waiting, years of putting the parts of an unknown puzzle together are finally going to pay off. The price will be larger than anything you can imagine. Even the money we're getting from the cities will be nothing compared to it. I'm so looking forward to the moment when I'm no longer dependant on stupid things like money."

They went through one narrow corridor after the other, going deeper into the base every time. The further they went, the dirtier it looked and the more they felt the grasp of the ice cold air down there. Just when they though it couldn't get any worse, they opened the door to the final chamber, where a hot wind greeted them. The room couldn't have been more different. It was a huge chamber with red painted walls and full of strange machines and equipment. The air was even hotter inside, probably because of the machines working all the time. Dozens of pipes, full of strange materials, led to the upper sections of the base. Wraith and several scientists were waiting for them near a console. She saluted as soon as they were there.

"Everything's ready for the test, Sir," she reported.

"You will be among the first to see a living Okcha in its new body. A glorious moment," Their boss told Seth and Victoria before turning to the scientists. "Let's see whether you're right this time. Do it!"

"Commencing phase one," one of them shouted, moving a lever.

Three massive machines, which have been inactive so far, in the middle of the room with large glass tubs started working and the tubs were filled with a clear liquid, maybe water. Then an icky, yellow slime was released and soon formed an orb in the middle of the tub.

"The base material is stabilized. Phase one complete. Commencing phase two." Another scientist pushed a few buttons and moved a few levers. Neither Seth nor Victoria knew what he was doing. "The material is being infused."

Two large needles came from above and below, piercing the orb, which started glowing brightly all of sudden. The light was so strong that they couldn't look at it directly. About half a minute later it was over with the slime being pink now and changing its form every few seconds.

"Infusion complete. Commencing phase three." One of the moved another, larger lever.

Another, similar machine lit up but this one contained a gengar swimming in the same liquid with cables and tubes attached to the body. However, that wasn't the interesting part. It was the pink slime in the three other tubes, which was now taking shape with a few smaller parts sinking to the bottom. The rest turned into things that looked just like the gengar in the fourth machine. They were perfect copies.

"Transformation complete. Commencing last phase. Call the Okcha!" There was a certain excitement in the scientist's voice that caught Seth's interest. Something big was about to happen.

A big, red button was pushed and for a short moment, the liquid in the tubes turned black and the eyes turned green. Once it was back to normal, the gengar copies inside began to move.

"Finally." The boss's eyes were shining. "All the years of planning, all the years of preparing are finally going to pay off."

"Evacuate!" another scientist shouted and the liquid was sucked out of the tubes, leaving only the copies. The tubes were opened in the front.

"Come here." The boss raised his right first and that was the first time Victoria noticed a golden ring with a blue gem, maybe a sapphire, on his index finger.

To her surprise, the gengar approached him until they were levitating right in front of him. Even when they were so close, she couldn't spot any difference to a normal gengar.

"Victoria." She got caught off-guard by him. "Tell them to do something. Anything."

"Um, alright." She pointed at the one on the left side. "You there! Make ... do a ... punch yourself!"

The boss and the scientists laughed when the gengar did absolutely nothing, only Wraith and Seth remained motionless.

"Didn't work? I would be very worried if it did." He pulled a silver ring, with the same blue gem as the one on his own ring, from one of his pockets, took one of her hands and put it on the palm. "Now put it on and tell the same gengar to use shadow ball on the one in the middle. Come on," he added when she hesitated.

"Alright." The ring was cold to the touch but pretty and it had some fancy letters, which she couldn't read. She would have to ask him about those later. "Use shadow ball on the one next to you!"

This time, it complied without hesitation and shot the shadow ball right at the other gengar's face. Apart from being pushed back a little, it showed no signs of injury or even pain, it simply returned to its original position. Her boss laughed and clapped his hand along with most of the others.

"Very good. Very good. I have a new mission for you. But before we start ..." He turned to the gangar in the middle. "Have you already forgotten about Viccy's first order? I know she wasn't wearing the ring but I still think she deserves to see it fulfilled. Use shadow punch on yourself!" The gengar appeared to punch the air in front of it but then a black fist came out of nowhere, hitting it in the face. "So much fun. You've been a good minion and deserve a reward. The other two, hit it with shadow ball until it's destroyed!"

Even though the body was stable, it was still only the weak body of a gengar and two of the super-effective attacks were enough to break it. In a burst of green flames, it turned into grey dust and the assembled people could hear something which almost sounded like a cry of both rage and relief, as if the destruction came as a release.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the mission." Although Victora was still a bit disturbed by the cry, she listened carefully. "I have a plan to get Ash and Dawn but I need two things that belong to them. Two things they are always carrying around. It will be your mission to find these things. I don't care how, just get them."

She paled visibly but didn't complain. Instead, she saluted and left the chamber.

"Seth, I also have something for you to do. You need to reactivate base Alpha-Three." The psychic just raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't the Alpha bases the old, abandoned ones? Why reactivate one of those?" he asked.

"It's the only Alpha base that hasn't been discovered so far and I need the space it provides for an experiment. Unlike the newer bases it still has a teleport blocker instead of darksteel walls but in this case, it's an advantage." He saw the scientists watching them. "What are you doing? Get back to work!"

"One more question. What exactly are those creatures?" Seth pointed at the gengar. "Are they real pokémon?"

"No, they aren't. We'll leave it at that. There will be a lot of time to talk about this in the future. Right now, we have other things to do. Some of my men are waiting at the entrance of this base and they already know what to do. You will just take them to Alpha-Three and make sure get their work done without interruptions." Seth nodded and teleported away.

Now only Wraith remained standing nearby, her hand already holding two pokéballs, which looked normal apart from being green instead of red.

"Ah, yes, the Okcha balls you mentioned." He took both of them. "Let's see whether they work." A green energy beam hit one of the gengar, making it glow green before it got absorbed into the ball. "Fantastic. I'm glad you were able to keep up with the others."

Actually, he wasn't surprised at all. He knew she was able to do it despite being only 17 years old and having never gone to school. She was a prodigy, a highly intelligent genius, who had taught herself everything she knew and only had trouble talking to people. Without a doubt, she was one the best he was able to get.

"I think it's time for you to return to Shira's base and continue with your other objective," he told her.

"Don't we already have enough money?" It was hard for him to understand her since her voice was always like a whisper. "We could buy them again."

"No, Team Plasma gave us this opportunity and I'm not going to let it slip away. Why pay for something when you can have it for free? We still need the money, the materials are extremely expensive and hard to get. Even with the ability to produce Okcha, we can't afford to piss off our suppliers. They're not as pathetic as Team Rocket. We're not strong enough to fight them just yet so we'll keep a low profile for now. With Shira drawing all the attention to herself, this shouldn't be too much of a problem," he explained.

"And the shaymin?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Well, there are only few left but one of them is enough to protect a whole city if they are used correctly. No risks this time so continue capturing them." He was about to leave her but then he remembered something. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Tell Shira to send me a few shaymin for the essence ripper. Three should be enough."

"Yes, sir." Wraith called out a gothitelle, who teleported her back into Shira's base.

Her boss looked at the Okcha ball he had used and called out the gengar again. He was thinking about all the things he could do with them but for those two he had something very special in mind.

The cold air in the corridor was a real shock to Victoria, especially due to the temperature in the chamber itself. But maybe it was better that way. She needed to cool down and find a way to fulfill her mission as her recent failure forced her to do well this time or the boss might decide that she wasn't worth the trouble anymore.

 _Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. What am I supposed to do now? Two things they are always carrying around? Clothes? No, they are changing those regularly. Pokéballs? Same problem. Wait, Pikachu and Piplup are always around. But how am I supposed to get my hands on their pokéballs? After yesterday, they will extra careful. Maybe they won't even trust their friends anymore. This is bad, really bad. Perhaps I can look around in their house when they're gone._ She punched the wall without thinking and regretted it instantly. _Ouch, damn these walls. Damn those two. Damn this bitch who decided to follow me for some reason. I'm fucked, I'm so fucked. Wait, maybe "always" doesn't mean always but only "most of the time". Doesn't make it much easier, though. Is it ... wait, wait, wait._ Her frown turned into a smile. _I've got an idea. Yes, this just has to work. Yes, I'm saved!_

* * *

Wraith appeared in a small chamber just outside the base with several cameras observing her every move. She recalled Gothitelle before a hidden door nearby opened.

"Welcome back," a voice told her.

If she'd been an enemy, a gas trap would have taken care of her quickly and efficiently. However, since the guards knew her, she was able to enter without a problem. She gave the guard behind the door a quick salute and made her way to the laboratory without further delay. Fortunately, most of the people she met were rather busy so she didn't get distracted by fools trying to talk to her. At least this base was air-conditioned and also looked more friendly than most of the others, which was mostly due to Shira's efforts. She tried to make life in her base as comfortable as possible and it showed in the morale of her men.

The laboratory was just the way it was when she left it, which meant that her desk was the only half-decent looking one. The other scientists in this particular base, a title most of them didn't deserve, thought of themselves as masterminds but they were little more than brutes, just slightly above the common thugs so it was no surprise that they were jealous of here. Behind her back they called her things like antisocial freak but she wasn't one to care about other people's opinions of her or other people in general. There was only one scientist who was somewhat competent called Dr. Tareth. As a favorite of the boss, he got his own lab, which was without cameras and could only be opened with a key he carried, and was the only one allowed to perform experiments on the shaymin. Not even Shira herself could give him orders, only the boss could do that. Because of that, she wasn't on good terms with the scientist, but no matter how much she tried to convince the boss that Tareth should be under her command since it was her base, he seemed to trust that guy.

On her desk she found what she was looking for, a book on advanced pokéball technology next to several pokéball parts. Experimenting with them, finding out how they worked, and changing them to work better for her, was one of the few interests she had and it was the way she found ways to improve them. One thing she had found out was that even tiny changes could make a huge difference, that didn't mean that she wasn't open to entirely new ideas, though.

Wraith took the book and went to a room, which was made to track down people. In this case, it was used to observe and track down poachers who had found a shaymin as the boss had the foresight of attaching bugs to the pokéballs which were given to the poachers. Several guards were sitting on one side, watching monitors and listening to the conversations. On the other side, which was more cozy with several couches and tables, Boris was lying on a couch, waiting for them to find his next victim.

"Hey, you're still alive." He almost got up but decided that it wasn't worth it in the process. "Those losers say that two poachers are close to catching shaymins. I was already afraid I would have to do everything by myself."

"I see," she remarked, sitting down nearby and starting to read the book.

"What's with that book?" She answered by showing him the front cover. "Pokéball technology? Boring cunt," he muttered, not loud enough for anyone to hear.

"A shaymin was caught," one of the men exclaimed. Both Wraith and Boris stood up.

"I'll take care of this," he shouted.

"You've taken care of everything while I was gone. It's my turn now," she replied.

"Fine, the next one should be caught soon anyway." He jumped on the couch again.

The guard handed the tracking device to her. Soon another shaymin would be theirs.


	16. A cruel Duty

**This chapter might give you an idea what the next chapters are mostly about. Not all great powers are destructive. Some can utterly defeat an enemy without a single drop of blood.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 16: A cruel Duty

Shaymin was in a bad situation to say the least. It had been running away and hiding from poachers for a long time without leaving the forest, but there was one enemy it couldn't defeat: it's thirst. One unfortunate morning, it was so strong that it had to take big risks as there was always a chance that a poacher watched the place where it wanted to drink. This time, that was the case.

A golbat spotted the desperate grass type and immediately let out a cry to inform its master. After gulping as much as it could, Shaymin ran away as fast as possible. As expected, the golbat chased it, but the trees made following the gratitude pokémon difficult. Occasionally, it used air slash, which always missed, though, and usually hit trees instead. Golbat's patience was running out soon so it charged at Shaymin recklessly and smashed it against a tree with wing attack.

 _No, this can't be the end. I didn't escape them so often just to get caught now. Just you wait, I've learnt to fight without a gracidea._ Golbat charged at it, its fangs glowing purple.

The desperate pokémon shot a magical leaf into the air, cutting a tree branch just above, which fell down right on top of Golbat. It was large enough to knock it out instantly so Shaymin had a little time to catch its breath. It didn't last long, though, as another golbat appeared, letting out the same cry. However, this, along with the golbat's surprise at finding its companion defeated, gave the grass type enough time to use leech seed, which started to drain golbat's energy. Despite the successful attack Shaymin knew that reinforcements would arrive soon and ran away again with golbat following it mercilessly.

It had learned from the previous fight and shot magical leaves into the air to cut tree branches, which golbat had to dodge with the leech seed in effect. This didn't allow the bat pokémon to make any proper attacks so it used its cry more often, hoping that the others would arrive soon. Soon the leech seed was taking its toll, though, and in a brief moment of disorientation, it knocked itself out by flying against a large tree. Even now Shaymin didn't stop and only five seconds later, two more golbat approached it from the side. They didn't attack for some reason, which turned out to be something large coming from the other side. At first, the grass type thought it was a magenta ball but it was a scolipede. Before it could think of a strategy, two air slashes hit it from behind, leaving it vulnerable to Scolipede's steamroller. As if this wasn't enough, it turned around and rolled over it once more, finally knocking out its prey.

About one minute later, a small man wearing blue jeans, a long, black coat, and a black cap, arrived, led by his fifth golbat. A small cage was already in his hands. He was quite surprised to find two of them missing.

"What happened to the others? Did that Shaymin defeat them?" he asked and received nods. "Incredible. I've never seen a shaymin that actually fought back. Maybe this one will fetch a higher price."

He didn't even bother looking for his fallen pokémon as he wouldn't need to ever work again with the reward. Instead he sent out one the remaining golbat to inform his client of the success. It was to return within one day with further instructions for him so he wanted to return to his camp in the woods. It would be his last night in the open.

The journey back was uneventful, yet he had a very bad feeling. When he arrived, it seemed he was right at first since someone was waiting for him, leaning against tree but it turned out to be just a girl or young woman. Her clothing consisted of black boots, tight, grey pants, a gray belt, and a gray shirt, nothing special.

"Who the hell are you?" he yelled but not before covering the cage. "This is my camp, get lost!"

Instead of answering , Wraith just turned towards him, looking at him emotionlessly with those red eyes, it was kind of spooky. That's when he noticed a clear gem on her belt, perhaps a diamond. No matter what it was, it made the girl much more interesting.

"Forgive me my rudeness," he suddenly apologized. "Why don't you stay for while? I'm sure there's a lot we can talk about."

"Now." He was too far away to hear her but even if he had heard it, the following would have come as a surprise.

There was a noise behind him and when he turned around, he only saw his two remaining golbat falling to the ground, encased in blocks of ice. His scolipede was already down, slashed by a powerful banette that now charged right at the poacher but then suddenly disappeared. Instead, an icy wind from a nearby froslass hit him in the face. Banette reappeared just in front of him, following up with a punch to the stomach. As soon as he was down on his knees, it held its right claw at his throat, threatening to slit it, should he make any sudden movements. During the one-sided fight, the cage had fallen to the ground. Now it got lifted by Froslass's psychic move and moved towards Wraith.

"I'll take this," she said to the shivering man, taking the cage with Shaymin. As soon as it was hers, Banette hopped on her shoulder.

"What the ... how ... why? It belongs to me!" he tried to yell but his voice was too weak to be taken seriously.

"A pokémon doesn't belong to anyone. First rule of Team Plasma." His eyes widened in fear.

"Team Plasma? No! Please let me live. I promise I won't steal pokémon anymore," he begged her but she shook her head.

"Team Plasma won't let any poacher escape." She nodded at Froslass, who raised one of her arms, creating a spear of ice.

"No! You can't do this! Mercy!" the poacher cried.

In a rather weak attempt to escape, he tried to hobble off. Froslass shot the spear right at her fleeing enemy's back with enough force to pierce it. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

"This was mercy," Wraith whispered. "You were lucky Boris got to kill the other one."

Said poacher was also on his way to his camp. Unlike the former, he didn't have trouble capturing his shaymin so he was accompanied by five golbat and his scolipede. Sometimes he wished that his clients had given him at least one pokémon capable of teleportation.

"Booo!" A sudden noise from above made him jump. It turned out to be Boris, who was sitting on a tree branch, laughing at the reaction. "Oh man, you should have seen your face. By the way, that's quite a nice shaymin. Care to share?"

"I don't think so. Too bad you spotted it. I have to get rid of you now." He reached for his gun and aimed at Boris but before he could shoot, something from above cut it in half.

A skarmory shot down, hitting the scolipede with a brave bird. The golbat, who tried to help it, were hit by large rocks simultaneously. The poacher turned around to see a kabutops standing there with another rock ready, which it flung right at him. If he hadn't dodged so quickly, it would have smashed his head and the remains would be lying on the ground right now. Just then, Boris jumped down, tackling him to the ground, where he stepped on the poacher's hand, making him cry out in pain. The sweet sound made him smile maliciously.

"I'll do anything you want. Just don't hurt me!" he stammered between the cries.

"I just want the shaymin." He took the cage before turning back to his prey. "Thank you very much."

"So have what you want. You can let me go now, right?" the poor man begged.

"Let you go?" Boris scratched his chin. "Well, I have Shaymin, so why not? Run, you miserable, little bitch."

"Seriously?" He didn't actually expect this answer.

"Yes, go away," he replied, turning his back on the poacher.

 _This is probably a trap_ , he thought. _Ah, what the hell. I should get away before he changes his mind._

As soon as he heard his prey running, Boris put the cage aside for now and gave his skarmory a little signal. The flying type shot a small energy blade at the poacher, who had no time to react. It hit his right foot, causing him to fall to the ground, screaming in pain.

"I'm so terribly sorry," Boris mumbled while slowly walking up to him. "I nearly forgot my orders. You see, I'm not supposed to let anyone escape. Can you forgive me?" he asked like a small child who'd done something wrong.

"You damn bastard," his enemy replied, turning around to face him. As soon as he was done, another energy blade hit his right shoulder before he got grabbed by two strong hands.

"Now listen to me, you piece of shit. You only talk when I ask you a question and even then you will end it with 'mighty Boris'," he shouted right at the poacher's face.

"Go to hell!" The left shoulder was the target for the next energy blade but this time, it was a bit larger, causing even more pain.

"Every time you disobey, Skarmory will use a more powerful air slash." He pointed at his pokémon who was ready to use the move again. "I hope you understand now."

"Yes, mighty Boris." Another energy blade hit his stomach.

"No, you don't. Because that wasn't a question!" the tormenter yelled. "Maybe I should use something more drastic to make you understand. Like glowing nails, icy blades or a simple club to break a few bones." He laughed at his victim's expression. "Unfortunately, I'm supposed to kill you rather quickly. Being with Team Rocket was way more fun. They knew how to make my day. Now let's end this."

"What? What about the questions?" the man cried.

"I never had any. Sorry if I gave you that impression." He pointed at his kabutops. "You have the honors."

The poacher had enough. To his tormenter's disappointment, he just closed his eyes and waited for the rock type to slit his throat.

"How boring. Let's return to the base." Boris stopped a few seconds later, hitting his forehead. "How stupid of me. I nearly forgot my price."

The shaymin in the cage couldn't even look at him when he picked it up again.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Maybe the experiments will but I won't. I can't say how painful they are but I wouldn't get my hopes up too much," he told the frightened pokémon.

* * *

Wraith was back at the base before Boris was even done killing his target. This was usually the case since he loved playing with his prey, something she wasn't interested in. Before delivering the shaymin she went to the storage room to get a new lab coat. Since it was always full of supplies, tools, cloths and other stuff and the guy responsible for it was a lazy bastard, it always took a while to do that. As soon as she was done, she went to Darryl Warren at the control room.

"Another one," she simply said.

"Oh great, the cages are already overflowing. But thanks anyway," he replied, taking the small cage from her.

Without another word, Wraith returned to the observation chamber, waiting for the next poacher to be successful. Darryl, on the other hand, went to Dr. Tareth's lab. Due to his secondary function as Tareth's assistant, it was his duty to bring him shaymin, food and any other supplies he needed for experiments and he also had to lend a hand whenever there was need for it. Although it wasn't the most rewarding task, the two had become close friends after a rough start.

He knocked on the heavy steel door leading to the lab, which caused a nearby camera to focus him. The door unlocked seconds later and he entered the room quickly, closing the door again behind him. The room was basically divided into two areas. On his right, there were the cages, which were full of shaymin, probably dozens of them. On his left, there were countless small jars containing ingredients and poisons, mostly for experiments. There was also tables with lots of books and magazines, the place where he spent most of his time. Tareth sighed upon noticing the cage in Darryl's hand.

"Another shaymin, just what I needed." He took the cage and put it on a nearby table for the moment. "I wonder how many are left."

"We're getting fewer of them every day. Soon the current project is finished. We have to act fast." Even though he didn't mention what he meant, it was clear to Tareth.

"I know. Shira may not show it but she's getting suspicious, I can feel it," he said. "Anyway, you should return now. We'll talk again during supper."

"Alright." Darryl turned to leave. "Try to think of something. We have to do something very soon."

"Yes, yes, I know." As soon as he was gone, Tareth sat down and covered his face with his hands.

How did this happen? He could still remember the time when he was in dire need of money due to his wife and four children, but mostly because of his gambling addiction. The fact that he horribly sucked at it only made it worse so he was highly indebted. He needed a miracle and it came. A manager of Sorlan Corporations decided to start his own little project, whose goal was to create a potent chemical weapon. At first he was hesitant but the pay was too good to pass up and soon his doubts were erased by his associates. After the sudden demise of a leading person, he was made head scientist and leader of the SCO-2 project. Their base was located hidden below an abandoned factory, almost like a factory within a factory. The reason why these secret chambers even existed rooms was a mystery, but they gladly used them and the old machinery for their own goals. Perhaps it was even built by their boss for his own research and production, thus serving its original purpose. In order to keep the locals away, they even made ghost types haunt the upper part and despite a few complaints and a few smaller investigations by the president himself, they weren't found, which only confirmed Tareth's belief that they weren't part of the original building as even Sorlan didn't know them. Under his leadership, they made slow but steady progress until the manager was finally happy with the result. The work allowed him to not only pay his debt but the money also fueled his addiction and also made him even more reckless than before. It wasn't just the money, his new work also fascinated him, there was something about venoms that made him want to know more. And he wanted more, more money, more knowledge, more prestige. His family, on the other hand, was almost forgotten as he started to neglect them.

Then the Sorlan Massacre happened, which turned his world upside down. Suddenly, his old boss was dead and everything he'd discovered was in the hands of criminals. Since he was afraid that the police might find out about his involvement, he looked for another employer and found someone who needed competent scientists for questionable research. Of course he was criminal, but Tareth didn't care anymore at this point. Impressed by his quick success with Okcha research, his new boss decided that he was right one for experiments with shaymin, which was a wise decision, considering his experience with toxins. Needless to say, Tareth was thrilled and happily accepted. He didn't even mind working with Shira and surprisingly enough, his boss, whom he never met in person, didn't put him under her command but let him act independently. Whether that was due to mistrust towards Shira or trust towards him remained unanswered. There was no reason not to trust him, though, as the pay and liberty would make treason highly unlikely. In fact, there was only one thing that could make him do that, something he would have never, ever considered: regret.

How could an emotionless, greedy bastard turn into a soft weakling who refused to perform experiments on shaymin? At first, he thought that they were just like the other pokémon. Maybe they were legendary, but still nothing compared to the likes of Groudon, Dialga or even Arceus. He thought he could ignore their desperate looks, their pleas for mercy, their sickeningly adorable innocence.

He was wrong.

The moment, he looked into their eyes, the moment they made contact, he lost. They found something in him, something he thought lost forever, and awakened it, a sense of gratitude. All of sudden, his goals seemed ridiculous to him. Why would he need more if he already had so much? He had a loving wife, four well-behaved children, an education which gave him access to any job he could wish for. Why would he need more? Those were the thoughts running through his mind. He quickly realized, though, that gratitude wasn't the only feeling that was awakened. Although he had no idea how they did it, those little buggers just had that effect on him. Apart from a few preparations he simply couldn't perform any experiments. Fortunately, he found a friend in Darryl, who wasn't happy with the path Shira's organization was taking. Sometimes he felt going back to his old self would be easier, it would certainly solve all his problems instantly. However, whatever the shaymin did, it couldn't be unmade or even denied anymore. No, this was his life now and he wouldn't want to turn back now, although he wouldn't admit it. In the end he decided that the shaymin had to be free again, those magnificent creatures, who freed him from his greed and opened his eyes to what was really important, even if it would mean his end.

His options were very limited, though, as he couldn't simply leave his lab for a very long time. Most of the guards couldn't be trusted for obvious reasons, trusting Darryl was already risky. No, he needed help from outside this base. But who would and could possibly help him? The international and local police were riddled with spies or at least he thought so, as he hasn't heard of the recent purge yet. Other criminal organization were out of question since he was smart enough not to trust them and even if he did, currently only Team Plasma was hostile towards Shira. The real problem, though, was time. Every day Shira and their boss were getting more impatient, waiting for results he couldn't get.

A sudden knock on the door almost caused him to jump. It turned out to be Darryl again with another shaymin.

"Boris got this one. I don't want to know what he did to get it," he said, shuddering. Even among the others, he was infamous for his brutality. "Sometimes I wonder why Shira keeps him around."

Only Tareth, Wraith, and Boris knew that Shira wasn't her own boss, that she was getting instructions. Tareth made her believe that Darryl knew about this as well, which was the reason she went easy on him and never asked him to tell her things about the experiments. Unlike Shira, who thought her little organization to be a kind of vanguard, Tareth knew that they were little more than puppets, a face of an empire, which kept the rest of its body well hidden. Sooner or later they'd be sacrificed and Shira's arrogance would be her downfall, he was sure of it.

"Well, he's willing to do even the dirtiest job. Otherwise she probably wouldn't bother. Anyway, thanks again." The door closed again and he put the cage next to the first one.

Then he remembered that those two would want to be with the others so he held them in front of an entrance and opened both of them, allowing them to join the other shaymin.

"Here you go, little guys. Sorry about the long wait," he said.

It was an odd situation for the shaymin who had been caught by Wraith. On the one hand it was happy to be reunited with its friends, on the other hand the circumstances were simply horrible.

"What ... what is he going to do to us?" it asked even though it was afraid of the answer.

"Nothing." The reply was as simple as it was unexpected. "He isn't such a bad person, after all. We managed to make clear him that what he was doing was wrong. Now he's trying to help us but things aren't going well."

"Yes, he isn't so bad. Neither is Darryl." One of the shymin noticed its injuries. "Hey, what happened to you?"

"I got rolled over by a scolipede." They shuddered. "Twice." All of them looked at it like it was both mad and a hero.

"I'm sorry to hear. I got captured while sleeping," one of them told it.

"I found a gracidea but it turned out to be a trap," another one said.

"I walked straight into a scolipede. It was rather embarrassing." Now all of them started talking, which resulted in chaos.

"If there are no experiments ... what does he do all day?" the new shamyin asked as soon as the room was silent again.

"Trying to figure out how to get out of this situation," one of the older ones explained. "You see, he can't just walk out of here. They would kill him and we would probably get someone who's ... less scrupulous." Many of them shuddered at the mere thought. "So he needs other people to storm the base and free us. But he says that he doesn't know anyone who's strong enough and can be trusted. There's also another problem. He needs some results for his boss or he'll get replaced soon."

"So he just needs someone who would help us and is strong enough to do so?" It received several nods. "Maybe I know someone ..."

"You do?" They got very excited all of sudden. "Tell him. Tell him. He has to know and then decide whether it's worth a try."

Dr. Tareth was watching them , mostly because he had nothing better to do. He could only guess that they were telling the new ones about the situation as it always happened when new shaymin arrived. Sometimes he wished he could understand what they were talking about, however, this time there was no need as one of them spoke to him telepathically.

"Sir?" It sounded a bit afraid and hesitant. "The others said you were looking for people to help you. I ... think I know someone."

"You do? Tell me about them." He didn't get his hopes up so his voice sounded bored and unenthusiastic.

"Well, they saved me from a poacher. They pretty much crushed his pokémon and their piplup told me that they're about to become champions." Tareth had considered the regional champions but had decided against it as getting to them was difficult and the people around them couldn't be trusted.

"How many of them are there?" he asked.

"Two." He almost fell out of his chair. Two? His old self would have slapped the shaymin for this but he knew that it was just trying to help. "Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's alright." He forced a smile. "I appreciate your help but two trainers won't be able to help us."

"Those two will. I'm sure of it. They're so strong. You have to believe me." The way it looked at him was so adorable, he couldn't be mad at it.

"Fine, tell me more about them." He certainly didn't expect what Shaymin was about to tell him.

"Well, their names are Ash and Dawn ..." This time, he actually fell off.

"Ash? Dawn? Are they ...? They have to. Those names aren't very common." His reaction made the shaymin very curious.

"D o you also know them?" it asked.

"No, not personally. When Shira tried to get some information on my experiments, she told me about two promising trainers called Ash and Dawn, who managed to defeat Giovanni of Team Rocket. Apparently, our boss is trying to recruit them." He scratched his chin, thinking about the possibilities. "Maybe they have friends who could help them. Maybe ... I still have my doubts."

He couldn't do it, after all. It was too risky, the glimmer of hope was already gone.

"No, it's way too dangerous. We can wait ... just a little longer." He knew that time was running out so eventually, he would have to do something.

The shaymin kept calm, both disappointed and sad. For once, it thought that it had just the right idea but now it turned out to be useless or at least so it thought. Another knock on the door interrupted their conversation. At first, Tareth thought that it was Darryl bringing him another shaymin but he was wrong. It was Wraith, who was carrying an empty cage.

"He wants three of them," she simply said and it was already enough for him to understand.

Their boss wanted three of the shaymin for his own purposes, probably the essence ripper he had heard about. Tareth knew better than to refuse.

"Alright, give me a moment. I'll pick the best for him." He took the cage from her, closed the door and went to the full cages.

For a few he was just standing there, wondering what he could possibly do to get out of this situation. The shaymin felt his despair and got equally nervous. To them, those seconds felt like an eternity.

"I won't lie to you," he finally spoke up. "My boss wants three of you and those who go are unlikely to return. I'm sorry, I ... I don't know ..." He broke down, avoiding their gazes as he expected them to be accusing, blaming him for this situation.

"There's no other way?" He finally looked up, noticing their faces full of desperation, sadness and ... pity?

"No ... there's no other way. If I refuse, my boss will probably kill me off and that's it. But no, I can't force you to do this." He looked away again. "I can't do this. It would probably be better if I died instead of ..."

He couldn't even finish the sentence. Three of them had to be chosen, otherwise not only he would be killed, but someone else would replace him, making the life of the remaining shaymin a living hell. Besides, his boss would still get three shaymin so complying was the logical and sensible decision. So why was it still so damn hard? Maybe it was because he knew exactly that he had to chose who would be sent to their death. It was a cruel mission with no right decision, one he wasn't strong enough to fulfill.

"I'll do it, an older shaymin spoke up."Send me."

"Are you crazy?" Tareth's thoughts matched those of the other pokémon. "You can't do this!"

"I can and I will. Someone has to do it and I might as well be one of them." This attitude impressed the others.

"If he goes then so will I," another one said.

"I won't let you die alone. Take me as well." As if this wasn't enough, even more of them volunteered.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" he interrupted them. Then he talked slowly and softly. "Are you sure you want to do this? I can't force you and I don't want to be responsible for your death. After all you saved me, gave me another chance."

"I'm absolutely sure." He didn't expect so much courage from a shaymin. "I do this both for you and my kin. Don't forget, you also saved us and gave us another chance. By refusing to do experiments, you endangered yourself just to let us live a little bit longer. For that you have my thanks. Now do it before I lose heart."

Hesitantly, he put the empty cage in front of the others and opened the doors. Everyone watched in silence as the old shaymin slowly went into the new cage. It was followed by several others, who were sometimes held back by their friends. As soon as three of them were inside, he closed them again.

"Please forgive me," he whispered before going back to the door. "I'll make sure your sacrifice is not in vain."

The scene was breaking his heart. The other shaymin were pushing against the grates, probably begging their heroes to return even though it would probably mean their own end.

"Please let them go. Take me instead. Please stop." Those were the things he heard in his head, repeated over and over again. The others, on the other hand, told him not to stop but to hurry.

The three chosen ones were trying not to look at their friends as it would have only made the decision more difficult, maybe it would have even made them change their minds, something they had to avoid at all costs. Only a few months ago he thought that nothing could get to him but the desperate efforts, the devastated looks of the shaymin separated by destiny would probably haunt him for the rest of his life. A tear left Tareth's eyes when he opened the door to seal their doom, to ensure the cruel but necessary sacrifice.

He was lucky that Wraith was horrible with feelings and didn't notice his sadness. She just took the cage without another word and left. It was a duty she didn't enjoy as she felt that the world could need more gratitude. Some people simply didn't know just how lucky they were. Others had trouble merely surviving. On the other hand, she despised their innocence. After all, the world was a cruel place, a fact those three were about to find out first-hand.

Tareth locked the door again and sank back into his chair. He had just doomed three of the only friends he ever had. Regret, shame and guilt were killing him from the inside. It was too late to change that, though. No, there was only one thing left to do. He had to ensure that their death was not in vain and he didn't have to sacrifice even more of them. But in order to do that he needed action instead of waiting. He needed those trainers. He needed Ash and Dawn.


	17. Bad News

**It was a busy week, so I didn't get to update for a while. Hopefully things will calm down a bit now.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 17: Bad News

Tareth, Darryl and the shaymin that had been caught by Wraith, were sitting at the table in the bedroom behind the laboratory, having supper and discussing their plan. The young guard didn't understand why the scientist was so determined all of sudden since Tareth hadn't told him about the three shaymin. It would have meant also telling him about the true master of their organization, something which would have put Darryl in unnecessary danger. That didn't mean that he didn't appreciate it as he thought that it was high time to act.

"You really want to do this?" he asked, just to be completely sure.

"I've never been so sure. We have to do it and we have to do it this night," Tareth answered.

"And you think those two this Shamyin mentioned can do it?" Those questions were starting to get on his nerves.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now stop asking questions. We have to be quick." The others nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's start with Shaymin's instructions. Darryl will get you out of this base with a gracidea flower and a note with a map and instructions for those trainers. As soon as the sun is rising, use the flower and fly to Kanto. I think they're living in Pallet Town, aren't they?"

"They are. If you don't know how to get there, I can make a map for you," Darryl added.

"Yes, please. I'm don't know those names," Shaymin told him.

"Alright, I'll add it to the other note." He turned to Tareth. "But why wait for the sunrise? Wouldn't it be smarter to use the darkness for the escape?"

"You might think so, but it's impossible for a shaymin to enter its sky forme during the night. Ice also causes it to revert to its land forme but that's not important right now." He turned back to Shaymin. "When you see them, give them my note. Tell them about our situation. If we are lucky they will listen and help us. But -" He gave the pokémon a serious look. -" it's very, very important that they don't go alone. Tell them to get help from people they trust completely and not to tell the others, especially the police. They're corrupt and can't be trusted, do you understand? So don't talk to them. In fact, don't talk to anyone but those two."

"I understand. I'll just tell them and nobody else about our plans and they will do the rest," it said, summing up its part.

"Yes, exactly. Darryl, I can't imagine how you could get it out but you seemed sure that you are able to it. Can you explain your plan to us?" he asked.

"Of course I can. There's one thing you have to understand first. We have been stuck in here for months now and this base, as comfortable as it may be, doesn't allow us to fulfill a few basic needs if you understand what I mean." Tareth could guess what he was talking about. "It's hard to get in the mood for some people when there are at least two others in every single room. You can pretty much forget about privacy around here. Not counting your lab of course. Or the empty prison cells. But ever since some idiot locked the door while a couple was at it, nobody wants to use them anymore."

"And what does this have to do with your plan?" the scientist asked, not too thrilled about the subject.

"I'm getting to that. Just let me speak," Darryl replied, waving his hands. "As I was saying, people here tend to get frustrated quickly. But there's a way to overcome it. You see, the cameras on the surface are not very stable and often just stop working. In this case, two or more of us have to leave an repair it, preferably at night so the chance of encountering others is minimal. And that's the perfect opportunity to solve the problem I described earlier. You know, there have been an awful lot of damaged cameras lately. I can't imagine that Shira doesn't know about this so I guess she just tolerates it. It's kind of understandable. Who wants to work with sexually frustrated thugs? It's also a great opportunity to have some drinks."

"Let me guess, a camera will need a repair tonight and you will be the one to do it?" He nodded.

"I'll ask Susan. I know she likes me so I don't think she'll decline." It wasn't the only reason, though. She was one of those he considered the 'good' people around here. Just like him, she wasn't happy with the current situation and maybe she wouldn't even report him if she caught him freeing that shaymin. "I can use the toolbox to hide shaymin and the other stuff. I'll make sure it's one of the outer cameras so Shaymin can escape more easily in the morning."

"I understand. And this ... trick is common practice?" Tareth asked. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was rather impressed by the guards' creativity.

"Yes, pretty common so it won't raise suspicion," he answered. "Otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it."

"Good. Now are there any questions?" The others just shook their heads.

Shaymin wasn't sure why it was here anyway. Neither could it contribute very much to the planning nor could it ask a lot of questions. Its mission was so simple it could be explained in one sentence and it was only chosen because it knew those trainers in person. It was a chance to redeem itself after it didn't have the courage to volunteer for the sacrifice, which forced another shaymin to take its place.

"Alright, I'll get you at 12pm," Darryl told it. "Be prepared."

The rest of the evening was spent in silence as everyone was fully aware that the mission would decide their fate and they needed to clear their mind, which also meant making peace with oneself, just in case something went horribly wrong.

Just as promised, Darryl arrived at 12pm with a huge toolbox, large enough to contain both Shaymin and the tools required for the repairs. With a string they attached the maps, instructions and the gracidea to its body.

"Good luck, my friend. Please don't forget about us," Tareth told Shaymin, saying goodbye.

Sitting in the box was very uncomfortable, and the transport felt like an hour, but it was necessary. In the end it was worth it, when Darryl opened the box, revealing his face and the night sky to the pokémon. No matter the situation, breathing fresh air again was a true relief. He allowed it to jump out of the box before pointing at a large plant in the distance.

"Hide in that bush over there," he whispered. "Nobody will be able to find you and if you escape from there no camera will be able to spot you. We're counting on you."

Shaymin rushed to the bush as quickly as possible, hiding inside before anyone could spot it. It was clear that the hiding place would allow for a good night's sleep, something it was in dire need of. Just when it closed its eyes, it realized that even though it had a map of the region, it was useless to it since it didn't have hands but now going back wasn't an option so it had to do without. For a scientist, that was a strange mistake to make. Fortunately, they told it that the base was located to the west of Fuchsia City, near the sea. Pallet Town was to the northwest so it just had to look where the sun was rising and it would know the approximate direction. Once it was across the sea, it could ask people for further directions. With that problem sorted out, it finally went to sleep.

Darryl, on the other hand, wouldn't even consider sleeping right now as he had Susan to make him forget about his problem, even if just for a short time.

* * *

Ash stood up much earlier than usual as he still had to take care of Dawn. He looked at her face, which looked way more normal than the day before, with the color having returned completely. Nevertheless he wasn't going to let her leave the bed just yet and even wanted to make breakfast in bed for her. First he took a shower, changed his clothes and went to the kitchen to make something at least acceptable. Unsurprisingly, Pikachu, Buneary and a few others were already waiting as they were used to having breakfast a little earlier. The things he could give them weren't too good but they could go without Dawn's food for two days, or at least he thought so. He proceeded to make a few eggs and a bit of toast for himself and his girlfriend. Pikachu jumped on the table behind him.

"Pika pi! Pi Pikachu. Pikaka." he said, pulling a face. Years of experience made understanding his partner rather easy.

"Yeah, I know that stuff isn't nearly as good as the food Dawn makes but I'm sure she will make some poffins for you as soon as she's feeling better," he replied.

"Pika! Pika chu!" His tone got more aggressive, something Ash wasn't surprised about.

"I also would like to train again but it's impossible right now. Or do you want to leave Dawn here in this condition?" The pokémon fell silent. "See? I promise you things will be back to normal soon, you just have to be a bit more patient."

Even Ash was a bit frustrated by now. Three days without training weren't something to be taken lightly and he would have some trouble keeping everyone in shape.

"Chu! Pikaka." His face looked gloomy, his ears hanging down.

"Yeah, I'm worried about her as well." He scratched his chin, not taking his eyes off the eggs. "Do you think Giovanni is responsible?"

Pikachu just shrugged, having no answer to that question. The last two days have been rough on him as well so Ash wasn't surprised that his partner was a little agitated. Since the eggs were done, he could leave Pikachu to sort things out and went back to their bedroom only to find an empty bed and both his lucario and Piplup missing.

"Dawn?" He put the breakfast on the nightstand. "Lucario? Piplup? Where are you?"

 _Wait! Haven't I seen those two in the kitchen? I thought they were supposed to guard Dawn_ , he thought to himself. _Well, they better have a damn good reason. If something happens again, I ...where is she?_

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened and there she was standing, fully clothed and ready for the day. She walked up to him, put her hands on his shoulder, looking straight into his eyes before embracing him so tightly that he thought she would crush him.

"Oh Ash," she cried. "It's so good to be back to normal again. I feel like I could lift mountains!"

"Too strong," he managed to stammer. He never would have expected her to have this kind of strength, especially after having spent the last day in bed.

"Oh sorry." She let him go and stretched her body a bit. "It's amazing. Yesterday I could barely move without my head feeling like it would explode and now it's like nothing has ever happened." She noticed the breakfast on the nightstand. "Aw, breakfast in bed? You didn't need to. But thanks anyway and thanks for taking care of me yesterday."

"It was my pleasure. You're sure that everything's alright, though?" The change was a bit too drastic and sudden for his liking.

"Never felt better. No need to worry. Now you don't need to worry about your training either." It was like she knew about his worries. "Don't even try to deny it. You're worried that your pokémon might get out of shape and you're right. But now everything's fine."

"Really?" He still had his doubts, which were mostly erased when he saw how hungrily she devoured her breakfast.

"Not bad. Maybe I should let you make breakfast more often," she remarked with a grin.

"Bun bun." Ash turned to the door where Pikachu and Buneary were standing with expressions of pure horror.

"Pi. Pika." He knew exactly that they were saying something like 'don't do that'.

"Hey, I was just kidding," she laughed as the pokémon jumped into her arms.

"Well, now that we're done hurting feelings, why don't we start the day?" She knew what he was talking about and nodded.

"I'm sure the others were already getting impatient." She raised her right arm. "Another adventure survived."

"Another adventure survived." Have gave her a high-five. "Don't get too cocky, though. We'll likely see more of them at some point."

"That's true but worrying all the time would be pointless. If we're careful enough there's nothing that can stop us." She was so optimistic Ash was starting to wonder whether Alakazam had done a bit more that she wanted to admit. Or maybe this was just a phase. "By the way, where are the others?"

"They have already left. Serena decided to join May and Drew in their journey through Kanto," he told her.

"That's good. Traveling with friends is always better. Anything else happened in the world that's worth mentioning?" she asked.

"I don't know. I was too busy yesterday," he replied.

"You mean you had no time for the newspaper or the news on TV? Then let's get it immediately." She ran off, probably to the entrance of the house to get both this and last day's newspaper.

Ash went back to kitchen with his part of the breakfast, where he found Alkazam.

"Are you sure you didn't do more than you mentioned?" he asked. "She's awfully optimistic today. Don't misunderstand me, it's not a problem. I'm just a bit curious."

"She probably just has a lot of energy left after yesterday. Give her a bit of time and she will calm down," the psychic type told him.

"Alright. I was also a bit ... wait, did you hear that?" He thought he heard something coming from the entrance door.

"Ash! Aaaash!" Dawn was running towards him with a newspaper in her hands.

"What's wrong? Did something happen? Are you alright?" She stopped in front of him, holding the newspaper so that he could see the front page.

'Giovanni escaped. Team Rocket leader's prison cell found empty.'

"What the hell?" he just said.

"Wait. It gets worse." She pointed at the article below the first one.

'Charon on the run. Former Team Galactic Commander and leader of the Galactic Hunters escaped by unknown means.'

"This is bad. Very bad," he mumbled.

He couldn't say that Giovanni's sudden escape surprised him a lot. Someone with his intelligence and connections was bound to get some help. However, the newspaper stated that he had been in the most modern prison in the world, featuring every known method to keep the prisoners from escaping. The mere thought of someone being able to get out without detection was more than terrifying. Charon having escapes only made things more disturbing. Now another one who wanted to have his revenge on them was on the loose. The questions remained. How could the guards let this happen? Did Charon get help from inside? What would he do now?

"Ash, I'm worried." He looked at her face, which was almost as pale now as the day before.

"That's highly disturbing," he agreed. "We have to be careful. What should we do now?"

"Well, as I see it, there's only one thing we can do." Everyone looked at her. "We should just go on with our lives. Sure, we should be a bit less trusting after the things that happened at your birthday but we can't live in fear all the time." Ash was somewhat impressed, he couldn't have said it better. "Let's just leave it for the international police. They aren't complete idiots, are they?"

"Alright." He turned to the pokémon, raising his fist. "Who's up for some battles?"

All of them answered by doing the same and shouting in agreement.

"Wait, Ash. There's something I remembered. Something I have to do first," Dawn said to his disappointment.

"Really? Let me help you so you can get this over with. What's it about?" he asked.

"No, Ash. This is something I have to do without you or it will ruin the surprise," she explained.

"Surprise?" He was about to make a joke regarding the surprise the fake Dawn mentioned in her note but decided against it. "Please let me come with you. What if something happens again?"

"No need to worry, my pokémon will be with me. Or do you think I can't defend myself?" Although she sounded like she was only pretending to be hurt, her eyes showed real pain.

"No, I ... Alright, just hurry. It's boring without you. And please be careful," he added.

"See? Was it that difficult?" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "It won't take long, I promise."

"You can already go. I'll finish my breakfast first," he told her, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Okay. Alakazam, take us to the Oak lab. I'll need Togekiss for this." With a bright flash, they disappeared, leaving Ash and his pokémon in the kitchen.

They were giving him a reproachful look.

"What? I have to eat something. Come on, don't give me that look. It won't take long, I promise ," he said, repeating Dawn's line.

At the Oak lab, Dawn just exchanged Typhlosion for Togekiss, which was enough for now. Then she explained her plan to the flying type.

"We need to find a very small, crescent-shaped lake in Viridian Forest. Alakazam will bring us as close as she can and then will try to spot it from above. Sorry, you have to remain in your pokéballs or we would be too heavy," she said to Zoroark.

Grumbling, he complied and Dawn climbed on Togekiss's back along with Piplup, Buneary and Alakzam, who were even lighter than she was. Then Alkazam teleported them to the northern part of Viridian City, which was close enough for her.

"Alright. We're looking for a small, crescent-shaped lake. Don't forget and keep your eyes open," she reminded them.

They knew from the start that this was going to be a difficult and time-consuming task as the forest was huge and there was a possibility of trees blocking the view on the lake. Considering that, it was almost surprising when Gengar, who was flying with them, came up to her, pointing at a clearing after merely half an hour. Her eyes weren't as good or maybe it was because she was horribly cold, but Togekiss had to get closer for her to realize that Gengar was right. Although the ground was pretty muddy, Togekiss was able to land as softly as usual, it was hardly noticeable. Upon getting off her back, Dawn noticed that she was the only one who was really cold after the flight.

"Thank you." She recalled the flying type since she deemed this place unfit for a pokémon like that. Her pokémon were looking at her expectantly, wondering why she led them to this strange place. She understood and tried to explain. "Two days ago, I was brought here by that deceiver. This where she made me believe that Ash broke up with me and it's also the place I lost my present for him." They nodded in understanding, this was a decision they could respect. "It was dropped over there, I think, somewhere in the mud. I don't expect you to help me with this but you're welcome to try."

Of course they helped her, kneeling down and moving their hands and paws through the mud, hoping to feel something that could be the present. It turned out more difficult than expected, not because the amulets were well hidden but because she felt strangely vulnerable, even with her pokémon around. Maybe she should've let Ash accompany her? Now it was too late, though, and she had to do it without him or he would probably think she was a coward. No, Ash would never think something like that or would he? She pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on the task ahead.

After only a minute, she found first the cask and then felt something metallic in her hands. It was the first amulet and finding the second one was easy now. Since they were dirty, she washed the mud away with the water of the lake until they looked just as good as new. However, she was afraid that the rough treatment had damaged it in some way so she took the one with the red gem and put it around Alakazam's neck.

"Please teleport to Viridian City for just about ten seconds. I will stay here and look whether the amulet still works." The psychic type was pretty annoyed, sighing with frustration.

"Oh yes, let me teleport around all day. It will be so amusing," she complained, her voice full of sarcasm.

She would be like that whenever frustration got the best of her and then her mood usually lasted all day unless she got to battle at least three pokémon. Since Dawn was going to train anyway, it was something she would provide.

"Alright, fine." As soon as she was gone, the gem on Dawn's remaining amulet started to glow but something was wrong.

Despite the glow, the gems was still cold and not even the warmth of her hands were able to warm it up. Maybe it was due or having lain in the mud for such a long time or perhaps it just needed some time to reach its working temperature. At least the glow was still working, something she was thankful for. The glow subsided when Alkazam returned.

"Thank you, that was very helpful," Dawn told her. "They turned out to be a bit more damaged than expected but I guess you can't have everything, right? Anyway, we just need to get back home and then we can have some battles."

This gave Alkazam some motivation and complied immediately, taking all of them back to their house, where Dawn first changed her clothes as the old ones were dirty due to the mud and then took the poem, she had almost forgotten about. Next to the recent events and the amulets it seemed pretty unimportant but she still felt that Ash deserved to see it.

With her pokémon, she walked to the lab, where Ash could already be heard from afar. They picked up the pace, wanting to join in the fun after this rather tiresome morning. When Ash spotted Dawn, she slowed down and hid the present behind her back.

"What's that behind your back?" he asked with an amused grin. "Do I have to tickle you until you show it?"

"I don't think that will be necessary," she replied, stopping in front of him. "After all, it's already yours, I just wasn't able to give it to you two days ago."

"You mean that's ..." She put a finger in his lips, silencing him.

"Happy birthday, Ash. I hope you like my present." She showed him the amulets, which he eyed curiously. "Let me explain how they work. They are called aura stones. Whenever they're far enough away, they start to glow and they're also supposed to become warm, but for some reason this doesn't seem to work after I lost them because of the deceiver two days ago. Oh yes, you have to wear them for them to work properly. I was told that they were used by couples to feel their partner's love even when they were far away but modern technology made them redundant."

"Redundant? Those things sound amazing. That's exactly what I would have needed during my time in Hoenn. The feeling of not being forgotten," he mumbled, staring into the distance. "It also would have been incredibly useful two days ago. With those things, who knows what would have happened."

"You're right. I didn't even think of that," she admitted.

"How about a demonstration? Give one of them to Alakazam, she teleports maybe to Viridian City and I will see the glow for myself." He had no idea why the psychic type suddenly looked at him so aggressively.

"Now you've done it," she told him telepathically.

He rose into the air, until he was a few meters above the ground. He gave Dawn a pleading but she was too busy trying not to laugh hysterically to notice.

"What the hell? What did I do wrong?" he asked desperately.

"If you ask me to teleport one more time I will crush your family jewels along with your hopes of ever having children. Do you understand me?" Something inside him told him that she wasn't kidding.

"I understand, just let me down!" He landed softly and looked at Dawn, who had calmed down in the meantime. "What was that about?"

"I'll tell you later," she replied. "Oh, I nearly forgot again. There's something else I have for you."

That was when he noticed the piece of paper in her hands. It was no wonder he missed it with the shiny amulets being so much more noticeable.

"It's a poem. Well, before I spoiler too much, I'll just read it to you." She cleared her throat and began with the most poetic voice she could muster.

 _I still see your face before my eyes.  
thinking of happy times,  
of the way you made me smile,  
now it seems far away._

 _Maybe I can fool my friends, my family, but not myself  
I'm all alone again._

 _The sadness hurting my soul,  
the doubts in my heart,  
your absence feels eternal,  
agonizing and cruel._

 _I am longingly waiting for your return, your eyes, your smile,  
so that you restore what's left._

 _I stare at the pictures you left,  
to remind me of you,  
I listen to your soft voice,  
Every time you call._

 _Can't see the wound in my heart or the pain in my eyes?  
Because I can see it in yours._

 _I know we will see each other again soon,  
for I remember the promise you gave me.  
Our hearts, our dreams, our souls are connected,  
by a bond of love that nothing can break._

 _I know you have your own dreams, your own plans, your own wishes,  
but who says we can't achieve them together?_

"Wow." He was seriously impressed. "Did you make this yourself?"

"I have to admit that I didn't," she replied, slightly embarrassed. "The shopkeeper gave it to me and it reminded me of that special time."

"That's also what I wanted to say." He was no expert on poems and certainly not as obsessed with them as Dawn but it really was kind so he took it and embraced her. "Thank you, I got a lot of presents but these are the best."

"You don't have to say that." She blushed a little at the compliment. "I know they aren't the most practical ..."

"Don't say something like that. You put all of your feelings into them so they are amazing." He took the piece of paper and put it in a pocket. "So which amulet do you want?"

"No, Ash, it's your present so you decide," she insisted.

"Alright, I'll take the blue one because the color reminds me of your beautiful eyes." She blushed when he said that.

"Then I'll have the red one because the color reminds me of ... you." He sniggered, which made her glare at him but the redness of her face prevented him from taking it seriously.

"Now how about a few battles?" he suggested.

"I thought you'd never ask." Glad about the change of topic, she looked at Alakazam with a grin. "Why don't you start? I know you want to."

Apart from a few breaks, they spent the rest of the day battling.

* * *

Max Wright was sitting in his office, talking with a lot of officers at the same time and also doing some paperwork. He had to be careful because of his voice, which was hoarse since he got the news of Giovanni's and Charon's escape. Just when it was about to recover, he'd heard about a greedy prison guard, who had sold information to the media. The people present described his outburst as an infernal storm of fury, worse than anything they'd ever seen in their lives. On the other hand, they could also understand him as the news made him look incompetent or even worse. Although he usually didn't care what other thought of him, his position was at stake here. There was nothing that could possibly restore his reputation quickly enough for his liking. Right now, he was waiting for Thomas's report on the escapes and something else. Compared to the other news it was nothing, but all the imprisoned Team Rocket grunts had been slain simultaneously. When he received the call, he told the others to wait.

"So what did they say?" he asked.

"It was probably a pokémon who did it. The massive, star-shaped burn marks make a fire blast move from behind very likely. They probably died on the spot but other marks suggest that it tried to make sure that they're dead by using flamethrower on the body. There were no other injuries," Thomas told him.

"Could it have been one of the guard's growlith or arcanine?"Given the cause of death, it wasn't an absurd assumption.

"Hard to imagine. The camera in the cell was also destroyed by fire but one of those pokémon would have been spotted." He paused for a moment. "I know this sounds crazy. It must have been a pokémon that can travel through solid objects like a ghost type but it isn't stopped by darksteel, which the walls and pretty much everything in this prison are made of."

"You're right, it sounds crazy but it would also explain how something got to Giovanni and Charon without the guards noticing so it maybe isn't that crazy," Max concluded. "It doesn't explain how they got out of there, though. Have they found anything else in the meantime? Skin? Hair? Fingerprints?"

"Absolutely nothing, sir. But they'll keep their eyes open," Thomas replied.

"Good. If they find something, tell me immediately." He hung up and returned to his other duties.

He was still expecting Looker's report on the abandoned factory. Since his agent had requested a ghost type a few hours ago there was a possibility that he had actually discovered something useful.


	18. Fires of Passion and Darkness

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 18: Fires of Passion and Darkness

Very slowly, Charon walked towards the desk where the boss of his saviors was sitting. Although they had given him a big, luxurious room to stay, an expensive, grey suit to wear and most importantly, his freedom, there was no reason for him to trust them. After all, their boss made him wait almost a day before he was allowed an audience. There was something about him that made Charon highly suspicious of him, despite his harmless looks. It was an old, but tall man with black pants and a grey sweater. Most of his white hair was gone already, only at the sides there was still some left. His look was goody, almost idiotic, which didn't seem to fit his face at all. Two scyther were standing next to his desk, watching the scientist's every move menacingly.

As soon as Charon sat down, the man opened a bottle of wine and filled two glasses.

"Go on, taste it. I'm sure you've had worse during your time in prison." He took a few sips, which convinced Charon to try it as well. Besides, a good wine was too hard to resist after the tasteless stuff he got in prison. The taste reminded him of the good, old times when he was still the leader of an empire. "It's good isn't it?"

"Good enough for me," Charon replied, taking more sips. "This is the stuff I need, not the piss I had the last few years."

"Good, because from now on you will live in comfortable rooms, wear expensive clothing, eat delicious meals and make even more questionable research than you're used to." He took a few more sips of his drink. "Oh yes, I'm sure you'll love your new life."

"Questionable research? I knew you wouldn't free me without a good reason," Charon answered.

"Of course not. Why else would someone free you? Just to see your face every day? Don't be ridiculous." He laughed before becoming very serious all of sudden. "No, I need your research. Something you've already discovered. Something very specific."

"I should have known. You want the results of the Red Chain Project, don't you?" The boss shook his head, which somehow annoyed the former scientist. "No? It was my greatest creation. What could possibly be more interesting to you?"

"Something with a bit more explosive power. The galactic bomb." Charon was surprised as he never considered this thing to be very important. "Our scientist have been trying to recreate the effect but have been unsuccessful so far. So I had you freed."

"Well, I have to disappoint you. I never knew all the details and the prison didn't really help my memory." The look he was given made him cringe a little. "But that doesn't mean I can't help you. I created it once and I can do it again."

"How long would it take you?" He finished the wine and thought about it for a while.

"I can't say that right now. It depends on the team I get. Weeks? Months? I don't know." Since he felt that the boss wasn't happy with the response, he quickly added another possibility. "There might be another way. Team Galactic had several small, hidden hideouts where materials, machines and, most importantly, knowledge were stored as a kind of backup in the case of a major setback. I'm sure one of those still contains the data you need."

"I'm in kind of a hurry so I hope you're right." The boss stood up and walked around the desk. "You will return to your room now. One of my men will arrive soon and you will tell him about every hideout you can remember." He offered his right hand. "I hope we will be great partners because there's one thing you have to understand. I am the boss. You WILL work for me. Look around. You have no weapons, no men, nothing. The sooner you realize that the easier it will be for you. You either tell us everything voluntarily or we can force it out of your skull with methods you probably know all too well. Do you want it the easy or the hard way?" Hesitantly, Charon shook his hand. "I knew you'd come along. Now go. Oh, I almost forgot something." He quickly walked to his desk, pressed a button, and spoke into a nearby microphone. "We wish to see him."

There were quite a few things or people Charon expected to see, but this person wasn't one of them. Even in rags, this tall man looked proud and defiant. A glare was replaced by a surprised look when he spotted the two men in the office.

"You?" he exclaimed, pointing at Charon's new boss. "You're supposed to be dead."

"A lot of people are supposed to be dead, dear Giovanni. Including you," he replied. "Ah, the two enemies meeting under such circumstances."

"You freed him as well?" Giovanni remarked, spitting on the ground. "What would you want from a grub like him?"

"This 'grub' almost crushed you at the peak of your power, brute." Charon shrugged. "But I guess a brutish thief like you cannot appreciate a brilliant mind."

"Oh yes, that brilliant mind that gets defeated by two children. Impressive indeed," Giovanni mocked.

"Look who's talking. One of the guards told me the very same children pretty much annihilated you. Besides, they only won back then because I got betrayed." This brought back terrible memories.

"Except they weren't children anymore when they showed up in my base. And I got betrayed as well." Then he turned towards his captor. "And you, what is your role in all of this?"

"Oh, I'm just an observer. And Charon's new employer. But go ahead, fight a little more. It's highly amusing." However, Giovanni simply glared at him. "No? Pity. You're probably wondering why I had you freed from prison. It's certainly not because you're useful in any way. You're not. You don't have Charon's knowledge. You don't have any special abilities. You're not even good as a leader due to your tendency to backstab your allies. Face reality, without your army of thugs you're nothing but a thug yourself. There was a time when I considered you an equal, who built an empire for himself. But what did you do with it? Nothing. Nothing at all. Oh no, wait. Money. How original!" He let out a laugh, yet Giovanni only looked at him with a bored expression. "At least the other teams had visions and proper motivations, no matter how silly or misguided they were, but it was all about money for you, all the time. So actually you're just a glorified thief."

"Big words from an old fart. You have anything to back them up?" Giovanni asked defiantly. He was smart enough not to attack this seemingly defenseless man, since the scyther would tear him to shreds before he could even get that far.

"Alright, let's start with the fact that I got you out of the most secure prison in the world, something not even your army of thugs could've to accomplished. Speaking of which, do you know how they died? Of course I wasn't there in person, but my pokémon told me how they begged for their lives, cursing their leader. But in the end, the flames consumed all of them. Yes, Team Rocket truly is the most pathetic organization there is." He laughed, but Giovanni remained calm again. "And now the last remains stand right in front of me. I've been looking forward to this ever since you betrayed me."

"What? You knew about this?" The Team Rocket leader looked somewhat surprised.

"Of course I did. But I'm growing weary of this useless chatter. And I'm sure your brain is already reaching its limits." He extended an arm towards Giovanni, who started to levitate. "Now I'll show you a power money can't buy. A power forever out of your reach."

"Go ahead, coward. Do it." Even now, Giovanni taunted him.

The old man's hand opened, then he closed it again as if he was grasping something in the air. Giovanni immediately felt a powerful force from every side on his head in an attempt to crush. Trying not to give the old man any sense of satisfaction, he tried to remain silent. but the pain soon became unbearable, and his screams filled the room, making Charon pale while the old man was watching him with glee. Eventually it was too much, and the pain caused the Team Rocket leader to faint. A few seconds later cracks could be heard coming from his head and it burst, shooting pieces of bone and brains all over the office.

"Oh, Boris would've loved this. Anyway, you better get changed, then start working." Needing no more motivation, Charon did as he was told for now but not without already hatching plans to free himself from his new prison. After all, he was a genius. Nobody would be able to hold him for long.

* * *

When Looker heard what his next mission was going to be, he was furious as it sounded like a job for a beginner, something without any significance. The longer he thought about it, though, the more he could understand Max's decision. It was true was his latest work wasn't the best and maybe his boss was just trying to build up his confidence. Still, it hurt, but that was all the more reason to his best and finish it successfully.

Asking his colleagues revealed that there have been other investigations, which led to no result but were also, according to one of his friends, pretty half-assed, something which was just done to calm the locals. They suggested that a few ghost types haunted the factory and annoyed the locals by turning old machines on and off repeatedly.

Upon arriving, Looker was immediately welcomed by several haunter, who continued to annoy the hell out of him by interrupting his work whenever they could. As a consequence, he had to be much more careful than he'd expected. In the end, he realized that the current residents didn't allow for a proper investigation and decided to spend a night inside. Being one of the best at camouflage, he had no trouble finding a hidden spot where the ghost types, who were too busy playing with the machines anyway, couldn't find him. He waited patiently for something to happen, and at 12 pm, he suddenly heard machine noises, but they certainly weren't coming from anything the ghost types had touched as they had passed him just a few moments ago and the noises were coming from below where nothing was supposed to be. This he looked specifically for an entrance to the lower level but, of course, he was unsuccessful and left the factory for the moment. Since it had been built before darksteel was discovered, he had an idea.

The next day, he returned with a gengar from the international police headquarters and asked it to move through the ground. Just as expected, there was a large base down there, yet he still had no way of getting there so he asked the ghost type to look for an entrance from the other side. It didn't take Gengar long to find a trapdoor, which was obvious from its side but impossible to see from Looker's. Upon arriving there he quickly realized that everything was way too clean for an abandoned factory so the noises must have come from the nearby, massive machines. Someone had been using them and he doubted that these persons had good intentions, given how well hidden it was. He found another spot to hide and waited for something to happen again. Like last night, something happened at 12 pm. One after another, five Storm Raider grunts arrived nearby via teleportation, carrying several containers full of unknown liquids. It appeared like they had done this several times before as they knew exactly what do. Within a few minutes, everything was working and, using the liquids with the machine, they filled a few smaller containers with an unknown gas, which came out of the largest machine. Judging from how careful they handled these containers, he could only assume that the gas was very dangerous, maybe poison and that one mistake could mean the end of them.

"We're running out of ammon... ammi ...amm ... you know what I mean. That stuff in the yellow containers," one of them said. "It looks like it'll last only one more week."

"So what? Boss knows what she's doing," another one retorted. "Boss says we don't need more of this so we don't produce more. Got it?"

"Why? This poison is amazing. Easy to produce and dirt cheap if you have the machinery. Why stop using it?" a third one asked.

"Who knows? She says that she has found something better and that's good enough for me. It better be good enough for you, too," the second grunt replied.

"I guess it's because smuggling the poison into the sewers would be too difficult now that the police know about it. Whatever the reason, she knows what she's doing," the fourth one assured them.

As soon as five containers were ready, they started to turn off the machines again. Calling out a kadabra each, they vanished with the containers in their hands.

For Looker, the case was pretty clear now. They were using the machines in this factory to produce the poison gas, which in turn was used to blackmail the cities. Even though one of them mentioned that their resources were running out it was clear that their production had to be shut down at any cost, but he couldn't do it alone. With reinforcements he would be able to arrest those grunts, secure the base and materials, and thus preventing from getting even more poison for their plans.

* * *

It was already very dark and their bodies were getting heavy but stopping was still out of question, especially since night battles were kind of fascinating due to some combinations looking different. However, the main reason was that they didn't want to look weak for wanting to go back home just because it was getting dark. As a matter of fact, both of them were hoping that the other one would suggest going home since the darkness made them feel unsafe and uncomfortable, no matter how much they told themselves that it was nothing to be afraid of. The recent events were still fresh and the news about the prison escapes only made things worse.

Two of Ash's and Dawn's pokémon still needed to battle, the other ones were currently, sleeping, recovering or watching the other battles. Training every single one on the same day wasn't the way they usually did it but this time Ash wanted to check everyone's current level and also it was just to have fun because, after all, battling with all of them ensured variety and excitement. Ash had a lot more pokémon, though, so Dawn had to command a few of his, which was no problem at all since all of them listened to the other one as well, especially Sylveon, who kind of regarded both of them as her trainer. The last battle was between Torkoal and Sylveon, under Dawn's command. Being the youngest of Ash's pokémon, she wasn't on Torkoal's level yet but fought bravely nonetheless.

"Time to finish this." The fairy had taken quite a few hits already and Ash was sure that she wouldn't last much longer. "Flamethrower!"

"Dodge it!" She just evaded the next few moves, making Ash slightly impatient.

"Oh come on. Fine, use volcanic mines!" Torkoal raised his head, shooting a yellow orb into the sky. It exploded soon, releasing countless small meteors, which smashed into the battle field without exploding but they still lit the ground nearby on fire. It was Torkoal's way of dealing with faster pokémon as the meteors would explode when anyone got too close to them, thus restricting movement. Only few moves like rapid spin were able to clear them out as they usually reappeared shortly after exploding and couldn't be moved without being set off.

"We won't give up that easily. Use ... fairicane." Dawn still had trouble not laughing because the name was just so childish. A massive tornado with pink petals surrounded the field with Torkoal being in the center, completely unaffected. As it got smaller, it sucked in the smoke from the meteors, turning black and preventing the fire type from seeing anything.

"Iron defense!" The tornado exploded as soon as the walls touched him, releasing a huge amount of smoke, which completely covered Ash's pokémon.

"Now moon blast!" Unable to see anything, he had no choice but to take few hits from the pink orbs.

"Counter with flamethrower!" He shook his head, clearing enough smoke for him to be able to see the location of his opponent and shot flames at it.

"Use dazzling gleam!"The two moves met in midair, sending pink flames into the sky, which could probably be seen from far away, but since Torkoal had more energy left, he overpowered Sylveon's move soon and hit it directly. Although she got up, Ash thought that it was a good moment to end this battle.

"I think that's enough for now. Good job, you two." The pokémon, who were watching them, cheered and applauded.

"You made a lot of progress. Well done," Dawn said to Sylveon and received a lick on her cheek.

"Alright, everyone." Their pokémon, or at least those who were still awake, gathered around him. "All right, everyone. We had a lot of fun today and I hope so did you." They replied by cheering, making him smile. "I see. Maybe we should do it like this more often. Anyway, I can see that the last few days haven't been too bad. You're just as strong as ever. Sylveon, you've improved a lot. I guess that's Galvantula's doing?" She shook her head, pointing at herself with her ribbons.

"If you go on like this, you will be able to defeat the Elite Four by yourself soon," Dawn told her, petting her head.

"Don't get her hopes up too much." As much as Ash hated to disappoint her, they had to remain realistic. "It will take months to get on the others' level but don't worry. They have been in the same position and look where they are now. Be patient, train hard and everything will work out eventually. Who knows, maybe you can battle in the Wallace Cup?"

"Syl! Sylveon." She blushed slightly but also became really excited, jumping around madly.

"What about the appeal? It's fun and you don't need a pokémon on champion-level for a champion-level appeal," Dawn suggested but he shook his head.

"I've already decided on that and it would be unfair towards the pokémon who have trained to hard to perfect it." Dawn nodded, understanding his point.

"Well, there will be more opportunities in the future. Especially when you're just as strong as your mom and dad." Dawn pulled a hyper potion out of a pocket. "Now let's heal you up."

"Syl!" The fairy felt much better after, almost ready for another battle.

Ash healed Torkoal at the same time. Usually, they would've taken them to the pokémon center but with so many of them needing healing, it would have been way too cumbersome and also taken too much time. It was also a great opportunity to test the regeneration balls and it turned out they worked just fine as the pokémon inside were completely healed after merely an hour.

"You know, unless I only get opponents like Drew, who would focus you until you're down, you really could battle at the Wallace Cup. I can't promise anything, though." Ash finally told the fairy-type, then yawned. "Oh boy, I'm tired. What time is it, anyway?"

"Time for you to go to sleep." They turned around to see Tracey standing there in his pajamas with a flashlight in his hands. His expression was a mix of anger, frustration and weariness. "Are you done yet? It's almost midnight and you two illuminate the night with your pink fire. Even the professor has complained. And what about the pokémon around here who are trying to sleep? Have you thought about them?"

"Sorry." He made them feel really bad. "You know we get lost in the heat of battle easily. Until now we didn't even know it was already so late," Ash explained.

"And it would have been unfair to deny a battle for the last pokémon just because of the time," Dawn added.

"Whatever, just go to bed already," he urged them before leaving again, muttering things they couldn't understand. They almost laughed at how much he looked like a grumpy, old man at this very moment.

"Alright, let's go home. I'm too tired to walk, though." Dawn rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what he wanted.

Since asking Alakazam didn't seem like a very good idea, Espeon had to help them. They watched her saying goodbye to Ash's lucario and thought about their relationship. It wasn't hard to see that Lucario was very similar and Espeon has become like Dawn in many ways so this couple was like their reflection. Did that make Sylveon their daughter in pokémon form? Marriage, children, they still thought that it was too early to think about things like that but it didn't mean that they didn't from time to time. They always came to the conclusion that they had other priorities at the moment and needed to think about it later again.

Espeon teleported right into their bedroom and they took a quick shower to get rid of the dirt and sweat. Almost too tired to walk, they didn't even bother putting on clothes after that and just dragged themselves into the bed, falling asleep soon. Despite their fears this was, without a doubt, one of the best days lately and now it had to end with a good, long sleep.

Ash woke up in the middle of the night to a blazing light and the smell of smoke and he could consider himself lucky for that since he immediately realized that the whole bedroom was on fire and smoke was making breathing already difficult. Instinctively, he shot up and tried to wake the others.

"Dawn! Pikachu! Everyone! Wake up!" he yelled but Dawn's side on the bed was empty and both the pokémon and their pokéball were gone. "Where are you?"

 _They're gone! Save yourself!_

The voice was twisted and sounded like it was just in his head.

"What? Who are you?" He received no answer but a scream came from the door leading to the corridor. It was Dawn's voice.

"Ash? Help me? I'm scared." He immediately approached the door but then the voice in his head spoke up again.

 _Jump through the window. It's the easiest way._

Ash ignored it for now and opened the door, revealing the corridor, which looked pretty normal apart from its length. Maybe it was because of the darkness but it appeared much longer than usual. Since it was the only way Dawn's voice could have come from and because of the fire spreading quickly he went that way. As he progressed, he noticed that the flames were following him, burning the walls beside him and when he looked back he saw that the bedroom had already turned into an inferno.

 _There's no turning back now, you fool._

"Shut up!" Ash shouted. "Dawn? Where are you? Answer me?"

The corridor not only appeared but actually was much longer. For minutes he ran with unending stamina while the flames were following his every step, burning everything right behind him. Perhaps it was due to the smoke that his he was starting to feel dizzy. From time to time he heard Dawn crying out but he never received an answer when he shouted out to her. After what felt like an eternity, he finally saw a door. He opened it quickly and tried to enter the room as he was afraid that the fire would catch up, which almost caused him to fall into the flaming pit in front of him. He could recognize the remains of their living room downstairs but he couldn't jump down because the fire would kill him on the spot. Instead he had to travel across the wooden bars, which were left. Just when he was about to step on the nearest one, Dawn's voice came from behind.

"Ash!" He turned around just to see the corridor completely engulfed in fire. "Help me!" This time, the voice came from the only other door of this room. "I'm hurt." He looked to the left but once again, there was nothing. "Please." The voice seemed to come from everywhere and almost caused him to fall off.

 _Just look where you stubbornness got you._

"Shut up! Get out of my head!" Ash yelled. "Dawn where are you?"

The bars sounded like they would break, an event which would mean his end, but this one held or at least for the moment. Like snakes, the fire behind him was shooting at him. A few times, he had to reconsider his way as the bars in front of him broke when he tried to step on them, forcing him to take make several detours. It was almost a miracle that the smoke didn't even cause him to cough and that he really made it to the other side. Upon making the final step, the rest of the bars broke and fell down into the burning living room.

 _You can't protect her._

The following corridor wasn't as long as the first one although the effects were the same. He reached the stairs soon and found a ringing telephone on a small table next to it.

"Ash Ketchum?" It was strange, he didn't recall ever picking it up. The voice of a male was somewhat familiar but he couldn't recognize it.

"The house is on fire. Call the ..." A cry from nearby interrupted him.

"Choose better allies next time." Before Ash could answer, the other person hung up.

"What the ...?" When he tried to get help, he realized that the telephone wasn't working as it broke when he gripped it a bit too hard, revealing it to be hollow. "What's going on here?"

"Aaaaash?" It was Dawn's voice again and she sounded like she was in pain. It didn't come from downstairs but from another corridor upstairs. "Help me!"

 _Go down the stairs and leave. You can still get out alive._

He looked at the stairs, which were completely unharmed by the fire and the entrance at the bottom. Ash didn't have to think twice, he immediately went to the corridor where Dawn was supposed to be.

"Ash? I can't ... aaaaaaah." It was followed by a loud thud, which was probably very bad.

"What happened? Is something wrong? Answer me!" The silence was so much worse than her pleads for help.

He picked up the pace but so did the flames following him. The door to the next room was already on fire so he just smashed it down. The room was completely empty except for Dawn lying next to a pile of rubble. There was a small wound on her head, a small stream of blood was flowing.

"Dawn!" He ran straight to her even though he was afraid that something would happen.

"I'm sorry," she whispered before passing out.

At first he was afraid that she was dead but her pulse suggested that she was merely unconscious.

 _Leave her! She's too much of a burden._

By now, Ash knew that talking back was pointless so he just picked up Dawn and tried to go back. Just then, the whole room lit up with only a small, labyrinthine patch remaining safe for now. Apart from that, he also had to watch out for rubble falling down so the trip back was much more difficult. Eventually, he made it and entered the corridor again, which seemed completely normal again. Looking back made him almost freeze in fear. A large bird made of fire made its way towards him, its beak trying to devour him and Dawn. As fast as he could and in constant fear of running out of energy, he ran, ran for his and his lover's life. The length reminded him of the first corridor but he didn't care right now. He didn't care about the questions in his head either. Where did the fire come from? How did Dawn get there? Where were their pokémon?

At long last, he arrived back at the stairs, which, unfortunately, were gone, with only a black pit remaining. His lungs felt like they were on fire, his head was spinning and his arms were hurting. Nevertheless he was looking for a way to escape until the voice returned.

 _Pay the price now._

There was an explosion right behind him, which pushed him over the edge. He closed his eyes and tried to shield her body as well as he could, waiting for the impact, which didn't come for some reason. When he opened his eyes, he saw Dawn lying in front of him, her body full of injuries. Looking around, he noticed two doors, one of them being on fire so he didn't really have a choice again. He picked up her body and opened the other door, which led to the living room.

 _She won't make it._

Strangely enough, the living room was completely unharmed by the fire and actually looked very welcoming. Ash would have believed it to be a good place to rest if he hadn't seen the other, strange events in this house. As a matter of fact, there was one item on fire and that was a picture of Ash and Dawn, taken on her last birthday. As soon as he took one step into the room, it burst into flames, just like the room where he found Dawn. The path was pretty much the same but the following corridor was different this time. Instead of bursting into flames like the others, it closed behind him, threatening to crush them and it also wasn't straight but horribly twisted.

 _She's already dead._

Ash didn't have time to check as getting through was hard enough without the walls closing in. Soon there were other ways and almost on instinct, he followed those where strange whispers were coming from. The further he got the louder and angrier they got although he still couldn't understand what they were about. He had to take about twenty turns until he arrived at a small room with little flames on the ground and the door to safety on the other side. The whispers ended at once and were replaced by the ringing of a bell in the distance. Almost relieved, Ash went to the door only to realize that it was locked.

 _Drop her. It's no use._

He couldn't just drop her to smash the door so he had to put her on his back and kick it until it would open. After one minute of unsuccessful tries, he heard something behind, a serpent made of flames.

 _You can't escape the past._

Desperately, he made one last attempt while the serpent was approaching, hissing madly and this time, the door yielded, falling down and allowing him to escape. Even then he tripped over something on the ground, which turned out to be a large bone, and fell on his back. The serpent behind him rose, ready to strike but it was stopped by a wall of bones rising between them, which also blocked the view on the house. It collapsed a few seconds later, revealing the serpent to be gone and the house to be engulfed in a huge pillar of fire, which went up to a red sky. Ash turned back to Dawn, who was lying on the ground next to him, her skin as white as snow, her eyes wide open but staring at nothing.

"No! NO!" He checked her pulse, her heartbeat, her breathing. There was no denying it. She was dead. "This can't be true. Have you forgotten the promises we made, everything we went through? How can you leave me like that? Maybe you were too good for this world." He started to cry and punched the ground as hard as he could. "Why? Did we ask for so much? This isn't fair ..."

Hot tears landed on the ground next to Dawn where a single, red rose had almost been crushed by her body. It was strange, he couldn't take his eyes off. It had unusually big spikes, which were dripping with Dawn's blood. A single drop was on the blossom and as the flower turned slightly, it fell on Dawn's arm, somehow restoring the color of her skin. Not only that but she blinked a few times and her expression turned into a weak smile.

"Dawn? You're alive? How ... what ...?" He couldn't believe it. He could swear she was dead a few seconds ago and she looked like nothing bad had happened at all. "I ... "

"Don't say anything." Her voice was weak. "We're together and nothing else matters."

He looked back at the rose but it had already turned to dust.

"You're right." He ignored the blazing fire, the red sky and the bones lying around and just embraced her. He closed his eyes so the only thing he could feel was the warmth of her body. There was no more need for words but someone or something seemed to disagree.

 _Next time, things will be different. Prepare yourself._

All of sudden Dawn vanished into thin air, there was a pain in his head that made him feel like he was going to explode and then the ground broke open, revealing a gigantic vortex down below, which drew Ash towards its black center.

He was tired, so terribly tired and didn't even fight back anymore. There was something in the vortex, something immeasurably sad and depressing that he lost all his motivation and will to move on. Instead, he just closed his eyes, awaiting the end.

Ash nearly fell out of the bed when he woke up, his body covered in sweat and his breathing heavy. Dawn's lucario, who was watching over them in his meditative state, opened one of his eyes, giving him a questioning look. The trainer had to take a few deep breaths and make sure that Dawn was still asleep before he could answer.

"I just had a nightmare. No need to worry." He would have laughed as he caught himself using Dawn's catchphrase again but he didn't feel like it at all.

Apparently, Lucario believed him and closed his eyes again, returning to his previous state. Ash was still trying to calm his pounding heart when he noticed that it was still 3 am. Dawn seemed to have a more pleasant dream as she was smiling, not aware of the things he saw in his nightmare. As soon as everything was back to normal, he returned to sleep, hoping that he would have a better dream or no dream at all this time.


	19. Searching for Help

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 19: Searching for Help

Ash didn't know it, but Dawn had a pleasant dream indeed. It was like a memory of a past event.

They left the theater after a marvelous performance. It was already very dark and also chilly so they tried to go back to the pokémon center as quickly as possible. As Dawn had insisted on not taking any pokémon with them since it was supposed to be just the two of them on a date like this, teleportation was no option this time.

"See? It wasn't that bad." She could still remember him complaining like he was going to die in there.

"Maybe not but I still prefer pokémon battles," he replied. "And there wasn't even food to buy."

"Oh, Ash." She shook her head, grinning widely. "I guess you'll never change."

"Well, let's get back quickly. I want to sleep for at least a few days," he said.

They had to go through a few dark alleys, which made them much more nervous than usual as they didn't have their pokémon to protect them. Now it didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. They were all alone when they went into a particularly narrow and dark alley. Ash heard something behind them and then saw metal flashing. Before he knew what was going on, someone tackled him to the ground and held a knife at his throat. Instinctively, Dawn took her phone and was about to dial a number when the assailant spoke up.

"Call the cops and I'll slit his throat." She lowered it again in fear.

Ash managed to push him off but received a cut across the chest in return. Ignoring the injury, he kicked the knife out of his enemy's hand and tackled him to the ground. Dawn used the opportunity to call the police. With a bit of luck, they would be here soon but they still had to survive for now. Since she couldn't see who was who as they were rolling around, she could do nothing but looking for the knife, or she could have easily hurt Ash instead. They fought for a while until someone found the knife and used it, an action which was followed by a cry of pain and the sound of someone collapsing.

"No!" Dawn was sure that Ash was the victim here and kicked the man crouching above his body in the back. "Leave him alone!"

"You stupid bitch! Now you've done it." He turned around, grabbed her hair and pulled it down. "Now I'll make you scream." She received two kicks in the stomach. Then he heard sirens approaching quickly. "You called them? Fine. You'll be dead when they arrive anyway." He pulled her up by the hair and slapped her as hard as he could from the side before letting her sink to the ground. The scream of pain probably woke up everyone nearby so he had to hurry. "Before I kill you I want you to know why. You probably don't remember me but I was a guard in the Galactic Hunters airship. I know exactly what you did. You destroyed my home, my job, my future. Everyone I knew got arrested because of you. So I located you after breaking out of prison and waited for the right moment. Yes, you're going to pay." He sounded like he was really enjoying this. "I wanted to make this much more slowly but as you see, time is running out." He raised his knife. "Remember me when you go to hell!"

He was about to cut Dawn down when Ash, who had gotten up despite his wound, tackled him from behind but not with enough force to knock him down.

"I don't care who you are but if you hurt her you will receive no mercy from me," he said.

However, Ash was overpowered quickly and after a kick in the balls, sank to the ground again.

"It looks like you want to be the first. Well, I'll gladly fulfill your wish." He kneeled down but once again, he was interrupted, this time by a hysterical girl, who tried to stop him by grabbing and scratching his face from behind.

"Leave him alone," she cried between her sobs. She knew exactly that Ash was badly injured and the mere prospect of him dying made her cry uncontrollably.

"Oh come on." He hit her in the stomach with the elbow before spinning around and punching her in the face again.

Was this the end? None of them were in the condition to fight and this guy was willing to kill them. With tears in her eyes, she thought of all the plans she had made and now they were useless. At least, they would meet again in the afterlife, she thought when she closed her eyes, awaiting the knife that would end her life. There was a blazing light but no pain and when she opened them again, she saw a powerful light coming from one end of the alley. Apparently, their assailant backed down slightly as he was blinded.

"Drop the weapon and raise your hands. There won't be another warning." Obviously, the police had arrived and was now trying to make him surrender.

He wasn't willing to do that, though and leapt at his victims, trying to finish what he had started but he was hit by three bullets in the chest and dropped his knife. When he tried to pick it up, he was hit by two more, one in the chest and one in the head, which killed him on the spot. Dawn didn't even notice the death of the enemy as she was crawling towards Ash, who had fallen unconscious at some point. One of the policemen pointed his flashlight at Ash and the sight truly gruesome. There was a large wound on his chest and blood was flowing freely.

"Please, help him!" she cried immediately, slapping the hands that were trying to pick her up. "Can't you see he's hurt?"

Fortunately, an ambulance arrived moments later and took them to the hospital. The following hours felt like she was in a trance. She wasn't able to do anything but follow Ash, follow simple orders and answer simple questions. He was brought into the emergency room, where she couldn't follow him, which only made her even more depressed. The following hours, she just sat on the bed in the room she was given, staring out of the window with an empty gaze, trying to order her thoughts but it was no use. Her mind was pure chaos with regret, worry, and hatred running rampant. The pain from her own wounds was hardly felt but it was still able to paralyze her. There was no denying it, she was helpless and useless at the moment.

When the door finally opened she didn't even notice it. A doctor got her attention by clearing his throat. Immediately, all her feelings broke through and she grabbed the collar of his coat while tears were streaming down her face again.

"Is he alright? Please tell me he's alright. He must be! Please, tell me," she screamed, making him push her away. He took a deep breath and at that moment, Dawn knew that the answer was going to be.

"I'm sorry. The wound was too deep." He said what she was fearing the most. "I'm afraid he didn't make it."

All of the remaining strength left her body, making her sink to the ground in utter hopelessness. What was she going to do now? She just felt her consciousness slip as her vision turned black.

 _You can't do everything on your own. You need protection. After all, what are morals, principles and dignity compared to life itself?_

It was a twisted voice she could hear. The last thing she could remember was a feeling of falling.

A shudder went through her body as she woke up. Next to her, Ash was alive and well so it was just a nightmare, a nightmare which was very close to a true event. Everything had happened with slight variations but the biggest difference was that Ash survived although the wound remained as a reminder of this terrible event.

Naturally, their mothers were just as worried as she was and suggested a course in self-defense so that something would never happen again and they followed the advice. They were only taught the basics as they didn't feel that they were learning a lot and quit soon, turning to their pokémon instead. Lucario taught Ash a few more advanced fighting techniques whereas Dawn found something different she liked. One of Alakazam's specialties was to create energy blades with psycho cut that other pokémon could use as razor-sharp and almost weightless scimitars. During a 'sword fight' between her and Lucario, Dawn got curious and tried it out. Later she discovered that a spear was much more to her liking, as she preferred the extra range. Although she had to admit that fencing skills weren't as useful for the purpose of defending herself as a spear or sword wasn't always present, it was so much more fun and after a lot of training, she wasn't too bad either.

Dawn tried to calm her breathing so she wouldn't wake someone up and looked at the clock. It was already 6 am and since falling asleep would be unlikely now, she decided to get up and have a much-needed coffee. Upon standing up, she thought about the nightmare again, which was still strangely present. She felt a lot of pain but wasn't pain supposed to make her wake up? Maybe a shower would clear her thoughts. Ash didn't need to know about this, though, as he probably wouldn't take something silly like this seriously. After all, one of them worrying about them was more than enough.

After the shower, she already felt much better and went downstairs to make some coffee. Since she usually stood up a bit later, she took one of the books lying in the living room and started reading without really paying attention. A few minutes later, Espeon showed up at the door, giving her a concerned look.

"Is everything alright? Lucario told me that you looked a bit distressed when you stood up and it's still very early," she told her trainer.

"Oh, it's nothing. No need to worry." Dawn heard Espeon laughing in her head.

"I guess old habits die hard. Come on, you can tell me," Espeon reassure her, jumping on Dawn's lap.

"It's really ... fine, just don't tell Ash. I don't want him to worry about this as well. He has enough things to worry about already." She took a deep breath. "I had a terrible nightmare. You remember the time when Ash got stabbed by the former Galactic Hunters guard? It happened in my dream, only this time, Ash didn't survive." Remembering all the gruesome details almost brought tears to her eyes.

"I can see why you're so upset. You don't need to tell me more if it's too painful." That's why the coordinator liked talking to Espeon about things like that. Unlike many others, she took them seriously and was able to criticize without hurting. "Was it the only bad dream lately?"

"Yes, pretty much so." She petted the psychic type's head. "Do you think it has a meaning?"

"You won't have to worry about it if it's the only one. The last few days have been hard on you and I wouldn't be surprised if Ash also had a nightmare. Take it easy but tell me if there are more of them." Dawn felt already a bit better and gave her pokémon a warm smile.

"Thank you. I always appreciate your advice." Although Dawn wanted to stand up, she didn't want to disturb Espeon.

"I must admit, there's another thing I came here for," she added, sounding slightly nervous.

"Really? What is it?" Dawn asked.

"It's not really about me but about Leafeon. Come in." Hesitantly, the grass typed entered the room. "He wants to ask something of you."

"Leaf?" He looked confused.

"Let me explain. He's still very shy with all of those powerful pokémon in your team and is worried that he's just not useful anymore." Dawn was surprised, to say the least and maybe even a bit ashamed. Did she forget to give him enough praise? After all, he was just as strong as the others. "There's one thing in particular that worries him. You see, he really would like to battle in the Wallace Cup or against the Elite Four."

"I'm sorry if you've really felt that way. You're by no means useless or even slightly weak," she reassured him. "You can't be in the opening battle of the Wallace Cup since you don't have hands and I need a pokémon with those for a combination. Against the Elite Four, on the other hand, you will definitely be part of my team. As a matter of fact, I've chosen you to battle either Grimsley or Wallace himself. How does that sound?"

"Le, feon?" There was still something troubling him, Dawn could tell.

"He wonders whether ... you're just doing this because you feel bad for him." At first, Dawn was offended as it sounded like he implied that she was lying but then she realized that he felt that she was just using him in that battle so that he wouldn't feel left out. She picked Espeon up and put her on the couch before going to the grass type, kneeling down beside him and taking his paws in her hands.

"Listen. I would never use a pokémon in a real battle against a highly superior opponent, it would be too dangerous. You will battle those pokémon because you are strong enough to beat them and because I believe in you," she told him, looking straight into his eyes. "So never think of yourself as weak or pitiful because you're not."

"Feon!" He seemed to understand and looked way more relaxed and happy.

"I would never forget any pokémon. Oh, and if there's anything else that worries you, don't hesitate to come to me. As you can see, it's sometimes just a misunderstanding and a quick talk is often enough to solve the problem." He nodded before walking away, looking almost like he was dancing.

"Good job," Espeon told her. "He didn't believe me when I told him the same thing."

"He always seemed so independent and proud. Although I knew he was actually really shy, I didn't think he would have so many doubts," Dawn muttered.

"I know he's terrified of Hydreigon and Galvantula scares him as well." She wasn't really surprised but they had to do something about it.

"Then I should tell Galvantula to go easier on him. Every pokémon needs a special training style and forcing him to do something he doesn't like would only make things worse. As for Hydreigon, I'm afraid there's not much I can do. I'll try to make sure that they won't battle together or maybe that's exactly what he would need. You know, getting to know her better and realizing that he doesn't have to be afraid of her," she suggested.

"I'm not sure whether that's such a good idea. You should talk to him about this before making a decision," Espeon replied.

"You're probably right." Dawn sat down next to Espeon, running her fingers through the soft fur. "I feel better now. Maybe we should do this more often. It's kind of relaxing."

"I agree." They stayed in their current position until Dawn noticed that her pokémon had fallen asleep.

It was time for her to prepare some breakfast for everyone so she went to the kitchen, letting Espeon rest for the moment. Having a lot of time left, she did it slowly and carefully and even when she was done, there was still half an hour left for some reading. When she finally heard Ash going down the stairs, she got up quickly and waited at the bottom for a morning kiss but like a zombie, he just walked past her, eyes half-closed and mouth open. She puffed her cheeks, giving him a death stare and ignoring the pokémon sniggering at the top of the stairs.

"Good morning, Ash," she said, holding back her anger.

"Good morning." He blinked a few times. "Wait, where did you come from? And how did I get here?"

"Poor boy. You haven't slept well?" When he was like that, she just couldn't stay mad him. He was like a lost puppy.

"I ... I think I haven't." His expression got a bit darker all of sudden. "No, I haven't. Oh well." He got a bit more cheerful again. "Now that I have my breakfast it shouldn't be a problem."

Although Dawn felt that something was wrong, she didn't inquire further because the morning wasn't really the best time to get information out of him. Besides, it would probably cause him to ask about her night as well and she wasn't too keen on talking about a nightmare.

"So what are your plans for today?" she asked upon sitting down next to him.

"Well, I have to find good teams for the Wallace Cup," he replied.

He had quite a few pokémon who had come to love contests. As Piplup's rival, Samurott was one of the first to do that, but the first one was Floatzel, who had been Dawn's pokémon once, so he was a natural choice. Now that he thought about it, a lot of them were water types as Greninja was also one of them. Surprisingly enough, Scyther really enjoyed showing off his moves ever since Scizor had introduced her to contests. Without a doubt, Aurorus and Meganium would also like to participate. There were even more of them but those were the most eager and Ash had the mission to find those who worked together well in contest battles, which was essential to beat the most powerful coordinators.

"You want me to help you?" Dawn suggested. "I need to find a partner for Piplup who can use the whip combination."

Due to the fact, that the pokémon would need to be able to use it properly, only few had to be tested. Those were Lucario, Gengar, Froslass,, Bellossom, Ambipom, Hitmontop, Zoroark and Alakazam so she would be done earlier.

"Sounds good," he agreed.

They finished the breakfast rather quickly but not without taking some extra coffee with them, just in case the they got too tired. When they arrived at the lab, Ash was surprised to see how many pokémon wanted to battle at the Wallace Cup, which didn't make the decision easier. Soon, he found out that Meganium and Scyther, Emboar and Floatzel, Crawdaunt and Leavanny, and Samurott and Gliscor made great teams but it took him almost the whole day to try out many of the possible combination. Dawn had it easier in that regard as Alkazam wasn't physically strong enough to use the whip effectively. Lucario, Gengar, Ambipim and Hitmontop couldn't do a lot of combinations with it. Froslass was a bit better in that regard but her ice combinations could also be done by Piplup so only Zoroak and Bellossom were left. Since the grass type hadn't gotten as many official battles as the dark type lately, Dawn decided that she was the best choice even though she acted kind of weird with the whip in her hand, more aggressive and playful in a strange way.

This evening, Ash suggested going home a little earlier than usual and Dawn immediately agreed. He said it was because he wanted to avoid Tracey getting angry again but the real reason was that he felt like he could protect her better at home. If someone had told him that he would be like this a week ago, he would have laughed but now it seemed very reasonable. After all, when facing the unknown there wasn't anything like 'too careful'. It was strange how things can change in just one day.

* * *

Shaymin was tired, weak, and lost but it just had to go on. Without it, all of its friends would die so there was no excuse, it had to succeed.

The start went already bad as it flew way too far north until it reached Virdian City instead of Pallet Town but still, it was better than still flying over the sea when the sun set as the grass type would have simply fallen into the water, probably drowning. Since traveling in its land forme was a bad idea due its slowness and vulnerability, it decided to stay in the city for the night. Although finding a safe sleeping spot was more difficult than expected, it found one eventually and rested for the night. Once the sun rose again, it turned into its air forme again and, with newfound courage, asked a human where to find Pallet Town and, despite the person being quite surprised about a legendary pokémon asking him for direction in the middle of a city, received a detailed answer. However, once again it missed the town, flying too far south until it met the sea again. Having realized its mistake, it went north again and after a few more corrections, it reached the town just in time as the sun was already setting. Since the Oak lab was the most noticeable place in the whole town, Shaymin went there in hopes of finding someone who could tell it where to find the place it was looking for.

Now it was standing in front of a fence, watching a bunch of pokémon playing, fighting and laughing in the distance. Shaymin approached them, but backed off again.

"No, I can't do this," it said to itself. "What if they're mean to me? Maybe they will even keep me there just to make fun of me or they will tell their trainers so that they can sell me to those poachers and they're so many," It shook its head. "I have to, my friends are counting on me. Go, Shaymin it's not that difficult."

The small pokémon approached the group again until there was suddenly a roaring laughter, which caused it turn back again. At the fence it stopped and took a few deep breaths.

"I hate this. Alright. Alright. I have to do it. There's no way around." It turned towards them once more. "Shaymin, you will go to them and ask them nicely where to find Ash and Dawn. They will answer and then you'll be on your way again. Alright? Alright."

It was about to try it again when it noticed a single pokémon training nearby. Even though it was already getting a bit dark, it could that it was a bisharp, who was practicing spinning and cutting moves.

"Maybe I should ask this one? It looks kind of ... menacing but at least it's alone," Shaymin muttered. "Alright, I'll do it."

The grass type approached Bisharp very slowly and carefully without getting noticed. The first thing it tried was clearing its throat but it had no effect.

"Excuse me?" it whispered, earning no reaction. "Excuse me?" it repeated a little louder, causing the pokémon to stop. The steel type slowly turned towards the source of the voice and almost missed Shaymin since it was well-hidden in the grass. "Uh, is something wrong?" it asked when Bisharp just stared at it.

"What do you want?" he finally asked, sounding impatient and slightly annoyed.

"Well, you see, there is something I need to know. It's really kind of important that ..." it stammered, intimidated by Bisharp's glare.

"Oh, either shut up or spit it out. Wait, answer my questions first." Shaymin nodded nervously. This wasn't going as planned at all. "You're not from around here. What is a Shaymin doing so far from Sinnoh?"

"I was in Sinnoh a few days ago but then ... something happened." The steel type was getting impatient and it showed in his face. "I got caught. By a poacher. He brought me here. But I escaped and now I'm ..."

"You escaped from a poacher?" There was something new in his voice, which sounded like a mix of amusement and ... sympathy? "Go on, I'm listening."

"Well, now I'm looking from someone special because my friends are still in danger." It froze upon realizing that it wasn't supposed to talk to anyone but Ash and Dawn about this. "Ash and Dawn. They are the trainers I'm looking for. Do you know them? Do you know where to find them?"

"Why are you looking for them?" He didn't know whether to trust this pokémon.

"I've met them some time ago when they saved me from a poacher. They ... seemed nice and strong so I thought maybe they could help me," it explained.

"I see. To answer your questions, I don't only know them, Ash is my trainer." Shaymin was shocked, to say the least. It couldn't help but imagine what would have happened if it had said something wrong. "I'll help. I'll tell you where to find them so you can tell them where to find those poachers. I hope they'll take me with them so I can cut that scum to pieces. I hate them."

Bisharp proceeded to give it a detailed description of the way to its destination. Since it wasn't very far away now, Shaymin was positive that it wouldn't get lost again. Just when it thought it was over and turned around to go, Bisharp stopped it.

"One more thing. What's with those papers?" he said, pointing at the map and the instructions attached to its neck.

"Oh, that. It's just ... something I found in the poacher's camp. I thought it could be useful so I took it with me," it lied.

"I see." Without another word, he turned back to his training.

Although he could sense that it wasn't telling him everything, he also knew that it didn't have any evil intentions. It was natural for a pokémon to be distrustful after having been caught by a poacher so it probably didn't trust him entirely. But the biggest reason was that he knew Shaymin well enough to know that they probably wouldn't be able to do something evil even if they wanted to.

Shaymin was glad that they were done and followed the directions. It took only about ten more minutes until it was standing in front of the house where they were supposed to live. There was light coming from one of the windows so someone was inside. Before it could get close, someone who was standing at the door cried out.

"A shaymin!" It was Marcus, who was back for another challenge. Instinctively, his hands went for the pokéballs.

"No, wait!" it told him telepathically and for a moment he stopped, surprised that it was speaking to him.

"A shaymin right in front of their house. I might not have gotten a challenge but this is even better. And Cat told me that I shouldn't go here at this time. Ha!" He looked done at the small pokémon. "Now tell me what you're doing here. Quickly."

"I ... I need help. Help from Ash and Dawn. I escaped from poachers but my friends are still there," it explained.

"You know them?" He was really surprised. "You? Wait, what's that around your neck?"

"No, that's not for you! Leave me alone," it protested but it was no use.

He grabbed the papers and unfolded it. His eyes widened when he realized that it was a map showing the location of something marked as Shira's base. Shaymin noticed something new in his eyes, a mix of anger, excitement and hatred. Without a doubt, this map was of importance to him and now he wanted to do something.

"You can't imagine how much I owe you for this. It's almost ridiculous," he whispered. "Do you even know what this is? This is the key to my revenge," he suddenly yelled, causing Shaymin to wince. "Shira, you will be dead soon! Dead! Dead, I say."

"You can't go! I ... you ... we need ..." It had to dodge a kick from Marcus.

"Shut up, you can't stop me." He dropped the papers. "I don't need this anymore. Do whatever you want with it. I have other things to do now." He called out a claydol. "Take me to Fuchsia City."

"No, please. You have to stop," the gratitude pokémon begged him but it was no use. He vanished, leaving a devastated pokémon behind. "Oh no." The wind would have blown the papers away if it wasn't for Shaymin's quick reaction. In order to prevent this from happening again, it put them in its mouth. "I still have to tell Ash and Dawn."

It was much more nervous now that another person knew about everything, though. What would Ash, Dawn, Dr. Tareth and its friends think about its inability to keep it to itself? They would think it to be incompetent, at best. However, there was no way around now as not telling them would be even worse for everyone. Slowly, it approached the door and scratched it. Unsurprisingly, they didn't notice it.

"Looks like they aren't at home, right?" It sighed. "Who am I kidding? I have to tell them. They will be disappointed, angry and sad but they just have to know."

The next few minutes, it was scratching and hitting the door without getting any response, though. Feeling that its time was running out, it decided to try something else. After taking a few steps back, it charged straight at the door, hitting it with its head but it wasn't strong enough to have any effect and was just pushed back again, hurt from the impact and slightly dizzy.

 _Ow, that was a bad idea,_ it thought to itself. _What are they doing in there?_

Unbeknownst to Shaymin, Ash and Dawn were sitting on the couch in the living room, looking for something to watch on TV.

"So glad you didn't accept his challenge," Dawn mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Come on, you didn't expect me to accept it at this time, after everything we did today?" he asked.

"Actually, I did," she replied, causing him to roll his eyes. "At least we have some time for ourselves now."

Shaymin had a new plan. Although it was a bit risky, it just had to catch their attention even if it required a slightly more violent approach.

"Alright, I can do this." A tiny energy ball was formed in front of it, just big enough to make some noise upon impact but then it got bigger and bigger. "Oh, this is bad. I have to control. Oh no." It reached the size of a normal energy ball. "Okay, I have everything under control. I just shouldn't ..." Suddenly it started moving towards the door. "I'm so done for."

It was strong enough to break down the door, causing Ash and Dawn to get up in shock and their pokémon to assemble in the living room within seconds. Together they went to the entrance, getting ready to fight anything that would come through. Their faces were priceless when not a bunch of enemies but a Shaymin with the most innocent looking face walked through.

"Ehm, hi?" it told them, almost making them fall over.


	20. Change of Plan

**From now on, things will quickly spiral out of control.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 20: Change of Plan

It was hard to believe what Ash and Dawn were seeing. The door had been smashed and that Shaymin sounded awfully familiar. They looked out, expecting something else to be waiting for them but apparently, the pokémon really was alone. There were many questions to be answered.

"I know you," Dawn exclaimed. "You're the Shaymin we helped several days ago, aren't you?"

"You remember me?" For a moment, it forgot about the damage and beamed proudly.

"What did you do to our door?" Ash asked. Although he was a bit angry he was trying not to show it.

"Well, I tried to knock on the door a few times, I even hit it with my head but you didn't notice," it said, talking faster and faster. "Then I tried to use a energy ball. A small energy ball. So that it would just make some noise. But it got too big. And then I accidentally released it. It destroyed the door."

"Calm down, we can have this repaired," Ash assured it. "More importantly, why are you here and how did you find us?"

"Take a few deep breaths and then answer. You aren't in a hurry, are you?" Shaymin just shook its head.

"I am. You see, I ... got captured some time after our first meeting. I woke up in a base where I was brought to a scientist who was supposed to perform experiments on us." Ash and Dawn gave each other worried looks. "No, no, he didn't do anything to us. He isn't so bad and even tries to help us. He can't do anything without help. So he sent me."

"Are you saying he wants us to help him? Why not the police?" Ash asked.

"Please let me explain." It was already hard enough without questions. "He needs you because he doesn't trust the police. He said something about spies everywhere. Anyway, he's running out of time because without experiments there are no results and without results he will be fired and then all my friends are in danger. There are a lot of them in his cages. That's why I suggested you. You are brave and strong, aren't you? You can storm the base and defeat the bad people."

"Storm the base? You're expecting a lot from us," Ash said with a frown. "There will probably be countless traps and other defenses."

"Yes, but that's why I brought this." It dropped the papers and Dawn picked them up.

"That's a map of Kanto with two big x marking Pallet Town and ... Shira's base?" She looked at Shaymin in shock. "That's the leader of the Storm Raiders. How are we supposed to do that?"

"Let's have a look at the rest first," Ash suggested.

"Alright. There's a map of the area outside the base, including every single trap. The next one is of the base itself. And then there are instructions." She read them out. "Try to get as many allies as you can but don't tell anyone you don't trust completely, especially the police. Attack at night, you're less likely to be spotted in the darkness. The traps are effective, don't rush. Only kill if necessary. A lot of guards could be convinced to help us if their situation seems hopeless. Try to fight your way through to my lab or directly to the central control room. Most importantly, plan carefully, take your time, but not too much."

"Oh great, that will be really useful," Ash remarked sarcastically.

"So you've already decided to help?" Dawn asked.

"Of course. We can't let them do things to the shaymin," he replied.

"We really have to be careful, though. We should call a few of our friends and ask them for help and then prepare properly." Shaymin nodded eagerly.

"That's what I tried to tell that guy but he wouldn't listen." It fell silent upon realizing what it had just said. Ash, Dawn and all of their pokémon turned to it.

"Who do you mean? What happened?" Ash asked, his eyes being mere slits.

"Well, you see ..." Without a doubt, it was something they wouldn't like. "When I was in front of your house, someone left."

"Marcus," the trainers exclaimed.

"He ,,, just grabbed the map and read it. He said something about revenge and told his claydol to take him to Fuchsia City. You have to believe me, there's nothing I could have done." Ash gave it a grim look.

"I'm not mad, but this puts us into a very bad situation. He'll probably attack the base by himself," he said to Shaymin's shock.

"What? That's madness. Surely he wouldn't do something like that." The way Ash and Dawn looked at each other told it otherwise. "Right?"

"I'm afraid it sounds exactly like something he would do," Dawn answered, gritting her teeth. "We have to stop him before he gets into trouble."

"We can't just walk in there and wreck the place. What happened to the planning?" Ash protested.

"Oh, I never said anything about entering the base. But if we hurry, we will be able to catch Marcus in time. We won't attack without help. of course." He nodded in agreement.

"We should hurry, though. He's already way ahead of us and we also should change our teams just in case we run into trouble. There might be guards patrolling the area," he added.

"Alright, just let me get my coat." Standing in front of the open door made her realize how cold it had gotten. A bit later, she was back with her red coat and another, black coat for Ash. "Espeon, take us to the Oak lab."

Once they were there, they quickly made their choices. Ash chose Lucario since the aura bubble was simply invaluable, Garchomp for his raw strength, Charizard for his power and for transportation, Greninja because of his stealthiness, Reuniclus for teleportation and, of course, Pikachu for being Pikachu. Dawn took Zoroark because his ability to create illusions, Espeon for teleportation, Froslass for her abilities as a ghost, Metagross for its intelligence and power, Carbink as a supporter and healer and, finally, Piplup. When they gathered for the teleport, Shaymin stayed close, showing that it wanted to accompany them.

"You don't need to do this," Dawn said with a frown. "It's dangerous and I know you're afraid so ..."

"I want to come with you. I know it sound ridiculous but I need this and I definitely won't stay here," it insisted.

She looked at Ash, who shrugged.

"Alright, you can come with us." It cheered but stopped upon hearing the condition. "But only if you stay behind a bit and let us do the fighting if meet a patrol. Understood?"

"Fine, I can live with that." It went next to Piplup, who patted it on the back.

"Let's explain the situation first," Ash suggested. "Espeon will take us to Fuchsia City. To the west, there's a base with lots of captured shaymin. We want to free them eventually but we need more help for the attack. Today, we will only try to prevent Marcus from attacking it on his own and not fight unless absolutely necessary. Charizard will take us closer to the base, then we will look for him on the ground. I guess that's it."

"Let's go. Espeon, use teleport!" With a bright flash they vanished, leaving their other, worried pokémon behind.

Once they were there, they recalled everyone but Pikachu, Lucario, and Charizard, got on the fire type's back and flew to the west.

"Tell us when you can feel his aura," Ash told Lucario at the beginning of the flight. The pokémon had battled Marcus often enough to know it well enough.

It was probably the best way to find him since it was already too dark to see properly. It took them only a few minutes to be very close to the base so Ash decided to land.

"Please land over there," he said, pointing at a single, large tree. "We shouldn't get too close."

Charizard did as he was told and landed as softly as he could before he was recalled again. Ash looked around but there was nothing special about the landscape. There weren't a lot of tress but many smaller plants covering the hills.

"Be careful. Stay together and watch out for danger," Ash told them.

"Zoroark, come on out and hide our presence with illusions," Dawn exclaimed.

Ash was studying the map while Lucario was trying to feel Marcus's aura and the others were looking for patrols. It was uneventful, as even after a few minutes nothing had happened so Dawn was worried that they might go too far.

"Are you sure we're not too close to the base?" she asked.

"Relax, according to this map, there isn't any trap nearby," he reassured her.

"I hope you're right. The last thing I want is ... the ground feels weird, doesn't it?" They stopped and looked at it when it suddenly gave way, causing them to fall into a pit.

It wasn't one of those pits they had fallen into with Team Rocket around. This one was deep, the walls were made of steel and it closed as soon as they hit the ground. Ash was the first one to do that and made the others' falls a bit more bearable.

"That's the last time I trust your map-reading skills," Dawn groaned. "They mustn't find the map and the instructions. Zoroark, burn them with flamethrower." She grabbed the papers and threw them into the air, where they were met by the dark types flames.

"Ow, my face. What happened?" Ash asked, slowly getting up.

"We fell into a trap, that's what happened," she told him. "I'll call out Metagross. It will get us out of here."

"I think Garchomp is the better choice for that." All of sudden, tiny holes in the wall opened. "Oh crap." He could already guess what was going to happen next.

"Quick, Zoroark. Use shadow diver to get out of here! Take Shaymin with you and get help." He was hesitant at first. After all, his trainer was asking him to abandon her and leave her in a pit that would probably be filled with gas any moment. "Hurry!"

The noise of gas coming through the holes was the signal for him to leave. It was the most sensible decision as he wouldn't have had enough time to get everyone out so at least one of them and Shaymin would be safe. He moved through the wall back to the surface. Inside, the gas was taking effect, making their eyelids heavy and their muscles weak.

"No trap nearby, eh?" Dawn managed to say before collapsing.

"If I ever get my hands on Marcus, he will pay for this ..." Ash muttered.

Within seconds, everyone was fast asleep. At least Zoroark was gone so there was still some hope left although it looked really bad now. He appeared right behind Shaymin, who jumped when it noticed him.

"What happened? I just saw you fall into a hole and then it was suddenly closed again and ..." It had no time to say anything else as Zoroark dragged it with him into the ground, vanishing for now.

A few minutes later, five grunts wearing gas masks opened the pit from the outside and admired their catch.

"Holy shit, a lucario," one of them said.

"Jackpot! They're fucking valuable. The day isn't even over yet and we have already caught three intruders," another one remarked.

"I wonder what Shira will do with those," the first one mumbled.

"Probably erase their memories and send them back," the tallest grunt told him. "Can't afford to get too much attention. Hey, that girl is hot. Maybe boss will let us have some fun later. Can't wait to try her out

The others laughed and patted him on the back.

"Let me guess, the ass again?" the second grunt asked.

"You know me. Well, the gas should be gone now." He called out a pidgeot, who flew down. "You know the drill, carry them up here, recall their pokémon, take those to the storage room and the humans to the prison cells."

Unbeknownst to them, Zoroark was watching them through the ground and although it could only see rough shapes, the image was clear enough for him to see that his friends were being taken into the base. Dawn had told him to get help. Shaymin told them that the scientist in charge of the lab was helping them so maybe that was his first destination.

* * *

One by one, the Storm Raider grunts appeared in the abandoned factory near Lavender Town at midnight, expecting two boring and uneventful hours of creating their daily poison gas. Unbeknownst to them, it was going to be anything but uneventful this time. Just when they were about to turn on the machines, it happened. At first, their psychic types freaked out as they felt a field of dark power preventing teleportation. Before the grunts knew what it was all about, about twenty guns were being pointed right at them. Still confused, they were subdued and thrown to the ground by members of the international police.

"Your production has just been cancelled," one of them said, trying to keep a straight face. He had always wanted to say something like that. "You're under arrest."

"I don't know how you managed to find us but there's no prison that can hold us. Soon we'll be free again and you'll be the first to feel our wrath," a grunt replied calmly.

"Shut up!" The officer called out an abra. "Take us to the HQ."

The dark field subsided, allowing it to take them to their destination. Now, mostly technicians were left.

"Get to work. Find out all you can about those machines," Max Wright, who had been watching the whole scene from afar, shouted. Then he turned to Looker, who was standing behind him, looking proud of his achievement. "Good job. I have to admit, when Sorlan told me about this, I didn't expect it to be important. And judging from your first reaction, so did you."

"It didn't seem very promising but it was still my duty," he answered.

"Yes, you did your best and took it seriously. I'm impressed by the results so I have something else for you. Something maybe even more important. Tell me, what do you know about Team Plasma?" Max asked.

"It is actually the second Team Plasma, founded to revive the old Team Plasma's true ideology. They hunt poachers and those who are mistreating pokémon. Unlike their predecessors, they're active in every region. Apart from that, I don't know much about them," Looker admitted.

"Don't worry, we don't know much more than that. And that's why I need you. Find out more about them. I want to know about their bases, their goals, and especially their leader. So far, they've been doing us a favor by getting rid of those poachers, something we don't have enough men for, but if they get too powerful, they will be real trouble. No, we can't risk that so we have to eliminate them while they're still weak." He gave looker an envelope. "This contains everything you need to know. I'll give you some of my best men to help you so don't disappoint me."

"You can count on me, sir." Looker saluted and was about to leave when Max's phone rang. It had to be extremely important as this particular phone was only used for events of uttermost importance.

"Yes?" Max asked. His eyes widened slightly, which was enough to tell Looker that it was indeed something big. "I want every available man and woman in the Fuchsia City base now! Understood? Good!" he shouted before turning back to Looker again. "Forget about your mission for now and come with me. This is way more important at the moment."

Without waiting for an answer, he called out his alakazam and told it to teleport them to the Fuchsia City base. The technicians could remain here as he didn't need them for this mission. What he needed was a bunch of fighters because it was going to be dangerous.

* * *

Slowly, Zoroak moved through the walls of the base. His destination was the lab, where their ally and the shaymin were supposed to be. Once he was close enough, it wasn't too difficult to spot as it was the only room full of small creatures in cages. Even though he knew that it was the doctor who sent Shaymin, he tried to be careful and only left the wall with his head, looking more closely for cameras. He happened to hear a conversation between Tareth and the guard Darryl.

"... bunch of idiots. They came alone and fell into the first trap they could find," Darryl complained. "Are they really that dumb? Why did that Shaymin think they would be suitable?"

"It probably had its reasons," Tareth said, trying to calm him down. "What about the third one you mentioned?"

"Huh? Oh, that one. He appeared before the others. We have no idea who he is or how he managed to find the base or if he was looking for it at all. They caught him and soon after, the other two fell into a similar trap. Of course, Shira knew them and had them thrown into the high security cells." Darryl sighed. "I don't have access to those so there's no way to get them out."

"Damn it! Are there any good news? Anything?" He nodded but it was a weak nod.

"Well, kind of. Ash and Dawn only had eleven pokémon with them and Shaymin wasn't with of them. If the last pokémon manages to escape, it might get help," he explained.

"It's not much, but better than nothing. And you really have no idea how to free them?" Tareth asked again, just to be sure.

"No, I don't," Darryl replied, shaking his head. "As I said, I don't have access to those cells. I could get their pokémon, they are in the storage room with the other pokéballs but I'm not sure how useful they would be without their trainers."

"No, that would be too dangerous. I don't have any idea either, though." He sat down and shook his head.

It was then that Zoroark decided to reveal himself by talking to them telepathically.

"Maybe I can help?" he asked.

They looked around in shock and the doctor fell off the chair when he saw the head of a Zoroark sticking out of the wall next to the cages like a trophy. The shaymin were running around in panic but the little space they had only increased it while Darryl was in a defensive stance, ready to fight the intruder.

"Relax, I'm on your side," he told them, trying to calm them a bit. "I'm that twelfth pokémon. And I brought a friend with me." He jumped into the room, holding his arm with Shaymin towards them.

"Hi, I'm back," it said, waving at them with its tiny arm.

"You are the missing pokémon? Very good." Tareth got up again but then he halted, shook his head, rubbed his eyes and tried to say something but stopped again. The others just looked at him, trying to figure out why he was acting like that. Finally, he spoke up. "Did you ... was a part of your body just inside the wall?" Zoroark nodded. "But ... how? You are a dark type, not a ghost type. And the walls around here are made of darksteel. Moving through them like a ghost shouldn't be possible. How did you do that?"

"That's just a move we created. We call it shadow diver and it allows me to pass through solid objects. I don't know how that darksteel works but I didn't have any problem with it, it was like everything else," he explained.

"Amazing! It must be a dark type move. At least it would explain a few things, and in that case it would also be immune to a teleport blocker." He shook his head slowly. "I wonder whether your trainer even realizes the potential this move has outside of battles. It can basically bypass every modern defense, allowing for incredibly easy assassination, sabotage, espionage, and other things. If more Zoroark were to learn this move, then darksteel would become useless, at least without something else taking care of this weak point."

"Everyone who has seen me battling lately knows about the move but they don't know about the darksteel bit," he replied, making Tareth slightly nervous.

"That's not good but as long as they don't know about the true potential, it's still acceptable. Just make sure that it stays that way, okay?" The dark type nodded, agreeing with him on this matter. "Now, with the move you should be able to get into the cells where your trainers are held. But how can you get them out?"

"That's easy. I take them to the lab with me," Zoroark said as if it was obvious.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. You can transport others in this form?" Tareth hadn't even considered that.

"It did transport the shaymin, didn't it?" Darryl remarked.

"You're right. So it's true? You can rescue them just like that?" he asked again and received another nod.

"Yes, I can take THEM to this lab." The way he emphasized them made Tareth think that there was a catch. "I can only transport living beings, not objects. You see, it was also made for double battles. So I hope you have clothes somewhere around here."

"What? Oh, I see." The doctor understood that their clothes would be left behind. "Well, I have a few spare clothes in the bedroom over there but I don't have anything for a woman."

"Well, I'm sure she'll make do." Zoroark laughed at the thought of Dawn freaking out because there wasn't anything to wear. "The bigger problem will be how to get their pokémon."

"Don't worry about that," Darryl said, waving it off. "I have access to the storage room so I can get them. However, I will need some sort of excuse as I can't just go in there and get something."

"And what kind of excuse would that be?" This sounded way too simple for Tareth. "The trick with the broken observation camera to get repair supplies again?"

"No, that's not enough. I would need something huge but maybe you're right about the repair supplies. If the damage was big, then I would have to take so much that I could take a few pokéballs without getting noticed." Suddenly, he clicked his fingers. "I have an idea!"

"What is it?" both Tareth and Zoroark asked.

"It's simple. It's really simple. We just blow a hole into the wall." The doctor just stared in disbelief whereas the pokémon laughed. "What? You don't like it?"

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?" Tareth shouted, scaring the shaymin by his outburst. "We need to get into the storage room so let's blow up everything! Great plan. Shira would notice this and kill us all."

"No, she wouldn't. I will just go to the central control room and report a massive experiment failure. That would justify taking more than just a few supplies and they would also make a few guards go with me to help with the repairs. I'm sure we can overwhelm them before they can call for help. There's one more advantage." He raised a finger and waited for them to ask.

"And what advantage is that?" Although the doctor wouldn't admit it, the plan wasn't so bad. It might actually work and it was certainly better than anything he could think of at this moment.

"Once the pokémon are here, one of them could use the hole to dig a tunnel to the surface, allowing the shaymin to escape. Now what do you say? It's great, isn't it?" He put his hand on his hips, expecting them to praise his plan.

"Wait, how do you expect us to blow a hole in the wall?" Tareth asked, still a bit sceptical. "We would need a large amount of firepower."

"Oh, that's easy." He turned around, pointing at all the shaymin in the cages. "They can absorb poison gas or stuff like that to strengthen their seed flare. You've got a lot of that stuff around here, don't you?"

"I do." He thought about it for a while. If they heated the wall up before and if he used all of the chemicals, they might actually make it. Darryl could be surprisingly smart for a meager guard, or perhaps simply a little crazy. "You know, the explosion would also distract them. Perhaps they wouldn't even notice their missing prisoners. Besides, it certainly would make this place look more appealing."

"That's the spirit!" Darryl shouted, raising his fist. "It's about time we do something. Shira doesn't allow us to do anything to them right now but who knows what's going to happen when she changes her mind."

"We have to protect ourselves from the explosion, though. Do you have any pokémon who could help us?" Darryl took three tiny pokéballs from his belt and held them up between his fingers.

"Galvantula can use light screen, Jolteon and Crobat can use protect. You think that's enough?" The doctor nodded so he put them back for now.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Zoroark was about to go to the cells but was stopped by Tareth.

"Wait, you fools. What the hell are you thinking? Haven't you learned anything? Just look at those two trainers to see what happens to those who aren't careful enough." The message didn't go unnoticed as they looked down in shame. "First of all, Zoroark, you need to know where to find them. Follow me."

They went to the bedroom, where he took a map out of a cupboard. He put it on a table and pointed at a room on the left side.

"Here we are, at the western tip of the base." His finger moved to the right. "There are other labs around here but they aren't important right now and there's also a room which is used to keep track of poachers. I'm telling you this just in case you might need it later." Then he pointed at a huge room to the northeast. "This is the storage room. Darryl will get the pokéballs from there. To the east, there's the entrance to the prison complex." The finger moved a bit further up. "These are the cells for most prisoners. Your targets will be in the high security cells further north."

"There are observation cameras so you better get rid of them before revealing yourself," Darryl suggested.

"That's a good idea. The longer they take to realize what's going on, the better for us." He proceeded to show him the map by pointing at the southeastern part. "That's the main entrance. It's full of traps and weapons to make sure that only those enter who are allowed to do so. It leads to the living quarters. It's rather large and unimportant for us. To the west, there is the central control room. Cameras, traps, automated weapons, everything can be turned on and off over there. This is where we have to go to win this battle. Once we have control of the base, nothing can stop us. To the south, there is the teleportation chamber and to the southwest, there are Shira's personal quarters. With a bit of luck, we won't need to go there. For you, Zoroark, the high security cells are the most important parts. If you can take your friends here, tell them to have a look at the base as well so they know where they are and have to go. You also have to tell them not to leave this room until the guards are finished. I'll tell you when it's safe."

The dark type nodded but he was already getting impatient. Didn't they see that his friends were in danger?

"Alright, if there's nothing else ..." He turned towards the wall but was stopped again by a hand on his shoulder.

"Actually, there is," Tareth admitted. "Before you can go, you have to use flamethrower or fire blast or something similar to soften the wall up a bit. That'll give the shaymin a better chance of breaking through. You do know fire type moves, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," he replied, sighing. "Let's get this over with."

They returned to the room with the shaymin, where he unlocked the cage doors, picked the proper chemicals for his plan, trying not to use anything explosive, which he carried into his bedroom instead. Carefully, he put the right ones in the middle of the room, in front of a group of waiting shaymin before using a red magnet to mark the target. He cleared his throat before trying to explain their plan to them. He loved doing that as it gave him a feeling of having everything under control even when that wasn't the case.

"Listen up, everyone. I'll try to be as quick as possible," he said, nodding at the dark type. "First, Zoroark will use fire on the wall to heat it up a bit and then go to rescue the trainers. You-" He pointed at one of the shaymin. "- will use magical leaf on those containers in front of you, releasing the toxins, then all of you will absorb them immediately. Use the energy to concentrate your seed flare on the target on the wall. Don't hold back. Full power! We need to blow a large hole into it. Darryl's pokémon will protect you from the blast. Do you think you can do that?" Hesitantly, a few of them nodded, which was enough for him. "Alright, Darrly will be off to get the trainers' pokéballs and a few guards to help us repair the lab. You be back in your cages by their arrival but they won't be locked so you open the doors and knock them out with energy balls as soon as they're about to go to work."

"Are you done? I can't wait much longer," Zoroark complained.

"Alright, alright. It's up to you to start it now." Darryl called out his pokémon. "Galvantula, I want you to use light screen when I tell you to and the others to use protect to shield everyone at the same time so get ready."

Tareth was leaving to the others now and looked confident but secretly, he was regretting the decision of going along with the plan already. It was rushed and unlikely to succeed to begin with but even if it did, what would they do next? Darryl, Ash, Dawn, their pokémon and a horde of frightened Shaymin would be up against an army of well-trainer and armed grunts, a base full of traps, and Shira herself, who was using a special kind of pokéball, which allowed to carry more than the usual limit of six. Apart from that, her pokémon were said to be on the same level as a champion's pokémon, but much more brutal and ruthless. Besides, there were still Wraith, whose pokémon were just as powerful as Shira's, especially her terrifying banette, and Boris. Although he only had one truly powerful pokémon, his garchomp, it was said to be equal in power to Cynthia's and a cruel killing machine, combining four of his favorite weapons in his mega form, blades, raw strength, fire and fear. There was no denying it, the odds were against them but there was no turning back now. It was either victory or death.


	21. Gathering Storm

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 21: Gathering Storm

All of them, Tareth, Zoroark, Darryl, his pokémon and the shaymin were waiting for the beginning of their plan.

A crimson aura appeared around Zoroark as he was increasing his power with nasty plot. The others could feel the power radiating from its body until the aura disappeared. He spread his arms, took a deep breath and jerked his head forward, releasing a concentrated heat beam, which Tarteh didn't expect from a non-fire type. At first, it didn't seem to have any effect but Zoroark kept it up nonetheless and soon the spot glowed red. The glow spread quickly then, covering a large part of the wall a few seconds later. However, he had to stop to catch his breath a bit later.

"It's your turn now," he told them before vanishing in the ground. Several seconds passed with nobody doing anything, as everyone was waiting for the others to make the first. After all, there was no turning back after that.

"You heard Zoroark, do it! I don't know how fast it is, but it might already be close to the cells" A shaymin used magical leaf to open the containers, causing toxic gases to emerge. They sucked them in quickly, turning the flowers on their bodies and part of their green fur black. "Now! Defensive moves! Light screen and protect!"

With a cry, the shaymin released the energy by shooting green beams at the center of the red glowing spot in the wall and the other three pokémon jumped between them, forming protective shields. At first, there was a blinding light, which was followed by deafening noise and an explosion that shook the whole base. It pressed humans and pokémon alike against the cages behind them with enough force to leave marks on their back and for a moment, they thought that they couldn't breathe anymore but it subsided as quickly as it started and they fell forward, their bodies hurting but still functional. It took them a while to stand up and open their eyes and once they did, they could barely believe what they saw. There was a massive hole in the wall, the rims still glowing red and scorched earth on the other side. Every piece of equipment they had left on the other side of the light screen had either melted or turned to ashes. Without a doubt, the explosion would have killed them instantly without the defenses. Tareth was the first to recover from the shock and notice the alarm that had gone off.

"Hurry up, Darryl. Guards are likely to be on their way already," he shouted.

"You're right." He recalled his pokémon. "Thank you for your help. Now it's my turn."

He opened the heavy steel door quickly, rushed out and slammed it shut behind him. Hopefully, he would convince the others that it was just a failed experiment.

* * *

Dawn was feeling truly helpless. She was locked in a small, cold room with an observation camera attached to the ceiling, way too high for a normal human to reach. Since there wasn't even a chair, she was hugging her knees with her back to the wall. Where was Ash? He couldn't be too far away as her amulet wasn't glowing and if she still had it, he was likely to have it as well. Anyway, there was nothing to do except to wait for the inevitable to happen. She had failed her pokémon, Ash, and the shaymin. Despite having tried not to be too reckless, they fell right into a trap and now there was no hope left.

A sudden earthquake or something that felt like it caused her to jump up. Whatever it was, it was close to her position. Maybe the base was under attack? At least the alarm indicated that something was wrong. She went to the only door and tried to hear as much as possible. In the end, she was concentrating so much on this task that she almost had a heart attack, when parts of the observation camera crashed next to her. A quick look above revealed Zoroark's head sticking out of the wall.

"Zoroark! I thought you were going to get help," she exclaimed with a mix of relief and disappointment. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" He jumped down and landed gracefully without making a noise. "I'm here to rescue you, silly. And no, I didn't forget about getting help. I went to the scientist who sent the shaymin and he has agreed to help us. The explosion you have probably felt was merely a distraction."

"A distraction? It sounded like an attack." He grabbed her arm. "Wait, what about Ash? And the other pokémon?"

"No time, I'll explain it on the way." He used shadow diver to escape from the cell, dragging her with him.

Even though she had done it a few times before, it was still exciting, especially since it was so much longer this time. It felt like was being dragged through an ocean without the need for oxygen but also without being able to move on her own. Everything looked so blurry that she wasn't sure where they were going but surely, Zoroark was able to see better as he was used to move like that. As promised, he was telling her about the situation while traveling back to the lab.

"I don't really know whether to trust the doctor, but the shaymin seem to do and since we need his help, there is no other choice here. The explosion you heard was the result of several seed flares, which wrecked the lab, giving his friend an excuse to get supplies from the storage room, where their loot is also stored, including your pokéballs. You get what I'm trying to say, don't you? He'll use the opportunity to get them for us. I'll take you to the bedroom. No matter what happens, don't leave it or even open the door until he tells us to do so. Try to find some clothes until I'm back with Ash." Suddenly, they were standing in a small room, which was full of furniture. The shortcut had taken only about one minute so It wouldn't be long until Ash was also there. Dawn's first reflex was to get dry again but despite the feel during the journey through the walls, she already was. The next thing she noticed was that the alarm had been turned off at some point. Zoroark pointed at a wardrobe next to her. "He said you could take anything you need. I'll be back in a minute."

Before she could ask anything, he was already on his way back to the high-security cells. With a sigh, she decided to have a look at the wardrobe, mostly because it was really cold there without clothes. She grimaced upon realizing that there weren't any clothes for women but there was no way she was going to walk around naked so she just took what was there, a pair of black trousers, which she had to fasten with a belt, a white shirt which was a bit tight around the chest, a white lab coat, and a pair of black socks. When she couldn't find any shoes, she just put on another pair of socks.

Zoroark had told her not to open the door but it didn't stop her from trying to eavesdrop. Apparently, there was nothing going on in the lab since everything was quite so she sat down on a chair, which was so much better than sitting on the cold steel floor in the prison.

* * *

Ash was walking around aimlessly in his cell, his mind being ripped apart by guilt, anger, and worry after only a quick respite, when curiosity took over because of the strange earthquake and the following alarm, which had already been turned off. There was no doubt in his mind that the situation was his fault. After all, he'd failed to read the map properly and let them go way too close to the base, resulting in them getting captured. However, at least he hadn't tried to attack the base by himself like Marcus, who was probably in a nearby cell right now. The utter recklessness drove him mad although he had to admit that he and Dawn weren't always careful either. What was going to happen now? Would the grunts torture them? Would they hold them as hostages? Or would they simply kill them? No matter what Ash imagined, it wasn't pleasant, but it was just the beginning.

He kicked the door, instantly regretting it as he groaned with pain before sinking down next to it. It was over. Their luck has finally run out. Why did it have to end just when he was so close to becoming a champion, so close to proposing to the love of his life? Why was life so damn unfair?

Suddenly, something crashed next to him, causing him to jump up, and a quick look revealed it to be the remains of the observation camera. He looked up to see Dawn's head sticking out of the ceiling with a cheeky grin.

"Hi, Ash." It wasn't her voice but it belonged to someone he knew very well.

"Zoroark, this is not the time for your jokes. Dawn should be somewhere nearby. You have to rescue her first," he shouted.

"Firstly, it's always time for my jokes. Secondly, I have already taken her to safety so it's your turn now. And thirdly, don't be so loud. Who knows whether they can hear you." The dark type canceled the illusion, revealing his true face.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ash spread his arms, ready for the trip.

The pokémon let himself drop right on top of Ash, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into the ground using shadow diver. It was still something Ash had to get used to but at least, it gave Zoroark enough time to explain the situation to him as well.

"Have you ever wondered what Dawn looks like in men's clothes?" he added shortly before arriving in the bedroom.

Ash had no time to wonder what he meant as fell through a ceiling right onto a bed. Then he felt someone pouncing on him and hugging him from behind. As he could already guess who it was, he turned around and, just as expected, embraced Dawn, who had tears in her eyes.

"I'm so happy to see you!" she mumbled, showering him with kisses. "I was so afraid that I might never see you again. Let's stay together now." She let go of him and gave him a more serious look. "We're still in grave danger but at least we can die fighting together now."

"Don't worry, we won't die. Nothing will happen to us, I promise." Their lips met in a kiss, which was filled with so much passion that one might think it was their last one. "I wished this would never end." With a sigh, Ash stood up and had a closer look at her and finally realized what Zoroark had meant. "Nice clothes, by the way," he remarked, hoping to lighten up the mood a bit.

"Oh, shut up. There was nothing else for me to wear." she complained. "Would you prefer me walking around naked?"

The image forming in his head had quite the effect on him and looked around to make sure that Zoroark wasn't watching or the pokémon might make fun of him for that forever. Fortunately, he was gone, maybe on a scouting mission or just to give them some privacy. Dawn laughed at his reaction.

"Maybe you should get some clothes? This is really a bad place." She pointed at the wardrobe and he had a look. There wasn't exactly much of a choice and most of the clothes were slightly too small for him but it was still better than running around naked. In the end, he was wearing the same outfit as Dawn. "Much better, isn't it? Anyway, we have to wait for now as Zoroark told me not to open the door until the doctor tells us it's safe to do so."

"Alright." He sat down on the bed. "What are we supposed to do until then?"

"I don't care." She sat down next to him and snuggled up to his chest. "Let's just stay together and I'll be happy."

"No need to worry. Everything's going to be alright, I promise," Ash said, holding her close with a single tear escaping his eyes. He wasn't sure whether he would be able to keep that promise.

A few minutes of complete, but pleasant silence later, the door opened. They expected the doctor to tell them about his success, but instead, a single shaymin entered the room with the door closing behind it.

"I'm so glad you're safe again. I wouldn't have forgiven myself for getting you killed. Please forgive me," it begged them.

"Hey, you did nothing wrong. It was my fault," Ash assured the pokémon.

Shaymin jumped between them and laid down in Dawn's lap.

"I'm glad. Oh, you don't mind me resting here a bit, do you? I've been horribly worried and need some rest," it told her.

"No need to worry. We all need some rest," she replied scratching its back. "Let's just stay like this until we have our pokémon back."

There was no denying that it felt so much safer with them, especially after everything they had gone through. The prospect of parting ways seemed almost unbearable but this wasn't the time or place to think about such things. No, Shaymin simply enjoyed the warmth and the feeling of safety, which Ash and Dawn were also feeling. Right now, there was nothing else in this world. Only the alarm, which suddenly went on again, reminded them of the grim reality.

* * *

The central control room was full of computers and other machines, placed around the statue of a Storm Raider lightning in the center. Lots of grunts were looking at screens, typing things or simply guarding the room. Most of them were coordinating the search for the missing pokémon, others were watching their new prisoners. The captain, who was in contact with everyone outside, was the one to give commands as Shira was currently in her private quarters, doing something else.

"Team Beta hasn't found anything so far, sir," one of his men told him.

"Team Alpha has been unable to find the target," another one reported.

"Team Gamma has nothing to report," the leader of the third group said.

"Oh, come on! It's one lousy pokémon. Are you trying to tell me that you can't find it?" the captain shouted, shaking his head. "Fine! Expand the search area. Team Alpha to the east and Team Beta further to the south. Team Gamma will go to Fuchsia City in disguise."

"How are we supposed to find it there? We don't even know what kind of pokémon it is," one of them complained.

"You idiots! Can't you tell the difference between an ordinary pokémon and a powerful fighting machine?" He laughed. "Well, we just know that it belongs to the girl so I'll send you a list of every pokémon she has along with your new routes. Will that be enough for you?"

"Yes, sir." The captain removed his headphone, having enough of incompetent idiots for the moment.

"Sir?" One of the grunts asked.

"Yes?" he replied with a sigh.

"It seems we've ..." the grunt started but then something happened that made them completely forget about it.

It was like an earthquake, which shook the ground, made a few smaller machines fall, and shocked everyone. A few seconds of complete silence were followed by chaos as everyone tried to look at the screens.

"Get back to your posts, you useless idiots!" the captain yelled, trying to restore order. "Faster! What the hell was that? It came from the labs, didn't it? Raise the alarm! Anything on the screens?"

"No signals from the nearest observation cameras. They're probably damaged," one of the others reported. The alarm finally went off at that moment. "Wait, there's Darryl coming from the lab towards us."

"You there!" He pointed at a group of five grunts waiting for orders near the entrance. "Get Darryl or go to the lab. I don't care how, I just need to know what happened."

"Yes, sir!" they left the control room quickly to avoid even more yelling.

It didn't even take one minute to run into Darryl, who was running in the opposite direction, looking kind of spooked. For some reason, he was really relieved when he saw them.

"So glad to see you," he muttered, trying to catch his breath. "An experiment failed. Badly. You wouldn't believe the destruction. The lab is a complete mess."

"Failed experiment? What the hell is he doing that it shakes the whole base?" the leader asked, trying to imagine the experiment.

"Seed flare. Not much time to explain. I need to see Shira, follow me," Darryl said, urging them to return to the central control room.

"Not so fast. We were sent to find out what happened," a grunt replied, grabbing his arm.

"And I just told you, didn't I? Come on, Tareth needs supplies." He was relieved when they actually followed him.

"Very well." The leader grinned. "Let's see what Shira has to say about your stupid experiments. Won't be very amused, I can already guess."

Together, they ran back and, after a brief moment of hesitation, Darryl opened the door.

* * *

Shira was trying to call her boss to give him the news. His face appeared on the screen of the videophone, looking both annoyed and curious. Why did she call him at this hour? The smirk on her face suggested that it was something good so he decided to hear her out.

"Well, look who's called me," he said. "I assume you have a good reason?"

"A very good reason. Something happened Something big," she replied with a wicked grin.

"Out with it! I haven't got all day." His patience was running low and the grin annoyed him to no end.

"We have prisoners. And not just any prisoners. We caught the trainers you wanted, Ash and Dawn," she told him proudly. "Didn't expect that, did you?"

"I have to admit I didn't." He remained expressionless for a few seconds before speaking up again. "Remarkable. Truly remarkable. How did you do it? Don't tell me they attacked your base."

"No, nothing that drastic," she answered, laughing. "No, they just came close enough to fall into a trap. Not too smart of them, eh?"

"It sounds like you're making fun of my decision," he remarked.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I just think they would have to learn a lot once they're with us." Shira didn't want to provoke him too much.

"Good, because that's something I really despise." He rubbed his hands together. "Now, tell me more. Why did they come? Did they know about the base?"

"I don't think so but we haven't interrogated them so far. Perhaps they're already awake and we can find out their reasons to come here. Come to think of it, maybe they were just following the other guy we caught earlier." Suddenly, his amused expression turned into something more menacing. Although it was still calm on the outside, she knew he wasn't amused.

"Other guy?" His voice was deadly silent. "You mean to tell that you have captured another guy before those two without telling me about it? Are you that dumb?."

"No! I wanted to tell you about it but I have been too busy with other things," she quickly replied, trying to repair the damage she has done.

"Other things? What could be more important? Tell me, I'm dying to hear the answer. Or you are, depending on how much I like it." She was hesitating so there was something wrong.

"Well ... we had to store the loot, take them to cells and all the other stuff. You know, nothing special but it takes time," she told him but judging from the look he was giving her, he didn't believe it.

"Seriously? Are you telling me it kept you this busy? When did you capture them?" he asked.

"Just a second." She could lie to him but that would only make matters worse. "It was four hours ago."

"Four hours..." he replied. "Four hours and you couldn't take a few minutes to tell me about your situation! You know what? I don't believe you. Either you were extremely lazy or there's something else."

"There was something else," she admitted, gritting her teeth and already regretting even mentioning the other prisoner. "When we found Ash and Dawn sleeping in the pit, there also and few of their pokémon outside and others inside their pokéballs. There were only eleven in total, though."

"So what you're trying to tell me is that one of their pokémon escaped and knows exactly where to find the base? And now it might just go to the international police and tell them about everything so they can launch a massive attack?" Shira nodded, not knowing what else to say. "That's weak, Shira. I expect more from my chosen."

"There's nothing to worry about. My men are already searching the whole area for it," she told him as if the matter was already solved. "I have no doubts that it won't be able to hide or run much longer so there's no reason to worry."

"That would make everything alright again, wouldn't it? But there's still a problem. You haven't informed me and I don't care about the situation with the pokémon. In fact, it's all the more reason for you to tell me. You're getting a bit too cocky for my liking." She just frowned. "Not even your recent achievements justify that attitude."

It was getting really annoying. Was she a child who had to tell him everything she did so that he could control her every move? Hasn't she proved on several occasions that she was capable of completing any task? Has he forgotten about her victories already? And now he was telling her that she was too cocky? It was outrageous, to say the least.

"Surely you don't need to hear about every single, little thing," she replied carefully. Not even Shira dared to talk openly. "You can trust me with these matters."

"I know. But that doesn't mean you can keep secrets from me," he retorted.

"Secrets? Those are unimportant matters." The boss stood up.

"Unimportant? I-" he pointed at himself while raising his voice. "- decide what's unimportant. Understood?"

Shira took a deep breath before folding her arms and sighing in defeat.

"Understood," she muttered.

"Fantastic! Now tell me more about this prisoner. Who is he? Did he know about the base?" he finally asked.

"We haven't been able to interrogate him so far," she replied, glad about the change of topic. "I'll do it myself. Until then, there's not much I can tell. Since there is nothing of importance in this area and judging from his determination we can assume that he did know something about the base."

"Interesting theory. But wasn't the location to be secret? How could he acquire such knowledge?" He scratched his chin. "Someone must have told him. But who? And why? I want you to find the traitor and give him or her the cruelest death you can imagine."

"With pleasure, sir. Whoever he is, he will pay for the trouble he has caused." She saluted. "Is there anything else?"

"Not right now." He was about to end the conversation when he remembered something. "Wait, there's one more thing. I'm sure you already know but I just want to make sure. Nobody even touches the trainers. Those who do will lose their fingers. And then their lives."

To Shira's relief, the screen went blank. The conversation didn't go as planned, which was her own fault for mentioning the other prisoner. He was arrogant, easily pissed off, although he rarely showed it, and he was calling her cocky. It was ridiculous. Maybe it was time for her organization to become something bigger, something more independent?

Her thoughts were interrupted by an earthquake, which caused her to fall of the chair before it subsided just as quickly as it appeared. For several seconds, she just lay there, waiting for an aftershock but instead, she heard the alarm. Fearing the worst, she got up and entered the central control room, finding a distressed captain, who tried to keep the order.

"What's the situation," she asked, seizing control of the base again.

"Oh, you're here, boss." The captain seemed relieved. "There was an explosion in the western part of the base, probably in Tareth's lab. Several observation cameras are damaged but apart from that, we haven't discovered any damage. A group of guards is already on its way to the lab to find out what happened."

"Good job." She sat down in the middle of the room. "What about the men on the surface looking for the missing pokémon?"

"They have been unsuccessful so far. I have expanded the search area and sent Team Gamma to Fuchsia City," he replied, hoping that she would approve of his decision.

"Very well. I want every remaining man and woman in this room as soon as possible. We will go to the lab and find out what happened," she ordered.

"Right away, boss," the captain answered, leaving to gather them.

"Good. Someone turn this fucking alarm off," she yelled and it quickly disappeared. "Finally. Now follow me. We will have a little talk with Tareth."

With a large group following her, Shira went to the western exit but before she could open the door, it was opened from the other side by Darryl. He took a step back and started to talk.

"So glad I found you. Tareth has done an experiment with seed flare and it was a catastrophic failure. The move was so much stronger than expected and set the explosive chemicals in the lab ablaze. Before we knew it, the whole lab exploded and without my pokémon's protective moves, we would be dead," he told her, turning around and pulling up his shirt, revealing the cage marks on his back. "Now it's a complete mess and he won't be able to work like this so he sent me to get supplies and workers. He'll need at least five men or the repairs will take forever."

"I see." Shira always thought he was cute like this. "So now he actually wants other people in his little realm? After refusing pretty much everyone? He should be glad I don't kick him out. But fine, the five guards behind you should be more than enough. Go to the storage room and get everything you need. And tell him that he better be more careful in the future if he wants to keep his head."

"As you command." He looked relieved and went to the north, towards the storage room.

The others followed him, only one of them was held back by Shira. She got closer and whispered right into his ear.

"I want you to have a look at the lab. I don't know what you have to look for, just remember anything you can find and tell me afterwards. Understood?" He nodded. "Alright, off you go."

She gave him a pat on the back and he hurried to catch up with the others. Although he was wondering why she couldn't do it herself since Tareth and Darryl were working for her, he didn't question the order. Surely, she had her reasons.

"Alright, forgot about that mission. Spread out and check every observation camera, turret and trap. That experiment might have damaged them. Oh, and someone inform the storage guard to let Darryl and the others pass," she told the remaining grunts before returning to her seat in the central control chamber and waiting for their reports. After that, she would finally get to interrogate the prisoner.

This event gave her the opportunity to find out more about Tareth's activities and with a bit of luck, the grunts would find something to justify getting rid of him for good. She was already imagining different ways of kicking his ass when the captain reappeared with about five grunts.

"We have everything under control. Turned out it was just Tareth butchering an experiment. You can return to your posts." They saluted and left the room again, except for the captain.

"Boss?" One of the grunts watching the screens got her attention. "The observation camera in the cell with the girl doesn't work anymore."

"Can't you do anything yourself? I don't need to hear every single detail. Just tell Wiggs to replace it," she replied, not even looking up.

"Yes, boss." He dialed a number and the face of a grunt appeared on a smaller screen. "Check the camera in cell 3 and repair or replace it if necessary." He just nodded and the screen went blank again.

The grunt in front of the screen sighed and leaned back a little. Then he noticed that the screen, which usually showed the interior of cell 2, where Ash was being held, was also blank. He was about to dial the number again but it seemed that Wiggs was faster this time, his face pale and his eyes full of fear.

"One more thing. It appears ..." he started.

"The girl is gone!" Wiggs just stated.

"What?" The grunt tried to keep calm just in case this was just a huge misunderstanding. "Are you sure you haven't checked the wrong cell?"

"Absolutely sure," the guard assured him. "The camera lies in pieces on the ground as well as her clothes and items. Just the girl herself is missing."

"Check the other ones! This can't be true!" He stood up and raised his voice so much that Shira noticed him.

"What is this about?" she asked. "Hey, answer me!"

The grunt didn't hear her as he was too focused on the screen. Wigg's videophone was directly next to the cells so it took him only half a minute to check all of them. When he returned, he looked even paler than before.

"He's also gone. Same situation. Clothes there, boy gone," he reported quickly.

"Damn it!" the grunt yelled, smashing the screen with his fist, instantly regretting it as the pain ran through his fingers.

"What are you thinking, smashing our equipment?" Shira expected a very good explanation for him.

"They're gone. The two prisoners in the high security cells are gone," he managed to get out.

"WHAT?" She grabbed him by the collar and lifted him. "Say that again and with more details."

"They're gone ... Wiggs found the cells empty ... only clothes still there ... nothing on the videos," he stammered before she pushed him back into his chair. The alarm was raised once more.

"Find them! I don't care how. Inform every guard! Search the whole base but don't attack them unless you outnumber them significantly! They're dangerous, even without their pokémon. You there, go to Tareth's lab and search for them. If he doesn't want to let you enter, just blow the door up. I don't care how, just do it," she told a group of five grunts. Then she turned to the captain. "Recall Team Alpha and Beta. Wake up the rest. I want them to look for our escaped prisoners as well. From now on, you're in charge of the search so don't disappoint me."

"I won't," he replied before starting to make contact with the teams.

Shira, still remembering the conversation with the boss, went to her private quarters, turned on her computer and called her boss. It took awfully long until his face appeared on the screen, so much that she was almost tempted to sit down.

"You again? What is it this time," he asked, sounding bored.

"Those two trainers escaped. I don't know how or where they are but they'll be captured soon." He just laughed.

"So you're telling me that you were outsmarted by those you called idiots a few minutes ago?" He laughed so hard that he had trouble regaining his composure. "You really should have seen your face right now. Anyway, I'll leave you to your duties. In the morning, I hope to hear about your success." He was about to end the call when he remembered something else he wanted to tell her. "By the way, my scouts report about a gathering of the international police in Fuchsia City. Maybe they were following your ex-prisoners. Keep your eyes open, will you?"

He ended the call, giving her no chance to reply but there was really no need for more words. Except maybe for those the other prisoner had to say. Although she didn't consider him important, there was still a chance that he knew something that might be important. Either way, he was going to tell her.


	22. Braving the Storm part 1

**Discaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

Chapter 22: Braving the Storm Part 1

Darryl was making his way towards the storage room with the five grunts following closely behind. So far, the plan was working. Shira sent him to get supplies, an opportunity he would use to get the prisoners' pokéballs as well and the grunts would be unconscious soon. Upon arrival, the guard opened the door leading to the room.

"I've already been informed. Take what you need," he said before yawning. It sure wasn't the most exciting task.

Darryl nodded and proceeded to enter but a familiar voice startled him so much, that he bumped into the wall.

"What was this explosion about?" someone whispered.

He turned around to see Wraith standing next to him with her lab coat in her hands.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" He gave the grunts, who were snickering, a glare. "That explosion was a failed experiment. Shira sent us to get supplies for repairs and so on."

"I see." He caught the lab coat she threw at him. "Store this. I have work to do."

With those words, she walked off again, something Darryl surely wasn't sad about. This girl gave him the creeps but at least she kept to herself. Nevertheless, it was time for the supplies.

"You two get medical supplies. The doctor and a few shaymin are injured so we need to hurry. He can't perform his experiments on dead shaymin. The other two get spare parts of every kind. I doubt there's anything we won't need so don't be picky. We can always get more later. I'll get the tools. Understood?" They nodded. "Alright, go!"

He chose to get the tools because they were next to the loot, which was ordered by date of capture so the pokéball were in a single box. Positioning himself so that the cameras wouldn't be able to see what he was doing, he grabbed all the tiny pokéballs when he felt that nobody was looking since he had no way of knowing which were the right ones. Just when he put them into a toolbox, the alarm went off, giving him almost a heart attack. He thought it was over, that he has been discovered as the storage guard got a message from the central control room, probably the order to arrest him. However, the guard did no such thing.

"Looks like some prisoners are missing. They told me to tell you to hurry up and get to the lab. There you are supposed to look for them. Boss has already sent a few more men to help you," he told them.

"Alright, we're on our way," Darryl, trying not to sound relieved but he wasn't entirely successful. They gave him a strange look. "What are you looking at? You heard him, so let's go there quickly. We can get the rest later."

They gathered the things they had found and hurried to the lab, arriving there just in time to meet the mentioned grunts. They briefly nodded at each other.

"Just a second. I'll tell him to open the door," Darryl said, knocking on it. "Open the door! We have the supplies you need and a few of them want to look for the missing prisoners."

The door made a sound as it was being unlocked and swung open, giving them access to the mess that was called a laboratory. Darryl let the others enter first and closed the door behind him, getting ready for the next part of the plan.

"Wow, will you look at that!" Even though, the steel wasn't glowing anymore, the massive hole was still a sight to see. "That sure explains the earthquake."

"Let it be a reminder to you all. Don't play with seed flare." Tareth took a few steps back. "Energy balls are so much more reliable."

It was the signal for the shaymin, who pushed open the cage doors. The grunts, having been too busy looking at the hole, turned around to see a few dozen small energy balls flying straight at them and before they could do anything else, the balls hit them. Although, they were small, as the shaymin didn't want to kill, they were many and powerful enough to knock out the ten grunts almost instantly. As soon as the last one met the ground, Tareth sighed in relief.

"I can't believe this actually worked," he muttered, leaning against the wall and sinking to the ground. "You have their pokémon?"

"I do. But I thought I was done for when the alarm went off just when I took them," he confessed.

"I was really worried when I heard it. But let's not speak of this anymore. Good job, everyone," he told Darryl and the shaymin, who jumped up and down in joy. "I'll tell the trainers that they can come in. You better have ropes to tie our friends up."

"I have something much better. My galvantula's string shot is perfect for this job." He called out the pokémon. "I know this sounds strange but I need you to tie them up with string shot after I've disarmed them." Although it didn't know the reason, it followed the order.

Tareth went to the door leading to his bedroom, opened it slightly and stopped then just to enjoy the sight. They were in each others' arms, eyes closed with a shaymin resting on her lap. It was heartwarming and he almost regretted waking them up.

"Hey, you can come in," he said.

They stood up and stretched for a few seconds before entering and the first thing they saw was the massive hole in the wall. Then their gazes met the unconscious grunts and, finally, they saw the shaymin swarming them, telling them how grateful they are for the help. Their numbers were so great that the trainers were completely overwhelmed.

"Sometimes I wonder whether it's really smart to help strangers all the time but moments like this remind me that it's the right thing to do," Dawn said between the laughter as they were tickling her.

"I didn't even know there were so many of them," Ash admitted.

For the second time this day, Tareth felt this warmth while looking at the scene in front of him. Although his former self had it much easier and could live without a lot of worries, he still felt that the change was worth it. He just wished that he would live long enough to truly appreciate it.

"I hate to interrupt you but there are things to do. First things first. Do you happen to have a pokémon that's good at digging?" he asked.

"Well, I had Garchomp with me but my pokéballs are still missing. He's one of the best diggers I know", Ash replied.

"That's no problem, Darryl brought them here. Where are they?" The guard pointed at the toolbox near the entrance.

"I also took the pokéballs of the other prisoner since I wasn't able to tell them apart," he muttered, not even looking up. Disarming and tying up his former colleagues was a grim task, especially since he knew that a few of them had similar thoughts about Shira's recent operations. At least, this was also a way of making sure that they wouldn't get hurt in the battles.

Ash and Dawn had a look and quickly found their pokéballs with the empty one belonging to Zoroark. The remaining six balls had to belong to Marcus and Ash put them in one of his pockets as he felt they were safer there. They called out Pikachu, Piplup, Garchomp and Espeon, who didn't know what had happened but they were relieved to find their trainers and friends in safety. Just like the shaymin, they almost crushed the targets of their affection.

"Please don't waste any more time." Just like before, Tareth enjoyed the scene but it also hurt him. "We need a pokémon to dig a way out. Then we can escape without a fight."

"I see." Ash pointed at the hole in the wall. "Make a big tunnel so everyone can get out."

Garchomp nodded and began his little project with enthusiasm although the ground was way harder than expected, which made the digging take long. There was still something bugging Ash, though.

"What about Marcus? We can't just leave him here," he told the others.

"That's the other prisoner, right? Maybe Zoroark can get him out," Tareth suggested. "By the way, where is it?"

"I'm here." They looked around to see his head emerging from the ground near the entrance. "And I have bad news. I have been scouting the base and at this moment, Marcus is being interrogated by this Shira. Three grunts are with her and would shoot him before I could pull him into the ground."

"And how ..." Dawn's question was interrupted by an announcement.

"Ash, Dawn. We don't know whether you are still in this base but if you are, you better surrender soon. Otherwise, your friend ... oh I mean rival Marcus will feel the wrath aimed at you and you don't want that to happen, do you? You have five minutes until he's executed in a way you can't even imagine." It ended and Ash and Dawn gave each other worried looks.

"We have to do something," Ash mumbled.

"I know he's your friend but is it really worth risking everything we've done so far?" Tareth asked.

"I don't even know whether we can call him a friend but since he's here because of a message that was meant for us, we're partly responsible for this. And I won't let him die, especially because his sister would be devastated," Dawn explained.

"We won't surrender. We will find him and free him," Ash added.

"How? The base is full of grunts. You will never get past them in time. Please reconsider this," the doctor begged them.

"That's easy. Zoroark can use his illusions to make us look like those grunts," Dawn said, pointing at the guards lying on the ground. The dark type understood and made it happen.

"Amazing!" Tareth had a closer look but he couldn't spot a difference between the illusions and the real ones.

"If you want to do this, you might want to block the way out of the prison," Darryl told them, standing up. "There's only one door and if you can block it, you won't have to fight her and every single grunt at the same time. Oh, and you will need a code to enter the prison but I'm sure you can ... persuade the door guard to let you in. By the way, Shira uses special pokéballs. With them, she can carry way more than six. I know of at least 20 pokémon she could have with her right now."

"Thanks for the advice. Now let's get going. Time is running out. Garchomp and Espeon will stay here to dig the tunnel and protect you, just in case something happens. Good luck." Ash was about to leave but Dawn held him back.

"Wait a second." She called out Froslass, who also looked like a grunt a second later. "Crush every observation camera on the way with psychic. They aren't affected by the illusion so we have to get rid of them. It'll raise suspicion but at least we won't be discovered immediately."

Once more, Ash wanted to leave but stopped upon noticing something very important. It was almost ridiculous.

"Wait, do you know the way?" he asked Dawn, who shook her head.

"Just follow me," Zoroark told them, fed up with the delays.

When they were finally gone, Tareth folded his arms and shook his head.

"I can't decide whether to call them brave, brilliant or just plain dumb," he mumbled.

"Maybe a little of everything," Darryl remarked. "Anyway, I wish them luck."

Garchomp was making good progress and would be done soon if nothing happened to him.

Getting past the grunts, who were too busy with their current task, wasn't difficult and Froslass even found a way of getting rid of the cameras with minimal effort and noise. However, the journey also made them realize just how many grunts they were facing and how important sealing the door behind them would be. Finally, they were standing in front of the entrance to the prison complex. As soon as they felt that most of the grunts were gone or not looking at them, Ash and Zoroark approached the door guard.

"We need to speak to Shira immediately," he said but the guard just raised an eyebrow.

"Well, then you will just have to wait for her to come out again. Without the escaped prisoners, I won't let you enter," he answered, sounding and looking extremely bored.

Ash nodded at Zoroark as it was time to give him some excitement. Trying to make it look as inconspicuous as possible, Zoroark used his illusions to make it look like he was holding a knife at the guard's throat.

"Listen to me. We will get in, one way or another. Now open the door or he will slit your throat and don't even think about calling for help." The guard nodded, fearing the worst and just entered the code to open the door. "Yes, nice and slow. No sudden movements."

As soon as the door was open, Zoroark knocked him unconscious with a single strike to the head and immediately caught and carried him into the prison complex. Near the entrance, he dropped him and Ash took his weapons, which were destroyed by Froslass's psychic. There were two corridors going to the left and to the right and Zoroark, who had scouted ahead, pointed to the left corridor.

"Better call out your pokémon quietly. Our destination is just around the corner." They did as they were told and called out all of them.

"Stay behind until the fighting begins, except for Zoroark, Lucario and Pikachu. Reuniclus, stay close but don't reveal yourself just yet. Use psychic to disarm as many of them as possible," Ash commanded.

"Forslass, use ice beam to block the door and stay there to prevent other grunts from entering or getting rid of the ice," Dawn told her. "Metagross, use magnet rise so you won't make too much noise. Stay out of their view for now. Alright, let's go. We don't have much time left."

Ready for battle, they went done the corridor and turned around the corner.

* * *

With three grunts following her, Shira entered the prison complex.

"To the left, the third cell on the right," one of them whispered.

They went to the left, turned around the corner into a wide corridor with iron bars at the sides, separating it from the cells. Just as the grunt said, the third one on the right was containing the only prisoner. He stood up upon noticing her and looked like he was trying to push the bars apart.

"About time you showed up," he said, gritting his teeth.

"Is that so? How cute." She found his reaction quite amusing. "I'm afraid you're not aware of the graveness of the situation."

The grunts drew their guns and pointed them right at him but he didn't seem to be intimidated at all.

"You know who I am?" he just asked.

"Funny." She laughed. "I was about to ask that. And before ..."

"I'm Marcus Tanner. Does that ring any bell?" The grunts were looking at him incredulously. Was he brave or just tired of life?

"I ask the questions. You just answer. Understood?" She sighed and tried again. "Do you ...?"

"You don't remember? Don't you remember the man you used during the Sorlan Massacre?" Although Shira was annoyed by his constant interruptions, there was something familiar about that name.

"Now that you mention it ..." She scratched her chin. "Tanner ... Tanner ... Sorlan. Hey, wasn't that the name of the guard?"

"He was my father!" Marcus yelled. "And you made him look like a traitor! I know he isn't. I want to know the truth!"

"Do you? So you thought you would just walk in here, destroy any resistance and get the answer from me?" Shira and the grunts laughed, which only made him angrier. "Are you really that stupid. How did you even know about our base?"

"I overheard Ash and Dawn talking about attacking it," he lied. "Now tell me the truth about the massacre!"

"Wait, they knew about our base? How well do you know them? Are you a friend of theirs?" she inquired.

"I wouldn't really call them friends, more like rivals," he replied.

"I see." She took one of her pokéball and called out an electrode. "Yet they followed you. Maybe they'll do it again? I'll be right back."

She walked back to the central control room, leaving him with the grunts, who just kept pointing their guns at him as if they were expecting him to break the bars any moment. A few minutes later, he could hear an announcement.

"Ash, Dawn. We don't know whether you are still in this base but if you are, you better surrender soon. Otherwise, your friend ... oh I mean rival Marcus will feel the wrath aimed at you and you don't want that to happen, do you? You have five minutes until he's executed in a way you can't even imagine." It was then that he realized what Shira was doing.

She was using him as a hostage and a bait. Although he didn't particularly like Ash and Dawn, he didn't want them to be slaughtered because of him. He could hardly believe it was possible but this actually managed to make him even madder. She reappeared a bit later with her hands behind her back, probably to hide something.

"You bitch!" he yelled. "I'll get you for this!"

"Really?" She showed him what she was holding. It was a scabbard and she unsheathed an ornate saber, whose tip she held at his throat. To her surprise, he didn't back off. "Just look at you, behind bars, without pokémon. You will answer my questions now or die on the spot. Tell me more details about how you got to know about this base. Do you know how they got the information?"

"There's not much to tell." He realized that he had to cooperate at least a bit. "I heard them talking about it in the garden and immediately left when they mentioned the location. I guess they heard me too or they wouldn't have come after me. I don't how they got to know about it nor do I care."

"You know what? I think you're lying. But you have guts. So I will tell you the truth about your father. I expect you to reconsider your previous statements after that." She sniggered because of the sudden eagerness in his eyes. "One night, we captured your father. It wasn't anything personal, he was just the easiest to get. The next morning, one of my ... employees used an illusion so that she looked like him and entered the building without being bothered by the other guards. Once inside, she slaughtered them and opened the doors for us. As you can see, there was no need for a traitor. He's just as innocent as the others. So we brought him along and killed him, just like the others. Does that answer all your questions?"

"I knew it," he muttered. "I knew he wasn't a traitor. Finally ... I know the truth. But you ..." He raised his voice. "You killed him! You made everyone believe he was a traitor! You will pay for this!"

"How cute. Now it's your turn to tell the truth. I ask you again. How did you get to know about htis base?" she asked while testing the sharpness of her blade with a finger.

"I told you what I know. I have nothing else to say," he replied, still not backing off.

"Is that so?" She slashed the air several times. "Somehow I don't think so." Then she punched Marcus's fingers, which were around the bar, making him back off slightly, holding his fingers in pain. "I've been very considerate but my patience is running low. This is your last chance. Tell me the truth!"

"Fuck you!" he just answered.

"You want those to be your last words? Very well." She looked at her watch. "Not much time left. Looks like ..." There was a sudden noise coming from the entrance. "What's that? Nobody's supposed to enter the complex. Or did they actually surrender?"

A few grunts approached them, the same ones she sent to have a look at the lab.

"What are you doing here? What about the lab?" she asked.

"We've found them." one of them answered but something wasn't right. The three grunts next to her lowered their guns in surprise.

"What's with your voice?" She didn't have time to think about it as several things happened at once.

First, a large energy shield appeared around one of the grunts, protecting all of them. Then a reuniclus and a metagross came around the corner and used psychic to crush every gun in their hands. The following psychic move pushed them back with enough force to smash them against the wall on the other side, knocking one of them unconscious. Shira still managed to call out a raichu, a manectric and a magnezone, who blocked the following attacks. Meanwhile, Froslass was creating a huge block of ice in front of the entrance, which made entering impossible. Finally, Zoroark canceled the illusion, revealing Ash, Dawn and their pokémon.

"You!" Shira yelled. "You caused all of this trouble. Can't get enough of blood and violence, can we? You should've never left your small, cozy world to play among the important people. I'll show you the cruelty of the real world." She turned to one of the grunts, pointing at the unconscious one. "Get him to safety and call for reinforcements. Attack them from behind." He nodded and slowly walked off with his comrade on his back. "You stay with me but don't fight until your involvement is necessary. You wouldn't stand a chance in direct combat."

Ash and Dawn went forward so that they were directly next to the cell, which contained Marcus. This way, they were able to protect him as well.

"Surrender now and we can end this without a fight," Ash shouted even though he knew that she wasn't going to accept.

"You are asking me to surrender? You, who won't even make his pikachu evolve?" She and her pokémon laughed. "And you want to become a champion. Ridiculous! My raichu is superior in every way. Want to try?"

"Ash, you can't seriously ..." Dawn started but he was already preparing for battle.

"You don't understand. I wouldn't be able to look at a mirror ever again. Stay close to me. Pikachu, let's do this!" The pokémon was ready and just as angry as his trainer. "I'll show you just how strong Pikachu is. We don't need an evolution for that."

"Ash!" Dawn shook her head. "Stupid men and their pride. Where are Marcus's pokéballs?"

"In the right pocket of the lab coat," he muttered, not taking his eyes off Raichu.

"Good." She took them out of the pocket and rolled them towards their owner, who took them and called out his pokémon, Claydol, Staraptor, Sudowoodo, Hitmonlee, Ludicolo and Houndoom. "Leave the fighting to us. Don't attack unless it's necessary."

He didn't even answer. After all, why should he even listen to them? Granted, they came to rescue him and prevented his death that way but it still wouldn't feel right.

"What are you waiting for? Scared?" Shira provoked him.

"We'll show you how scared we are. Use volt charge!" Pikachu got surrounded by a yellow aura and charged straight at his opponent.

"Counter with volt tackle!" Although Raichu's speed wasn't as high, its power was slightly superior and, after a brutal clash, they both backed off a bit, just to use the same moves again and again.

"Stop it! This is futile!" Dawn screamed.

"Shut up, I'm concentrating!" She could barely believe her ears. He had never been so rude, not even in situations like this. "I have to win. I have to protect you all. I won't fail you like last time," he muttered, though not loud enough for her to understand. "Use quick attack!"

"Use quick attack!" Shira just repeated. It went just as she expected, Raichu's power slowly overwhelmed Pikachu. Although both of them took heavy damage, Pikachu was hit harder. Ash realized that she was just copying his moves and trying to win by attrition so he had to think of something. "Quick attack again!" They charged at each other once more but this time, Ash had something else in mind. "Now spin!" He evaded the move, turned around more quickly than Raichu and hit it in the back before following up with a brick break tail to the head. However, he underestimated his opponent's speed and his tail got caught by Raichu's. Shira's pokémon smashed him against the wall with one quick movement. "Thunder!"

"Thunder!" Both pokémon released their energies through the tails and even though the moves were ineffective, the sheer amount was enough to do heavy damage. After a few seconds, neither of them could hold it any longer and they backed off.

"Use thunderbolt! Don't get hit!" Ash shouted.

"Thunderbolt!" They started attacking each other from a distance without actually hitting each other as most of the bolts hit the ground or the walls.

"Get closer!" Shira thought that he was trying to increase the chances of hitting Raichu. "Now volt charge!" The attack took it by surprise and it was hit directly but once again, it recovered more quickly than he anticipated and, with a quick spin, it pushed Pikachu back by using iron tail.

"Now volt tackle!" Raichu hit Pikachu midair and despite Pikachu having blocked most of the attack, it was still devastating. He landed next to Ash, trying stand up but collapsing again before managing to stand up again. Even then, his injuries were so heavy that he was barely able to move. "Finish it with another volt tackle!"

"Carbink, get ready for the beacon," Dawn whispered.

Beacon of the deep was its individual move. Basically, it was a ray of light, which travel through most objects and pokémon and either dealt a fixed amount of damage or healed the target, depending on whether it was a foe or ally. It only showed its true potential in double battles, when it could pass through several pokémon or when it got reflected, allowing it to pass through the same pokémon several times. However, its power decreased every time it did that so it wasn't able to deal an infinite amount of damage, not even in theory.

Raichu stopped, when two holes in the ceiling opened, revealing two sentry guns, which were let down but Reuniclus was faster and twisted the barrels before they could fire a single shot.

"Great timing, idiots," Shira muttered. "Anyway, attack!"

"Hang in there, Pikachu. We can do this." Ash had to think of something fast as Raichu was approaching quickly. Suddenly, a pink beam of light passed right through Pikachu and hit Shira's pokémon, stopping the attack. The following moon blast finished it.

"What the hell, Dawn?" Ash yelled. "You can't just intervene like this."

"I can and I do!" She retorted, her expression unusually grim. "This isn't a training battle. One wrong decision can mean death for us, our pokémon and our friends! Do you really want to risk everything just because she provoked you? You also did it during the fight against Giovanni. I didn't say anything because it was personal and I could understand you all too well. This time, it's different. You've never met her before, yet you let yourself get provoked into a single battle."

"How would you have reacted if she had made fun of Buneary? Would you have just let her do that?" he asked.

"No, but I wouldn't have helped her by agreeing to a pointless duel either. At least I don't think so." She couldn't deny that her emotions sometimes got the better of her.

Three sudden thunderbolts hit the aura shield, making them cringe and dealing heavy damage to it. They looked at Shira, who had called out a galvantula, an ampharos, and a raikou, and her Manectric had mega evolved.

"Hello? I'm still here, you know?" she shouted.

"No time to argue. Let me handle this first," Ash said but she held him back.

"See? Why do you insist on protecting me so much lately? Have you lost your faith in me?" she asked sadly.

"Most certainly not. But I would still feel better knowing that you're safe," he admitted. "Anyway, let's talk about it later. This neither the right time nor the right place."

"Yes, but we'll do it together. Don't forget, we're a team!" He just nodded as he knew trying to convince her otherwise was pointless.

They turned towards Shira, who had ordered the next attack, which also got blocked by the aura bubble but now it was close to shattering. In addition, there were sounds of battle coming from behind, meaning that Froslass was in trouble. They needed to distract her long enough for the aura pokémon to recharge the bubble.

"Greninja, help Froslass out a bit," Ash commanded. "Dawn, do you think the hell gyro combination is enough?"

"Well, if we push it to the maximum, we could knock out a few of them, maybe even injure Shira herself." She thought about it for a second. "Alright, let's do it. We will need time to prepare, though. Pilpup, Zoroark, it's time for you to fight. Carbink, keep healing Pikachu. Metagross, prepare yourself for the hell gyro."

"Charizard, you know what we have to do." Ash activated his key stone, which was usually well hidden on the inner side of his right glove, sometimes called the mega glove, which was also the reason he was always wearing it. Dawn also had a key stone, which was disguised as one of the pearls on her bracelet.

He never used mega evolutions unless it was absolutely necessary, both to hide his real strength and to protect the opponent's pokémon from the terrifying power. The fact that the champions acted the same way reinforced his belief that this power shouldn't be misused. Charizard was his first pokémon to undergo a mega evolution. With more and more pokémon becoming stronger, he could no longer be considered Ash's most powerful pokémon, not even his strongest fire type. It was a frustrating time for him but Ash assured him that, while he wasn't special in terms of power anymore, his determination, fiery passion and their history made him truly outstanding and he still was a frequent member of Ash's team.

Now he started to change, most his skin turning black and the part from the jaw to the tip of tail turning blue. Spikes grew on the back of his neck, the edges of his wings divided into large sections and blue flames were coming out of the sides of his mouth and the flame on his tail turned blue as well. As usual, he let out a deafening roar, as if he was trying get everyone's attention.

"Power up for hell gyro! Reuniclus, help Piplup and Zoroark!" Ash told his pokémon.

Shira was watching the whole scene without getting worried. After all, she didn't have to hurry as she still had more than enough pokémon and with more grunts arriving, her enemies would be overwhelmed eventually.

"Show them true power! Thunder!" she shouted.


	23. Braving the Storm part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 23: Braving the Storm part 2

The captain was used to people coming and going all the time since the central control room was pretty much in the middle of the base. Now someone came, whom he didn't expect and certainly didn't want next to him.

"Boris! What the hell are you doing here? " he yelled. "I already told you that you're not welcome here. Don't you have to wait for a shaymin to appear?"

"I don't like waiting with this fucking alarm ringing in my ears." He pulled out a knife and started playing with the blade. "Turn it off, now!"

"You know I can't do that," the captain replied nervously. "Not until they've been caught."

"Just following orders, eh? Well, then I will just stay here for a while." He put his hands behind his back and started walking around while whistling a song, looking at the screens from time to time.

The captain gritted his teeth as he simply had to accept this decision. At least he didn't have to be angry about it too long as he received a call from one of the grunts, who had gone with Shira into the prison complex.

"They are in the prison. Attacked us before we could react. I don't know how, but they have their pokémon. We need reinforcements now!" he reported.

"Understood." He stood up and cleared his throat. "Every available guard has to go to the prison complex immediately! The missing prisoner have appeared and the boss is under attack. Inform everyone you can find! Go, you bastards and kick their asses!"

The guards roared and left the control room with only a few remaining behind, looking at the screens and taking control of the traps and weapons.

"Activate the turrets," he told one of them. Suddenly, there was something touching his shoulder and making him jump.

"They attacked the ... boss? With their pokémon?" It was Boris, who was standing behind him with a smirk on his face.

"Yes, so what?" he retorted.

"Don't you think that's a bit weird? Did they just enter the storage room and take them?" Boris asked.

"Of course not. We would've noticed that. What kind of stupid question is that?" The captain's patience was already running low and made him say things he would have never said otherwise.

"Makes you think, doesn't it? Maybe one of our men took the pokéballs and gave them to the intruders?" he suggested. "At least it's worth investigating."

"Recapturing the prisoners is our top priority right now. Everything else can wait. Come to think of it, what are you still doing here? Shouldn't you also be there, fighting them?" He just shook his head.

"I find this way more interesting. I'll investigate," he said and turned around to leave.

"Shira said that every available man and woman was to help her. It's also your task to inform Wraith of the situation." Boris returned and grabbed the captain's throat.

"And you think that a pathetic, cowardly, miserable worm like you can make me do that? Keep dreaming." He let him fall to the ground, where he held his throat, breathing heavily. "Ask me again when you have some guts."

Boris went to the grunt whose task was to watch the storage room.

"I need to see what happened in the storage. The last 15 minutes should be sufficient. Oh, fuck it, just let me do it." He pushed the man off the chair and took his place." Now let's have a look."

It wasn't difficult finding the part of the video he was looking. He replayed it, hoping to find the culprit. A few men had entered the room but only one of them could have taken the pokémon as this guy was the only to get even close to the loot. It was Darryl, who'd probably taken them with his back covering everything, something that could've been easily missed by the guards. Although he couldn't actually see it, there was no doubt that Darryl was guilty since there was simply no other possibility. Maybe the reason was revenge as Boris knew that Darryl was an old friend of Styx, the former leader of the Storm Raiders. Whatever the reason, he was going to pay.

"Hey, you," he shouted at the grunt whose chair he had taken. "Where's Darryl?"

"H-he ... went to repair the d-damage in Tareth's lab," he stuttered.

"I see," Boris said, turning back to the screen.

Tareth had to be involved somehow. Thinking of a reason was way harder, though, as he'd only met the doctor once and he was a very cold man. Someone like that was unlikely to betray them. After all, their organization offered him good payment and a lot of freedom concerning the research because he could do anything he wanted without questions as long as his boss benefitted in any way.

"Come here," he told the nervous grunt. "I need you to send a message to Dr. Tareth."

Tareth's phone rang while he was watching Garchomp building a tunnel to the surface. It was just a normal phone since he had been afraid of people spying on his research and insisted on that instead of a videophone. He would have never guessed that it would come in handy like this. The doctor quickly went to it and answered the call.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Doctor, Wraith has just arrived with a heavily injured Shaymin." He recognized the voice of one of the grunts in the central control room. "She thinks that it won't make it without some quick help. Since you're taking care of the others, we thought you might help us with this one."

"Of course I'll help," he replied. "Where is it?"

"It's in the entrance hall next to the teleportation chamber. Please hurry, I don't know how much longer it can last," he urged Tareth. "Oh one more thing. I'm afraid we can't provide you with a lot of assistance. Most of us are very busy so don't worry about empty corridors or rooms. Good luck."

The doctor hung up and approached the shaymin waiting in the tunnel.

"I have to leave for a moment. Another shaymin is injured and needs my help but I should be back soon. Don't wait for me," he told them before hurrying to his target location.

It appeared the grunts were really busy as he didn't meet a single one on his way to the entrance hall and he could already guess why. If those two trainers were still fighting them, they had to be really strong.

 _If only this other prisoner hadn't been there it would have been so much easier and there would have been no reason for them to risk their lives,_ he thought. _He only caused trouble but they still insist on rescuing him. Come to think of it, it's kind of like with me and the shaymin. They also only caused trouble but I kept helping them. This prisoner may not be a shaymin but I can understand their decision._

Getting to the entrance didn't take long as there was nobody and nothing to delay his arrival except for his own thoughts about the future and mistakes in the past. He opened the final door to see a completely empty room, which was highly unusual since it was used for activities like playing cards, other games or just for talking. For that, it was full of tables, chairs and even a small bar for drinks and snacks. As glad as he was about the absence of guards, he was equally worried about the missing shaymin.

"Hello? Is someone here?" he shouted nervously. "I was told a shaymin's waiting here for medical treatment."

There was no answer so he thought that the grunt meant the teleportation chamber itself, which didn't sound likely but he had to try. However, as soon as he took a few steps towards the door leading there, he heard the door behind him close. It wasn't the event itself but the man who did it, that terrified him. It was Boris, and judging from the smirk on his face, he didn't have good intentions.

"Look who we have here. What are doing so far from your safe lab?" The way he emphasized safe made Tareth even more nervous.

"I'm here for an injured shaymin. It has nothing to with you," he replied but Boris just laughed.

"That's where you're wrong," he said with such a calm voice that it was almost a whisper. "You see, it has very much to do with me. After all, it was I who made the grunt tell you about this injured shaymin. You should be able to guess now that there is no shaymin."

"What? Why?" He looked around for a weapon since he was no match for Boris in hand-to-hand combat but he couldn't find any and could only watch him put an arm around his shoulders before the taller man started leading him to the other end of the room. If it wasn't for the terrified look on Tareth's face, one could have mistaken them for best friends.

"Maybe you can help me with a problem. Those two trainers we caught earlier appeared a few minutes ago. They attacked Shira and they're probably still fighting. The problem is that they had all of their pokémon. They were supposed to be in the storage room and the video showed that the trainers didn't take them. So naturally, I assume that one of our men must have taken them and delivered them to our enemies. Do you understand?" He wasn't able to do anything but nod. "The video only showed one person getting close enough to take the pokéballs. Darryl must have taken them and given them to Ash and Dawn. And there's only one place where he could have done it without getting noticed."

"What are you implying?" He tried to push Boris away but he proved way too strong.

"I'm implying that you're a traitor." Suddenly, he threw the doctor against a nearby wall before grabbing his throat. "I want to know why and I want to know how." He chocked him for a while without receiving an answer so he tried a different approach. "You know, it was really moving how quickly you agreed to take care of the injured shaymin. You must really like them. I wonder how much their little bodies can take without breaking. Perhaps they are a bit more inclined towards telling me the truth. And there's still Darryl. So much to look forwards to."

"You bastard!" Tareth shouted. "You can't do this. They'll find out and punish you."

"Looks like you still know how to use words. And no, they won't find out. I got rid of every camera in here. Now speak, traitor." He could feel the grip around his throat tightening but he wasn't ready to die just yet. There was still something he wanted to say.

"I did what was right. I regret nothing," he muttered.

"Oh really? Did the shaymin brainwash you? Was it really worth it?" Boris asked.

"They didn't brainwash me. They only showed me my true self and even if I were given another chance, I would help them again." The grip got stronger again. "Because ... there are fates worse than death."

"Oh I already knew that. I would like to show you but I'm afraid there are so many other things I want to do." He licked his lips. "I guess the boss still wants those shaymin alive. He couldn't care less about Darryl, though, so I will still have some fun."

"I ... not...," Tareth managed to get out before the grip got too strong and made breathing impossible.

"Calm down, it's time for you to sleep," Boris whispered.

 _This is it._ The strength was leaving his body quickly. _In the end, I really have to pay with my life. Was it because of my crimes? Was my remorse too late? Life can be so cruel. I hope it was worth it and the shaymin make it. Darryl, please lead them to safety. Ash, Dawn, I hope you can free the other guy and stay alive. I should have spent more time with my family, I haven't seen them in ages. Maybe Miranda has already found another man, I certainly wouldn't blame her. Robert, Tiffany, Sally, and little Kai, I wonder how much you've grown up. Would you even recognize me?_ He could already feel his life slip away. Everything went dark. _I'm sorry for being a bad husband and father. Please remember my true self. I wish I could ... tell you that my last thoughts ... were of you ..._

Boris let the lifeless body fall to the ground and drew a gun. Without hesitation, he shot the doctor thrice in the head, just to be on the safe side. Then headed towards the lab, hands in the pockets and whistling a song.

* * *

Garchomp was sure that he was about to reach the surface. He's been working since the beginning without a single break and was close to collapsing but the thought of finally finishing it was enough to keep him going. With a final dragon claw, he broke through. He wasn't even sure whether he was more glad about the fresh air or the moonlight. Using the remaining strength in his body, he enlarged the exit so that the shaymin could leave more easily. As soon as he was done, he lay down on his back, taking deep breaths and looking at the moon. The first shaymin were already coming through, enjoying being outside just as much as. That happiness was short-lived though, as they weren't alone.

"Freeze! International police!" Three man wearing black uniforms and masks, which made them almost invisible in the dark, bulletproof vests, and night-vision glasses, and they were pointing large weapons at him.

"Wait! Don't shoot! He rescued us." They looked down to see a small creature near the end of the tunnel. Judging from the shape, it was a shaymin.

"What is this about?" the man in the middle asked. It was Dan, who was trying to find an entrance to the base. "Explain yourself."

"Well, we were being held down there and Garchomp dug this tunnel from the lab so that we can escape. I think ..." Dan held his right arm in front of his face, probably speaking into a device on his wrist.

"Team 3.1 here. We found an entrance. Yes, it leads to the lab. There are also quite a lot of shaymin." He had a closer look at the group leaving the tunnel. "There should be more than enough. Alright."

"Garchomp's trainer is still down there to free another prisoner. I think his name is Ash. His friend is with him. Please, you must help them," a shaymin begged him.

"I'm afraid we can't enter the base right now," he replied.

"What? Why?" it asked.

"I can't tell you. But if you help us, we might be able to storm it soon." Like shadows, more officers kept arriving, one of them especially huge.

"Taking to yourself again, Dan?" he asked, hitting Dan's back with his elbow.

"What? Oh look, it's Thommy. No , the shaymin is talking via telepathy. It wants us to storm the base to help the imprisoned trainers," Dan answered, hitting back.

"They're not imprisoned anymore. They're fighting and I don't know how much longer they can hold out," the shaymin said to both of them.

"I see. They are tougher than expected." Thomas kneeled down next to it and whispered. "Listen, we can't enter the base, at least not without your help. We would need twelve of you to go to various cities with our agents. You would just have to absorb poison gas if it was released. Once the cities are safe, we can act."

"I volunteer!" He was shocked at all the voices echoing through his head as he never expected so many.

"Alright." He pointed at four officers behind him. "You know the locations and how to get there?"

"Yes, sir," they replied, calling out psychic types.

"Good, three to each of them." Finding twelve volunteers wasn't hard. Keeping the others from following them was much harder.

The international police had discovered the locations of the poison gas containers and with the information from the locations in the cities, that had already paid, they could determine the places where the gas would get out. All they needed was a bunch of shaymin, who could guard those places and neutralize the poison immediately if necessary. Those twelve along with the four they already had would be enough to do it. As soon as they were in there, the police would be able to storm the base without having to worry about dying civilians. With those many shaymin available, Thomas was angry at the fact that all but four cities have already paid.

"You ready?" They nodded. "Good." He pointed at the officers one at a time. "Saffron City, Pewter City, Veilstone City , Slateport City. Go!" They vanished with a very weak flash, which was due to a special training. They never wanted to draw too much attention. "Andy, take the rest to the HQ. We'll need to ask questions and after that, you're free to go. Just ..."

"You still there? Did everyone make it?" A grunt wearing the Storm Raider uniform left the tunnel and froze upon seeing the policemen, who aimed at him instantly. "Oh, hello there." He laughed nervously.

"Don't shoot him. He also helped us escape," one the remaining shaymin told him. "He and the doctor. But the doctor had to go for a moment. He should be back soon."

"Anyway, Andy will take you to the HQ now," Dan said, earning puzzled expressions from the shaymin.

"What? But we want to help. We want to fight." Even though their voices were full of determination, there was also a lot of fear.

"No, it's too dangerous. You have already done more than enough," Thomas assured them.

"He's right. This is not a place for you." Of course only the members of the international police recognized the voice as it was their boss, Max Wright. "What are you waiting for, Andreas? Take them to the HQ. I'm assuming you've already sent a few of them to the cities?"

"Yes, sir," Dan answered. "They should be ready soon."

"Very well." The agent's alakazam started teleporting the shaymin to safety, a few at a time. Max noticed Garchomp, who was slowly getting up. "What's with that pokémon? Is it injured?"

"Gar gar, chomp! Gar." One of their psychic types translated for Max.

"He says that Dawn's Espeon is still in the lab, guarding the door. He wants to tell her to come here," it said telepathically.

"Then you better do that. It will be much safer here." He turned to Darryl. "In the meantime you will tell us everything about the defenses, won't you?"

"You don't need to ask. I want you to put an end to Shira's plans. Just please try not to kill everyone on sight. There are many who don't like her plans and are just too frightened to act," he begged.

"We never kill unless it's absolutely necessary. I can't guarantee that there won't be any victims, though. Now tell me those secrets. We need to prepare." Max looked at his watch. He only had to wait for the signal that the cities were safe.

Garchomp, who had recovered slightly, went down the tunnel to warn Espeon and even before reaching her, he heard something big and strong trying to smash the door. Of course, Espeon had noticed it first and was already preparing a powerful counterattack by using calm mind repeatedly and channeling a psyshock orb. The next attack from the other side caused the door to bulge so undoubtedly, it would break very soon. Understanding that she might need help, he also powered up with dragon dance and got in position for a dragon rush. Just as expected, the door was smashed open by the next attack, revealing a mega garchomp. It got surprised by the psyshock, that hit it in the belly and a white lightning from above, which was a future sight move Espeon had used before Ash's garchomp arrived. He followed up with a dragon rush powerful enough to smash his opponent into the wall in the corridor behind the door but he also startled Dawn's pokémon so that she almost attacked him.

To their surprise, the mega garchomp got up again despite the direct hits but it got recalled before it was able to retaliate. It seemed that its trainer decided not to mess with them and they could hear him or her running away. Indeed, Boris was on his way back to the central control room, hoping for reinforcements. He didn't expect Ash and Dawn to leave guards behind and knew that without an uninjured garchomp, the rest of his pokémon would have too much trouble.

Garchomp and Espeon had no reason to stay in the lab and went to the surface, waiting for the international police to move out.

* * *

"Show them true power! Thunder!" Shira shouted.

"Lucario, full power on the shield! Reuniclus, light screen! Use protect if you can!" Ash yelled, trying to prepare of the impact.

The effect was almost apocalyptic, to say the least. The lightning was so bright that they had to turn their heads immediately so they wouldn't get blinded. The lightning itself would have easily shattered the aura shield if it wasn't for the light screen and even then a part of the damage got through. Without the defenses, it would have turned even electric types into smoldering corpses. As soon as the immediate effect was over, they turned their heads to see parts of the corridor still glowing from the hits they had taken. Now it was time for a counter-attack.

"Dark ice combination!" Dawn commanded.

"Help her with psybeam!" Ash told Reuniclus.

Piplup shot an ice beam at the enemies, who immediately used protect to shield themselves but it hit the shield instead, creating a wall of ice between them. Then Zoroark extended an arm, releasing a powerful dark pulse, which not only shattered the wall but also charged the ice shards with energy and sent them flying at the electric types, whose shields dissolved at this moment. Magnezone moved forward, taking the hits for the others and even the psybeam from Reuinclus. Due to its typing, it didn't take too much damage but it certainly left an impression.

"One minute until reaching maximum power," Metagross told Ash and Dawn. It was starting to change into its mega form.

"We'll have to hold out until then, maybe even defeat one or two of her pokémon," she whispered and noticed that Shira was talking to someone behind the corner. "Zoroark, get into the wall and attack from the side to ruin their next attack."

Unnoticed by the enemy, he used shadow diver to move into the wall and went to the spot next to the enemy's pokémon, waiting for the right moment.

"What do you mean you can't defeat them?" Shira hissed at the man. "They're only two, for fuck's sake! Alright, fine." She took three pokéballs and handed them over. "If you can't defeat them with these, don't bother coming back."

He saluted and went back to the entrance through the other corridor. Shira turned her attention back to her enemies.

"Where's the zoroark?" She suspected that he was using his illusion to hide. "Whatever, let's take it up a notch, shall we? Use the thunder cannon combination!"

While Galvantula and Manectric were gathering electricity, Magnezone charged up a white orb in front of it for a flash cannon. Zoroark knew that it was a good idea to disrupt the attack and appeared right next to the steel type.

"Chaos impact!" Dawn commanded to Ash's surprise.

It was Zoroark's second individual move but it was still unfinished and not working as intended. With the shadow diver move for mobility, the only thing he lacked was a healing move and Dawn thought it was a good idea to combine it with the chaos moves for greater effect. In theory, the move was able to hit with incredible speed, bypass any defenses, resistances, hitting always with the type the enemy was most vulnerable to, and it drained health with every hit at the cost of base power, which was abysmal. Despite months of training, only the chaos component of the move was working, which made it nearly unusable at the moment. It appeared that perfecting a second move was way harder than the first, a problem Ash didn't have since he had way more pokémon than she had and creating moves for all of them was already a hard task.

It didn't deal a lot of damage, but it caused Magnezone to turn towards the wall and use the flash cannon, which got reflected and hit the steel type, pressing it against the wall, where Manectric happened to be. When it was hit, it released the stored energy, shocking both of them.

"Are you crazy? Use fire blast or something like that," Ash complained.

"You know exactly that moves like this tend to start working in extreme situations," she countered. "It was worth a try. Use fire blast! Ash, let's use psyshock with hydro pump."

"Spider web!" Zororak realized that getting caught would be very bad for his health so he changed the target from Magnezone to Galvantula. The web was burned but the pokémon managed to evade the move with a quick sidestep. It allowed Magnezone to launch a counterattack by using gyro ball to smash him against the wall while using thunder to add even more damage. Dawn's pokémon got hit badly before he was able to activate shadow diver, escaping into the wall. Reuniclus's psyshock, empowered by a hydro pump, followed but was blocked by the mega manectric.

"I see. So that's how you escaped. Nice move although I doubt you realize its potential," Shira shouted. "But to every move there are counters. Let's see how you can handle this. Galvantula, use electro web on the walls and power them up with thunder. Magnezone, get that metagross!"

The steel-type suddenly felt a strong force pulling it towards Magnezone but its weight and the Reuniclu's psychic countered the pull. Piplup tried to break the attack with a hydro pump and got close enough for Manectric to unleash a powerful thunderbolt, dealing heavy damage continuously. Zoroark thought about interfering but the webs on the walls made it look like a bad idea. Even though he would be able to endure the electricity and bypass the net itself via shadow diver, it was far too risky as Magnezone's gyro ball would deal much more damage by smashing him into one of the nets. So he resurfaced next to Piplup and used flamethrower on the opponent. It was blocked by Galvantula, who forced him to retreat with thunderbolts.

"We're ready," Metagross told them. "Now we can use the pull to our advantage."

Just when they were about to start it, Galvantula's net entrapped Piplup before he could get out of the way, and started pulling him towards Shira's group as well.

"We have to get Piplup out there first," Dawn mumbled. "Piplup, aqua jet on them and ice beam on the ground!"

Using the extra force of the pull, Piplup managed to turn the aqua into a powerful move, pushing away Shira's pokémon upon hitting them. The ice beam made the ground slippery, which was just what he needed.

"Now hydro pump!" she shouted. "Zoroak, burn the net!"

"Reuniclus, help him with psychic!" Ash added.

"Don't let it get away!" Shira yelled.

The force of the hydro pump combined with the pull from psychic pushed him backwards and the ice allowed him to slide back to his allies. Zoroark got rid of the net when Galvantula tried to use it again. Unfortunately, the others seized the opportunity and used thunder on the stream of water, which ultimately hit Piplup until the trail of ice ended, which resulted in him falling to the side and rolling back to safety.

"Are you alright?" He looked up to see Dawn's concerned look. He nodded, got up, and used his individual move, purifying water, which was basically an improvement of aqua ring and also removed effects like paralysis, sleep or poison, allowing him to last much longer in battle. Of course, in a situation like this, every healing move was invaluable. He looked at Charizard, who was already waiting for him to move out of the way so they could use the hell gyro.

Shira also realized that something was going to happen and made a few preparations. She began by calling out a few more pokémon.

"Electivire, Jolteon, Electrode, come on out! Raikou, use reflect! Galvantula, light screen! Be prepared to use every defensive move you have. Something big is about to happen," she warned them. "Better don't let them do it. Thunder!"

Lightning bolts shot at Charizard, who was creating a wall of blue flames in front of himself but Lucario moved a bit forward so that the fire type was protected by the aura bubble and Reuniclus used psychic to make some bolts hit the ceiling instead. Then Metagross used magnet rise to fly right above the flames and started spinning, using gyro ball. While its speed was increasing, it used psychic to create a fire shield with the blue flames and made them rotate as well until it was spinning so fast that it looked like a blue fireball. Shira's pokémon were ready, yet they were way too slow for the following attack. Within the blink of an eye, Metagross was next to them and smashed itself into the group, which resulted in a huge explosion. The pokémon near Shira had enough time to use protect but the ones in front of them had no chance and got knocked out instantly. Raikou felt something heavy hit its shield and immediately assumed it was Metagross trying to deal even more damage before realizing that it was the unconscious Magnezone, who got smashed against the shield. Manectric and Galvantula were lying next to it, burn marks all over their bodies.

Just when Shira was about to call for a counter-attack, she realized that Metagross was already back inside the shield, being healed by Karbink since it had also taken heavy damage and Pikachu was already fully healed.

"Damn you," she muttered, recalling her defeated pokémon. "Will you let them do the same to you? Ampharos, Electrode, Jolteon, it's your turn now." She looked at the trainers who were cheering loudly. "Alright, this battle just stopped being fun. It's time to finish it."

Ash and Dawn didn't really pay much attention to her as they were still celebrating their success and praising their pokémon for a job well done. It was going slightly better than expected but there was still the problem of Karbink not having infinite energy and soon it would be unable to heal its allies. Marcus stared at them with his mouth wide open. He never expected a combination to take out three pokémon at once even if toke more than one minute to prepare. Actually, he wasn't really sure what to expect of them anymore and decided to wait for a good opportunity to strike at Shira.

Suddenly, they heard something nearby, which sounded like ice shattering. A few seconds later, Froslass and Greninja rushed around the corner with a rotom, a luxray and a eelektross following them. They stopped upon realizing that there were two teams waiting in front of them and backed off to the corner so that they would be able to retreat quickly. It wasn't necessary, though, as Storm Raider grunts arrived with their own pokémon, meaning that Ash and Dawn had to face the whole base now. It was unlikely they'd get the chance to use the gyro combination again.

"Alright." Ash sighed. "Things are about to get serious now."


	24. Braving the Storm part 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 24: Braving the storm part 3

"Looks like we're trapped," Dawn stated the obvious. From both sides, her pokémon were getting into position.

"I'll fight Shira herself. You take care of the grunts and those three pokémon," Ash suggested.

"What? You think I can't ... oh, fine," she replied, realizing that this was a bad time for arguments.

"You know, I think it's time for me to interfere. Personally." Shira drew her saber and made a few practice slashes. "I assume, by now you have realized that I love electric types."

"No, really?" Marcus said sarcastically. "I would have never guessed."

"Shut up, worm. I wasn't talking to you," she hissed. "They are the perfect combination of speed and power. It's just a pity that the limited space prevents them from fighting to their fullest. Anyway, you haven't seen my true power yet. You have no idea what we're capable of so I'll give you a small taste. You know what to do, guys."

To their surprise, her own pokémon used electric attacks on her, albeit very weak ones. Still, they should have had a visible effect on her, yet she just stood there, her arms spread, and took them like they were nothing. As the electricity surged through her body, a white gem on her left shoe started glowing and the glow got stronger the longer they did it.

"This doesn't look good. Be on your guard," Dawn warned Ash.

Shira, surrounded by a yellow aura, was now stomping on the ground with incredible speed as if she was just showing it off. Even her pokémon on the other side stopped attacking just to watch her and the grins on their faces didn't bode well. She shook off the aura, took a fighting stance and motioned for Ash's pokémon to come closer.

"Who wants to be the first to feel my blade?" She noticed Charizard taking a few steps towards her. "Oh, look at that big boy. Let's see how much you can take."

The fire type just scoffed disdainfully and showed his belly to provoke her. Although she attacked just as expected, Shira's speed was something he didn't anticipate. Before he was able to prepare himself, she was already next to him and stabbed him. Then she pulled it out again and slashed across his belly repeatedly.

"Charizard!" Ash screamed and attempted to come to his aid but Lucario stopped him as it was way too dangerous for a human.

"Oh no. Piplup, help him out! Carbink, heal Charizards wounds, now!" As soon as Piplup was gone, the pokémon on her side proceeded to attack. "Metagross, use earthquake!"

The shockwave dealt heavy damage even to the grunts' crobat since they couldn't fly high enough to evade it but most importantly, it bought a little time. Meanwhile, Charizard managed to push her back by creating a powerful gust with his wings before collapsing due to the heavy injuries. Shira got back on her feet and tried to finish what she started.

"Is that all? Let me put you out of your misery. I'll make it quick, I promise." She raised her weapon and jumped at him but this time, her blade got blocked by the flat side of Piplup's left arm, which was extended by a brick break move like his beak by the peck move . "Oh, is that a challenge? Let's dance."

As a matter of fact, their fight really looked like a dance with equal partners but a closer look showed that Shira was far superior as Piplup had no time for anything but blocking and dodging her attacks. However, he was very good at that because it was a common strategy to use brick break just to block attacks before countering with a move like ice beam or hydro pump, and due to his quick reflexes, she couldn't make a meaningful hit yet.

"Pikachu, Reuniclus, Greninja," Ash whispered. "You see the gem on her shoe? I think it has something to do with her unnatural speed. Try to destroy it."

The pokémon nodded and approached the fight in order to get a clean shot but Shira's pokémon noticed it and interfered. Electrode rolled in front of Pikachu, blocking the way, Ampharos got between Greninja and Piplup, and Jolteon distracted Reuniclus by shooting thunderbolts at him.

"Don't let her pokémon stop you! Focus on the gem!" Ash shouted. "Greninja, keep using faint attack and don't let it hit you. Pikachu, use your speed. Reuniclus, keep attacking from the distance and heal if necessary."

"Ha! You think it will be that easy? Bring it on!" Shira replied.

Electrode made the first move by using rollout, which was easily dodged by Pikachu, who proceeded to attack the gem. However, Shira's pokémon bounced off the aura bubble and returned with even more force, hitting Ash's pokémon from behind. He rolled on his back and saw it approaching again, getting bigger and faster, and this time, since he was already lying on the ground, it would deal much more damage. Greninja, noticing that his ally was in trouble, used water shuriken on Electrode, which threw it off balance, causing it to crash into Jolteon. On the other hand, it also allowed Ampharos to hit him with a powerful thunderpunch, which smashed him against the wall. Just when it raised its arms to finish off the water type with thunder, it got stopped by Reuniclus's psychic move. Pikachu quickly got up and used brick break with his tail on Ampharos, giving Greninja the opportunity to recover. He had to, as Jolteon and Electrode were already shooting thunderbolts at him, which he narrowly evaded.

"Protect Pikachu!" They changed their target upon realizing that Pikachu was trying to destroy the gem again but Reuniclus thwarted their plans by pulling Electrode in front of Jolteon via psychic so that it was facing the electric type, not allowing them to use ranged attacks on Pikachu without hitting each other.

However, Jolteon changed the target again and unleashed a powerful thunder move on Greninja, who was trying to fend off Ampharos again. The light pokémon followed up by charging its own tail before spinning and hitting Greninja's head enough force to send him flying back to Ash.

"Greninja!" he cried out. Since the pokémon was already inside the aura bubble, Lucario allowed him to hug the water type. "Are you alright?" When he received no answer, he recalled him. "We won't let you down, I promise."

Greninja had distracted Ampharos just long enough for Pikachu to get into position. With Electrode and Jolteon occupied, he could finally get rid of that strange gem. His tail was already glowing when a thunderbolt from behind hit him, sending him flying at Ash.

"What the ...? Are you alright?" Ash asked, clearly concerned and surprised. He looked at the source of the thunderbolt and saw that Raikou had decided to step in directly. The sudden attack also distracted Reuniclus for a moment so he didn't notice the four electric types to target him at the same time, using thunderbolt simultaneously. For a few seconds, he was enduring the attacks and even trying to use recover but in the end, they were simply too strong and he fell on the ground, sparks coming from his body. Merely looking at him was painful. "No, Reniclus!" Losing two pokémon in such a short time and failing to destroy the gem put him in a very bad position. He recalled the psychic type and tried to find a way to turn this into a victory.

He was concentrating so much on this side, that he didn't realize that the other one wasn't looking much better.

"Froslass, use icy mirror!" Dawn commanded.

Her pokémon covered every wall and the ground with a thin layer of reflective ice although the purpose was still obscured to Shira's pokémon. Rotom and Eelektross were able to levitate and the grunts' pokémon had already retreated as they would have only been in the way. The only pokémon affected by the ice was Luxray but it had ways to get rid of it. Rotom was the first to charge at Froslass.

"Ice beam and flash cannon. Zoroark, get ready." He moved into a wall to prepare a sneak attack. Dawn's other pokémon shot beams at Rotom, who found dodging them a little too easy and it soon discovered the reason as the beams got reflected by the ice repeatedly until they reached the other side of the corridor, where they got sent back, hitting Rotom in the back.

Then it got moved by Metagross's psychic move a bit closer to the wall to its right, where Zoroark jumped out to finish it with night slash. Unfortunately, that was exactly what Luxray and Eelektross have been waiting for since its disappearance. Luxray used flame charge and jumped right at him, melting the nearby ice in the process. Even though he would have hit Rotom before getting hit, he decided not to take any risks and used shadow diver so that Luxray jumped through him with only the flames dealing a bit of damage. The bigger problem was Eleketross's thunder attack, against which shadow diver couldn't protect him and it continued to deal damage until he moved into the wall on the other side. Of course, this also meant that Rotom wasn't hit at all and attacked Froslass with a shadow ball. Even worse, Luxray, surrounded by a fiery aura, was charging straight at Metagross.

"Get ready!" It waited for the electric type to get very close before using magnet rise to rise a bit. The normal reaction would have been to slow down slightly to attack it from below but Metagross wasn't Luxray's target. It ran past it, evading the stomp attack that way and used the aura bubble to change direction and jump at Froslass, who was still fighting Rotom. "Watch out! Behind you!" It was too late. The pokémon hit her with full force and the other pokémon seized the opportunity by using thunder and shadow ball moves on her. "No!" Froslass was quickly knocked out and now the pokémon turned towards Metagross. Suddenly, they heard something behind them and saw Zoroark coming out of the wall next to Eelektross with a furious look on his face. He grabbed its mouth and shot a dark pulse down its throat while slashing it with his other hand. The electric type soon succumbed to the damage but now Luxray was using wild charge on the dark type, who threw its fallen ally at it. It dodged the body, though, and pushed Zoroark back to the end of the corridor, where he raised an arm in an attempt to use night daze. Before he was able to do that, he was hit by what seemed like dozens of thunderbolts from the side, which were no doubt coming from the grunts' pokémon. "Zoroark! Hang in there!" He fell forward, a smirk on his face, as the damage was way too much and Dawn recalled him and Froslass so that there couldn't take even more damage. "Don't worry, we will win this," she muttered. Metagross used Luxray's short absence to strike at Rotom, hitting it with zen headbutt. Just when it was about retaliate, a pink orb, which it couldn't see until very late due to Metagross blocking the view on it, hit it directly and knocked it out. "Carbink?" The pokémon went next to Metagross to help it out a bit. "You're not healing the others anymore? So you're out of energy?" Dawn asked and received a nod. It wasn't good at all since the healing was one of the things that kept them going even when outnumbered.

At least Charizard seemed to be alright again as when she turned around, she noticed that the large stab wound on his belly was gone but the smaller cuts were still there and the injury had cost him a lot of energy. Still, it was enough for him to be able to fight again so he positioned himself behind Piplup to fight of Shira's pokémon who were getting closer and closer. As if that wasn't bad enough, Luxray roared, obviously calling for backup since at least two dozen pokémon appeared, a mix of corbat, jolteon, galvantula and electrode, swarming the corridor along with their trainers, who recalled the fallen ones.

"Dawn, we could need some help over here," Ash said.

"Well, you'll have to wait. We're in a tight spot right now," she answered.

Marcus has been watching everything with a fascinated looks. This was the way he wanted to battle, the way he wanted to defeat the Elite Four. But even though Ash and Dawn were clearly doing their best, it looked like they had no chance to win. On the one side, Charizard and Pikachu were up against Jolteon, Ampharos, Electrode and Raikou even though Shira's pokémon weren't even bothering with their opponents. Ampharos was just leaning casually against the wall, watching the fight between Piplup and its master. Jolteon was also watching it intensely but also kept an eye on Charizard and Electrode was simply moving back and forth with a grin on its face, cheering for its master. Behind them, Raikou was approaching calmly, as if there wasn't even a battle. As soon as he reached the others, they slowly walked towards their opponents. On the other side, Metagross and Carbink had to hold out against Luxray and a horde of weaker pokémon and their trainers were probably armed and just as dangerous. Luxray didn't even need to fight to make Dawn's pokémon nervous, its intense stare was more than enough. Only Piplup looked like he was going to win now as Shira was getting slower every second. It had to do something with the gem, whose glow also got weaker until she had enough.

"I need more energy!" she yelled. Her pokémon stopped to use weak electric attacks on her, making the gem glow stronger again and for a moment, she had the same, yellow aura. "Don't you understand? You can't defeat me!"

She attacked Piplup with even more fury, making him back off almost all the way back to the aura bubble. Hitmonlee nudged Marcus, urging him to do something.

"You want to fight? So do I. I just got a bit carried away. But we can't just smash the bars and get in there. A good point to start would be that gem." He thought about for a second. She wasn't expecting him to attack because she didn't regard him as a threat. "Sudowoodo, please use stone edge with just a single, small stone spike. Put everything you have in that thing and try to hit the gem from here."

Sudowoodo created an undersized spike and tried to aim with it but Shira's feet were moving all the time and way too fast to hit them.

"Claydol, can you use psychic to guide the spike?" Marcus asked.

It watched the battle and her movements for a while, then it shook its head. With her current, superhuman speed it was impossible. However, it had another idea. With telepathy, it explained the situation to Piplup and asked him to do something very specific. He understood quickly and left an opening in his defenses on the right side, which Shira immediately exploited. She made a large cut across his chest but in doing so, her left foot stood still for a moment. He instantly used ice beam to freeze it to the ground before retreating.

"What?" Both Ash and Shira exclaimed.

She tried to move her foot but it was encased in ice. Her first thought was to shatter it with her saber but quickly dismissed it as she didn't know how strong Piplup's ice was and thus could easily injure herself.

"Now!" Marcus whispered.

Like a missile, the spike shot through the space between the bars, shattered the ice like it was nothing and hit the gem in the center with enough force to push her legs away, causing her to fall down on her face. Her pokémon immediately came to her aid. Raikou dragged her to safety whereas the others were covering them. The cell door was smashed down by Hitmonlee's kick and his pokémon poured out, taking the positions of the defeated pokémon with Claydol, Ludicolo and Houndoom going on Dawn's side and Sudowoodo, Hitmonlee and Staraptor going on Ash's.

"Looks like I just saved your life," Marcus remarked, now standing next to Ash.

"You're the reason we got in this situation in the first place," Ash replied angrily. "Besides, we're anything but safe just yet. We can thank each other later. At least I hope so."

They looked at Shira, who was holding her foot with a pained expression. Judging from the intense pain, it was broken, but to her surprise, the gem was still whole. Only a tiny crack was on the surface.

"Looks like the worm has some teeth, after all," she shouted. "You will pay for this! I ...huh?"

The crack on the gem started to expand and instead of glowing strongly, it began to blink irregularly. When it also started vibrating slightly and sparks were coming out of it, she knew that it was time to get rid of it. Taking of the shoe as quickly as she could, she threw it at her enemies but it hit the ground halfway. It soon turned out that this was a wise decision for the gem unleashed the stored energy by shooting out powerful lightning, shocking anything nearby, and even smoke came out before it exploded with a blinding light, shooting shards in every direction. The aura bubble protected everyone inside but most of the pokémon outside weren't so lucky. Charizard didn't mind a few more cuts, Pikachu evaded them completely and Piplup blocked them with his brick break arms. Except for Sudowoodo, Marcus's pokémon took minor injuries and so did Shira's pokémon on that side.

"Piplup, attack!" He used the confusion by using aqua jet to quickly close the gap and smashing Ampharos's head against the wall with a brick break while it was still trying to pull a shard out of its belly. Charizard finished off Jolteon with a flamethrower, also catching it off guard. The other pokémon reacted faster, though, forcing Piplup to retreat again but it was still a successful attack with two of Shira's pokémon down. The water-type noticed the saber lying on the ground nearby and with a quick brick break, he cut it in half.

Shira took out three pokéballs and called out an electivire, a zebstrika and a heliolisk before recalling Ampharos and Jolteon. Her right hand was covering the right side of her face for an unknown reason, which became clear when she removed it. A splinter had hit her cheek, burying into her flesh. The gash not only looked horrible but it was also bleeding crazily. Unsurprisingly, she was more than just furious.

"You ... you fucking bastards!" she yelled. "Get them! GET THEM! I want them alive so i can show them true pain. Kill the other one and his pokémon! I don't care how. And get me a fucking medic!" Raikou let go of her so that Electivire could carry her on its back. "Raikou, their pokémon are yours. Do with them what you want and don't hold back."

On the other side, the pokémon released a powerful lightning storm, which knocked out Houndoom and Ludicolo since they simply went too far ahead and Claydol only remained because it was immune to electric moves.

"Pay attention to what your pokémon are doing," Dawn told Marcus, who obviously wasn't able to command six pokémon at the same time. Of course, she couldn't have done it either and that's why she kept concentrating on two or three of them. "This was completely unnecessary." He rolled his eyes and she turned to Piplup. Most of his wounds were already gone due to the cleansing water. "I need you here to block this path, at least for a moment. Use the blizzard missile combination! Full power! The others, cover him!"

Luxray attacked first but got pushed back when it was hit by Metagross's zen headbutt. The penguin pokémon used aqua jet and drill peck at the same time to get through the masses of hostile pokémon and once he was at the end of the corridor, he used blizzard while spinning both to launch himself back to his allies and to freeze anything in front of him. Once he was back, he looked at the result and it was magnificent. The whole corridor was blocked by a huge block of ice, which was filled with pokémon. It was surprisingly easy, mostly due to Carbink and Claydol having used psychic to redirect the enemies' attacks but the energy cost was enormous. Still, he felt it was worth it as it would take the grunts a while to get rid of the ice especially with their own pokémon still inside so they had to be extra careful not to hurt them in the process.

For a while, Dawn was able to just watch the battle on the other side without interfering as her pokémon needed a rest, no matter how short. It ended when she heard a lot of ice shattering behind her and for a moment, she feared that the whole horde would attack at once but instead, several voltorb rolled towards them. Her eyes widened upon realizing what was about to happen. While they were still moving, their bodies glowed white and exploded a few seconds later, knocking out Metagross and Claydol, since they were closest and also dealing some damage to Piplup and Carbink. Then Luxray jumped at the water type and got cut down by a quick brick break. That didn't stop it from trying again and knocking him down. Just when it was about to use thunderfang, Carbink knocked it away with a moon blast. It gave Dawn and Marcus enough time to recall their fallen pokémon.

"Piplup, don't let it defeat you! Brick break! Carbink, make sure it doesn't get any help!" Luxray used wild charge but it was blocked by Piplup's arms. They proceeded to fight each other in melee while Carbink was trying to hold off the weaker pokémon swarming the corridor.

Meanwhile, Charizard and Raikou were charging at each other, Charizard with flare blitz and Raikou with wild charge. It became clear that in terms of physical strength, Charizard was superior as he pushed it back seemingly without effort.

"Use fire blast!" Ash shouted.

"Thunder!" Shira countered.

The attacks met in midair, causing an explosion, which covered the corridor with smoke. Heliolisk and Zebstrika used it to get past Ash's pokémon and attack the others. With two quick thunder moves, they defeated Staraptor and pushed Pikachu aside before Heliolisk chose Sudowoodo as its new target and Zebstrika attacked Hitnomlee.

Electivire kneeled down so that a medic could take care of Shira's cheek. She pulled four more pokéballs out of a bag and looked at them.

"Looks like I need you this time. Who would have guessed?" she whispered. "Raikou, I need another distraction!"

It nodded and used thunder once more but this time, Charizard dodged it and tried to attack in melee range, which didn't work as it just unleashed another powerful thunder move, which forced him to cancel the attack despite his resistance in this mega form.

"Use flamethrower! Pikachu, help the others!" Ash shouted.

Once again, the moves colliding resulted in an explosion, which four more pokémon used to get past Charizard. Before Pikachu was able to help Sudowoodo, two small pokémon knocked him aside with thunderbolt. A rotating ball came out of the smoke. It turned out to be a pachirisu, who hit Hitmonlee with its glowing teeth, dealing heavy damage and an emolga followed up with an aerial ace. Zebstrika used the distraction to unleash a thunder move, which was enough to get Hitmonlee to its knees. The two pokémon, who attacked Pikachu were a plusle and a minun and they were attacking Sudowoodo now with their attacks strengthening each other.

"Hitmonlee, hi jump kick! Sudowoodo, woodhammer! Don't let those little farts defeat you!" Marcus commanded.

"Those 'little farts' are dangerously agile and hard to hit. Don't underestimate them," Ash warned him. "Pikachu, help them!"

However, Heliolisk got in his way and a few moments later, Hitmonlee and Sudoodo were already finished, defeated by the small pokémon, and now Charizard was surrounded by six hostile pokémon.

"Charizard! Get out of there!" Ash shouted desperately.

The fire type tried to but with five pokémon blocking the way back there was nothing he could do but fight so he tried a spinning flamethrower to hit all of them. They were faster, though, and he was hit by six thunder moves at once, which prevented him from doing anything. When it was over, even though he was still standing proudly, it was clear that the fight was basically over. Despite that, Raikou, still remembering his defeat earlier, sought to finish him with a wild charge. Using the last bit of strength he had left, Charizard dodged the attack, grabbed one of its legs and, with a spin, smashed it against the wall. Then he followed up with one last flare blitz, knocking out the legendary pokémon before fainting as well. Ash thought he could hear him laughing at the last moment but he didn't think it was funny at all. Even with Raikou down, there were still six of Shira's pokémon on this side against Pikachu and Lucario, although he would only fight if absolutely necessary, which would soon be the case.

"You did a good job, return," he muttered.

"You see how hopeless it is?" Shira shouted from afar. "Your problem is that you won't do what is necessary. You know why I could attack you with my saber? Because I knew you wouldn't kill me. I could slaughter your family, your pokémon, your friends and you wouldn't kill me. Because you think it isn't the right thing to do. Because you feel killing is wrong. There is only surviving or dying. Other things don't matter. Maybe you will realize it and regret not killing me when you're rotting in your cells. Anyway, it's time to finish it."

"Looks like that's it," Marcus remarked upon seeing her pokémon approach them.

Ash looked at Dawn's side, where Piplup was still standing his ground despite grave injuries. Without his cleansing water move he would have fallen a long time ago. Carbink, on the other hand, got overwhelmed by sheer numbers of enemy pokémon and had to retreat. Dawn looked at Ash and gritted her teeth upon realizing that it was looking just as bad on his side. For every step their pokémon took backwards, the enemy took two until only the aura bubble was stopping them from overrunning their position.

"Attention!" There was an announcement and the voice sounded about as desperate as the current situation in the corridor. "Members of the international police are inside the base and getting close to the control room. Entering automated defense mode. We need reinforcements ASAP!"

Suddenly, the situation was completely different and Shira was the one running out of time.

"Damn them all! Break the shield! Thunder!" she screamed.

All of her pokémon attacked at the same time, unleashing all the power they had left.

"Piplup, block them with ice wall, then use surf! Carbink, light screen, full power!" Dawn commanded.

"Pikachu, interrupt them! Lucario, don't give up now!" Ash added.

They realized that they only had to hold out a little longer since the policemen were on their way. Gathering their remaining energy, they tried to stop Shira at all costs. Piplup used ice beam to create a wall of ice between the shield and the pokémon, who had to shatter it before they got surprised by a wave, which ruined further efforts. Carbink's light screen absorbed quite a lot of damage and it had to since the shield was about to break and the only thing keeping it in one piece was Lucario's determination and will to protect his friends. The prospect of getting saved soon surely also helped channeling the last bit of energy he had left. Pikachu helped by using quick attack to interrupt the enemies and prevent them from keeping up their attacks before retreating again. With their efforts combined, the shield was able to hold until the enemy pokémon had to recharge.

Ash and Dawn breathed sighs of relief. Shira, on the other hand, was fuming and it looked like she was struggling inside. She certainly would like to crush that shield and everyone inside but she also had to defend the control room. Finally, she closed her eyes and turned her head to the side.

"Plusle, Minun, Luxray ... stay here and make sure they don't do anything stupid," she shouted. "The rest retreat to the central control room.

"What? But ... we almost have them," the grunt next to her complained.

"Idiot! They're stuck here for now so we can take care of them later. But if we lose the control room, we'll be the ones who are trapped!" she retorted. "Sure, we could use them as hostages but if you think Max Wright will let us escape just because of those, then you don't know him very well. Now get moving, everyone!"

She was last one to leave and she didn't do it without giving her enemies one last warning look. With three of her pokémon still around, Lucario didn't get the break he hoped for but at least he just had to keep it and not block any further attacks.

"Well, that was close," Marcus muttered. He was slightly ashamed that all of his pokémon got knocked out so quickly although he would never admit it.

"A bit too close," Ash agreed. "Great job, everyone. Let's hope the police can make it."

"I'm sure they can." Dawn sat down with her back to the bars of Marcus's cell. "I just hate waiting having to wait here. I would prefer doing something."

"Me too. But I'm afraid we're not in a position to do that." Ash pointed at the pokémon guarding them before sitting down next to her.

"You're right but I still don't like it. She put her head on his shoulder. "I hope Espeon and Garchomp are alright."

"They're strong. No need to worry, right?" He tried to make her laugh, even in this situation. However, the best he could achieve was a weak smile.

"Oh, stop it. At least we can rest a bit now." She looked at Lucario sympathetically. "Poor guy. Once this is over, Ash will give you a few days off whether he wants to or not."

Ash rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He just enjoyed a moment of rest after this exhausting battle. Now they just had to wait for help to arrive.


	25. Full Retreat

**Only one more chapter after this one, then the first arc is finished, which is about one fourth of the full story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 25: Full Retreat

They have already been waiting for a few minutes when Dawn looked up. Piplup and Luxray appeared to have developed some kind of rivalry as they were glaring at each other but unlike Luxray, Piplup was almost fully healed thanks to the cleansing water move. He probably didn't even realize that he could take it down easily now but that would probably cause plusle and minun to attack. She stood up and put her hands on Piplup's back.

"Relax. Take a short rest. There's nothing we can do right now," she told him.

Luxray sniggered, almost like it making fun of the water type because of her. It laughed madly at Piplup's angry reaction until its eyes suddenly widened and it fell forward, unconscious. At the end of the corridor, Espeon was sitting in a relaxed position and without a doubt, she was the reason for Luxray's sudden defeat. Lucario also noticed her and he had to restrain himself from just jumping up and embracing her. Of course, the other two electric types noticed her as well and tried to go the way round in order to surprise her from behind as they couldn't get past the aura bubble.

"Espeon!" Dawn exclaimed. "Watch out! They're coming for you!"

"Somehow I don't think so." Her voice was surprisingly confident and made Dawn wonder what she meant.

It soon became clear as once plusle and minun were behind the corner, she could hear them crying. Plusle got smashed against the wall and a few seconds later minun as well. Garchomp and the shaymin they knew well by now came around the corner. Obviously, they'd been waiting for the poor electric types and caught them by surprise.

"Garchomp! Shaymin!" Ash shouted. "So good to see you too."

Now nothing could hold Lucario anymore so he finally let the shield dissolve to get to Espeon and embrace her tightly. Ash went to Garchomp and Dawn approached Shaymin, who jumped into her arms.

"Well done, old pal." Ash gave him a pat on his back.

"My friends got taken to a safe place by the police but I hid. I wanted to make sure that you were alright. I had a look at the map earlier so I knew the way and led Espeon and Garchomp here. Did I do well?" the grass type asked, full of hope.

"You did very well but you didn't need to. You know we can take of ourselves," she replied, carrying it back to her original position, where Espeon and Lucario were already waiting.

"We had to be careful not to get caught up in the fighting but we found a grunt, who helped us open the door after a bit of ... persuading," Espeon told them. "The international police should be able to take care of the rest. There are so many of them and they are heavily armed."

"I see. Do you know how they found the base?" Ash asked. "I mean, it's good that they're here but I thought it was well hidden."

"I don't know. I would guess that they simply followed you," she said, shrugging.

"By the way, don't you think we should go somewhere else? Maybe a place where we can only be attacked from one side," Lucario suggested.

"You're probably right. Hey, how about we find our old cells to get out stuff back? Shaymin, do happen to know where they are?" he asked since he didn't know that.

"I do. Follow me!" It was about to jump out of Dawn's arms, happy about being useful, but she prevented it.

"Let the others lead the way." She pointed at the disabled sentry guns hanging from the ceiling. "They said something about automated defense mode so there might be more of those ahead and it might be too dangerous for you. Just tell us where to go."

Although it wasn't too happy about this, it complied and told them to go the way it had come from. Around the corner, they found the remains of two more sentry guns, which had been disabled in a more aggressive way, probably by Garchomp. In the middle of that corridor there was a door leading to the high security prison. Needless to say it was close and since they didn't have the code needed to open it, they had to break it. Being the strongest in terms of physical power, Grachomp got ready for a dragon rush. Although the first attack felt like it made the whole base shake, it only left a few scratches on the door. Unimpressed, he attempted it again and this time, he left a big bulge. Despite the shoulder hurting already, he tried it again, smashing it down and entering the room, where three sentry guns hanging from the ceiling got activated. Espeon, who had entered the room right after him, took care of them easily by twisting their barrels, thus making them unable to shoot. Garchomp, however, wanted to be absolutely sure and smashed them anyway. The others also entered the room and had a closer look. It had a quadratic shape and there were nine doors, probably leading to the different cells, and there was also a videophone along with two chairs next to the entrance. Only one question remained.

"So how do we find the right one?" Dawn asked.

"Easy, we destroy those doors one by one and have a look. Garchomp, do you think you can do this?" He nodded, mostly so that he wouldn't appear weak. Actually, those doors were really hard to break but he didn't want to disappoint.

He got ready and was about to charge when Marcus cleared his throat loudly. He pushed the door of cell 2 open, revealing Dawn's stuff inside, which almost made her squeal.

"Now to finally get rid of these clothes," she said, rushing into the cell and almost closing the door.

"Wait, you want to change your clothes? Now? In this place?" Marcus asked incredulously.

"Yes, I've been waiting to get out of this lab coat for far too long. Besides, with the camera gone, it's the only place to get some privacy. But just to be sure ..." She looked at Espeon. "Please make sure they don't peek. If one of them tries, you have my permission to do whatever you want. Maybe make them do a silly dance? Be creative!"

Ash didn't really want to imagine how creative the pokémon could be in this case. He shook his head and turned to Marcus.

"How did you know the door was open?" he asked.

"Seriously? I just checked it. Do you always smash doors before checking?" He went to the door of cell 3. "This one's open as well. And it looks like your stuff is still inside."

"Alright, thanks. I think I'll also change my clothes." He was wondering whether the doors had been open the entire time but on second thought, the guards had probably just forgotten to close them after having noticed the prisoner's absence. No matter the reason, it eliminated the need to smash them, something for which Garchomp was thankful.

A few minutes later, the doors opened again and they left the cells with their usual outfits. They stretched a bit before returning to the others.

"So much better," Dawn exclaimed. "Now what's the plan? Shall we wait for the police to arrive? Or shall we try to fight our way back to the lab?"

"Depends." Ash turned to Espeon. "Are you sure the police will win?"

"Absolutely. By the time they initiated the attack, there were so many of them that those lousy grunts won't be able to last very long," she told him.

"Then we should stay." The others nodded in agreement, only Marcus didn't react at all. "What's the matter? Are you angry because Shira escaped? To be honest, I expected you to run after her."

"Without my pokémon? I'm not that stupid." Ash gave him a strange look. "What's that supposed to mean? Yes, I walked into her base and I would do it again. After all, it was my only chance to find out the truth. My father was no traitor."

"He wasn't? She told you?" Dawn asked.

"She did and I believe her. She had no reason to lie to me. Someone used an illusion to look like him and then that person opened the doors for the grunts. My father was taken there later and got killed just like the others." Marcus sighed. "It's not much but at least now I know that I was right all along. I hope they catch Shira so that she gets was she deserves."

"We all do," Ash assured him.

They sat down near Marcus with their pokémon and Lucario sat down in the middle, closing his eyes. No doubt, he was trying to sense the aura of anyone approaching and create a bubble, just in case they were enemies. The only one looking slightly out of place was Shaymin, who was sitting alone in a corner. Dawn noticed this first and motioned to it. Slowly, it went towards her, looking really tired already and got picked up by Dawn, who put the grass type on her lap.

"You should get some rest," she whispered. "You've done a lot today. The others went with the international police, but you stayed so that you could help despite putting yourself in danger." She gave him a look of gratitude and even a bit of admiration, which made it look away in embarrassment. "You're a very brave shaymin."

If it wasn't for that last sentence, it would have just fallen asleep in her lap but now it was both bitter and ashamed. Apparently, she felt it since her smile turned into a frown.

"What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?" she asked, wondering whether it couldn't take a compliment.

"I'm not ... I'm not brave." The voice in their heads was surprisingly quiet and full of sadness. "I don't deserve your praise. No, I'm a big coward. The worst you could ever imagine."

Ash was surprised to hear that and wanted to know more.

"What do you mean? You risked your life to deliver the message to us. You refused to go to safety with the others just to help us. And you led Espeon and Garchomp to us despite the fighting." He looked puzzled. "So why do you think you're a coward?"

"You don't need to answer if you don't want to," Dawn told it but Shaymin shook its head.

"No, I ... I guess I have to tell someone." The pokémon took quite a lot of deep breaths before it was ready to answer. "When I arrived here, that Shira wanted three shaymin for ... I don't even know what. The only thing I knew was that it would result in their death, at least that's what the doctor said. The problem was that he couldn't refuse or he would have been replaced and that would have been so much worse. However, even then he was reluctant so ... a few of us volunteered. As you can see, I wasn't among them. It's my fault that one of those three is dead. Because I wasn't brave enough ... That's also why I decided to be the one to inform you. I wanted to make up for my lack of courage."

There was a long and awkward silence, which they used to think about its words. Tareth had never told them about this incident but then again, he was probably ashamed and didn't like remembering that particular scene. Now they only wanted to know what Shira had done to the poor shaymin. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't nice. It only made them hate her even more as only the most vile villains would hurt those kind and peaceful creatures. It was impossible to say what was more heartbreaking, the fact that three shaymin had to die or that this one was blaming itself for their death. Only Marcus looked at the only entrance impassively, maybe because Shaymin wasn't talking to him.

"It's not your fault," Dawn tried to assure it. The look she was giving it made it want to believe her . "It's impossible to be brave all the time so don't be too hard on yourself. Everyone is afraid at times. The important part is that you didn't let it get you down and by informing us, you saved so many more."

"She's right. Nobody's perfect and even I have flaws." Dawn giggled slightly when he said that but refrained from making a comment. "So what if you're not always brave? Neither are we. So don't worry."

"We would've been really sad if you had died," Dawn admitted. "I'm glad you're not dead."

Of all the things Shaymin had heard this day, this was by far the most encouraging. Even though it still felt bad for abandoning its friends, knowing that sacrificing itself would have saddened them somehow made it feel a bit better.

"Thank you. I'm glad you aren't mad. I was afraid you'd hate me forever." They were about to protest but the pokémon curled up in Dawn's lap. "I will try not to make the same mistake again. Thank you again for believing in me. Please let me rest now. I'm terribly exhausted."

Since Ash and Dawn felt that this rest was well-deserved, they decided not to say anything. After, they were also tired and there was nothing to do right now but to wait for the international police to rescue them.

* * *

"Get out there and fight!" Shira shouted upon arriving at the central control room. The grunts were a bit hesitant as they were surprised about her injuries. "What are you waiting for? We can't let them take the control room."

The captain approached her and saluted.

"Boss, they came from the lab but we still don't know how they managed to get there. We threatened to blow up the remaining bombs in the cities." He looked away. "They ignored it ... and just continued to attack. I didn't want to blow them up without your order, though."

"Hey, boss. Looking good. Is that a new kind of makeup?" She turned around to see Boris standing there with a smug look on his face. She gave him a look so hateful that the captain was surprised that Boris didn't even flinch. "What's the matter? Can't take a compliment?"

"You idiot! Where have you been all the time? You should have fought those prisoners with the others!" she yelled. "You can consider yourself lucky I'm too busy with this invasion to punish you properly."

"Punish me? What for? For saving your sorry ass?" Before she could yell at him even more, he continued. "It was I who discovered the intruders. Well, there were a few grunts with me but they were too slow so they had to cover my retreat."

"You ... let them get caught?" She gritted her teeth.

"As a matter of fact, he's right," the captain admitted. "We wouldn't have been able to activate the defenses in time without his report. Too many cameras were down to notice them early enough."

"You can thank me later. It looks like you have other things to do right now. And so do I. Wraith needs to know about this." He waved at her and walked away, but not without receiving a cold look.

"Captain, do you think we can repel the attack?" She asked, still not taking her eyes off Boris.

"What? Oh, no, we can't. There are way too many. We can only delay the fall of the base," he replied bitterly.

"Then try to hold out as long as possible while preparing the evacuation. We'll abandon the base with as many as possible," she commanded. "I'll decide whether to blow the bombs up later. Electivire, take me to my private quarters."

They were already at the door when she remembered something.

"Boris!" she yelled across the room. "Do something useful for a change and tell Wraith not to return to this base. We'll be leaving soon."

Without waiting for an answer, she nodded at Electivire, who took her to her room but it didn't close it all the way behind it in its hurry. The electric type put her on the chair so that she was able to call her boss. He looked a bit tired and annoyed.

"You again? What's with your face?" he asked with an amused expression.

"I got cut during the fight. But we've got other problems. The international police is here and in big numbers. The captain says that we can't hold much longer," she told him.

"So you want to evacuate the base?" She nodded. "Let me guess, you want to know whether to release the poison or not."

"We threatened to do it but they just ignored it." For some reason, he laughed.

"I can guess why. You see, my scouts report that the locations near the bombs have been blocked off and a few shaymin have appeared there." Her eyes widened. "I guess they stole them from your base. So blowing them up wouldn't have any real effect. It doesn't matter, though. We have earned more than enough with this little side project for the next phase. We don't need the poison, we don't need the shaymin."

He pondered for a moment. Blowing up the bombs wouldn't have any real effect apart from making the deal public. Max Wright would probably receive a lot of praise for handling the situation so well without endangering innocents and that was something he didn't really want. On the other hand, not blowing them up would keep the deal secret but it would also make the Storm Raiders look weak. They couldn't possibly command respect with empty threats. No, he wanted the mere mention of their name to inspire fear. Thus there was only one option even if it meant making his enemy look good.

"You will blow them up. All of them," he finally said.

"Yes, sir." Shira was about to end the call but he had something to add.

"Wait, I expect some of your men to get caught and to tell Wright about your other bases." She wanted to disagree and it seemed that knew that. "Don't underestimate him. If he wants the information, he'll get it, one way or the other. The bases aren't very important. They're merely outposts and we can get the valuable stuff out. However, I don't want you to get caught there so you will go to outpost Beta-5. None of your men should know about it so it's safe to stay there. You'll get your next assignment once this base has been evacuated."

"Understood." She ended the call and, with Electivire's help, proceeded to destroy anything in the room that could be of any use to the international police, including data.

Unbeknownst to her, one of her men, who was supposed to report about the international police's advancement, stopped at the door when he heard something he never expected to hear from her. And it raised a lot of questions. She called someone sir? Was she working for someone? Was she keeping secrets from them? Why? Were they merely puppets? He could consider himself lucky that the others in the room were too busy controlling the defenses and making the last preparations for the full evacuation. His thoughts were disrupted by Shira approaching the door. Trying to making it look like he was about give her a report, he knocked on the door, which immediately opened.

"What is it?" she asked.

"They are advancing faster than expected. The control will be overrun in approximately five minutes," he stammered.

"It doesn't matter." Her electivire moved towards the exit to the entrance hall. "We're leaving. Captain, is everything ready?"

"Yes, boss. The system will destroy itself, the doors will lock, and only the sentry guns will still work. It should give us enough time to get out of here," he replied, saluting.

"Good, we don't want them to block our escape route from here, do we?" She took a small key out of a pocket and threw it at him. "Blow them up."

He used it on a small keyhole in a console, revealing a hidden part with lots of buttons, only four of them glowing red. He pushed them and then another one before going to a microphone nearby.

"Attention!" he said. "Preparations complete. Leave the base immediately! I repeat, we're retreating. Get the hell out of here! Further instructions will follow at a safer place."

He followed the others, who were already making their way to the teleportation chamber. The journey was uneventful but more and more injured grunts joined them on the way. Expecting the international police to attack from anywhere, they were rather nervous and couldn't calm down until they were finally there. Shira herself covered their retreat, watching the only entrance from which the intruders could come while they were teleporting away, one by one. When she was alone, she called out an electode and stepped into the chamber.

"Time to leave this stinking hole behind," she mumbled. "Teleport to the nearest outpost!"

* * *

"Froslass, get ready," Wraith whispered.

They'd found the poacher just a few minutes ago in a large clearing. A few trees and bushes at the edge allowed her to stay hidden for the moment. Catching the shaymin took him much longer than expected but now he was putting the captured shaymin in the cage. Suddenly, her phone vibrated and she took the call, not taking her eyes off the poacher.

"It's Boris." She didn't reply and just waited for him to continue. "The base has been overrun. International police. Shira is already evacuating it so don't bother coming back. Better go to the nearest outpost."

"What about the shaymin?" she asked.

"What about them? Oh, I forgot you went to get one of them. Well, since the shaymin in the base are gone, it shouldn't really matter. The international police probably have them now." He hesitated for a moment. "Just forget about it. We can still get it later if necessary."

"Understood." She ended the call and had another look at the poacher.

He looked pretty ordinary to her, a bit rough but that was to be expected from someone doing this kind of work. He would be horribly disappointed once he found out that they wouldn't buy the shaymin anymore. She decided that he wasn't worth it and was about to leave when she heard him talk to the shaymin.

"You, my dear friend, are going to make me very rich," he shouted. "Finally, I'll be able to escape that hellhole."

It was nothing special, just normal things people like that talked about when confronted with sudden fortune and if it hadn't been for the next sentence, she would have just walked away.

"Maybe I'll even give the police a little hint. Those pathetic lowlifes have been holding me back for far too long. It's time to get rid of them once and for all." He laughed and hit the cage. "Yes, this is all thanks to you."

Froslass seemed to understand and got ready to fight but Wraith held her back and also called out Banette. They looked at her expectantly.

"Take care of his guards. He's mine," she whispered with just a hint fury in her eyes, which most people wouldn't have noticed. After all, they had no reason to look as showing emotions was highly unusual for her. Only Banette and Froslass as her oldest and most trusted pokémon knew the reason for this.

All of sudden, Wraith had three, small throwing knives in her hand and was ready to use them. She just waited for him to turn his back towards her and her pokémon were already hiding in the ground below their targets, waiting for her to make the first strike. For some reason, the poacher seemed to think that something was wrong and kept looking around, which didn't really bother her as she just needed a little chance. Seizing it as soon as possible, she hit the poacher with a knife in the back and immediately followed up with another when he fell to his knees. Of course, his pokémon immediately tried to find the attacker but Froslass surprised them with a powerful blizzard, which froze and defeated the four golbat and Banette hit the scolipede from behind when it tried to attack Froslass, knocking it out with a single attack.

"What the fuck?" The poacher was breathing heavily but despite the pain and the injuries, he tried to stand up again, only to receive the third knife in his back. "Damn you ..."

The knives were coated with a paralyzing venom, which made him unable to move. He knew exactly that it was over. Judging from the sound of the battle, his pokémon were already unconscious. With three knives stuck in his back and his strength slipping away rapidly, he didn't have much time left. He just wanted to see his killer but lying on his belly didn't make that easy for him as turning around would make the knives go even deeper. His first guess was that it was another poacher who tried to steal his reward but someone like that wouldn't have overpowered him and his pokémon like that. Team Plasma would be a different story. He'd heard rumors that those were slaughtering poachers but he didn't believe them, something he deeply regretted at this moment.

Suddenly, he felt one of the knives being pulled out and immediately tried to seize his last chance.

"Who ...? Why ...?" he managed to stammer.

Apparently, the assaulter wasn't interested in answering his question as someone hit his head hard, rendeing him unconscious. Wraith pulled out the other knives and put them into a small bag that was attached to her left arm, then drew another knife and a pokéball. It contained Gothitielle, whom she wanted to use for teleportation but she didn't know where to go just yet. Since carrying a map with the locations of their bases would be madness, she had to find out in her head which one was the closest. However, before leaving there was something else to do. The knife was a twisted one with a tri-edge blade, which could cause horrific injuries. A single stab could cause fatal blood loss because it was extremely difficult to close the wound again. Without a second thought, she turned his body around and rammed it into his belly, hoping he'd wake up before dying. It was the ultimate punishment.

There was something else she noticed, though, when she called out her pokémon and it was coming from the cage. It seemed that the shaymin had tried not catch her attention but now it made a sound that did exactly that.

Wraith approached the cage slowly with Banette while Shaymin, who feared the worst, was scratching the cage doors in an attempt to get out. It froze when it realized that she was already standing right next to it.

"Destroy the lock." Banette cut it in half with a night slash, which caused the door to open.

The imprisoned pokémon expected a hand to enter the cage, grabbing it to take it to the most horrible place possible but nothing happened. Instead, it saw Wraith and her pokémon getting very close to each other nearby, probably getting ready for teleportation.

"Outpost Beta-One," she whispered.

Shaymin saw them all disappear instantly, leaving it the only one nearby, who wasn't dead or unconscious. Still fearing traps, the grass type went to the open cage door very slowly and carefully but as soon as it was outside, it ran away as fast as it could.

* * *

Ash, Dawn and Marcus had heard the announcement so they knew that the international police had been victorious. Although they still had to wait for them to arrive but the relief made the time fly by.

It didn't take long as they soon heard footsteps approaching quickly. Just in case, Lucario rebuilt his aura bubble but it wasn't necessary. A heavily armed officer in a black outfit appeared at the door, raising his weapon before realizing that those weren't grunts. Instead, he called for help, which soon arrived.

"You survived in here by yourself? Amazing," one of them exclaimed.

"You must have really annoyed her," another one added. "I wouldn't want to be you right now, though. Maybe she's already planning her revenge."

"A huge, deadly kind of revenge," a third said, making them slightly nervous. "Hey, don't take it too seriously. The Storm Raiders rarely do something they can't benefit from."

"Leave them alone, they went through a lot." Ash and Dawn recognized the voice and sure enough, they saw the huge man it belonged to coming around the corner. Only Thomas's other noticeable attribute, his scarred face, was covered by a black mask. "The entire base is under our control now. You have your orders so stop wasting time." He clapped his hands, which caused the others to spread out before turning to the three remaining people. "You really have a tendency to get into big trouble, don't you? Anyway, you can probably already guess what's going to happen. Mr. Wright wants to talk to you."

"Now? I'm really tired," Ash complained and from the looks of it, Dawn, Marcus and the pokémon felt the same way. Pikachu and Piplup were resting back on back and the others were almost just as exhausted as those two. Only Garchomp and Espeon still had some energy left.

"No, not right now," Thomas replied to their relief. "Please follow me, I'll take you to the HQ where you will get single rooms to stay. Once you're well-rested, Max, I mean Mr. Wright will talk to you."

They traveled through the lab back to the surface in silence, already picturing the endless interrogations, the countless questions and the resulting frustration. Indeed, it was going to be a very long day. Only Marcus had no idea what to expect and just did as he was told. On the surface, they immediately took a deep breath and just stood there for a moment, enjoying the fresh night air and the weak moonlight. It didn't last long, though, as a few abra of the international police teleported them to a small chamber. In the hall behind it, three women were waiting for them and led them, despite their protests, to three separate rooms and another woman took their pokéballs to take them to the nearest healing station.

The rooms weren't too bad as they contained a TV, a couch and a desk with a bunch of books each but those things didn't matter at the moment. The most important aspect were the beds, which were really comfortable so everything was alright. They just jumped into them and drifted into an uneasy sleep.


	26. No Relief

**This chapter is longer than most, and it's really dark in the first half.**

 **The following arc revolves around the Wallace Cup, though there are other things that might happen.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 26: No Relief

Ash was standing in front of his home after a surprisingly short time of getting interrogated. In fact, time flew by so quickly that he could hardly remember anything but maybe that was also because of his tiredness. Nevertheless, he was told that Dawn and their pokémon were already back home so he could look forward to that. When he opened the door, he thought it was remarkably quiet as his pokémon would usually notice his arrival and come from every direction to greet him. This time, all he could hear was the door closing behind him.

 _Did I close it?_ Ash wondered.

He couldn't remember. It was also kind of strange that it was very dark inside although he clearly arrived during the daytime. Or perhaps his memory was just messing with him.

"Dawn! Pikachu! Everyone, I'm home," he shouted without getting a reply. "Huh? Where is everyone?"

He slowly made his way to the living room, getting more and more nervous because of the utter silence and the shadows, which seemed to move in a strange way.

 _Wait a second_ , he thought to himself. _Wasn't it dark just a moment ago? Maybe I'm just too tired._

Finally, he entered the living room but it was dark so he had to turn on the lights. It wasn't the normal, bright light but a weaker, red light, which made some of the shadows look creepy, almost frightening. That wasn't the thing that made Ash's eyes widen, his skin pale and his heart almost stop. It wasn't even the blood on the walls or the bones on the ground. No, it was the head on the table, the head of his mother Delia.

"MOM!" He ran to the desk and grabbed the head. Even with the eyeballs missing, there was no doubt that it was his mother's head. "Why ...?" he sobbed. "How? Why? WHO DID THIS?" he screamed. I can't believe it. It must some kind of horrible dream."

 _Mom's head, the head of the woman who raised me by herself, just lying in front of me. This can't be true!_ Especially the look of horror on her face made him sick. _Why? She never did anything wrong. She never harmed anyone. Who would do something like that? She didn't deserve it. Nobody deserves something like this._ A great sadness overcame him. _I was traveling so much and the training was keeping me so busy that I didn't spend a lot of time with her. She was always supportive although it also meant that I would be gone for a long time. And I ... I rarely showed just how much I appreciated that. Was she thinking of me as a bad son, a disappointment?_

"Feels bad, doesn't it?" At first, he thought that someone was talking to him telepathically but it was different. It seemed to come from everywhere and was so twisted that he couldn't recognize it although it sounded familiar. The only thing he could determine was that it was a female's voice. "Losing someone who's dear to you. Maybe you picked the wrong allies."

"Who are you? Where are you? Did you do this?" he yelled but only received laughter as an answer. His sadness was replaced by rage.

"I did this and much more. You have so many friends it wasn't easy to pick the right ones. But I think I made a few good choices, don't worry. I'm waiting for you upstairs. Please hurry. I don't know how much longer she can last." An ear-shattering laughter followed, which made him sink to the ground, covering his ears.

"You bitch," he muttered, getting back up. "I can't ... I won't let you do that! I will kill you for what you've done!"

He rushed to the stairs, hearing screams of pain coming from upstairs, which only made him hurry even more. They originated from different people, but the more he progressed, the more of them were silenced. On the stairs, someone was lying and he recognized that someone immediately, despite the burnt skin. It was Johanna and she looked like she had been killed with electricity. It was another hard blow but it wasn't the time to mourn. He had to prevent even more deaths.

"I'm sorry," he said, walking past her. "I wasn't there to protect you. I'm really sorry. I ... I can't let this happen to anyone else!"

The screams were coming from the bedroom so he ran as fast as he could, barely noticing anything around him. His expression was one of pure rage. Not even his closest friends have seen anything like it and even Ash himself wasn't sure whether he had ever been like this before. He only knew one thing. If that person was trying to harm his friends as well, he was ready to kill her, which was something he never expected.

It wasn't even their bedroom behind the door but a round hall made of stone. In the middle, Shira was standing, holding a saber in one hand and Dawn's head in the other. He was about to collapse when he noticed that it was still attached to the body hidden by the shadows, which was the only thing that kept him from charging right at her.

"Good boy. One wrong move and her head will roll as well," Shira threatened him.

"Let her go! Now!" Ash said in an unusually calm voice.

"I don't think that's how it works." There was a demonic grin on her face that made him even madder. "What's the matter? Don't you like seeing her like that? Just wait until you see your other friends."

"Your fight is with me! They have nothing to do with it! They're innocent!" he yelled.

"You're wrong. They have a lot to do with it. And nobody's really innocent. It's really such a meaningless word," she told him.

She raised her arm with the sword and a lamp hanging from the ceiling got brighter all of sudden. At first, it only illuminated Dawn's face. There was a wound on her forehead and blood was flowing, it almost made Ash attack Shira. Before he could do that, the light revealed the remains of their pokémon lying around. He froze when he saw Pikachu's tail lying right in front of him and stumbled forward, falling to his knees in front of it. He took the tail ins his hands and was staring at it with his eyes wide open, not noticing anything else around him.

His first pokémon, his most trusted partner, his best friend, was dead. And all that was left was the tail. He didn't even get to say goodbye. And all the others too. All of them were gone and everything because of her. For a minute, he was just kneeling there, holding the tail near his face and trying to hold back the tears in vain. They were flowing freely, especially when he remembered everything they had gone through together, the good times and the bad times, all the dangers, all the threats they had vanquished. It was all for naught.

Shira was watching him, taking great pleasure in his suffering. Little did he know, she had much more for him. She waited for him to stand up again, a dark look on his face, his eyes dull and his body shivering. The question was how much more he'd be able to take before breaking. Maybe she should have done it a bit more slowly to draw out his suffering even more. But even like this, Ash looked like he was ready to kill. She pulled Dawn a big higher.

"So many of my men and my pokémon got caught because of you. I decided to take one of your pokémon and friends for each of them. Your mother, your girlfriend's mother and your pokémon were just the beginning." She looked at Dawn and Ash immediately knew what was about to happen. He tried to prevent by attacking her but something stopped him. He looked down to see ghostly hands holding his legs.

"What the ..." The ghostly body of a grown man emerged from the ground, his face twisted with fury and hatred. One of his arms extended rapidly and the skeletal claw grabbed Ash's throat, preventing him from saying anything. However, he turned Ash's head so that he was able to see Shira and Dawn in the middle, as if he wanted him to watch what was going to happen.

"Hear me, fallen ones." Ash looked at Shira, who was holding her saber up high. "This is for you. All your suffering, your pain, I'll give to those responsible." Ash tried to scream and struggled as much as he could but the ghosts were way too strong. She swung he sword, and with one clean cut, she decapitated Dawn, whose body fell to the floor, only her head remained in Shira's hand, the expression unchanged.

Ash felt the last bit of strength in his body leaving, making it easy for the ghosts to wrestle him to the ground. His family, his pokémon, his love, he lost all of them at once. Shira laughed at the miserable state he was in and prepared to make it even worse for him. Ash was still paralyzed by the events when she tossed Dawn's head aside and clicked her finger, turning on the lamps on the wall. There he saw the naked bodies of his friends hanging. The ghosts turned his body so that he couldn't look away and kept his eyes open so he had to view every single, gruesome detail. He didn't know what was worse, Brock's skinned body, Gary's bowels hanging from a huge hole in his belly, the glowing nails going through Iris's body or the massive sword through May's head. All of them were looking at him accusingly. He couldn't even register the rest as those four already made him feel so sick and weak that he was about to pass out.

 _No, please. I tried to stop her,_ he thought. _I'm sorry. I wasn't strong enough. Please forgive me._

There was no doubt in his mind that this was the end. Even if he survived, he wouldn't know what to do with his life. His family, his friends, his pokémon and his love, they were all dead and there was nothing that could bring them back. There was nothing to live for anymore. He felt an odd emptiness inside, which he had never thought possible. Hopelessness overcame him and he just waited for the end to come. At least, he would be reunited with the others once more. Without any energy left, everything went black.

"Ash." The voice was familiar but he didn't even listen anymore. Without the ghosts he wouldn't even have raised his head. Actually, he didn't have enough strength to open his eyes anymore so the ghosts had to do even that for him. Even though he saw Dawn's head floating in front of his eyes, he didn't feel different in any way, there was still only emptiness except for his wish for a quick end. Dawn had the same, accusing expression on her face but it was also mixed with sadness and even a glimmer of hope. "No need to worry. We will be together soon. Forever."

The moment she spoke that last word, the ghosts vanished and Ash's fell forward once more. A terrible chill got hold of his body, completely paralyzing him and making his last moments even more agonizing.

 _It doesn't matter. I deserve it, don't I?_ _If only my consciousness could slip away faster._ He could hear someone approaching awfully slowly. _Hurry up, I don't want to feel like this any longer._ Despite being unable to see anything, he was sure that Shira's saber was right above his neck.

"Darkness takes you," she said.

 _At least I will see the others again_ , he thought to himself during his last moment.

The last thing he felt was a moment of indescribable pain.

He got up in the darkness, his body shaking and covered in sweat. He was flailing around wildly and knocked a lamp next to him to the ground but quickly found it and turned it on. Holding it in front of him like a weapon, he scanned every inch of the room before putting it back and taking a deep breath.

"It was just a dream. Just a dream ...," he kept telling himself.

Finally, he leaned forward and cupped his face with his hands. That way, he noticed just how cold his skin was despite his heart racing madly. Unsurprisingly, he was even more exhausted than when he went to sleep as that dream prevented him from getting any rest.

"Just a dream," he repeated, letting his head fall into the pillow again.

He was still in his room in the HQ of the international police. Dawn, his pokémon, their mothers and friends were still alive and well, and judging from the cold and missing glow of his aura stone, Dawn was either in a room nearby or not wearing hers. His breathing got slower again and he started to think about the dream a bit more rationally. One the one hand, he should have known that it was a dream as soon as he stepped into the large chamber but on the other hand, it felt awfully realistic and he could swear that he felt pain without waking up, which was even more worrying. Apart from that, it was still srangely present as he usually forgot about every dream after a short time.

 _Why do I have such thoughts?_ he suddenly wondered. _It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. A horrible one, but still just a nightmare. It's not worth the time._ However, it was hard to think about something else as he couldn't get the faces, the pictures of the injuries out of his head. _What's wrong with me? A dream can't affect me like that._

He liked to stare at the night sky whenever he absolutely couldn't sleep but it was impossible this night since his room didn't have any windows. He was both glad and sad that he was alone at the moment. Of course, he would have someone to talk to, which would have been nice after such a nightmare but it also would have been embarrassing. After all, they couldn't see what he saw and wouldn't be able to understand just how much it troubled him. Either they would make fun of him or worry way too much. The worst thing that could happen would be Gary finding out about his reaction, something which he would probably never live down.

It was the second horrible nightmare in a row, but it wasn't going to intimidate him. It was probably due to the battle just a few hours ago and Shira's escape. They'd annoyed her quite a lot so she was likely to take revenge at some point. It was possible this dream was trying to warn him. Or maybe it was a sign of his fear. It didn't matter. He wasn't going to let anything or anyone affect his life like this, not even someone like Shira. Of course, he intended to be more careful in the future, at least as long as she was still free.

With a sigh, he looked at the clock next to the lamp and saw that it was still 6am, so it was no surprise that he was so tired. In the end, he realized that the dream was actually keeping him from falling asleep again so, with a grunt, he turned to his side and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Dawn was having a more pleasant dream about watching a sunset with Ash. They were sitting on a cliff near a city with Ash hugging her from behind. The wind was a little chilly but the hug was keeping her warm enough. The beautiful red of the sunset was disturbed by storm clouds approaching quickly and soon thunder could be heard in the distance. To Dawn's disappointment, Ash got up, offering his hand to help her stand up as well. She was shocked to see the darkest storm clouds she had ever seen right above them and wondered how she managed not to spot them earlier. It was probably because she was too focused on the sunset and didn't notice them coming from the opposite direction.

"We should return. Unless you want to get soaked by the what's about to start," he said, looking at the clouds.

"Don't we have a pokémon with teleport with us?" she asked, remembering that it was his turn to have one in his team.

"Well ..." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I kind of forgot. It doesn't really matter. We can walk through the forest."

He pointed at the trees behind them, which looked good enough for that but still, they looked somewhat creepy with their long, thin branches that looked like claws. However, the first few raindrops made the forest seem so much more welcoming than this cliff.

"Alright, let's go. You'll get your punishment once we're back home," Dawn told him.

They made their way into the forest before the storm really started. With lightning striking at a highly unusual rate all of sudden, they were really glad to have the trees above them but they still hurried to get back home as soon as possible.

"That's a really violent storm," Dawn remarked. "By the way , where's Pikachu?"

She was slightly ashamed that she hadn't noticed it earlier but she was just too relaxed at the cliff to notice anything but Ash's warm touch and the beautiful sunset. Dawn decided that she should pay more attention even in situations like that.

"He wasn't feeling well so he stayed at home." Lightning struck the trees around them several times. "What the hell is wrong with this storm?"

When he said that, about five lightning bolts struck the trees in front of them simultaneously, setting them on fire and blocking the way for the trainers. One of them even collapsed and almost hit Ash, who dodged just in time but the fire was spreading so quickly that they had to back off. Before they were able to turn around, another, much larger lightning bolt hit the tree in the middle with such force, that it caused an explosion and made burning splinter fly around everywhere. Ash and Dawn fell on their backs and watched the scene, which looked like it was from hell itself.

"Let's get out of here!" Ash shouted, taking Dawn's hand and dragging her along.

He couldn't get very far as he tripped over a root but Dawn helped him to get up fast enough for them to escape the flames that were closing in. Now they didn't even bother looking back since it would have only cost them time and they could already guess that the fire was getting closer like a hungry beast trying to devour them. The storm, which had been very quiet for a few moments, intensified again and struck the ground behind them several times per second. Dawn was running slightly ahead of him so she didn't feel the heat getting closer and closer quite as much. They were so busy running for their lives, they didn't even know where they were going but it wasn't like they had a lot of choices since the fire on the sides limited their options and it almost seemed like it was trying to cut them off.

"Ash, look!" Dawn suddenly cried out.

At first, he thought that the fire was right in front of them but then he realized that it was actually the sun, that looked like a red fireball in the distance between the trees. However, the fact that they were able to see it, could only mean that they were very close to leaving this forest so, with new hope, they increased the pace. It was high time as the smoke was getting thicker and making breathing even more difficult than it already was due to their lungs feeling like they were on fire after all the running. Ignoring the pain and tiredness for the moment, they stepped out onto the same cliff where they had been a few moments ago. Dawn ran a bit farther, tripped, and fell with her face into a puddle. Although she tried to get up quickly, she relaxed a bit once she felt Ash's hand on her shoulder.

"I look really stupid right now, don't I?" she mumbled.

There was no answer so she slowly got on her knees and then on her feet although it wasn't easy staying in that position at that moment. She noticed that the rain had already stopped at some point so not everything was against them. When she turned around, she couldn't see anyone, though.

"Ash?" she asked full of worry. "Come on, I know you're here. I felt your hand, after all. Ash!"

There was only the fire trying to get through to her but without trees in the way, it couldn't get close enough. She could swear, it was almost like it was alive and bent on destruction. It didn't matter at the moment, though, as there was no sign of Ash.

"Ash? Ash!" She looked everyone but just couldn't find him so she even went closer to the burning forest. "Ash? Please answer! I ..."

"I'm here." The voice came from behind and she turned around to see Ash standing there with a few minor injuries but it didn't look too serious. Most importantly, he had his usual, goofy grin on his face. "What's the matter? Worried?"

Despite her legs feeling incredibly heavy and almost tripping again because of that, she rushed to him and nearly crushed him with her hug. At first, he returned the hug but then she started hitting his back while sobbing uncontrollably.

"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! What the hell were you thinking?" She backed off slightly, her expression containing an interesting mix of fury, worry and relief. Tears were running down her cheeks so he tried to remove them with his thumb but she stopped him. "I thought you were dead. Never ever make a joke like that again!"

"I'm really sorry," he apologized.

"I'm serious! You almost gave me a heart attack!" She cupped her face with her hands. "To think that you almost died."

"Well, I was saved at the last moment," he told her.

"You were? By whom?" she asked, her curiosity overcoming her anger.

"By me." Dawn froze as she knew that voice all too well. Instinctively, she turned around within the bat of an eye and readied a pokéball. "Come on, I saved your boyfriend from certain death and you don't even thank me."

It was someone Dawn would have expected to throw him into the fire, not save him. It was the most dangerous criminal she knew. It was Shira. She was standing next to him now, one arm around Ash's shoulder and a smug look on her face. It was the same person who had battled and almost killed them some time ago and now she was expecting her to thank her and act like nothing had happened at all?

"You!" Dawn pointed at her. "Ash, get away from her! She's dangerous!"

To her surprise, he didn't move at all but only gave her a questioning look.

"Weren't you listening?" he asked. "I said she saved me. Dangerous? No, we had a little talk and it turned out she's not so bad. Why don't you become her friend as well?"

"What are you saying? She tried to kill us!" Dawn took a few steps back. "What did she do to you?"

"I don't understand." He looked really confused, which only confirmed Dawn's first suspicion. "I just got to hear the story from her point of view. I can assure you that she had good reason to do what she did."

"You're actually defending her? Did she brainwash you? Or are you even the real Ash?" She could remember the events during his last birthday all too well.

He responded by removing Shira's hand from his shoulder and approaching Dawn very slowly. She backed up a bit in the beginning but as soon as she realized that the burning forest was behind her and that Shira wasn't following him, she stood her ground. For a few seconds, he was just looking into her eyes and then slowly leaned in. She was reluctant and didn't let him kiss her without keeping an eye on Shira so she wasn't really into it but the touch was still enough for her to confirm that this was the real Ash. It could only mean that he was really brainwashed. When he was done, he backed off slightly and gave her a loving look.

"Do you still think I'm a fake?" She shook her head in response. "Now let me explain why I think that we should be allied with her. Please don't interrupt me until I'm done." He took a deep breath and began. "You can probably still remember our battle against her. We were almost defeated and it made me question a few of our ... decisions. You know I have to ensure your safety and the safety of our family, friends and pokémon and I think this is the most sensible decision. After all, if she was our enemy, who would be able to protect us from her? The international police? They are too weak and too few to make a difference. No, this is the only way to protect you. So why not? Why don't you want us to be safe at last?" She just stared at him showing no emotion. "Dawn?"

His words made her wonder whether this the real Ash again. The Ash she knew and fell in love with, wasn't afraid to risk his life to save those he loved on his own and would never ignore crimes and injustice just for a sense of security. No, he would fight them even if it looked like he had no chance at all. So why the hell was he suggesting an alliance with one of the worst criminals they knew? It didn't make any sense. Whatever the reason, she wasn't going to give in.

"Just how far have you fallen? You were never afraid to do the right thing, even when the chances of success were tiny. Why now? We escaped her before, we can do it again!" she yelled.

"Dawn, listen ..." he started but he only received a slap.

"No, you listen to me now! Or maybe you should listen to yourself. All that rubbish is making me sick. Our friends and pokémon would be ashamed. The real Ash would never trade his dignity for a false sense of security. Because that's all you would get from her. You probably don't even realize that it might be a trap. I bet she's already thinking of ways to get rid of you." He was about to argue but she just continued. "It's worse enough that you do it but now you want me to do it as well? No, Ash, I can't and won't do it. Not even for you. Or should I say, especially not for you. Just look at what you've become. A spineless coward. Have you already forgotten everything we've been through? Do you really want to give it all up? I don't. I still love you dearly so please, I beg of you, don't do this! Please."

She gave him the most pleading look she could muster, hoping that he would come to his senses but he just looked at her with confusion clear on his face. He scratched the back of his head as if he didn't know what to say.

"And here I wanted to propose to you." Thsese words broke her heart even more. "Well, I'm kind of disappointed. I thought you would be more sensible." He sighed and tried to get closer but she kept backing off, getting even closer to the fire. "Come on, it's really the best decision. Please, I don't want to do this without you. Don't you understand it's for the best?"

 _He just keeps repeating himself,_ she thought to herself.

"Dawn, are you really willing to betray me because of your, what did you call it, dignity? You know it's worthless when you're dead," he added coldly.

"Betray you?" she screamed. "You're betraying me, your friends, your pokémon and pretty much everything you believe in!"

" Because I care for you. I'm willing to give up so much and you don't even thank me," he retorted, running out of patience.

"I never asked you to!" She was starting to get a terrible headache. "You're letting her do all those horrible things. I can't stay with someone like that."

"You really think you can protect yourself against her?" Ash asked curiously.

"I know I can!" Dawn replied.

"Then have a look at this." The way he said it made her feel really uneasy,

He lead the reluctant woman to the edge of the cliff, from where she could see the city in the distance. There was huge fire raging in it with lightning striking the buildings periodically. From the looks of it, it wouldn't take long until the whole city and everything and everyone in it was consumed by the flames. Dawn was looking at it with wide eyes whereas Ash had a fascinated look on his face, which she noticed and only confirmed her resolution. This simply wasn't the Ash with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

"This ... atrocity only increases my disgust," she stammered. "You obviously don't know me anymore or you wouldn't have tried something like this."

"So you won't join me?" he asked with disappointment clear in his voice. "You're going to let me do this on my own?"

"I never said that." She wiped away the tears that had formed while watching the fire in the city. "I'm not going to let you go. You will come with me and then I will find out what's wrong with you."

She raised one of her pokéballs and got ready to battle. It wasn't what she really wanted but he didn't leave her another choice. She simply had to get the old Ash back, no matter the cost, even if it meant fighting both him and Shira at once. Without a way to escape, there was nothing else she could do anyway so the hopelessness of the entire situation didn't matter.

"That's you decision? Don't forget, sooner or later, everyone will fall to my organization," Shira finally said.

"I won't! Never!" She tried to call out a pokémon but something prevented her from moving her arm, something very powerful. And it wasn't just her arm as her whole body seemed paralyzed and even opening her mouth was difficult.

"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong." Someone she knew, was talking to her telepathically.

Looking behind her the same tall, bald man she had talked to during Ash's birthday. He was one of Shira's men? It made sense but she didn't have time to think about it as pure panic was getting hold of her. Would he try to make her switch sides? Due to his psychic powers, resisting would be much harder for her.

"You!" she managed to get out. "You ... failed once and ... you will fail again."

Seth approached her slowly, not stopping to point at her with his right hand, which was glowing blue and probably keeping up her psychic prison. His expression was calm, yet unsettling. She was their prisoner now. What would they do to her? Kill her? Torture her? Attempt another mind crush?

"Young woman, it's much easier than you think," he said as soon as he was next to her. "You see, just as Shira said, everyone will fall to our organization. One way -" He gave Ash a quick glance and the trainer exploded with blood, flesh and bones flying everywhere, even hitting Dawn's face. Naturally, her expression changed to one of pure horror. "- or another."

"You ... killed him!" Dawn felt all of her emotions, all of her energy getting replaced by pure rage.

"No need to worry. You will be reunited with him soon." It wasn't only the fact that he said her catchphrase but also the way he said, completely without emotion that sent her over the edge.

The newfound energy, she managed to break the psychic prison quite easily but even with her free, Seth didn't show any sign of nervousness. Dawn let out a scream of agony and suffering before rushing towards him. Not even Ash had ever seen her eyes so full of rage and he certainly wouldn't have wanted to see her like this, let alone feel her wrath. Forgetting everything she knew about self-defense due to her fury, she just jumped at him and tried to tackle him to the ground while screaming madly. However, when she was close to hitting him, he just vanished and she fell on the ground behind him. Ignoring the pain and the lesser injuries, she got up again and looked around but Seth was nowhere to be found.

"Where are you? Come here and fight, coward!" Dawn yelled. Then she remembered that she still had her pokémon and threw Piplup's at the ground. "Piplup, come on out! We ... Piplup?"

She was shocked to find out that the pokéball was empty. She checked two more, who were also empty, which could only mean that she was completely helpless.

"Not so brave anymore, eh?" Dawn glared at Shira, was slowly walking towards the burning forest, her hands behind her back. One of Ash's bones was lying on the ground in front of her. She kicked it into the fire. "You really should have accepted our offer."

"And you think killing Ash increased your chances? I will never do it," Dawn said weakly, sinking to her knees.

The outburst finally took its toll. Without the rage, she just felt empty and hopeless. there was no point in fighting anyway. Ash was dead, she was all alone and Shira was probably armed. But even then, she wasn't going to just let herself get slaughtered and was determined to die fighting. Getting back up, she saw Shira staring into the fire.

"He didn't try to convince you. You chose your path and you chose poorly. Now you have to deal with the consequences." Several pairs of red glowing eyes appeared between the burning trees.

Instinctively, Dawn backed off towards the end of the cliff. They belonged to a pack of houndoom, who were slowly closing in. To make matters worse, Seth appeared again and used his powers to prevent her from moving and speaking again. Fully aware that it was over, Dawn just waited for him to say something like 'told you so' or 'you should have listened'.

"Goodbye." He nodded at the houndoom who got ready to attack.

Dawn closed her eyes, the last part of her body over which she still had full control, and prepared for a painful end but she would have never imagined what was about to happen. The fire types started by setting her feet on fire and the flames slowly made their way up her body. The pain was indescribable but it wasn't going to get better anytime soon. If she was lucky, the smoke would suffocate her quickly. She wasn't lucky. A strong wind from the side kept blowing it away and made the her flesh burn even stronger. As if that wasn't bad enough, the houndoom started to tear the flesh from her bones. She wanted to scream so badly but it was impossible so she just had to endure it. It was agonizingly slow and in the end, words couldn't describe how much she just wanted it to be over, how much she wanted to die. Although she wanted to think of a few things first, she couldn't concentrate on anything but the pain no matter how much she tried. Finally, a strange darkness overcame her, which she could only describe as relieving.

 _Is this death?_ she thought. _I welcome you._

Dawn finally woke up, her body sweaty, her eyes wide open and not a single sound escaping her mouth. Even if she wanted, she couldn't have screamed. For nearly a whole minute, she was just lying there, breathing heavily and staring into the darkness of the room until she came to her senses and slowly reached for the lamp on the nightstand with a shaking hand. First she made sure that she was still in her room in the HQ, then she put it back and had a look at the clock, realizing that it was only shortly after 6am. With a sigh, she let her head sink back on the pillow.

This nightmare really got her thinking, especially since it was the second one in a row. It wasn't the amount of nightmares that worried her, though, as she had had more of them during difficult times, but it was the intensity. Not only could she feel pain but it was pain she could've never imagined. She touched her legs, fearing that they could start burning any second, and for a moment she could swear that she felt a strange sensation, as if something from the nightmare remained.

She stood up and started walking around, both to tire herself out and because she was more creative during physical activities. The only thing she knew right now was that Ash wasn't to know about this nightmare. Knowing him, he would either mock her for getting scared because of a little dream or worry way too much, which she considered even worse as she didn't want to bother him with her childish problems. After all, he had more important matters at hand like the Wallace Cup or even the upcoming battles against the Kanto Elite Four. Surely, he would be able to understand her eventually, but she still thought that talking to Espeon was the better choice here. Maybe, as a psychic type, she knew more about dreams than the others so that was another reason to choose the sun pokémon.

Once her heart was beating at a normal rate she went back to the bed and noticed that she was still fully clothed. It felt weird but after everything she was too tired to get rid of the clothes. It wasn't important anyway, as if there was anything that would prevent her from sleeping, it would be the nightmare not letting her rest. In any case, she was sure that she wouldn't get enough rest for the day but every little bit would help. The nightmare was still haunting her mind but eventually, she fell asleep.

Ash and Dawn woke up at 9am due to the alarm of the clock ringing. Because of the nightmares, getting up was much harder than usual, especially there was no sun or another source of light to welcome them. Of course ,the prospect of having to answer questions all day didn't help either, it only made them want to stay in bed all day. It resulted in them not being able to get up until there was an announcement for them.

"Honored guests," a female voice said. "Please get ready for the discussion, which will happen in forty minutes. Breakfast will be brought to you in ten minutes. Feel free to use the bathroom as you see fit. If you need directions, please ask one of the guards. We only ask you to be in your room at 9:40am as a guard will arrive to lead you to the interrogation chambers. You can spend the time until then any way you like."

Ash wasn't nearly ready to get up just yet, though, and just decided to stay in bed at least until the breakfast arrived. Sure enough, exactly ten minutes after the announcement, a young woman appeared, carrying a large plate with a bit of toast, a little fruit and a large cup of tea. She put it on the table next to the entrance and bowed.

"Enjoy your breakfast. Please don't make them wait unless you want to make the day even longer and more difficult for yourself," she added before leaving the room.

Ash hated leaving the bed but her last sentence and the scent of the breakfast finally convinced him to do it. Still half-asleep, he got up and went to his, pretty much devouring it although he would have preferred coffee this morning. The size wasn't nearly enough either but he wasn't going to complain. Then he found a set of fresh clothes lying on the chair next to this table along with a large towel. He quickly went to the bathroom and got ready for the day before returning to his room and realizing that he still had some time left, which he spent reflecting on the nightmare.

Dawn, on the other hand, got up pretty quickly and went immediately to the bathroom, washing the tiredness away and preparing herself for the things that were about to happen. In the end, she took much longer than Ash, though, so she had to hurry back to her room and quickly ate as much as she could before the mentioned officers arrived and took her to an interrogation chamber.

The following hours were pretty much the same for both of them and probably for Marcus as well. It was an endless repetition of answering questions, getting taken to another room and answering the same questions to another officer all over again. Needless to say, it was both tiring and confusion as they just didn't understand why they would ask the same questions again and again with only the details changing slightly as some of them wanted to know more about the way they entered the base and others asked more questions about the battle against Shira. Ash even had the impression that one of them was an admirer of his skill as he kept asking about every single detail in the battle. The worst part was that Ash, Dawn, Marcus and their pokémon were separated from each other during the interrogation. In fact, they didn't even know where their pokémon were or whether they were in good condition, which didn't make things easier.

After three hours, they had a break and were allowed to return to their respective rooms but since they had to stay there, it was a dull hour. At least they received some lunch, something for which everyone, especially Ash was grateful, not because it was so good but because it made the time fly by a bit faster.

When the break was over, they soon realized just how much they preferred the boredom to answering questions all the time. Additionally, the lack of sleep was finally taking its toll so they had to do everything while on the verge of falling asleep and a few of the interrogators even seemed to feel sympathetic towards them. That didn't mean they let out a single question, though. However, this time, it took only two hours until they were told to follow a few officers to the president's office. On the one hand, they weren't too keen on telling the president the same things but on the other hand, the fact that they would finally meet boss, gave them hope, especially when Ash and Marcus arrived at the same time. That could only mean that Dawn was also on her way and sure enough, she appeared a few minutes later.

Ignoring everything else for a moment, Ash rushed to her and embraced her in a tight hug before giving her a short, but intense kiss. She returned the hug with equal strength and it almost felt like she wasn't going to let go at all. When they finally backed off a bit, they looked into each other's eyes and had genuine smiles on their faces for the first time that day.

"I missed you," Ash finally said. "You look tired."

"Well, I just couldn't fall asleep. Way too excited because of all the things that happened," she lied, not mentioning the dream. "You also look like you're suffering from a serious lack of sleep."

"Same reason," he replied. "And those interrogations certainly didn't help. Did they treat you well?"

"Well enough. Made me even more tired, though," she added, rubbing her eyes.

"True. And the lack of food only made things worse." She giggled at the remark before yawning. "It seems you really need a rest."

"I do." She noticed Marcus standing all alone next to the door. "Hey, how was your day?"

He looked up, surprised that about the fact that she even noticed him, as she looked like she only had eyes for her boyfriend. The whole day, he'd been miserable, mostly because the officers kept reminding him of the Sorlan Massacre and his father's death. It not only put him in a rotten mood but also made him highly aggressive and it was about to show now.

"How was my day?" he said with a calm voice but gritting teeth. "Why do you even care? Or do you just say that to seem nice? I know the truth. You don't care! Nobody cares!"

"Why so aggressive?" All of them turned around to see Dan standing there, hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. "There's no reason to take out your frustration on them. Especially since you're almost done here." Before they could ask him what he meant, he pointed at a door nearby. "I'm afraid Mr. Wright is busy right now and can't talk to you so I have the honors. Please follow me."

He led them to the room, he had pointed at earlier and unlocked the door, allowing them inside. The moment they stepped inside, they knew that this office looked way more like the office of the president than the real one as there was more and better furniture, more technology and it looked way more welcoming. Dan put two chairs for Ash and Dawn in front of the desk but he somehow forgot about Marcus, who had to fetch his own chair. Ash and Dawn didn't want to aggravate him even more so they looked away when he put it next to theirs and sat down, grumbling.

"What is it? Even more questions?" he asked with an aggressive tone.

"Huh? What? Well, yes, but it's time for you to ask questions." He turned towards the other two. "You have done quite a lot and deserve some answers. But let me say a few things first."

He stood up and started walking around with his hands behind his back.

"The things you told us fit together perfectly so we're assuming that you told us the truth." He was behind Marcus and patted him on the back. "Good job. I heard everything about your battle against Shira. To be honest, when I first heard of you, I thought you were just one of those wannabe champs, who had strong pokémon but didn't know how to handle themselves in a real fight. Even after your victory against Giovanni I had my doubts. After all, you had someone in the control room to help you but holding out against Shira for such a long time is more than impressive. She's a vicious monster but you stood your ground and for that, you have my respect."

Dan wasn't much of a trainer, a fact he admitted openly, but even he could recognize real power. When Thomas had told him stories about them for the first time, he didn't believe most of them as he was less trusting than his colleague. There was no denying their accomplishment this time and he was truly glad that they weren't on Shira's side. Of course, he didn't have the same respect for Marcus as it appeared that he was more of a burden apart from destroying that strange gem Shira had used.

"And I'm not the only one. Your victory has earned a lot of respect among my men as well." The praise made them blush a little.

"Well, it wasn't exactly a victory. It was more of a draw and without you arriving we would have lost quickly," Ash replied, looking away.

"You're too modest. Now-" he clapped his hands. "- you may ask questions. I'm sure there's a lot you want to know and I'll try to answer everything I can. So don't be shy."

He found it quite cute how everyone just looked at each other, motioning for the others to start. They spent almost two minutes that way, with Dan watching them from behind and the others still waiting for someone to ask a question. Ash spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Do you think Shira will try to take revenge on us?" Ash finally asked, breaking the silence.

The nightmare was still present in his mind so this was, by far, his most urgent question. Dawn also looked up and eagerly awaited the answer. Because of her own nightmare, it was of uttermost importance to her as well. Even Marcus, who didn't have to fear Shira's revenge nearly as much as she hadn't seemed to take him too seriously, was intrigued. On the other hand, he was the one to break her gem and thus cause her cheek injury so maybe there was a reason for him to worry, after all.

"A good question." He went back to his char, sat down, leaned back and put his feet on the desk. "You're afraid that she might break into your house set in on fire or slaughter your girlfriend while you're away?"

Ash shuddered, remembering a few details about his nightmare, which made everyone look at him, Dawn with worry, Dan and Marcus with pure curiosity. It made him feel like he had to explain himself.

"I just ... imagined the scene a bit too ... well, you know what I mean, don't you?" he laughed nervously. Dawn didn't seem to believe him entirely but at least the others stopped staring at him.

"It's natural to fear the revenge of a person like Shira. Let's see. She is a proud woman but her greed exceeds her pride. The Storm Raiders exist for power and profi,t but revenge doesn't pay." He removed his feet from the desk and leaned forward a bit. "Do you understand? They rarely do anything without a good reason and that means money or valuable items. So all in all, I think what you fear is highly unlikely."

All of them felt relieved and gave each other reassuring looks but Dan wasn't finished just yet.

"Of course, things would be really different if her defeat was made public. I mean, if everyone knew about her defeat and your involvement, it would be a real humiliation and she might consider doing something about it. Don't worry, we won't tell the press anything. And unless you want some real action, I advice you not to tell them anything either." He would've told them that he knew about their role in the fall of the Galactic Hunters if it wasn't for Marcus. Considering that they hadn't told anyone about that, he guessed that they didn't need others to think they're heroes, which was a healthy attitude. "I trust you won't tell them? It's in your own interest."

"Don't worry. We understand, right?" Ash and Dawn weren't glory hunters and they wanted to become famous because of victories in official battles so she knew that Ash wouldn't do it but she didn't know Marcus well enough to be sure that he wouldn't tell.

"There's no point in doing that," he just replied. Even if he got her attention that way, getting ambushed or killed in his sleep wouldn't really be the best way to defeat Shira.

"Good. What else do you want to know?" Dan asked.

"Where's Shira right now?" Marcus asked bluntly.

"Do you really think I would be here answering your questions if we knew that?" He replied in a condescending way. "Next question?"

He realized that this particular officer didn't seem to like or even respect him so asking any more questions was probably a waste of time. Leaning back, he left the rest to Ash and Dawn.

"Come on, don't be shy. I'm sure there are a lot of things you want to know," Dan tried to encourage them.

"What happened to the shaymin?" Dawn asked hesitantly. "Are they safe?

"Don't worry about them. We asked them a few question and then released them into the wild," he explained.

"But won't the poachers just catch them again?" Ash inquired. "I mean it's impossible to protect all of them in the wild, isn't it?"

"That's -" Dan leaned forward and pointed at Ash. "- a very good question. But -" He raised a finger. "- it requires a slightly more elaborate explanation. Technically, the things I'm about to tell you are still top secret but since they will be in the press tomorrow, you might as well know now. First things first, did you hear about the poison attack in Eterna Forest?"

"Of course, we were ... really worried. It was pretty big on the news," Ash replied, having received a small kick by Dawn when he was about to talk about their role. Fortunately neither of them really showed it so Dan didn't get suspicious.

"Yes, and with good reason. That stuff is extremely lethal. It was a demonstration of its potency and a warning by Shira. Her men hid containers containing the poison below several cities along with bombs to release the poison gas into the city if necessary." Ash and Dawn looked at each other in shock. If they had known about this, who knew whether they would have approached the base like that. "Then she threatened to do exactly that unless the cities paid her huge sums, in which case she would send them the container's location and a code to disable the bombs."

"So that's why they needed shaymin!" Ash exclaimed.

"The seed flare!" Dawn gasped. "It would have absorbed the poison and saved the cities."

"Exactly," Dan said, clapping his hands. "Unfortunately, there were only few left when we realized what was really going on and not nearly enough to ensure the safety in every city."

"So ... did the cities pay?" Ash asked carefully.

"I'm sure you understand that I can't tell you that," the officer replied, laughing. "Anyway, we found a whole bunch of shaymin leaving Shira's base and asked a few of them to follow us into the cities. We were right to do it before attacking the base as Shira really blew up the bombs but the shaymin did a fantastic job. Thanks to them, there were no dead and only a bit of damage because of the bombs themselves. I have a few relatives living in those cities." This explained his sudden change of attitude. Partly thanks to Ash and Dawn, those relatives were saved. "That madwoman was willing to kill off whole cities. It's disgusting."

Disgust, that was exactly, what everyone in the room was feeling right now. Shira not only threatened to kill countless people and pokémon but actually tried to do it in the end. For the first time, they could really understand why Darryl chose to help Tareth as helping Shira would have turned him into little more than a mass murderer. Fortunately, he'd realized that in time and perhaps by helping them instead, he prevented a big disaster. It was then that they noticed that they hadn't heard anything about him or Tareth since their meeting at the lab.

"It will never happen again, though," he continued. "Now that we know their potential, they won't be able to hide another container below a city. And if they start capturing shaymin again, we'll react much faster and stop them quickly."

"What happened to Dr. Tareth and Darryl?" Dawn asked, wondering about what happened to their helpers. "Are they alright?"

"Oh, those two." Judging from his tone, the news probably weren't too good. "Well, Darryl helped us quite a lot by telling us about the base defenses and thus made our work both easier and safer. Although, technically speaking, he's still a criminal, his cooperation and the fact that he was in the gang before Shira seized power and turned it into the Storm Raiders will significantly shorten his sentence. We're not even sure whether we can prove his involvement in many of the more ... violent operations. Of course, there's still another problem. Eventually, Shira might notice his betrayal and try to eliminate him. I can assure you that we won't let that happen, though, so don't worry. He's safe with us. As for the doctor ..." He looked away and bit his lip. "I'm afraid he's dead."

"What?" both Ash and Dawn exclaimed, standing up with only Marcus showing no reaction at all, mostly because he didn't even know Tareth. To the others, the death seemed absurd as the doctor had been safe in his lab. "You didn't kill him when you entered the lab, did you?"

"What are you thinking? Hell, no!" Dan replied, waving his hands in front of him. "Apparently, someone wanted him to take care of a heavily injured shaymin in the entrance hall but he never returned. We think someone knew about his ... activities and decided to get rid of him. We found him there with three bullets in his head. According to our men, they were shot from point-blank range."

The trainers got hold of each other's hand and squeezed them tightly under the desk. Even though, they hadn't known him very well, they were still saddened by his demise but even that pain had to be little compared to what Darryl or the shaymin felt.

"That sounds like an execution," Ash muttered, lowering his head.

"Yes, it's a shame," Dan agreed, shaking his head. "I'm sure he would have been able to tell us so many things. Now they are lost."

Unintentionally, Ash's grip on Dawn's got so strong, that he made her wince without even noticing it. He was trying hard not to yell at Dan for that last remark. It sounded like he only cared about the information and not about Tareth himself, who lost his life because he decided to betray Shira. The man was so close to leaving everything behind but the world was a cruel place and now his family would never see him again.

"That's so sad," Dawn said, getting her hand out of Ash's grip and ignoring his apologetic look. "How did the shaymin react? They liked him a lot from what I've heard."

"They refused to leave without information about his fate." Dan sighed. "They didn't take the news very well."

Ash had enough. Even though something like this had to happen sooner or later, it still pained him a lot, and it raised questions. If something like that happened again, who would be next? Dawn? One of their pokémon? One of their friends? Or would he be the one to die? It was impossible to say so he preferred to forget about it quickly. Dawn also felt that way but she had one last question. It seemed that Dan could feel that since he was looking at her expectantly. It wasn't an easy question to ask, though.

"There's still something bothering me," she said, scratching the back of her head. "That base was secret, wasn't it? So how did you find it just in time? Did you ...?

"I understand, you want to know whether we had you observed." Of course, he couldn't tell her about the tracking devices but he had prepared for questions like this well enough. "That's a valid question. You can probably guess that we have scouts pretty much everywhere. One of them happened to see two young trainers leaving Fuchsia City on a charizard late in the evening. You have to admit this seemed really strange. He observed you from a safe distance and when you fell into a trap pit, he immediately informed us. Reinforcements arrived and examined the area and got lucky when a garchomp happened to dig a tunnel straight out of the lab. I hope that's enough for you."

She nodded and the room was completely silent again. Ash and Dawn didn't really want to stay any longer, both because they were a bit shaken and because they wanted to go home again. Marcus was just waiting for it to end as he felt like his presence wasn't appreciated anyway. Dan kept looking at them curiously until he finally realized that there were no more questions.

"Nothing else?" he asked one last time before sighing. "Alright. I guess you're also tired so you may go now. Please return to your room. There you'll find your pokéballs on the nightstand. Then follow the guards waiting outside to the teleportation chamber and our abra will take you home."

Everyone stood up and went to the entrance, where Dan opened the door for them.

"Have a nice day. Oh, and one more thing," he said to Ash and Dawn. "We had a look at your house, nothing special, I can assure you. It seemed your door was damaged so we had it repaired for you. Regard it as a token of our gratitude. And please, don't hesitate to contact us if you remember something else that could be useful or if you need help."

"Oh, thanks. That's very obliging." Ash almost didn't remember that it had been destroyed by a shaymin in an attempt to get their attention. At least he didn't have to take care of that now with so many other things on his mind.

They said goodbye and left for their rooms, where they found the pokéballs and immediately called out Pikachu and Piplup, who seemed just as happy to see their trainers again. Besides, they hated staying in a pokéball all the time.

Dan made sure that they were gone before hitting a small button next to a microphone on his desk.

"What is it?" It was the voice of Max Wright, who was currently in his office, busy with other things.

"They're gone. Are you sure you want to do it?" Dan asked, a mix of worry and regret on his face.

"Absolutely. If Shira attacks them, we'll crush her. It's that easy," his boss replied.

"I still don't feel comfortable about using them as baits. It seems like such a waste." Dan folded his arms and waited several seconds for his boss to answer.

"What's the matter? You've never been this quick to question my orders. What do you want me to do? Lock them up in our HQ? You know they wouldn't like it. Besides, an attack is unlikely as Shira is likely to expect us to observe them," Max explained, slightly annoyed. "And don't forget about their mothers. At least they don't have other living relatives or it would be much more difficult to protect all of them.

"I know but I still don't like it. Don't worry about it, though, it'll be done." Dan pushed the button again and sank back into his chair.

He would much rather have Ash and Dawn as allies, maybe they could be convinced to work for the international police. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to him to make that decision so he had to watch them all the time now to make sure that nothing happened to them.

* * *

Boris ,Wraith and their master were waiting for Shira to finish her preparations. Since the morale of her minions was really low after the disaster, her absence was required at the outpost so she couldn't be there with the others and had to talk to them via videophone. As soon as she was sure that the door was close and nobody was eavesdropping, she sat down in front of her videophone. Due to the recent events, she wasn't exactly in a good mood and listening to her boss's complaints certainly wouldn't help. However, it was necessary as he was the only one who knew how to get the captured men out of prison.

"Are you done just yet?" Boris asked impatiently.

"Don't be too harsh on her, Boris. I guess she needs some time to ... think about her failure." her boss said nonchalantly. She gritted her teeth at the remark and was about to answer when he added something, looking into the screen from the side. "Oh well, the other news won't help her either."

"What other news? What could possibly make it even worse?" she asked, not really believing him.

"Well , it's not really important anymore." He turned towards the screen with a grin on his face. "It seems the international police was busier than expected. The factory team got ambushed and arrested. But don't worry, we don't need the poison."

"Is that all you can think about, Divine? The poison?" she yelled. "What about my men? I want them back, all of them."

He looked like he was about to laugh but restrained himself. This behavior made her blood boil as her men were kept in a prison and he didn't care about them in the slightest. After all, they were the ones, who did so much for this organization and as a reward, they were abandoned. No, she would make sure that every single one of them would get freed soon.

"I'm afraid the things you want are of little concern to me. Why should I listen to the one who lost one of our most modern bases, let the trainers I wanted escape, and allowed your men to get captured. Sounds like a failure to me." She was angry enough to smash the screen but he wasn't even finished. "Such a shame, isn't it? You lost everything almost at the same time. So tell me, why should I do something because of your mistakes?"

Boris was watching the whole scene, hoping that one of them would snap as that would make everything so much more interesting. If Shira died, maybe he would even take her place. On the other hand, that would probably too much responsibility and leading those idiots wasn't exactly fun so maybe that wasn't really desirable. Wraith kept her distance, watching them with her usual, emotionless expression.

"It's your duty! Now listen to me. My men deserve more than this. They don't even know you. but got captured while doing your work! But you don't care about their fate, you just sit here in safety and refuse to acknowledge the fact that you need them!" She was so furious now that she didn't even notice how dangerousher boss looked. "And you will continue to need them. How much would you like doing everything yourself. Not a nice prospect, isn't it? But you act like it's nothing. Just like with the poison. It's an amazing source of income and a terrifying weapon. How the fuck are we supposed to replace it? So many possibilities gone just because you don't realize its potential. You know what I think? I think you don't even know what you're doing anymore. Maybe everyone has to leave before you realize just how dependant you are. After all, you need us but we don't need you. Have you ever done anything worthwhile? With the money, we can do anything we want!"

Then she realized what she had just said and stopped abruptly. Boris took two steps back so that he was standing next to Wraith and leaned to the side to whisper into her ear.

"This should be interesting. I've never seen him like that before." Wraith just nodded in agreement.

They expected Divine to be furious. Therefore, they were surprised when he spoke in such a calm and controlled voice.

"You wonder whether I've done anything worthwhile. Well, for one, everything you've done so far was only possible because of my plans. I took over the SCO2-Project! I told you how to use the poison! I turned your gang of idiots into a powerful group capable of blackmailing the world! Without me you would be nothing!" Shira looked down, gritting her teeth and hoping that he would stop. "And whether you like it or not, you will always need my help because you're surprisingly unimaginative. But I see the future, my future! I recovered the knowledge of the Okcha! I combined it with other knowledge to turn them into powerful weapons!" He took a deep breath. "But enough of this. The important part is that your group is not nearly as powerful as you think. You might be a good leader and a powerful fighter but your men are little more than expendable, pitiful tools, that can be thrown away anytime. Why do you care so much for those fools? And you think you can work without me? I would crush you like the insects you are. So don't even try it, you would only fail and it would result in so much unnecessary death. And then your little dream of revolution would never come to pass. Understood?"

She didn't react at first and just continued looking away. Boris hoped that she'd defy him again, as the argument hadn't been too interesting too far but he got disappointed again.

"Understood," she mumbled, her voice full of bitterness.

"See? Was it that difficult?" He smiled at her goofily. "Besides, you could have just asked, I hate people demanding things from me. After all, it's easier than finding new recruits. But first, there's something else I need you to do. You see, the galactic bombs should be ready within one week and I want you to do the next step." He held his hands in front of himself and slowly spread his arms. "This is by far the most important part, much more important than the things you've done so far. In fact, those were mere preparations for what you're about to do."

She looked at him questioningly but Boris stepped forward before she could ask what it was about.

"What the hell? After he big failure you not only give her a new mission but the most important one? You should give it to one of us or she'll just mess it up again," he complained.

"Shut your damn mouth!" Shira yelled, giving him a glare. "If you had followed your orders and helped me in the prison complex, we would've defeated those trainers in time and repelled the attack!"

Boris went towards the screen in front of his boss and got so close with his face was covering the whole screen for her. His stupid grin almost made her smash it.

"Oh, really?" He showed her his teeth. "If I remember correctly, the control room would've fallen without my early warning, your own minion said so. Although it would have been amusing to see you trapped inside your own prison complex, I did what was best for us. Don't you agree?"

She was about to answer but Boris got pulled back by a hand on his shoulder. Her boss came to the foreground again, an amused grin on his face. He just loved it when his chosen were bickering amongst themselves even though it also meant that their teamwork usually wasn't too good.

"Boris did a good job. Besides, he also got rid of a traitor." Shira was surprised to hear this as she regarded him as a mindless brute so she expected him to have slaughtered several people and just happened to find the traitor among them. However, the big question was: Who was the traitor? As if he was reading her thoughts, the boss told her. "It appears Tareth was manipulated by she shaymin and Darryl helped him."

"Tareth? I told you he couldn't be trusted! A simple camera in his lab would prevented all of this!" she yelled.

"Be careful. I don't appreciate your outburst," he warned her. "I thought he was better than that but it doesn't matter. At least now we know not to underestimate those little buggers."

"Wait, Darryl was with him? Oh no." She looked down, which got her boss's attention.

"What's the matter? Tell me!" he hissed.

"Didn't he know about you? I think I told you once. Something about it being necessary for the job. You said it was alright," she explained.

"Really? I can't remember." His minions knew all too well that he didn't always listen when he was bored even when he looked like he was interested. "If he were to reveal my existence it would be very unfortunate. It wouldn't ruin my plans but make things more difficult. I'll have Viccy take care of him." He turned towards Boris. "But as I was saying earlier, you did your job well. The only thing I don't like is that it took you so long to inform Wraith. If she'd arrived in time, who knows ... " He shrugged and turned to Wraith. "Anyway, I heard you arrived later than usual. Something happened?"

"I'm sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me," she replied, looking at the ground.

Shira couldn't hear that but she didn't care anyway. She wanted to hear about this important mission. What could possibly be more important than gaining a fortune?

"So what is this mission about?" she asked.

"Oh yes, the mission." He went back to the screen. "September the fourth, does that date ring any bell?"

"The Wallace Cup?" Shira immediately asked.

"Yes. The start of the real deal, the double appeals, to be exact," he added. "I can already imagine the looks on their faces, the havoc and the panic. Oh yes, it will be fun."

 _Why the Wallace Cup? Granted, there will be a lot of powerful pokémon to catch but they will be guarded by the most powerful coordinators in the world and apart from the chances of finding something valuable was low._ Shira cupped the cheek with the large scar. _I wonder whether they will be there as well. That would be most interesting. But still, why the Wallace Cup?_

"What about us? I don't want the normal jobs. Don't you have anything special for me?" Boris asked, sounding bored.

The boss turned around, looking slightly annoyed. As usual, Boris was only thinking of himself but he had something the brute would love for sure.

"Yes, I have something for you to do, something which isn't even too specific. I need you to catch legendary pokémon for me. I don't care which kind or how, just get everything you can and try not to attract too much attention." He saw that Wraith was still there. "You too. Get moving, this mission has nothing to do with you and we still have a lot to talk about."

They saluted briefly and left the room, more or less eager to do their new job. Although it sounded important, they had a feeling that they only had to do it because he had nothing better for them to do. It was yet unclear whether they should target wild legendary pokémon or powerful trainers who had caught some. In any case, Divine was glad that they were out of the way for now as he had to prepare for the next operation.

"To maximize the effect, you will announce your plans in public. Yes, they need to know and prepare," he said once the others were gone. "Now to the details ..."

* * *

Finally, Ash and Dawn were back home again and it was already time for supper. The first thing they noticed was the door, which was as good as new and the rest of the house appeared to be in order as well. Once checking the house was done, Ash immediately cried for food as both he and his pokémon were starving and even Dawn couldn't deny that she was getting really hungry. In fact, Ash was so hungry, he even wanted to help just to make it happen faster but his clumsiness and impatience did more harm than good, which resulted in him being banished to the living room, where he had to do something else. Because of several tries to sneak back into the kitchen and steal some food, Dawn had Espeon keep an eye on the entrances. Much to the amusement of his pokémon, he got kicked out of the kitchen so fast the next time that he decided not to try it again.

In the end, he saw the largest amount of rice and also pokémon food he'd ever seen in this house. Although Dawn was hungry, she was also really tired and knew that quantity was more important in such a situation than quality, at least for Ash. He mostly didn't even bother with bread or the side dish and just kept devouring one after another but nobody was bothered as everyone was busy with their own meal. As soon as they were done, they quickly did the dishes and went to the living room.

After a day like this, they weren't in the mood for training and just wanted to relax. Only the light coming from the TV screen was illuminating the room, which put Dawn in a strange mood. The whole day, she had been lonely and worried. Now she wanted to feel his touch, no matter how and snuggled up to him gradually. However, he didn't really notice her as there were other thing occupying his mind.

He was just sitting there, hand on his chin, staring at the screen without paying attention. Of all the things, he was thinking about safety. The past events had a huge effect on him and he was trying to find ways of ensuring that they were safe, at least at home. With Lucario he had a way of detecting intruders but he couldn't possibly prevent someone from teleporting near the house and just blowing it up before they could even react. With a dark type, they could create a dark field, which would serve that purpose but it wouldn't last long unless it was maintained and their dark types needed to sleep as well so that wasn't a good solution.

Suddenly, he felt something wet on his neck and turned his head to see Dawn slowly working her way up with kisses. She knew that he was still kind of dense but she was still surprised how long it took him to notice her. Something very important had to be bothering him. She stopped and started looking at him with those concerned eyes, trying to figure out what was on his mind.

"What's the matter?" she finally asked. "It was such an annoying day so far, let's relax and have fun."

"You're right." Ash wasn't really in the mood for talking and immediately gave in, maybe a bit too quickly. He tried to return the kisses but she pushed him on his back and pinned down his arms.

"Wait!" she said, her eyes narrowing. "Now I want to know what it is about."

Ash sighed and looked away. She could be like that at times and he knew that she wouldn't accept a no as an answer.

"I was thinking about ... safety." She gave him a questioning look, which made him add a few details. "You know we are like sitting ducks at night. I was just wondering whether we could increase the safety in here."

Instead of answering, she let go of his arms and rested her head on his chest. For a while, she just stayed that way until she felt that he wanted an answer.

"You know, there's no way to ensure absolute safety. What do you want to do, build a cellar with walls and doors made of darksteel?" He started thinking about it but was interrupted. "No, that's ridiculous. It wouldn't safe us from anything. People like Shira always find a way."

"That doesn't mean we can't take precautions," he protested.

"I didn't say that. We have to be more careful but we can't live our lives in fear because that's what they want. And I don't want to live like that," Dawn whispered. "So no need to worry. We have our lucario and they will warn us if anything happens."

Ash didn't know what to say so he just stroked her head instead. Sometimes she actually managed to vaporize his worry, sometimes it was the other way around and sometimes they just panicked together, although those matters were rarely serious. Now he was really glad to have her and they stayed like that in silence, just enjoying the peace and each other's company as there was no need for words. Then she started kissing his neck again and gradually, they got bolder until clothes were flying away. Their pokémon understood and left the living room, giving them the privacy they needed.

Things got heated quickly. After all, there was a lot of frustration and tension that had to be released. Ash was on top of Dawn, kissing her neck while his hands were busy otherwise when he heard something coming from the door. To her disappointment, he raised his head and tried to concentrate on the noise, which sounded like scratching.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"No, what do you mean?" She understood that he was serious and tried to listen.

"It's gone." Ash went off the couch and stood up. He was somewhat relieved when Lucario walked into the room in a way, that showed that he wasn't alarmed at all. That could only mean that they weren't in any danger. "Did you also hear something?"

"There's someone you know well at the door." Ash gave him a questioning look but the aura pokémon just grinned. "Oh, I don't want to spoil the surprise."

"Fine!" Ash quickly found his shirt and put it on. After all, he wanted to look somewhat presentable and especially didn't want his mother to see him at the door half-naked.

While Dawn was busy looking for her pants, he went to the entrance and slowly opened the door. At first he saw nothing but then he looked down and spotted a small creature balancing a tiny energy ball on its nose. He immediately recognized it as the same shaymin they'd met several times before. Its eyes widened upon spotting the trainer and the energy ball suddenly expanded rapidly to its full size. Probably due to the shock, it lost control of its move and accidentally shot it straight at Ash, who dodged it just in time so the ball hit the wall behind him without doing much damage.

For a few moments, there was just an awkward silence until Ash spoke up.

"Well." He cleared his throat. "If I didn't knew better, I would say that you hate my door. "

It was almost cute how Shaymin freaked out and started running in circles.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" it kept saying in his head. "I ... I just wanted to get your attention. I scratched the door before but you didn't notice. Then I tried the energy ball again and I was sure that I would get it right this time but then the door opened and I ... well, I kind of lost control. Please don't be mad."

Ash couldn't possibly be mad at the small pokémon, who was shaking with nervousness. Before he could calm it down, Dawn appeared next to him, fully clothed again and apparently surprised about the unexpected visitor.

"Shaymin! What are you doing here?" She kneeled down and Shaymin happily accepted the offer, jumping into her arms. They stayed like that until Ash decided that it was getting a little to chilly for them and closed the door a bit louder than he intended,

"Sorry. So why are you here? Did your friends get captured again?" he asked jokingly.

"That's nothing to joke about," Dawn hissed but Shaymin just shook its head.

"No, they're alright as far as I know. I came because of a more ... personal request." It was pretty clear that it was afraid that they might not agree so Dawn carried it to the living room and sat down, allowing it to sit on her lap. It felt pretty comfortable that way and continued. Since it still seemed nervous, though, they tried not interrupt it. "Well, you have done a lot for me, my friends and pretty much everyone else. I've heard that hardly anyone will know about your accomplishment and although I don't know why, I want you to know that we are grateful. Thank you for everything you've done."

Ash and Dawn felt honored, to say the least, that a legendary pokémon decided to visit them and thank them in person. However, that wasn't a request so there had to be something else.

"We did what we felt was right. And you're a friend, after all, so it was only natural," Dawn told him.

"You really regard me as a friend?" There was hope in its voice and they nodded as an answer. "Well, there is something else. This event made me realize that I have to be stronger or it might happen again. And I feel stronger when I'm with you. I also feel safer, and ... I really got to like you."

The trainers were exchanging amused looks. It was clear what it was about to say but the grass type just couldn't find the courage to ask directly. They didn't interrupt it though, as that would have only made it even more difficult.

"What I'm trying to say is ... oh, this is harder than I thought." The other pokémon gathering around the couch didn't help either. It took a few deep breaths and decided to just say it. "Can I join you?"

Dawn held the pokémon up high and whispered.

"I see no reason not to. Welcome to our family." For a moment, it felt like she couldn't hold it any longer, the reaction was just so powerful. It was surprising just how much strength it had in this little body.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You can't imagine how glad I am. I was so afraid you would decline. But everything's fine now." The grass type calmed down again and Dawn let it sit on her lap again. "Wow, I'm exhausted now."

"Then let's not waste any more time." Ash turned to Lucario, who was standing next to the couch. "Please get one of Dawn's empty pokéballs."

He was already gone when Dawn realized what Ash had said.

"What? Shaymin never said which team it wanted to join. That doesn't mean I don't want you, of course," she added, fearing that it may sound like that. "But what about you, Ash?"

"I already have two legendary pokémon and it's high time you got one as well. Besides, it looks like Shaymin is way more comfortable with you around." He looked at the pokémon, who had curled up in her lap, obviously content with the current situation.

"Alright, you win," she replied, accepting defeat even though it wasn't actually a defeat for she would soon have a new pokémon.

Lucario returned soon after and handed the pokéball to her. Dawn held it in front of Shaymin, who eyed it curiously.

"Before you do this, I have to warn you. I won't go easy on you. You'll have to train just as hard as the others and if you do, you'll become just as strong. It requires dedication and determination. Do you think you can handle it?" she asked, giving a last chance to turn back.

"I do! I'm serious about getting stronger," it told her and pushed the button in the middle of pokéball with its nose.

The body got absorbed into the pokéball, which shook for just a moment before the red light on the button already vanished. She just stared at it, then it got sent to the Oak lab.

"It feels ... weird," she confessed. When had she started her journey, she would have never thought to catch a legendary, even a smaller pokémon like Shaymin.

"Don't worry about it. They're just like the other pokémon," Ash said as if he was able to read her thoughts.

"You're right!" She seemed much more thrilled all of sudden. "I can't wait to find new combinations. Maybe that move I tried to create with Espeon will work this time. I can imagine Shaymin using this. Oh well, I guess we'll see tomorrow."

"For now, we should finish what we started." Before she could ask what he meant, he lifted her off the couch and went towards the stairs. He only stopped to tell his pokémon something. "You can watch TV as much as you want, just remember to turn if off when you got to sleep." He proceeded to go to the bedroom and whispered into Dawn's ear. "Let's ... celebrate the capture, shall we?"

"Best suggestion I've heard all day," she answered, giggling and struggling slightly.

Although she would never admit it, she secretly enjoyed being carried by him. But even now, she couldn't get Shaymin out of her mind. It was just exciting thinking of various combinations and new moves she could create with it and she was already looking forward to see the faces of their friends when they realized that she had a shaymin. Unfortunately, the grass type wouldn't be ready for the next Wallace Cup but then again, she had already chosen Piplup and Bellossom for that. The question was, whether it would be ready for the battle against the Hoenn Elite Four. Although it was probably still far behind the others, training together with them would hopefully make it stronger quickly, maybe even quick enough to use it against Wallace himself. That depended on its dedication, though, so there was no way of telling right now. However, considering Sylveon's progress lately, she was slightly optimistic.

The next thing she was looking forward to was the Wallace Cup itself. Not only was it a great honor to participate in the opening battle, she would also see all of her friends again, the first time after Ash's birthday. Now she could only hope that nobody would prevent her from spending more time with them again. Apart from that, she would also get the opportunity to watch the best coordinators in the world battle each other without having to worry about finding counters just in case she was up against them later. And finally, with Zoey, Robert and Solidad not participating this year, Ash's chances of winning weren't so bad. It would be a great accomplishment, both for him and his pokémon so she was going to cheer him on as much as possible.

The battles against the Elite Four still seemed so far way but she knew that they were going to happen eventually. It would be Ash's turn first and she had no doubts that he would make it this time. After all, he was working so hard and he had actually been ready for quite a while now but he had been waiting for her to get ready to battle Wallace. Her battle would happen almost two months after his so she had a little more time to prepare although they both felt that they didn't need it. Unfortunately, there were quite a lot of challengers so it was necessary.

When Ash dropped her onto the bed, she grinned and shook her head. First she told him not to think too much and now she was the one getting lost in her thoughts. It was neither the right time nor the right place. They were here to forget about their worries, at least for one night.


	27. Back to Normal

**Well, with the first major fight done, things can go back to normal, right? There's still the matter of the nightmares and other things revealed in this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 27: Back to Normal

It was early in the afternoon when dark clouds started approaching from the south. turning the blue sky grey. Soon a storm would rage, but at least there was enough time to prepare. Ash and Dawn were currently at the Oak Ranch for training battles. To be exact, Dawn wanted to determine just how strong her newest pokémon, the shaymin she had caught the day before, was. In order to do that, she had it battle against Ash's pokémon with different objectives each time, so that she could test its strength, speed, precision and other, important attributes. Of course, she had to test both the land and sky forme. That's why she'd gotten a pressed gracidea in the morning and unless she was careless, it would remain functional for a few weeks.

All in all, the sky forme turned out much more suitable for battle, not only because the speed and agility was much greater but also because it was much more confident that way, almost a bit too confident and slightly mischievous so it would probably get along well with Zoroark, at least in that forme. Apart from that, it was also able to learn more different moves although the variety still wasn't impressive. For such a small creature, and considering its attack power and speed, its toughness wasn't bad at all. However, it was still far away from the level of her other pokémon so they had to train very hard, which it seemed to understand.

The last battle was to test its speed, agility, and battlefield awareness. The opponent was Bisharp, who surprised Dawn with his newly improved individual skill, guided blades, formerly known as dark blades. The move created crescent-shaped, rotating blades, which, as the name suggested, were following its target, making them perfect for this test. Shaymin simply had to hit the steel type as often as possible, while he was using nothing but the guided blades and was trying to block its attacks. Every minute, he would release another blade, thus making it more and more difficult to evade them all.

At first it had more trouble penetrating Bisharp's defenses as the blades weren't too fast and their movement was predictable, but paying attention to all of them soon got difficult as more and more started appearing. Even though it was already worn out, it thought that it could evade all of them with ease and it really did it until the gratitude pokémon was suddenly surrounded by five blades, which closed in quickly from all sides. Realizing that it wasn't able to escape this time, it closed its eyes and prepared for the impact but they simply stopped right in front of the pokémon and then fell down. It opened its eyes again and took a deep breath.

"I didn't make a real hit, did I?" Most of the attacks that made contact had no visible effect as he just endured them without a problem. "How about I try again? That was fun."

"No, you did well." Ash assured it. "This wasn't a test of your attack power. You managed to evade five blades for some times, which is pretty good, considering you're still untrained."

Shaymin landed next to Dawn and was running around her now.

"So what's next? A real battle? Or how about seven blades this time?" it asked.

It was surprising just how much a difference the air forme could make in terms of personality. It felt like it could defeat just about anything despite having been unable to deal damage to Bisharp just now.

"No, that's it for today. Now I know what to expect and you should rest well for today. Tomorrow, the real training will start. he things you've seen today are nothing compared to that," she told it with a wink.

"Oh, this wasn't the real training?" Even in its air forme, Shaymin wasn't sure whether to be excited or afraid. "Well, and now?"

"Now we go back home," Ash replied. Then he turned to his pokémon. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Pikachu, Lucario, there's something I need to talk about. Please excuse us for a moment," he added to Dawn.

"Alright, but you better hurry up a bit. It looks like it's going to rain." She watched him go away and then knelt down next to Shaymin. "We don't mind rain during the battles but I still prefer my clothes dry."

Together they went to the Oak Lab, where Dawn chose the pokémon, that would stay with her for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, Ash, Pikachu and Lucario were behind the building with Ash sitting with his back to the wall and the others lying in front of him. Pikachu seemed to avoid eye-contact and Ash could already guess why.

"So what's the matter today?" he asked bluntly.

Pikachu had been slow, weak and without motivation, as if there was something else, something more important on his mind. Whatever it was, his performance was suffering terribly so he had to do something about it.

"Piii ..." He knew exactly just how bad his battle had been today. "Pi pikachu chu pika."

"Is it because of the battle against Raichu?" Pikachu stood up and looked at the clouds. The first lightning could already be seen.

"Pi pika pi..." At first, Ash understood but then Pikachu started talking faster and faster until he wasn't able to tell what his pokémon was trying to say. Ash reacted by grabbing his pokémon's little shoulders.

"I know you're ashamed but there's no real reason. You lost but things like that happen and you were awesome during the other battles." Pikachu nodded but he still looked troubled.

Fortunately, Pikachu hadn't been the same way directly after his loss or things would've turned out differently, probably for the worse. No, without Pikachu's efforts, they wouldn't be standing here right now and seeing his partner like that saddened him. Of course, a loss against a raichu was one of the worst things that could've happened, considering their history and Ash could understand him all too well. Needless to say, he wanted to do something about it but he didn't know what. After all, asking for a rematch wasn't exactly a realistic option.

"What can I do to make you feel better?" Ash asked.

Pikachu looked into the distance again, watching the clouds getting darker and darker. As a matter of fact, there was one thing he could think of, something that has been bothering him for months now. About a year ago, Ash had tried to teach him a move, that was somewhat exotic and that was seemingly impossible to learn for a pikachu. After months of failed attempts, they'd given up. Sometimes a pokémon's body didn't allow for certain moves, like whirling defense, which Pikachu also was unable to learn, so maybe this move was just like that. Still, it bugged him and sometimes, he caught himself trying to learn it again.

"Pikachu! Pi pika!" The movement of his arms told Ash, what his partner was referring to. Somehow, he wasn't surprised at all as he knew that Pikachu hated giving up on anything, even things that seemed impossible.

"So you want to try it again?" Pikachu nodded. "Then I'm with you. There's no way I would force you to do it by yourself."

Pikachu reacted by tackling Ash to the ground and rubbing his cheek against Ash's. Of course, he would help his partner. It has been like since their first meeting so there was no reason for it to be different this time. He was fool to have ever doubted that.

"And this time, we'll get it right!" Ash shouted, raising his fist and Pikachu replied by doing the same. "Lucario, you will help us, right?" he asked the fighting type next to them.

"Don't worry, I'll help you. With enough work, it should be possible." At least he hoped so. "But that's not the reason you wanted me to come along. There's something else."

Pikachu looked at his trainer questioningly. Of course, Ash didn't need the aura pokémon to understand him so there had to be something else and considering the way he looked all of sudden, it was something not good at all. There was a brief moment of silence before he finally spoke up.

"Yes, there is something bothering me." His voice was unusually calm. "You may have noticed that I woke up in the middle of the night today. Pikachu, I think you also deserve to hear about this although you will probably think it's silly and nothing to worry about. I'm suffering from ... nightmares."

Just as he expected, Pikachu's first reaction was to laugh but he stopped upon seeing his trainer looking down expressionlessly. Those had to be more than simple nightmares.

"I would've reacted the same way a few days but now ... These things aren't normal. I can still remember every single detail, even after all this time. I can still remember the pain, physical pain. It felt so real. Everything felt so real. I want it to stop!" He slammed his fist against the wall behind him. "Sorry, I'm a little nervous." He covered his eyes with his hands and sighed. "I need some rest but those things prevent me from getting any. Sooner or later it will affect my performance and I don't want that to happen."

"And what am I supposed to do about it?" Lucario asked. "Wouldn't it be smarter to ask a psychic type like Reuniclus? He surely knows more about dreams than I do."

"You may not know it but Dawn once told me that she was suffering from nightmares during her first journey through Hoenn. It was Maylene's lucario who found the reason. It was a hidden gengar or a haunter creating those nightmares," Ash told his pokémon. "I was just thinking that this might be the case again."

Lucario understood. Ash asked him to use his aura abilities to determine whether a ghost type was trying to make him suffer. There was one flaw, though.

"But I would have already found a ghost type in our house. After all, I've been at home every night lately." Ash understood, but he was adamant.

"Well, maybe you will find something now that you know what to look for. It doesn't hurt to try, does it?" he asked.

"I didn't say I wouldn't help, only that you shouldn't expect anything. I doubt ..." They could hear laughter coming from around the corner.

Ash immediately recognized Dawn's voice so he had to think of something quickly. Although it sounded happy, he could also hear worry and pain and wondered why. Did she know about his secret? Was she angry at him? Or was she experiencing nightmares as well? He'd never thought of that before but it made sense that someone messing with his dreams would ruin hers as well. However, he wasn't in the mood for discussing dreams with her and decided to try it the next day, if at all.

"Please don't tell her about this. I don't want her to worry as well," he told Lucario via the aura link and kneeled down next to Pikachu.

Of course, Lucario knew that Dawn had similar problems and since they were two, this was unlikely to be a mere coincidence. Maybe Ash was right and someone or something was causing those nightmares on purpose.

"We'll get it right this time, won't we?" Ash said a bit louder than usual.

"Get what right?" Dawn asked, coming around the corner. She a bright smile on her face and Piplup, Espeon and her Lucario were following her. Without a doubt, she was wondering what they were talking about.

"You remember when Pikachu tried to learn extremespeed? Well, he wants to try again," Ash told her.

"Really?" She grabbed Pikachu and held him up high. "Well, then we will help you as much as we can. Right, Lucario?" The fighting type nodded in agreement. "Just tell me when you need help. Shaymin will do just fine without me for some time. But let's discuss this later. A storm is coming so we should go back home," she added pointing at the dark clouds and only a few seconds later lightning appeared, followed by thunder. "See? Espeon will take us there."

"Alright," Ash simply replied.

The psychic type teleported them into their living room via teleport before jumping onto the couch and taking a nap. Ash sat down next to her whereas Dawn went to kitchen to prepare dinner. She turned around before leaving the room and turned to Ash.

"By the way, wasn't it my lucario's turn today? Don't you want to give yours some rest?" she asked. "Or is it because of the extremespeed move?"

"Oh yes, you got it." She gave him a strange look, but didn't question it.

It was rare for both lucario to be on their teams although it actually made a lot of sense for them to be together. Despite them being of the same species, they were different. Ash's lucario was an incredibly powerful physical attacker, whose strength and speed allowed him to close the distance to his opponents quickly and strike them with overwhelming power. Although that sounded like he was just a primitive attacker, it required a lot of thought to hit without allowing retaliation as his own defenses weren't the best. Apart from his steel and fighting moves, he could also use rock, electric and normal moves.

Dawn's lucario was more defensive and preferred countering attacks instead of initiating them. This made him stronger against opponents attacking in melee since it allowed him to counter quickly and powerfully but he was weaker against ranged attackers. His defensive abilities also consisted of weapon moves like bone rush, which gave him a staff effective against various moves. When fighting alongside the right pokémon, he was also able to use the psycho cut sword or the aqua whip, which was the newest weapon. Ash's lucario considered those too unreliable and preferred his fists. Just like him, Dawn's lucario was able to use steel, fighting and normal moves but he also knew ground and dark moves.

Together, they were even more powerful with Ash's attacking and Dawn's watching his back. Of course, with both of them being of the same species, they had common weaknesses but there were only few opponents who were actually able to use them effectively.

The rest of the evening was cozy and uneventful. Their priority was to find out more about the recent events Dan had told them about. There was information in the newspapers, but it they were already pretty old so the news on TV were the best way to get to know more. There were pictures of the streets with big holes in them, where the gas was probably coming out. Fortunately, the international police's predictions were correct and the shaymin were able to neutralize it immediately so there were no victims. Still, people were understandably shocked to find out that they 'd been living above something capable of killing a large part of the cities the whole time. Some people criticized Max Wright for not telling them anything, but others countered by saying that he didn't have a choice and did it for the sake of the people as a mass panic would have been the worst thing that could've happened. Those people praised him for solving this crisis without a single death. Whether he could have done it better was the topic of a lot of heated discussions.

There was also the financial problem since they knew that Shira had tried to blackmail the cities by now and with only four cities not having paid, people were wondering just how much she'd earned with this. Needless to say, the discussed amounts were huge and it was frightening to think about the things she would be able to do with so much money. Of course, the mayors' actions were also discussed. Those who had paid were either condemned for their overly quick reaction or praised for not endangering the citizens and the others were sometimes even called heroes for not giving in to terrorist whereas others claimed they cared more about money than the lives of the people.

There was one opinion, though, that was shared by everyone although the methods were still debatable. Capturing Shira had to become the top priority of the international police and other organizations alike. And once she was captured, she and her men would face justice, without mercy.

They also learned a lot about the poison, the way it worked and its devastating potential. However, with the production capabilities of the Storm Raiders apparently destroyed, it was highly unlikely that they'd do something similar again, at least in the near future.

One of the most disturbing topics was the possibility of Shira not being her own boss. One of the experts questioning her financial power raised this question. What if there was someone else supporting her group, thinking of new plans and commanding her? The mere thought was more than unsettling. Of course, those were just speculations but judging from the amount of poison gas in the containers, it was unlikely that she had produced it by herself.

After a while, the topics started repeating themselves and Dawn got so bored that she remembered something else she wanted to discuss. However, she only wanted Espeon to hear this so she used their psychic link to talk.

"Espeon?" The sun pokémon, who was sitting next to the couch, heard the voice in her head but didn't show it.

"Yes?" she just asked.

"You remember when I told you about that nightmare?" There was a brief moment of silence. "Well, I had more of them. And those were even worse. I was sobbing when I woke up and had a hard time keeping it from the others. I don't want to talk about the details as I'd rather forget about those."

"I see." She thought about it for a moment. "It's definitely something to worry about. What are you planning to do now? If I remember correctly, you were experiencing ..."

"There was a haunter causing nightmares in Hoenn. Yes, I can still remember it. That's why I told Lucario to pay attention. Maybe he'll be able to find something?" For some reason, she didn't sound too optimistic.

"Wouldn't Ash's Lucario have noticed something already?" Espeon asked.

"Probably. It doesn't hurt to try, though." She could almost hear a sigh in her mind. "To be honest, I'm not very optimistic. But I want those nightmares to stop so badly, I just have to try it. With the Wallace Cup approaching, I can't let things like that distract me even though I'm technically just there for the opening battle. A bad performance would be a huge disappointment for everyone so I need to concentrate. I hate this. I hate being helpless. Against Shira and her grunts we can fight but not against my own dreams."

"Maybe you should speak to Alakazam? She isn't an expert on dreams but if someone or something is indeed messing with your mind, she will find it out." Espeon suggested.

Dawn kept staring at the screen without actually paying attention. Instead, she was considering Espeon's suggestion. If there was a way to manipulate dreams from a distance, she would be able to stop it whereas Lucario wouldn't detect anything so it might be a really good idea.

"Alright. Unless Lucario finds something this night, I will speak to her tomorrow," she finally told her pokémon. "Thank you for listening. It's good to get those things off my chest. I wish I could talk to Ash but I'm afraid he needs distractions even less than I do with him participating in the real Wallace Cup."

"Don't worry. I'm sure the problem will be solved by then. Come to me anytime you feel the need to talk about it." There were a few other things Dawn wanted to talk about, but something on TV caught her eye.

It came without announcement. Suddenly, they saw woman who looked distraught and soon they would find out why.

"The channel has just received a video message from Shira, the infamous leader of the Storm Raiders." Ash and Dawn gasped, looked at each other briefly and then leaned towards the screen, determined not to miss anything. "Be among the first to view this video."

The screen went blank for a moment before Shira's head appeared in front of a grey wall. Her huge scar was clearly visible and she made no attempt to hide it. Despite her recent defeat she looked didn't look unhappy, angry or even nervous. No, she looked like she was looking forward to something, like she already had another plan, which certainly wasn't a good thing. Her sinister smile made them more than nervous.

"My dear friends. You haven't heard a lot from me lately, but I've been really busy and I'm sure you already know why. That little experiment with the poison should tell you just how dangerous we are. And it was just the beginning." She paused for a moment as if to make sure that everyone was paying attention. "On the fourth of September, we will show you how helpless you are. We will show you how weak the international police is and that they can't protect you. They may think they have won, but they wrong, so wrong. Oh yes, it will be a glorious day. I can even announce our plans and they still won't be able to stop us. So enjoy the time you have left. Things will change soon. Oh yes, and I believe I will see a few friends again." She touched the scar on her cheek. "Don't think for one moment that you will receive special treatment." Her face got closer until it covered the whole screen. "Prepare yourselves," she whispered.

The video message ended abruptly and the woman was back on the screen, talking about things to which they weren't really paying attention. The important thing was that they knew the date of her next operation. And they knew what else would be taking place at that time. Finally, they looked at each other with worry clear in their eyes.

"She's going to attack at the Wallace Cup?" Ash asked.

It didn't really make sense to him. She could try to steal the pokémon or try to hold the audience hostage. However, she could do those things at other places as well, and it seemed so insignificant compared to what she had done before.

"That's crazy! Why would she do that? Oh no, do you think it'll be canceled because of that?" Dawn asked, sounding worried and scared.

Their pokémon were also looking at Ash now. After all, they were just as eager to participate but this threat had the potential to destroy their hopes.

"I don't think so." He tried to sound confident but it wasn't very convincing. "It's Wallace's pride and I doubt he'll cancel it. But I think there will be a lot of policemen to ensure the safety of the people. This can't be ignored by the international police."

"What if it's just a distraction?" Espeon told them telepathically. Everyone looked at her questioningly. "I mean, the Wallace Cup is the only big event at that time so everyone will assume that it's her target. Nobody will expect her to attack something else. A perfect distraction."

"Maybe." Ash scratched his chin. "That's for the international police to find out. Whatever the case, her threats won't stop me from entering!"

Dawn and the pokémon were more than glad to hear that. To them, not entering would mean admitting defeat and they were not going to let someone like Shira make them live in fear. Besides, even if they didn't enter, she could just attack them at home so there really was no reason not to enter the Wallace Cup.

"I agree. Hiding from her would be a grave mistake." Dawn thought about what Shira had said for a moment. "If the things she said are true, we will be safe until then."

"I wouldn't count on it." Ash stood up and turned off the TV. "Oh sorry, was there something else you wanted to watch?"

"No, I guess not." She stood up as well and gave Lucario a nod. "I think it's time for me to go to sleep. So much has happened and I need some time to think it through properly."

Apart from that, she was also dead tired and was in dire need for some sleep. Ash wouldn't admit it but he was in a very similar situation and just decided to go to sleep as well. Secretly, they were slightly afraid of falling asleep as there was no way of telling whether the lucario would be successful and what kind of horrors they would see this time if they weren't. Indeed, this whole deal turned the night into their least favorite part of the day but they needed to get some sleep eventually.

Still unaware of how much they had in common in that regard, both of them told their lucario to search for a force messing with their dreams. There was little hope that they would be successful but it was still better than doing nothing. Asking their psychic types for help would be the next step but that wasn't until tomorrow. For now, they just had to hope that they wouldn't be plagued by nightmares this night.

Just when they were about to enter the bedroom, the video phone rang. With a sigh, Ash turned around.

"Go to bed, I'll handle this," he told his girlfriend.

"Alright. Please don't take too long." She wasn't really in the mood to argue and just went to sleep, ignoring the ringing.

Ash took the call and the face of his mother appeared on the screen, looking worried. He could already guess why she called at this time.

"Ash, have you seen the news?" she asked before he could even say hello.

Without a doubt, she wanted to convince him not to enter the Wallace Cup. It would be much harder convincing her that it was the right thing to do.

"Yes, I have. And no, I won't change my plans. I will still enter the Wallace Cup. Dawn and my pokémon support me," he replied, trying to make things clear.

"Ash, dear. Are you sure? That woman is dangerous. Haven't you seen all the things she has done?" He knew all too well but he wasn't going to tell her or she would never stop worrying. "I mean, going on journeys is one thing but this ... you know, you gave awful lots of reason to worry lately. When I found the destroyed entrance I almost had a heart attack."

"I told you we helped a shaymin who did it to get our attention. Dawn caught it yesterday so it can tell you the same story tomorrow." He would make sure that Shaymin only told her the modified story. "Besides, you know how important the Wallace Cup is for my pokémon. There's no way I would miss it."

Delia was still hoping that he would change his mind but deep inside, that he was way too stubborn. He was her only child so losing him would be a massive hit. Maybe she wouldn't survive it. Johanna wasn't different in that regard and also would have called them but Delia had been faster.

"How about we talk about it tomorrow? I'm tired and need some sleep." To his relief, she nodded.

"Alright, have a good night," she said. "And don't forget to ..."

"Mom, stop it! Good night," he answered before hanging up.

While going to the bedroom, he was thinking about the conversation. He hated making his mother worry but he wasn't going to disappoint his partners. Dawn was already fast asleep when he arrived.

"I guess she was really exhausted." He leaned over her and kissed her forehead softly. "I hope you have better dreams than I do nowadays."

He took off his clothes and laid down next to her. The only thing left to do now was to hope that Lucario would detect the problem.

* * *

"These retards! Fucking idiots!" Max Wright was ranting in his office with Thomas, Dan and other officers, who were trying not to interrupt him. After all, in this situation, it would only result in even louder rants. "How could they just publish it instead of sending it directly to me? Useless bastards! Do they only care about the audience rating? They're just as bad as the criminals we're chasing."

He stopped abruptly and sat down, having a look at a few files lying on his desk. The others understood it was safe to speak again.

"Do you think it's just a distraction?" Thomas asked.

"Almost certainly. The Wallace Cup is a bad target. And even if she did attack it, she wouldn't announce it like that as it would become way too dangerous." He slammed his fist on the desk. "Damn her! She knows we will have to send our men there or people will feel unsafe and will blame us if something happens."

"Maybe we can convince Wallace to cancel or at least postpone it?" Thomas suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Dan cried. Obviously, he didn't approve. "It's the event of the year for every coordinator and contest fan. Canceling it would cause a huge uproar."

"Yeah, I know how much you like contests," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Face it. Canceling it for now would be the most reasonable move."

"Quiet, you two." Max didn't like those pointless arguments. "I will try to convince him but I doubt that he'll agree. Anyway, I want every single available man and woman on high alert. Wherever she attacks, we have to be able to counter it within a few minutes. Thomas, you will accompany me to the Wallace Cup. We have to show some presence. Andreas, try to get information out of the prisoners. Dan, you will be in charge of the cities' safety."

"But ..." The stare Max was giving him made clear that there was no other option for him. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now get to work! We have a lot of preparations to make," he yelled.


	28. Alternative Reality

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 28 Alternative Reality

Ash was on his way to an old friend. Now that he was a true pokémon master, he wanted spend more time with friends, especially this one. He'd traveled through Sinnoh with her back then, one of the best journeys he'd had, which was also partly because of her. His denseness and concentration on the battles prevented him from realizing his true feelings but now he was an adult and he wanted to see her again. Hopefully, she would remember him and maybe even still have feelings for him. In Sinnoh he hadn't realized that she also liked him quite a lot, maybe more than as a friend. Whatever the case, he'd find out whether Dawn, former resident of Twinleaf Town and aspiring top-coordinator was interested in him.

He'd already tried to contact her, but without success as she simply hadn't answered. Maybe she was still busy achieving her own dreams. So far, he hadn't heard of her becoming a top-coordinator. For some reason, she wasn't living in Twinleaf Town anymore but in Veilstone City. Getting her new address hadn't been easy and the closer he got the more he could understand why. It wasn't exactly the best neighborhood, making him regret his decision not to bring any pokémon with him.

The building she was living in, was a huge and dirty building, which looked like it had been made for the poorest of the poor. At least it was a beautiful and sunny day so they wouldn't have to stay inside. However, it got him wondering why she'd live at a place like this. The interior looked even worse than the exterior. While he was making his way up the stairs, which would take a while since her apartment was almost at the top, he could hear yelling from behind the doors, he had to pay attention not to trip over random junk lying on the stairs and he could even see people lying around, probably passed out drunks. Among the rubbish there were even syringes so he picked up the pace. It seemed way too dangerous for someone like her.

He noticed even more bad things like dried blood on the walls. Needless to say, this meeting wasn't going as expected at all so far. As soon as he reached the door to Dawn's apartment, he knocked and turned his back towards the door so that nobody would be able to catch him off guard.

"Who's there?" Although she sounded more mature, Ash could still recognize Dawn's voice.

"It's Ash. You remember me, don't you?" he answered, not turning around. For a few moments he was afraid that she didn't remember him at all but then she spoke up again.

"Just a moment." He couldn't wait to get inside and see her again.

There were so many questions running through his mind. What did she look like now? Why wasn't she living in Twinleaf Town anymore? What about her pokémon? Why hadn't she answered his calls? He could hear her opening locks, a lot of locks. Without a doubt, those many were needed around here so it took her a while until the door flung open, allowing him to go inside. Instead of greeting him, she closed it quickly behind him and locked it again. She was wearing black pants and a dirty, white shirt. Her hair was pretty much a mess. Perhaps she just hadn't expected visitors, he thought to himself. During their journey, she would've freaked out if someone had seen her like this. Then he noticed that the whole apartment wasn't different, though. It was both small and dirty, containing a small bed, a large table with a microwave on it, a small fridge and a wardrobe, which was open and only contained a surprisingly low amount of clothes. There was also a door, which probably led to the bathroom. On a small table next to the bed he noticed a few beer bottles and now he noticed that she was smelling of alcohol. The more he got to know the more worried he got.

Finally, she turned around and the things he saw didn't make him more optimistic. She was really skinny, as if she didn't have enough to eat and her skin was even paler than it used to be. However, the thing that shocked him were her eyes, which just didn't have the same spark. No, they were dull and the fake smile she was giving him only made it more obvious.

"It's been a very long time." Her voice was almost emotionless and her breath smelled of alcohol. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I wanted to see you again." He had a hard time not asking about her appearance. It was probably still one of her weak spots. "I've missed you."

"Missed me?" She let out a bitter laugh. "I thought someone as successful as you would have forgotten about me by now. Just like the others ..." she whispered. She went next to the table with the beer bottles and took a sip. "I wouldn't have blamed you. Nobody wants to have anything to do with me nowadays."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash feared the answer.

"You want to know what it's supposed to mean? You do?" She took another sip and slammed the bottle on the chair. "I'll tell you! But I doubt you'll be able to understand."

"What? Why?" He was slightly offended. After, he had always been able to understand her, even without words.

"Don't think for a moment that I don't know about your success. Ash Ketchum, champion of Kanto! The most talented trainer to have ever lived. I'm surprised you even bothered visiting me, your highness." He was about to protest but she shook her head before he was able to do it. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's not your fault. Nothing is your fault."

"What do you mean?" Ash inquired. Seeing her like this was bad enough but not knowing what it was about made things even worse.

"As I said, you were successful. You got everything you wanted. I'm positive the same goes for your friends. Everyone's happy, right? Well, not exactly." He could already guess what she was trying to say. "Because I'm not. The moment you left, I lost my touch." She took a deep breath. "Not even the most simple combination worked anymore. I made mistakes even beginners would be ashamed of. Yes, I'm a complete failure."

Ash couldn't stand seeing her like that. When he tried to hug her, she shied away from him.

"You aren't a failure! You placed second at your first grand festival! How can you say you're a failure?" he asked desperately, not understanding why she didn't want him to hug her.

"Don't you understand? Clearly, without you around, I'm nothing! Nothing! Pathetic! Worthless!" He tried to embrace her again but she got away again, shivering madly. It was freezing so maybe the heating wasn't working. "My mother, a top-coordinator. And I couldn't even make it to the grand festival without you. Three ribbons, that's all I could make! You understand how pathetic I am? Too dependent, too weak ..."

Now she started crying uncontrollably. With the tears blocking her view, she wasn't able to see Ash approaching and embracing her tightly. Instead of fighting it, she just let herself go and cried on his shoulder, letting all the frustration and sadness out. For nearly five minutes, she was just letting the tears flow freely. Then she freed herself and took a few steps back, still shivering. Her eyes were red and there were still tears on her cheek. Ash still had a very bad feeling.

"See? That's exactly what I mean." She looked at the ground in frustration. "I don't have my feelings under control so I need a shoulder to cry on."

"Where's Piplup? And the others?" Ash suddenly asked, trying to change the topic to something more pleasant for her.

She looked up with an expression of deep pain and sorrow. Then it turned into a bitter smile, that made him fear the worst.

"I gave them away," she simply stated.

"What?" he shouted. "Why? Why did you do something like that? They were your friends!"

"I failed too many times. Because of my mistakes, they lost as well so I gave them to better trainers. They deserved something better. In the end, they didn't have any faith in me anyway." Ash didn't know what to say anymore. He'd been looking forward to seeing her pokémon again and getting to know new ones. And now she was saying that she didn't have any. "Just like the others. They all abandoned me. I can't blame them. There's no reason for anyone to have me as a friend."

"Don't say that! How can you say that? You're kind, passionate, smart, talented, creative and beautiful." Saying the last thing was a bit harder. In her current condition, not even he could really consider her attractive. "You're a wonderful person and if those idiots can't appreciate you, it's their own fault."

For a moment, he thought that he finally got through to her as she flashed a mile but then she took the bottle of beer again and drank the rest. Then she tossed it aside and sat on a chair next to the large table.

"I'd need much more booze to believe that," she finally said. "Don't you realize that even my mother kicked me out? She had good reasons, though. I was a lazy piece of shit, doing nothing but complaining and wallowing in self-pity. She said that I was a disappointment. Always been. And she said that I shouldn't come back until ... until ..." Her voice almost broke. "... until I am someone she could be proud of as a daughter. So I left. And this happened to be the only place I could afford to live in. Yeah, it's a stinking hole but it's all I have. I did small jobs to earn at least a bit of money but eventually, I couldn't do even those right. Maybe I'll have to live on the street soon. won't be much of change. Life is cruel and unfair. The sooner I get used to it the better."

Again, Ash was too shocked to speak. When he'd made the decision to visit her, he had expected her to have been successful. Even in his worst, he wouldn't have expected something like this. Not only wasn't she a coordinator anymore but she was also barely able to support herself. She was alone, depressed and generally in poor condition. Now he had to find a way to turn this around, to bring out her old, true self again. Surely, there was no easy way but he wasn't going to give up. t didn't matter how different she was, for she was still a friend and Ash Ketchum never let a friend down. If she truly was, then he'd be able to convince her, but then again, his Dawn wouldn't have given up so easily. He shook his head, trying to remove those thoughts as they were counterproductive. No, he was going to make her life better, no matter what.

"Listen." He went up to her, gently took her hand and made her stand up before putting his hands on her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. Unsurprisingly, all he could see was hopelessness and despair, which almost made his heart break. As expected, she turned away but he lifted her chin so that she couldn't. Although seeing her like that pained him, it was necessary. "Please, pay attention. You aren't a failure. You aren't a disappointment. I can only repeat, you are a wonderful person. And just because you failed once doesn't mean you have to throw away the rest of your life. It's too short for that. By doing it you only hurt your family, your friends and yourself. I know you can do better. I know you have the potential to achieve greatness. And I will help you."

For the first time this evening, he saw something like hope in her eyes. In order to convince her fully, he couldn't stop now.

"I'm sure the others will help you as well. You aren't alone. So don't throw away your future." She looked like she had a questions so he let her speak.

"Why are you doing this? There are dozens of people who are more deserving of your help," she pointed out.

"Because you're my friend. And an inspiration. Do you even realize just how much you helped me back in Sinnoh? Without you, I would have never been this successful. And I wouldn't be where I'm now. You did so much for me without even realizing it. And finally ..." He took a deep breath. The last minutes made him realize just how important she was to him but expressing it wouldn't be easy. After all, she might just think that he said it just to convince her. "I didn't realize it back in Sinnoh but now it's clear to me. I have never been as close to any other person as I've been to you. I not only regard you as my best friend but also as ... something more. I mean, I really, really like you but seeing you like this makes me horribly sad."

She knew that he wasn't lying, but if anything, it made her feel even worse as now she knew just how much she hurt him by being such a failure. Why he couldn't just find someone better was beyond her, and it made things so difficult for everyone.

"I don't think I have the strength to do that," she said, trying to look away but he forced her to look at him.

"You can't say that unless you tried. You know, I usually don't beg. But this time, please, please reconsider. It would mean so much to me." He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead, fearing that a kiss on the lips would have been too risky in the current situation. "What do you say? Shall we start anew?"

Instead of answering, she removed his hands from her shoulders and slowly walked away. Apparently, it was too much and too fast for her to fully comprehend so he guessed that she needed more time.

"You probably need time to think everything through. I'll be back tomorrow. I will pray that you make the right choice." He turned around to leave but then he heard her voice. It was little more than a whisper, but what she said gave him hope.

"Maybe it is time to leave this all behind," she said.

For years, she'd been miserable, had been thinking that she was ignored and all alone, and now she found out that she was not only hurting herself but also the greatest person she knew. No, it couldn't go on like this. There was no reason why anyone should suffer because of her, let alone someone like Ash. She had to do something and she already knew what. It was time to leave it all behind. It was time to go on another journey. Indeed, for once in her life, she was going to take responsibility. And it was all thanks to Ash, the boy who truly made her shine during her only successful journey so far. Although he was a fool for falling for her, she was secretly glad about having at least someone who cared about her.

"Yes, I've been like this for far too long. And to be honest, I've missed you as well. Terribly." She gave him a genuine smile, which was quite rare these days. "Thank you for believing in me although I fear it will only lead to disappointment."

He took a step forward and gave her a big hug, which she returned after a moment of hesitation. It lasted for what felt like an eternity and it made them forget about all their problems. Especially Dawn hadn't felt this relieved and happy for years now so she wanted to savor it as much as possible. Eventually, they had to let go, though, and Dawn pointed at the wardrobe.

"You see, I don't have much left but I still have to prepare for such a journey. Please come again tomorrow and I'll be done." She took his right hand and gave it a squeeze. "No need to worry."

"You know, I've been dying to hear that again." They both burst out laughing and it almost made them feel like they were traveling together again. "Alright, take care until then."

"Just one more thing." Ash wondered what she meant until he felt her lips crushing onto his.

At first, he was shocked. Due to all the things she'd said, he would have never expected such a bold move from her. He soon relaxed, though, and kissed back before realizing that this was actually his very first real kiss. Her face was dirty but he didn't mind. To his disappointment, she pulled back just when he started feeling really comfortable and looked at the ground.

"Sorry, I just wanted something ... to remember you by." she explained, slightly embarrassed.

"It's only one day. But I actually enjoyed it," he replied.

"Yes ... one day. One very long day." She turned around so that he was facing her back now. "Please go now or I won't be able to let you go."

"See you tomorrow." He thought about saying something like 'I love you' but decided that it was maybe a little too soon.

As soon as he was out of the apartment, the door was closed and locked again behind him. Even though the visit started out badly, at least he was somewhat successful and turned Dawn's life around. It looked much better now despite many unanswered questions. Would she get another starter or would they try to get back her old pokémon? How would he be able to manage traveling with her and doing his job as a champion? If necessary, he would just step down as he could always get it back again later although Dawn would certainly disapprove. Besides, he thought that titles weren't too important nowadays, accomplishments were more important to determine the skill of a trainer. With a much better feeling, he made his way down the stairs. He could still hear Dawn's voice in his head.

 _There's no reason for anyone to have me as a friend._

On the way down, he had to pay attention not so fall over the bodies lying on the stairs. He had the impression that there were more of them now, but he couldn't exactly check it. One of them was so pale he looked like he was dead, yet he still moved occasionally.

 _Life is cruel and unfair. The sooner I get used to it the better._

Her words were still distracting him slightly. They seemed so forced and unreal coming from her, at least from the Dawn he knew. He halted when he heard a huge argument behind one of the doors. He decided not to get involved and just ignored it but also picking up the pace a bit. The voice in his head was starting to seriously bother him.

 _I'm nothing! Nothing! Pathetic! Worthless!_

For some reason, the words still bothered him. She'd changed her mind so he should be happy and prepare for the journey. Instead, he was listening to the worst parts of the conversation for no apparent reason.

 _There are dozens of people who are more deserving of your help._

"Shut up!" he yelled, wondering why it couldn't just stop. it felt like he didn't have control over his own thoughts anymore. Apparently, a man leaning against a door had heard him and looked up but then returned to his previous state.

 _You understand how pathetic I am? Too dependent, too weak ..._

 _Nobody wants to have anything to do with me nowadays._

 _Yes, I'm a complete failure._

The voices got louder and started to overlap, resulting in chaos. As if to shoo away the thoughts, he waved his arms around until he was suddenly in front of the entrance. Upon leaving the building, a comforting silence took over and he would have cheered if it hadn't been for the icy wind hitting his face. The sky was so covered by dark clouds, it was depressing. Even worse, he noticed that his hat was missing. Strangely enough, he couldn't remember having taken it off. Although it would have been a good idea to just leave it at Dawn's apartment for now, he felt the urge to get it back immediately and after only a few steps it became so strong that he turned around on the spot and entered the building again.

At least, it wasn't as cold inside but Ash decided to take his pokémon with him next time, just in case something happened on the way. He wasn't even sure whether to be glad about the sudden silence in the building. Getting to her apartment was no problem and to his surprise, the door wasn't even locked. Of course, this raised suspicions so he proceeded very carefully. The apartment was completely empty.

"Dawn?" He closed the door behind him. "Dawn?"

There was no place for her to hide, which left only the bathroom. The door was also unlocked and he opened it slowly.

"Dawn?" he asked one more time before opening it all the way.

Just like the other room, this one was incredibly small and container only a washbasin and a toilet but no Dawn. Instead, there was a note on the washbasin, which looked like it contained a message. He immediately took and read it.

 _Dear Ash,_

 _I understand this might be a shock to you. Yes, I will make a final journey, but not with you. I thank you for your kind words although I know you just said them to make me feel better. A wonderful man like you wouldn't try to hurt me even more with the ugly truth but in the end, the alternative would've been even more painful. That's why I have to go. Otherwise, I would have disappointed you even more and that's the last thing I want. This way, I only have to disappoint you once more._

 _I know you thought I would come with you and I'm horribly sorry. By now, you have realized what a terrible person I am and maybe it's for the best. Maybe it will prevent you from trying it again and wasting your precious time on me. As you said, life is too short to waste. No, you have find someone who deserves you, someone who can give you the love you deserve, your equal. That's one reason why I decided to leave. You may not understand it at first but eventually, you will come to appreciate it, I'm sure._

 _Just as you had nothing to gain here, there was nothing holding me here so leaving it all behind wasn't a difficult decision. Nobody except you will miss me and I hope you will forget about me as well with time. There's only one more thing I want you to know for now. You are the person I admire and love the most. It pains me to write this, knowing that I have to hurt you but believe, it will prevent so much more pain later._

 _Finally, I have to thank you. Without your help, I would have spent the rest of my days in this miserable apartment. Don't worry, you did me a favor and don't have to feel guilty. No, there's no need for that. I can't possibly explain everything in a simple letter so I will stop now before my determination vanishes. I hope you will have a good life. Goodbye, and thank you for everything you did._

 _Love, Dawn_

 _She lied to me?_ Ash let go of the letter, his skin pale and his hands shaking. _What was this other journey she was talking about?_ Just when he thought that everything was going to be fine, she destroyed the remaining hope entirely. To make matters, he suddenly had a strange fear of turning around. Something just told him that he didn't want to see the things there. _What am I? A coward?_ He took a deep breath and turned around and immediately regretted it.

In the middle of the room, Dawn's lifeless body was hanging from a lamp, her skin white as snow and her face graced by a peculiar smile. If there was a word for it, he would described it as peaceful, but his state of mind was anything but peaceful. In fact, it was close to breaking down.

With a scream, he rushed towards her and grabbed one of her hands. It was cold. Everyone would've realized that she was dead, a fact Ash refused to acknowledge. That wasn't how things were supposed to be. Not only was she dead but she even committed suicide. It was so much for his young mind that it almost got crushed by this message, only his anger kept him going.

"That's not fair! Why did you have to do this to me? WHY?" he yelled. "Life can be so cruel ..."

He placed her hand on his cheek and soon tears were flowing down. So that's what she'd meant by final journey, the final journey everyone had to make eventually. However, she was still young and had so much time left. She could've lived together with him and together they would've been happy but it was over. The chance was gone and he had to come to terms with this horrible turn of events. He would never see her, her radiant smile, or hear her voice ever again. She was dead and there was nothing he could do about it.

Ash didn't even know how long he stayed in this state. It was like he was paralyzed, only that his mind couldn't find any rest. It was flooded by memories, good and bad, filling him with rage, despair and sadness at the same time. Finally, he let out an agonized scream, hoping that it would make him feel better again but it only made it worse. Barely able to react to his surrounding, he just stumbled around in a trance-like state.

"What did I do wrong?" Ash whispered, trying to sit down on a chair. He failed miserably, though, and fell down.

It was almost laughable how optimistic he'd been at the beginning of the day. In hindsight, it would've been better to have never come here, maybe he should have just forgotten about her but then again, he'd had no reason to expect anything like this. It wasn't his fault.

 _Or is it my fault?_ Suddenly, he wasn't so sure.

Without his actions, she would've stayed in that miserable state of hers, but at least she would have stayed alive. His thoughts were interrupted by the crazy laughter of an little, old man with long white hair and an incredibly wrinkled face. He showed Ash an almost toothless grin while he was cleaning the furniture in the room.

"And even more dirt to get rid of. My work never ends," he mumbled.

"What are you doing here?" At first, Ash thought that this man was a burglar but apparently, that wasn't the case.

"I'm just cleaning around here. Soon someone else will be living in this apartment and we don't want him to see this mess, do we? " Then he said something that made Ash jump. "By the way, good job with that girl."

"What the hell are you talking about? You don't even know her!" he retorted.

"I know everything that takes place in this building. That girl has been depressed for years now. Good thing you put her out of her misery." Suddenly, Ash had the urge to punch this old man in his face. "Without your actions, she would've stayed like that forever."

"She didn't do it because of me! I never wanted her to die!" Ash yelled but the old man just laughed.

"Oh, really? I read that letter and she clearly states that you're the reason. Or are you illiterate? Or maybe you're just plain dumb, who knows?" He shrugged, ignoring the murderous look Ash was giving him. "Whether you like it or now, you words and actions made her do this."

"Shut up! I wanted to help her! I wanted to turn her life around!" Ash said, not realizing how desperate he sounded.

"Face it, she's dead because of you. And your guilt will never stop haunting you. Never ever."He laughed again. "When you sleep, when you feel safe and secure and when you don't need it at all, your mind will torture, reminding you of your biggest mistake. Yes, life will never be same again for you. Prepare for many sleepless nights and finding her corpse over and over again in your dreams."

Ash wasn't sure how to reply to this. unsure whether there was some truth to his words, or whether he just said them to taunt him. The old man was right about one thing, though. Ash knew that things were never going to be same again. He didn't have much time to think about it as another man appeared and cut the rope around Dawn's neck. He was huge and most of his head was covered by a large cowl.

"Another one bit the dust, eh?" he asked the old man.

"Yeah, this guy here made her do it," he answered, pointing at Ash, who was about to retort but the tall man spoke up faster.

"I see. Good job. She's been here for far too long. I wonder how your friends will react, though." He put the body into a bag and picked it up. "Will you even tell them? Maybe you shouldn't unless you want to be called a murderer. Because a few will certainly think that way."

"I wonder how he will end up." He held his hands in front of his face, picturing the scene in his minds. "His guilt ruined his life and he has to live in a similarly run-down apartment. And one day -"

"- he is found dead with a rope or cable around his face, just like his precious friend? Most likely." They laughed like two best friends who have just made the best joke of their lives.

Ash didn't even notice that they continued mocking him and Dawn as he left the apartment and was making his way down the building again in a trance-like state. His spirit was basically crushed and he wouldn't even notice if someone tried to rob him. No he wondered, whether it was truly his fault and what his friends would think of him. There was no way of telling. The only thing that was certain was the fact that part of him died this day and judging from how he felt, it was a big and important part. Even now he could hear a voice in his head, blaming him and whispering poisonous lies. Actually, Ash wasn't even sure whether those were lies anymore.

When he stepped into the fresh air, he was surprised just how foggy it had gotten in such a short time but at least it wasn't as cold as before. Still, he felt like all his strength has left him and sank to his knees.

"I don't understand. Our future was supposed to be bright and now I won't see you ever again," he whispered, staring into nothingness. "I never wanted it to end like this. Not like this..."

He closed his eyes and allowed a single tear to escape. In the end, he didn't know just how long he stayed that way or what people walking by thought of him and neither did he care. His feelings were of no concern to them anyway so they shouldn't care either.

He broke out of this state and regained his strength when he suddenly heard a voice. It wasn't just any voice, it was Dawn's voice. She wasn't even saying anything but only humming a sad melody, which sounded like a requiem. Most importantly, he could hear where it was coming from and since it was so foggy, he could only trust his hearing, not his eyes. Fortunately, the voice only got louder the closer he got so finding the source was just a matter of time.

However, he was also wondering why he was hearing her voice. That was slightly hard to believe, considering she was dead so looking for the source was kind of pointless. Ash wanted to know, who was imitating her voice and why, though. If this was just a cruel joke, the responsible person would regret it, he told himself.

All ôf sudden, the voice was gone and there was silence. In addition, the fog cleared just enough for Ash to realize that he was in a forest, and a pretty creepy one. The ground was muddy, the trees were tall and dark, and their branches resembled claws. For some reason, he expected them to move and strangle him any moment. It was absurd that a forest like this existed so close to the city. Even now, he couldn't see very far but it was still better than being completely blind. There was one more thing that was bothering him even more, though, and that was the silence.

By silence, he usually meant that there were no loud or obvious noises. This time, there weren't even the usual background noises of a forest like birds singing, the wind and the rustling of leaves. There was literally nothing apart from the noises he was making, which became only more obvious now that there was nothing else to distract him. He could hear his heartbeat, his blood flowing through his veins like a tiny river and his bones creaking every time he moved. Now he wasn't sure whether he wouldn't have preferred a few loud noises.

The most obvious problem now was the fact that he had no idea where he was and somehow, the way back was blocked by large roots. Since the silence was slowly driving him mad, he moved on and tried to find a way out, hoping that the sound of running would distract him from the annoying silence. Unfortunately, the ground was so soft that he barely heard anything. Instead, voices appeared in his head and got louder. It was actually a mix of different voices but it was so chaotic that he couldn't make out what they were saying. Or were they just the sounds of his own body, which he mistook for voices because he couldn't stand the silence, he wondered.

It was making him rather paranoid, as well as the trees, which seemed to change slightly whenever he looked at them. From time to time, he tripped over a root on the ground and immediately got ready for a fight but there was nothing to fight. Apparently, his greatest enemy was the forest itself. He caught himself humming and even singing songs just to remove the horrible silence, at least for a few moments. When he finally heard a voice coming from seemingly every direction, it was almost a relief.

"You've really done it." Ash immediately recognized it as Zoey's voice. "Are you proud of yourself? Because of you, one of my friends and rivals is dead. Don't even try to make excuses. I know you had good intentions but sometimes that's not enough. In the end, Dawn's dead and it's your fault. How can anyone be so incompetent, insensitive and just plain dumb? No, Ash. This is a mistake I can't forgive and if I ever see you again, you will feel my wrath."

Ash's nervousness and fear turned into anger. Zoey had no right to blame him for Dawn's death, at least in his mind.

"You haven't done anything to make Dawn feel better about herself again! Who are you to judge me? At least I tried!" he tried, fully aware that probably nobody was hearing him. "You haven't done anything. Nobody has done anything. You all just let her stay in that miserable state, abandoning her!"

"But at least she was alive:" This time it was May's voice. "Your blundering attempts made everything worse. She was dear to me as well and she will be greatly missed. You saw how close to breaking down completely she was and yet you left her on her own. Although I don't call you a murderer, I don't think I want to be seen around you anymore. And from what I've heard, the others have similar thoughts."

"She was dear to you? Was that the reason you did nothing?" Ash didn't even know why he was arguing. It not only made him look crazy but it was also useless since there was nobody around. It was just his imagination, that's what he told himself.

"Ash, you bastard!" This annoying voice could only belong to Kenny. "I guess stealing Dawn from me wasn't enough for you. You just had to destroy any chance of me winning her back. In the end, you didn't care about her at all, did you? The only thing you ever wanted was to prevent me from being with her. So pathetic! I swear to you, if I ever meet you again, I will kill you and believe me, it won't be as quick as Dawn's death."

By now, Ash was trying to ignore the voices even though ignoring an aggressive speech like Kenny's wasn't easy. As if that wasn't enough, it was followed by the voice of a person he particularly loathed.

"Oh my. Ash, you were the last person I expected this from." It was Ursula, one of Dawn's rivals from Sinnoh. "And I always thought you liked her. You certainly were a match. Two losers relying on luck. You know I didn't like her but killing her? I would have never even considered it. You disgust me. I hope you never want me to be your friend just so that you can stab me in the back. Yes, you're little more than a murderer to me."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" he yelled. "You know nothing! I loved her! Why would I have killed her? What would you have done? Ignore her agony? Ignore her pain? Watching injustice without doing something, that's the problem. No wonder she thought you'd abandoned her." Then he said something he would have never expected to ever say and immediately regretted it. "Scum."

Suddenly, there was Dawn's voice humming that creepy melody again. Although Ash wasn't sure whether to follow it, it was still better than absolute silence or his friends accusing him. Besides, there was nothing else to do.

After a short walk, he found a small clearing with a single gravestone in the center. Despite seeing it for the first time, Ash just knew whose gravestone it was. As he approached it, the melody faded away until everything was silent again. Just when he was about to read the inscription, a cold wind from behind made him jump but there was nothing nearby. Still, he felt like he was not alone so he tried not to let his guard down. He kneeled down next to the gravestone and just as expected, it was Dawn's. What made him really angry was the inscription.

 _Her lies Dawn._

 _It is a sad event when an angel gets killed by the servants of darkness._

 _It is a tragedy when an angel gets betrayed by those she loved and trusted._

Ash was tempted to kick the gravestone but refrained from doing it out of respect for Dawn. She didn't deserve it, the idiot who'd created the inscription did. Nevertheless, he said a quick prayer for her and stood up again. He found it weird that she'd already been buried at a place like this and he still didn't know where exactly that voice had been coming from.

Upon hearing someone weeping behind him, he froze and slowly turned around. There was a woman behind him, wearing a dirty, black robe, which covered most of her body. Only her head and the hands, which looked almost skeletal, could be seen. Ash immediately recognized her as Johanna, Dawn's mother despite her hair being gray instead of blue and her uncharacteristic expression, which showed only despair and sadness.

"You are very brave to come here," she whispered.

"You aren't blaming me as well, are you?" he asked, fearing the worst. "I wanted to help her. I wanted her to change her life for the better."

He visibly shrunk under her intense stare. There was no way he could possibly argue with her mother about her death.

"She has always liked you a lot, so much that she started depending on you." Her right hand got hold of Ash's left and to his surprise, the grip was incredibly strong. "I wanted her to become an independent, strong woman but you prevented it. Without you she was nothing and turned into the brat you saw."

"But I only wanted the best for her," he protested. "Besides, ..."

The grip on his got so strong that he let out a cry of pain. For a mourning woman she sure had a lot of strength.

"She was my only child! My only living relative!" She let go of him, took a step back and scratched her own face so hard, that it was bleeding. The blood mixed with the tears, making it look like she was crying tears of blood. "I've always been looking forward to having grandchildren, watching them grow up and playing with them. Was that so much to ask for? Now it's ruined! My life, my hopes, ruined!" She presented her claw-like hands, which still had skin and blood on them. "Look at my hands! You have so much more blood on your hands!"

"But ... but ..." His doubts grew stronger and stronger. Maybe it was really his fault.

She let out a scream so loud and full of anguish that had to cover his ears and even then, he stumbled backwards, trying to get away as quickly as possible. However, he hit the gravestone and no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't get past it for some strange reason. As it got louder and louder, he thought that his head was going to explode but then she changed all of sudden. It was like she was made of dust and got carried away by a gust of wind, allowing the silence to return once more, which was only disrupted by the scream's echo from time to time.

Ash was still with his back against the gravestone, his body sweaty and pale as if he had seen death itself and this might have been the closest he has ever gotten to that. His heart was pounding and hurting quite a lot but that wasn't the reason he held still. It wasn't the freezing cold either. It was the fact that someone or something was poking his back although he was leaning against the gravestone.

With one quick movement he turned around but found nothing except the gravestone itself. However, something was different. He noticed that the inscription had changed.

 _Look behind you_

He immediately complied and saw another person standing right next to him. It wasn't just any person, though, he was seeing himself or, to be exact, his younger self. Judging from his clothes, it was the Ash during the journey through Sinnoh and he didn't look too pleased.

"You damn idiot!" his younger self yelled. "We were so close to Dawn back in Sinnoh and you let it all go to hell! You were the one who abandoned her! If you hadn't done it, the others wouldn't have even mattered. And you thought a sudden visit would have made everything good again? Fool!"

"I ... I did the best I could," the real Ash said but it didn't sound convincing at all. He wasn't exactly used to arguing with himself for real.

"No excuses! It your fault alone! And to think that I will turn into you eventually makes me sick." He raised a fist. "You ruined my future, our future. No more words, I let my actions express my hatred and fury. Now you pay for what you've done, for what I will do."

Before Ash could reason with him, he jumped at him and punched his face. By all means, Ash should have had no trouble beating his younger self but his strength failed him and his opponent just didn't get tired. Apart from that, he just couldn't retaliate as whenever he tried, his muscles just wouldn't move as if his body refused to fight. The expression on his opponent's face was one of murderous rage and pure hatred, it further diminished his will to fight.

Finally, after countless punches he fell to the ground, where his younger self proceeded to choke him. By now, Ash was actually feeling that he deserved that pain, that he needed to be punished.

 _Are the others right? Is everything my fault? So many regrets._ He already felt his consciousness slipping away. _Dawn, Johanna, everyone, I'm sorry. Please forgive me._

"We reap what we sow." It was Dawn's voice in his head. "No need to worry, Ash. We will be together again. Forever."

He opened his eyes for just a moment and saw a light, which instantly blinded him and then it was like something incredibly cold got hold of his heart and just froze it. He wasn't sure what happened next but in the end, everything was black, he couldn't feel a thing and could only hear his heart beating at an incredibly rate.

The next moment, he was lying in a bed, shivering and wide-eyed. He got up just so that he could have a look around, which was a bit difficult, considering it was dark with only the light of the room illuminating the room slightly. As soon as his eyes got used to the darkness, he could make out Dawn lying next to him and he felt relief wash over him.

 _It was just a dream,_ he told himself. _Another bad dream. Maybe the worst so far._

He let his head sink back into the pillow and let out a big sigh. The last thing he wanted now was to wake her up since he would have a lot of explaining to do. Of course, disturbing her rest would be bad enough as it is. His own rest was ruined anyway. Not only was his heart hurting like crazy but he was also extremely cold. As soon as his breathing was back to normal, he heard a voice in his head.

"Another nightmare?" Lucario asked him via the aura link.

Ash should have known that his pokémon would notice his distress. After all, he'd been trying to find the source of the nightmares but since he needed to ask, Ash could guess that he'd been unsuccessful.

"No. I mean yes. Please tell me you have found something." he replied, not sounding really confident.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm sorry." He was ashamed of his inability, especially considering how desperate Ash sounded. "Judging from the way you sound, it had to be rather bad."

"You can't even imagine. Dawn killed herself and it was my fault. In the dream I mean. Not here." He rubbed his eyes. "I feel so tired."

"I can imagine. When you woke up, you were close to breaking apart. It's a bit better now but still far from normal," the aura pokémon said, sounding worried. "Maybe you should go to a doctor?"

Ash was shocked but Lucario wouldn't suggest something like that unless Ash was in a very bad condition. Needless to say he wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea.

"No, no, no. That's not necessary. Not at all. I just need some real rest and everything will be fine." HIs pokémon didn't really believe him, probably due to the nervousness in his voice and the way he spoke. "Oh, I guess you're thinking that there will be another nightmare when I fall asleep again. Well, so far, there has always been one per night so I wouldn't worry too much."

"So you're going to do nothing? I thought you were a man of action," he teased.

"I didn't say that!" Even now, Ash hated comments like this. "I'm going to do something. Yes, I think I will speak to Reuniclus. That sounds like a good idea. He's a psychic type, after all and should know what to do."

"Alakazam knows more about dreams, you should ask her," Lucario suggested.

"I'll decide in the morning." At least his heart was back to normal but he was still dead tired. "Now I need some sleep. Badly. And don't worry about your task. We'll find another way."

With that conversation done, Ash was hoping that he and Dawn would be untroubled by any more nightmares, at least this night. He fell asleep soon, completely unaware of the fact that Dawn's was just about to start.

* * *

 **You can probably guess the topic of the next chapter. And I don't think I surprise anyone when I say that these nightmares are indeed unnatural. They can make people believe things that clearly go against their memories are real, feel true pain, and subtly influence the dreamer to make decisions he or she wouldn't normall do, yet still making it feel like it was their decision alone. Unlike this one, the next dream will have no death or violence, but it will be disturbing in a different way.**


	29. Lies

**biginferno: Thanks for the review. The whole dream was more of a "what-if-scenario" of the darkest kind, the real story is already so far that this dream can't happen in this form.**

 **This chapter might be the most terrible so far in different ways, and to me, it's the most disturbing. It changed so often and even now I'm not fully content.**

* * *

Chapter 29 Lies

Dawn woke up early in the morning, feeling well rested for once. As usual, Ash was still fast asleep and lying next to her in a strange position, which looked like only a glameow would consider it comfortable. Since there had been no nightmare, she guessed that maybe Lucario found something. Whatever the case, she'd have to speak to him later, but now she had to prepare for the day and make breakfast.

First she went to the shower and while she was washing her hair, she noticed something strange. There was a crack in the wall but when she touched it, she felt nothing. Then she noticed that it moved even when she turned her head so maybe there was something on her eye but rubbing them didn't solve the problem. In fact, the crack only seemed larger.

 _I guess I'm still more tired than I thought,_ she told herself. _It'll probably go away._

"It's all a lie." The voice came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Even worse, it was her own voice. "Soon you'll see."

For almost a minute, she stood completely still and tried to find the source but to no avail. There was nobody but her in the bathroom, but a few of her pokémon had ways of getting inside without violence. It could be Zoroark playing a prank on her, yet he was supposed to be at the Oak lab. Still, it was her best lead and she would ask him later about it. It certainly wouldn't be the first time so there was little reason to believe anything else. But then again, he wasn't able to imitate her voice that well.

In the end, she decided to finish the shower first and also got a fresh set of clothes. Everything seemed fine again until she entered the kitchen, where she heard the voice again.

"It's time to wake up," it said.

"What the hell?" She looked around but there was nobody. "Who are you? I'm already awake. Is this just some kind of joke?"

She waited a bit longer for an answer, but once again, nothing happened. Just when she thought about ignoring it, her vision changed completely, with the colors turning grey. It made her feel like she was in a black-and-white movie. In addition, cracks appeared everywhere, making it seem to her that she was looking at a broken mirror and as if that wasn't enough, the voice returned.

"The truth will be revealed soon. Don't be afraid." If that creature was trying to calm her down, it didn't work at all. She was ready for an attack and even called for help but her own voce failed her in a very strange way. At first, there was no sound at all, then there were two highly irregular echoes with one being almost silent and the other one very loud, but so twisted that she couldn't recognize her voice.

All of sudden, everything was back to normal again but it didn't last very long. Only a few seconds later, it was worse than ever. There were not only cracks in her vision but there was even a crackling sound around her as if everything was breaking apart. To her shock, that actually happened. Like a giant mirror, everything just shattered, leaving only a mysterious blackness.

Instinctively, she tried to look whether her body was still there but either it was gone along with the rest or she was blind as the only thing she was able to see was the endless void. Strangely enough, despite her seemingly floating in an empty space, feeling absolutely nothing, she was at peace. She wasn't able to describe this calming feeling, that made her forget about everything but the comforting darkness. In the end, she didn't even mind when the voice spoke to her again.

"You have been sleeping for far too long. The real world awaits us. It's time to leave the lies behind," it said.

 _What does that mean? What sleep? What real world? What lies?_ She didn't even know why but she felt that the voice could be trusted.

In the distance there was a light penetrating the darkness. At first, it was weak but it grew stronger and stronger until she couldn't look at it anymore. This light was cold and cruel, trying to separate her from the darkness so she was in panic but also utterly helpless. Then there was a bright flash and she lost consciousness.

When she regained it, her senses came back one by one. The first thing she felt was her heart beating steadily and her slow breathing but soon she heard something ticking nearby and a few other, louder noises. She also knew was that she was lying on something soft, probably a bed and wherever she was, it was warm so she concluded that she was inside a room and the noises were probably made by cars outside. Unfortunately, she felt too weak to move at all and there was also this strange feeling of tiredness, both physical and mental. Somehow she just knew that she had been here for a very long time.

Finding out the location was only a matter of time, though, as she started feeling her strength return at a rapid pace. Although it felt like an eternity, she was able to open her eyes only a few seconds later but had to close them again until they got used to the sudden brightness, making her wonder just how long they'd been closed. Without a doubt, it was a long time. As soon as her eyes were accustomed to their new situation, she had a look around. It was a small but bright and clean room like the ones in decent hospitals. She was lying in a comfortable bed with some kind of medical machine next to her, to which she was attached. Apart from that, there was also a bit of furniture, a window and, most importantly, a person doing something next to the wardrobe. Judging from the white clothes, she was a nurse.

By now, she had enough strength to sit upright and getting into that position made enough noise for the nurse to notice her. Her eyes widened and she quickly stashed a few clothes she was carrying in the wardrobe.

"Incredible," she exclaimed excitedly.

Before Dawn was able to reply, she went to a nearby phone, pushed two buttons and waited for someone to answer.

"Doctor, the patient in room 314 has just woken up. Yes, I'll inform her." The nurse hung up again and turned to the patient. "The doctor will be here in a minute. I'm sure you have a lot of questions and he will answer all of them. Please stay here until then."

"Wait ..." Dawn tried to say but it was already too late. The nurse was gone and now she'd have to wait for that doctor.

There were so many questions she needed answered. Her mind was pretty much a complete chaos with memories resurfacing all the time. The most important questions were still unanswered, though. Why had happened to her that she had to stay in hospital? Where were Ash and the others? How long had she already been here? Her head was spinning and hurting from all those thoughts.

Fortunately, the doctor arrived just a bit later. Even though he looked awfully young, his soft and calming voice made her trust him almost immediately and he seemed rather competent. Instead of bluntly telling her what was going on, he took a chair, put it next to her bed and sat down.

"Please lay down again, this will take a while." She did as she was told while he had a look at a few notes he had brought along. "I see. You can probably imagine I can't recall every single detail about your accident."

 _Accident? I should let him speak first. I have so many questions I wouldn't know where to start anyway,_ she told herself.

"I have to make a few quick tests. There will be more of them later so be prepared. are you able to speak?" he asked.

"Yes, why shouldn't I?" If he was asking a question like that, it had to be serious.

"Very good. Can you move your whole body? Is there anything that hurts more than normal?" the doctor asked again.

She checked by making various movements but there was nothing in particular bothering or hurting her so she shook her head.

"Nothing." Dawn had already enough of those questions. "Now can you explain what happened to me? Why am I here? Where ..."

"Alright, I guess you seem healthy enough to hear about it. It may sound strange but you fell down the stairs. Your head got injured pretty badly and it caused you to fall into a coma." There was a short pause. "You have been like this for almost five years now."

"Five years?" Dawn felt like she was about to pass out.

 _This is horrible. I wasted almost five years in an unresponsive state. How worried and devastated must my friends be? And all that because I fell down? It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad._ She turned her attention back to the doctor as he had a little more to say.

"I won't bother you with details as the situation is already hard enough for you to comprehend. I will just say that we were pretty sure that you'd never wake up again but I'm glad we were wrong. Even better, it seems you aren't suffering from permanent damage. Of course, we have to check that later before you are allowed to go. Still, waking up is already so much more than we expected, at least until you started showing reactions a few days ago." Although she was dying to ask questions, he wasn't finished just yet. "As a matter of fact, there was only one person believing that you'd ever wake up and that was your mother. I'm sure she'll be overwhelmed with joy. The nurse went to inform her."

On the one hand, she was glad to hear about her mother being well and not having given up on her. On the other hand, there was no mention of Ash.

 _Has he given up on me? Two years are a long time. I can't expect a man to wait forever just for me to wake up, can I?_ Even though she could somehow understand, it still made her incredibly sad.

"What about Ash? Has he forgotten about me? What about my pokémon?" she asked.

At first he looked a bit surprised but then his expression changed to a sad and understanding smile.

"This will come as a shock to you." She was already expecting the worst. "Those pokémon you mentioned, they don' exist. I know of a game with that name but it's certainly not real. And about that Ash, I've never heard of him. I guess he doesn't exist."

The information about the length of the coma were bad enough but this was entirely different. She felt like all of her accomplishments, everyone she ever loved, were a lie. It was all a lie. Her friends, her love, her whole life, it was just a lie. Now she was stuck in a world she didn't know anymore. Then she got the idea that this might actually be the lie. She checked by pinching herself but except for a little pain, there was nothing.

"I know it's a bit hard to understand and even harder to accept. However, the sooner you do it, the easier you make it for yourself and your family. I'm sorry." He looked like he was really sad for her but that didn't change the fact that her old life, the life she loved so much, was basically gone.

All the remaining strength in her body was gone in an instant, making her sink back as if she was dead and she might as well be. She'd lost everything. Her mind was flooded by memories of her former life and she hated it, as it only made it even more painful than it already was. Maybe the worst thing was that she was never going to see Ash and her pokémon again. It made her think, though. Was her love also fake, just like her life? Or was this actually the dream? For a moment, she regained some hope and strength and used it to pinched her arm again, only this time , it was much stronger. Unfortunately, she felt nothing but the pain and it would probably even leave a mark. With the last bit of hope gone, her skin turned even paler than usual and her eyes went completely dull.

 _Ash would hate seeing me like this,_ she thought to herself. _Who am I kidding? He's not real. He never was. Neither are my friends, everything I ever held dear. My ideals, my accomplishments. Everything is fake. It's all a lie. My whole life is a lie._

"My whole life is a lie." The words kept echoing in her head, getting more spiteful and bitter every time. Now she wondered why she'd had to dream this fake life at all, whether it was created by her mind to make her feel alive again or whether it was merely a cruel joke. It didn't matter. Right now, she wished it either wouldn't have done or she wouldn't have woken up at all. It would have been better than having to live with the consequences. Maybe even death would be a better option.

The doctor, upon seeing just how miserable she looked, tried to comfort her.

"I know it's hard to accept but ..." He stopped when she turned her head towards him and he noticed an expression of pure rage and hatred.

"You know it's hard to accept? You do?" Her voice was strangely quiet before she basically erupted. "You know what? You know nothing! Nothing! Just because you're a doctor you think you understand your patients but you're wrong. For me, this is not just a situation you have read in a book. Do you even realize what I have lost? Everything! Everything I know turned out to be a lie and now I'm supposed to just accept it and live in a world I know nothing about? Is that your idea? You might as well have killed me. I doubt it would have been more painful than the current situation."

Somehow, the doctor didn't seem bothered by the outburst. Instead of getting, he looked even sadder than before. Dawn, on the other lost the energy again and looked even more miserable now.

"I'm sorry. It's not your fault." Her voice was monotonous and quiet, showing no emotion. She was truly broken. "It's not anyone's fault. The damage is done and I have to live with it." She sighed. "I guess it's over. Well, at least I can live a real, dull life. A life ... without ... them ..."

Now she couldn't hold it in any longer and broke out in tears. As a doctor, situations like this one weren't exactly rare but it still saddened him deeply. Unable to do anything about, he just waited for her to calm down, which took a few minutes. When it was over, she look at him with tired, red eyes.

"I guess that's it. My whole life is a lie." She looked at the window and shook her head. She hated the light right now as she regarded this beautiful day as a mockery. "If only there was a way to go back ..."

"Don't say such a stupid thing!" He stood up and looked slightly angry. Of course, it made her wonder why he cared. It was her decision after all. "Don 't you think that's a very selfish wish?"

"Why? What's wrong with me choosing a better life for myself? Even if it wasn't real, at least I would be happy," she reasoned.

"Still, it would be just a lie. Most importantly, you would hurt your mother." That was it. She'd completely forgotten about her, the one aspect that was true. "Every single day, she visited you and stayed with you for at least one hour, reading stories to you or just talking about various things that happened to her. It was heartwarming. I know that you're the last family member she has left so your coma was nothing less than a catastrophe for her. Now her greatest wish came true and she has you, her only daughter back and you want to take it away from her? Do you have any idea how she would react? Indeed, you would only trade her happiness for yours."

Dawn looked down in shame, deeply regretting her words. Ash would be ashamed of her right now. He would want her to start her life anew and make the best of it. Upon realizing what she was thinking, she shook her head.

 _I have to accept that he's not real. Even now he's dominating my mind and I have to stop. I'm sure I'll find someone like him eventually. Oh, who am I kidding?_ Even in her 'dream' she often thought that he was too good to be true. But she would have never expected to find it out this way. _No, I can't think like that. I have to strong. Strong for mom. I owe it to her. I'll live my new life without looking back._

"You're absolutely right." She still didn't sound very happy, though. Without a doubt, it would take her a long time to get used to this new situation.

"You treatment wasn't cheap and even after all those years, she was the only one not to give up on you. She should be here soon so I advise you to show your gratitude." He went to the door leading to the corridor. "Please stay here. We'll have to make a few tests before you are allowed to leave."

He left her to her thoughts and there were sure a lot of them. More and more memories kept reappearing, giving her a lot to think about while she was waiting for her mother to arrive.

 _I can remember going to school. Yes, mom wanted me to receive a good education so that I would get a better job than she did. But what was her job? I don't think she ever mentioned it. I can only recall that she often worked very late and had little time for me but the time she spent with me was the best I had. She cared a lot, it's just that her job left little time for that._ She could remember more details about the job. _The paying seemed bad or we wouldn't have lived in such poverty. Yes, we weren't well off. We lived in a tiny apartment with only very cheap furniture and sometimes I had to go to bed without dinner just because we didn't have enough money left to get something. At least we didn't have to live on the street. That was the biggest reason why she cared about my education so much, but she was pretty much the only one. Except for him ..._

Although Dawn knew that there had been another important person, a boy about her age.

 _He was my only friend, the others disliked me because I was poor and couldn't participate in their activities. But he didn't care. Eventually the others started avoiding him as well but he still kept hanging out with me and even bought me a few presents. They weren't expensive but for someone like me they were unattainable otherwise._ She tried to remember his face but without success. _I wonder what happened to him. Why didn't he visit me? I liked him quite a lot but I could never tell just how much he liked me. Maybe it was just my imagination._ Her thoughts turned back to her mother's job. _She would always wear a long mantle as if she was trying to hide something. Was she ashamed? She shouldn't be since she always worked so hard, often returning early in the morning._

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door swinging open, revealing a woman with the same blue hair as Dawn's. It was now that she realized just how much her mother in that dream resembled her real mother and that the name was also Johanna.

"Dawn!" she cried out.

With relief and joy visible in her face, she ran over to her daughter with open arms and embraced her tightly. Both of them had tears in their eyes during their first real hug in five years and in the end, neither really wanted to let go. Finally, Johanna pulled back and had a good look at her daughter.

"You've grown so much. I didn't even notice with those blankets covering most of your body all the time. Are you feeling well? Is nothing wrong?" she asked, worried about Dawn's well-being. After all those years, no permanent damage would be a miracle.

"I'm alright, no need to worry," Dawn replied while her mother was busy checking everything.

"You've become awfully skinny," she remarked, pinching Dawn's arm. "Oh my poor girl, I'm afraid I can't help you too much with that. My financial situation isn't too good."

"Don't worry. Since I'm awake again, we can find a way together." Dawn tried to encourage her mother but there was something in her voice that got Johanna thinking.

She had no doubt that her daughter was happy to see her again. However, there was something else, an inexplicable sadness.

"You sound like there's something bothering you," she asked with a soft voice. "Do you want to tell me?"

The way she said made it impossible for Dawn to decline. Besides, if there was one person in this world who deserved to know the truth, it was her mother. On the other hand, she didn't like ruining this day, which was supposed to be one of the most happy days in Johanna's life.

"Well ..." She had no idea how to explain it properly. "While I was in that coma, I had a very long dream, which was pretty much an alternative life. I lived in another world and to be honest, it wasn't bad at all. I had a lot of fun there and even found the love of my life. I thought I would spend the rest of my life with him and I was truly happy there. And then i found out it wasn't real." She let out a long sigh. "I guess it's time to face reality now."

"My poor girl." Johanna hugged her daughter again. "There's not a lot I can offer you so I wouldn't even blame you if you wanted to return to that dream world of yours."

They were poor and without real friends. Of course, she would prefer to live in a world with endless opportunities and it put Johanna in a dilemma. Of course, she wanted her daughter to be happy, even if it wasn't real, but she also wanted to be together with her.

"Mom!" Dawn was shocked to say the least. "There's no going back and even if there was, I wouldn't do it. Firstly, it isn't real and secondly, it would mean abandoning you once again and that's something I'll never do! Never! Especially not after everything you did for me. The doctor told me. You visited me every day and never gave up on me. What cold, heartless person could possibly leave you now? I'm not like that and won't make all those years of trying to wake me up in vain. No, I love you we will turn our lives for the better together."

Johanna was speechless so she intensified the hug instead. Words couldn't express just how proud she was in that very moment. Raising Dawn hadn't always been easy but now she knew that she'd done a good job.

"You don't know just happy I am to hear that. By saying that, you explained to me why not giving up on you was the best decision of my whole life." She pulled back and wiped away a few tears. "This world is rough but please don't let it change you. It needs more people like you."

"Thanks, Mom." Hearing something like that only strengthened her resolve. "I'm not sure whether I can live up to your new expectations but I will do my best."

There were still so many things she wanted to discuss, so many things she was dying to know. Unfortunately, the doctor entered the room, probably for further tests. he wasn't noticed until he spoke up.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion but everything is ready for the tests." They looked at him in shock, not having expected someone else to speak. "I understand it's annoying for you, but we have to make sure. Please follow me." He turned to Johanna. "This might take a while. Do you wish to ..."

"I want to stay here for as long as necessary. I won't leave without her," she replied adamantly.

"I see. Please go to the waiting room. Dawn, follow me so we don't have to make your mother wait any longer than absolutely necessary." They gave each other one more hug before going their respective ways.

Just as expected, the tests took hours to complete but in the end, the doctors couldn't find a single problem. Apart from a few missing memories, it was like she had never fallen into the coma. Considering how unlikely that actually was, they weren't sure what to think. It was almost too good to be true. Just to be sure, they wanted her to return every few days so that they could check on her, to which she agreed. For now, though, she just wanted to go back home, no matter how small or shabby it was.

Johanna had a few of her old clothes with her so Dawn didn't have to rely on the clothes from the hospital. Even though they didn't fit perfectly, Dawn was grateful and took a pair of blue jeans, a white shirt, a black coat and a pair of shoes, which were a bit too large. When she finally left building for the first time in years, she almost got blinded by the intense sunlight. Despite that, it was pretty cold and she was very grateful for the warm coat, especially since they didn't have a car or even the money to use a taxi or public transport.

Their apartment was in a run-down quarter at the other end of the city so they had to walk quite a distance. Since there were so many new things to see, Dawn didn't mind the walk, at least as long as they were in the safe parts of the city. The closer they got to their home, the dirtier the building looked and their own apartment was in a huge, but run-down building. The people on the way didn't look very trustworthy either and Dawn noticed that her mother was keeping her close and always had a hand in her bag, maybe to quickly get a weapon if necessary.

As soon as they entered their home, Johanna closed the door behind them. It was an apartment with a bathroom, a small kitchen and a living room, which also contained the beds. Dawn had a look around while her mother went to the kitchen after taking off her coat.

"You're hungry, aren't you? Let me prepare something. But first, your bed is that one," she said pointing at the one next to a window. "Feel free to check out everything around here."

First, she had a look at the bed. It wasn't as soft as the bed in the hospital but at least it was clean and there was a window directly next to it. She quickly realized, that it was impossible to see a lot, though, as another building was very close and blocked the view. Then she had a look at a cupboard but found mostly junk until she noticed something that looked like a large book. It turned out to be a photo album so it was extremely interesting for her and she carried it to her bed, where she wanted to have a closer look.

The first pages were full of family pictures. Dawn recognized a few people, only her father was not among them. As far as she knew, he'd left her mother while she was still pregnant so she despised him a lot. There were also a lot of photos of her as a baby. Most of those were of poor quality, though.

The quality didn't improve until someone else started appearing on the photos. Seeing him again almost gave her a heart attack but the pain remained. Although his name was Jake, he looked just like Ash and the mere image caused old memories to flood her mind. Yes, he not only looked liked Ash but also his personality, his smile, pretty much everything about him resembled Ash. She could remember that he was pretty much her only friend and their families had gotten pretty close. Then it happened.

Dawn shed a single tear while thinking about the event that had destroyed all of her hope. The pain intensified as she remembered the details.

 _He and his mother ...they died in a car accident. I never got to tell him how I felt and never got to know how he felt. That was the day we lost our only friends._ Dawn closed the album again. Seeing his face was simply too painful to bear. _His death left me devastated and I wasn't able to do anything properly for days. And then ... then my accident happened. I fell into that coma but my old life had died with Ash ... I mean Jake. It makes me think. Falling down the stairs, was it really an accident? No, I mustn't think like that!_

Although looking at those old photos hurt her a lot, she just couldn't leave them alone and opened the album once more. One of the photos was of her and Jake lying on a bed, playing a pokémon game.

 _He loved the game just as much as I did. He's so much like Ash. Wait a second._ All of sudden, she had an idea that explained quite a lot. _Maybe Jake doesn't resemble Ash but Ash resembles Jake? What if I simply couldn't get over him and my brain created an alternate reality, in which we were together? What if Ash was just the Jake of my dreams? A replacement? Because the real one was forever out of my reach?._

The longer she thought about it, the more sense it made to her. That didn't mean she liked it, though. In fact, it only made everything worse now that she had nothing once more. He was dead and nothing could bring him back. The sooner she could accept it, the less misery she would have to face.

This time, she had enough and closed the album for good. To make sure she didn't open it again, she put it back in the cupboard, closed it and returned to the bed, burying her head in the pillow. This completely destroyed her mood and almost made her want to go back to her dream world but, of course, she would never disappoint her mother like that, no matter how depressed she was.

She had no more time to think about it as there was a knock on the door. Johanna left the kitchen and had a look at the visitor through a small hole in the door while Dawn was fixing her hair to look presentable. Who visited them at this time of the day, she wondered. Whoever it was, Johanna didn't look very pleased, but worried and even frightened. Nevertheless, she opened the door and let a tall man in a fancy orange suit enter. Once again, Dawn almost had a heart attack when she saw the face. He looked just like Giovanni!

"Good evening, Johanna." He turned his head and gave Dawn a smile that made her feel highly uncomfortable. "I see my informants were correct. Your daughter really woke up so it's time to discuss an important matter."

Her mother didn't look like she wanted to discuss this matter with Dawn nearby.

"So, where should we...?" she asked.

"You don't want her to hear it? Very well. The kitchen should be good enough," he replied.

They went into the kitchen and closed the door behind them so that Dawn wouldn't be able to see anything. There was nothing to prevent her from eavesdropping, though, and she was way too curious to let this opportunity pass. Besides, this guy looked like trouble and problems for her mother would eventually mean problems for her. Pressing her ear against the door, she could hear them much better.

"... running low. I've been very generous so far but it's time for you to pay your debts," she heard him saying.

"Please give me a bit more time. With Dawn awake again, I will be able to pay soon. Right now I just don't have the money," Johanna tried to reason with him.

"Really? I don't think so. I think you need some additional income and I have just the suggestion." He laughed. "Well, it's not exactly a suggestion, but more of a command. If you don't do it ... well, bad things could happen. Even to innocent people like your daughter."

There was a moment of silence, which Dawn used to think about why her mother was in debt to him. Sure, given her financial situation, it wasn't surprising that she had to borrow money during the coma, but borrowing it from Giovanni or whatever his name in this world was seemed madness.

"And what is your ... suggestion?" Johanna asked, her voice mixed with fear and anger.

"Your daughter starts working. With the additional money, you will be able to pay eventually," he told her.

"But she's been in a coma for years! She lacks education to get a proper job right now," she protested.

"Well, for your job you don't exactly need that." There was a brief moment of silence. "I even have someone who would love to ... purchase her services."

 _What does he mean by that?_ Dawn wondered. _I don't mind working but what job does he mean?_

"You can't be serious! I tried to make sure that she gets the education she needs so that she wouldn't have to do that," Johanna yelled. "I can't ... she's ..."

"I'll show you just how serious I am if you don't agree to my plan by tomorrow." His voice was a bit more quiet than usual but it was still threatening. "One day to decide between life and death. I think the answer should be obvious, even for you. I can't understand why you even kept her."

Dawn heard him approaching the door again and quickly went back to her bed. Even if she hadn't heard anything, she would be worried by now as her mother's skin was incredibly pale, as if she was dead and her eyes were dull and emotionless. Giovanni, on the other hand, had a smug smile and turned to Dawn.

"Let's hope for your mother's sake that you are a grateful person. What she's about to ask shouldn't be a problem for you, considering how much she's done for you." He winked a her before leaving the apartment, leaving a devastated Johanna and a clueless Dawn.

Dawn was about to ask what was going on when Johanna broke down crying.

"Mom!" She rushed over to her and tried to help her stand up. "What's wrong? Did he do something to you?"

Dawn guided her towards her own bed and made her sit down but it still took a while until Johanna was ready speak again.

"You ... heard everything, didn't you?" she asked, to which Dawn nodded. "And you still don't understand? Well, what do you think I do to earn money?"

"I have no idea." Actually, she had an idea but didn't want to say it.

Johanna sighed, clearly not happy about having to say it.

"I guess it's time for you to know. You're an adult now and ... yeah." She took one more deep breath. "I'm a prostitute. I sell my body for money. You're probably ashamed of me now ..."

Dawn was sad, but not because of this information. She was sure that her mother had a good reason or simply no other choice. What saddened her was the fact that her mother, the only person who had refused to give up on her during the coma, thought that she would be ashamed of her. Dawn knew that her mother was a kind and wonderful person and nothing would ever change her mind.

"Listen, I'm not ashamed at all. I don't care about your job. You're still my mom and I can't imagine my life without you. And I don't mean the fact that I would probably be dead," she added. "So what if you're a prostitute? We'll find a way to solve that problem."

"There are so many things I've always wanted to tell you but I was too ashamed of. Do you know why your name is Dawn?" She shook her head. "When I got pregnant, it was pretty much a catastrophe, considering my work. I couldn't afford an abortion so I planned to have someone adopt you."

Dawn had a hard time believing that as Johanna had always shown nothing but love. And now she was told that her mother wanted to get rid of her at first. Maybe it was better to hear her out at first.

"But when you were born and I held you in my arms you looked at me with those eyes and I just couldn't do it. I wanted to raise you as my daughter and give you all my love. In one moment, you erased all my doubts and ended the darkest night of my life. That's why I named you Dawn," she told her. "However, every day I wonder whether it was a selfish decision to keep you. Other families could have offered you so much more."

Instead of answering, Dawn just hugged her tightly. Seeing her own mother blaming herself wasn't an experience she liked to make. It felt weird comforting her. Usually, it was the other way around but she couldn't simply listen to those lies.

"How could anyone consider a mother wanting to raise her own child selfish? I call it only natural," she finally said. "You raised me as well as you could and I'm thankful for that. Even if other families could have provided me with more money, nobody could have given me more love than you. Nobody can say that you're a bad mother and if someone does, he will feel my wrath."

Johanna wiped a few tears and smiled again although it was a weak and exhausted smile.

"That's so nice of you to say but I fear you don't understand the graveness of the situation," she muttered, looking away again. "Didn't you listen to him? He wants you to join me at my job. He even has a customer ready for you."

All of sudden, Dawn was unable to speak. Her mother being a prostitute was something she could accept but becoming one herself was an entirely different matter. The mere thought made her sick. On the other hand, he said that it was a matter of life and death. It was clear her mother would feel the consequences if she refused.

"Of course, I won't allow that," Johanna added to Dawn's relief. "I will give you all I have left so you can leave the city and start a new life somewhere else."

"What?" She liked the part about starting a new life but something was missing. "What about you? Won't you leave with me?"

"I can't. He wouldn't give until he found me, believe me. No, there's no escape for me from him." Then she looked directly in the eyes. "But you, you have the chance to start over."

"But what will happen to you?" Dawn asked even though she already knew the answer.

"He will kill me," she simply stated.

This really put Dawn in a dilemma. Although she'd hate becoming a prostitute, running away would also mean abandoning her mother, which felt extremely ungrateful after everything she'd done for Dawn. Actually, her mere existence had always been nothing but trouble and now it might even mean death for Johanna. Selling her own body would be a huge price to pay, but considering the threat, it suddenly didn't feel impossible. It wouldn't be the first time she ran away from her problems. After Jake's death she retreated into her dream world and caused so much trouble that way. So basically, it was her fault to begin with and now Johanna expected her to save her own life and abandon her mother. In Dawn's mind, only the worst human being could consider that.

"I can't just leave you here. If it will save your life, if it's only until we have the money, I will do it," Dawn said to Johanna's shock.

"What the hell are you saying? Do you even realize what that means? Not even my life is worth it. After all, I've been trying to prevent this. Of all the things, you becoming like me was my worst fear," she explained. "You can't do this. Not even for me."

"I can and I will." Although she still had doubt, she didn't show it, trying to look determined. "You took care of me when I needed your help and now ... now it's my turn."

Johanna stood up and walked around for some time, trying to think of an alternative solution. Upon realizing that she couldn't think of anything, she sat down again and spoke with a hollow voice.

"I can't let this happen. I won't tell him. I'm sorry, Dawn. This is something I just can't let you do," she told her daughter.

"Well, in that case, I'll just stay here and he will have to kill me as well. Or maybe I'll follow him and tell him the news myself," she said and this time, Johanna didn't even look up. She knew Dawn well enough to expect something like this.

"You've always been a stubborn girl. Very well, you've won." She sighed in defeat. "I will call and tell him."

The way she walked to the old phone made her look like a zombie and she certainly wasn't feeling much better. With weak and shaking arms, she dialed the number and waited for him to answer.

"She agreed," she finally stated. Then there was a long pause, which he probably used to tell her about the following events. "Already? Alright, I'll tell her."

She hung up and from the looks of it, she wasn't happy at all. Once she was back next to the bed, she let herself fall onto it and looked at the ceiling with blank eyes.

"He ... he says that your ... customer will be waiting for you at the entrance of this building in fifteen minutes," Johanna muttered. "There's still enough time for you to reconsider and flee."

"I've made my decision," Dawn replied firmly. "There's no turning back now. I'm sure I'm strong enough to do it."

"I hope you are but I doubt it. I'm not saying you're weak but I doubt you are even aware of what's truly about to happen." If anything, this only made Dawn more determined. She wanted to show that she was strong and able to help her mother.

They spent the next ten minutes just sitting there and preparing themselves mentally for the coming event. Whereas Johanna was regretting giving in, Dawn still thought that she could endure it but slowly, doubts were filling her mind, which were washed away when she looked at her mother. It hadn't broken her mother so she should be alright. Still, she was worried. This was entirely new to her and doing it directly after the coma seemed like a bad idea. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to let her mother die because of her own cowardice.

"Let's go," Johanna said once it was time to leave.

"Let me go without you." Dawn didn't want her to see her in that situation. "I'll be fine, no need to worry."

"I see." Her mother went to a cupboard, took out a small spray dose and handed it to Dawn. "Take this. It's pepper spray. If you run into trouble, if he goes too far or if you just think you can't take it anymore, don't hesitate to use it."

"Thanks, mom." She put it in a pocket in her coat and hugged her mother as if it was the last time. "We'll get through this like a real family."

"Take care." She was too tired for big speeches now and just kissed Dawn on the forehead

There was one sentence running through her mind all the time.

 _I have failed._ She couldn't stop it from haunting her. _I wasn't able to protect her._

Dawn knew hat Johanna didn't like her decision and probably even blamed herself but it was still better than her death, which would be the ultimate price otherwise. Since she felt that her determination could slip away any moment, she hurried down the stairs, her hand always in that pocket so that she could fight back immediately. Getting down to the entrance didn't take nearly as long as getting up to their apartment, mostly because was alone and therefore hurried a bit more. In front of the door, he was standing and Dawn immediately got a horrible feeling about him although she couldn't tell whether it was because of his creepy smile or his resemblance to Commander Saturn or Team Galactic.

"Hi there," he exclaimed, grinning even more widely. "Follow me, I have just the room for this."

He led her to a door on the first floor, unlocked it and let her enter. It was a single room, which, despite being quite small, looked cozy and tidy. Nervously, she took off her coat and placed it so that she would be able to grab the can quickly if necessary. He sat down on a couch next to the only bed in the room. and folded his arms.

"Let's not waste any time. Take off your clothes slowly," he told her, licking his lips.

 _I'm doing this for mom,_ she kept telling herself and that was the only reason that could ever make her do this. _If I don't do this, she'll die._

She started by taking off her shirt. Hopefully, he didn't expect anything like a little dance or something like that since she didn't think she would be able to do that. Then she took off her shoes and pulled down her jeans. When she also tried to remove the socks, he protested.

"Don't. I think you're much more sexy with those on." He stood up and cupped her cheek, much to her disgust. "You've become a bit skinny but you're still pretty. I've been waiting for this moment for years. You know, you remind me a lot of your mother."

She didn't have time to think about it as he pushed her onto the bed. At first, she tried to scream and kick him but remembered what was at stake here.

 _I'm doing this for mom!_

His hands went to her back and unhooked her bra before tossing it to the side and cupping her breasts with his hands.

 _I'm doing this for mom!_

He lowered his hand and started to lick, which almost caused her to slash him with her nails. Looking away, she just tried to endure it by thinking of happier moments and it almost worked until she felt her panties being yanked down. It took all of her determination and self-control not to run away when she felt his tongue running down her body.

 _I'm doing this for mom!_ she just kept telling herself, tears in her eyes.

Her resolve vanished completely, when she looked at him again. His pants were already down and it was approaching her entrance, while his hands were spreading her legs.

"No! Please! Not like this! I can't!" she cried but it didn't work.

"Yes, keep fighting back. It's turning me on so much," he replied, excitement clear in his eyes.

As he proceeded, a part of Dawn was already regretting her decision.

 _I was wrong. I'm not made for this. I'm not strong enough._ She felt the pain and the humiliation, which probably hurt even more. _At least ... at least mom will live. I'm doing it for her._

It was that thought that gave her the strength to endure the pain. During the act, she started resisting from time to time but after remembering that was at stake, she gave in quickly. Apparently, the man didn't seem to mind, in fact, he seemed to enjoy it. Apart from a few moments, he was merciless and didn't care about her well-being in the slightest.

Once it was over, Dawn was basically reduced to little more than a lump of flesh and could only lie on the bed in a fetal position, sobbing, whereas he was standing near a window, smoking a cigarette.

 _I did it for mom. I hope I'll never have to do it again._

The little pride she had left made her stand up and put on her clothes again as she didn't want anyone, let alone this pervert see her like that. Otherwise, he might get the idea of taking advantage of her situation. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be interested.

"You're a cute girl. Maybe I'll have need of your services in the future. But first, I'll send the money to your mother. I'm sure she'll be very proud of you." He let out a dirty laugh and didn't even bother looking at her.

She used the opportunity to sneak out of the room and shut the door behind her, finally able to catch her breath or at least she thought so. However, she heard someone laughing on the stairs next to her and saw the guy who looked like Giovanni talking to a small man she'd never seen before.

"Look, there she is," he said upon noticing her. "Having fun? Don't worry, it won't be the last time. Saving mommy is worth it, don't you think?"

Tears formed in her eyes once more and, without thinking, she just used the nearest exit, which happened to be the front entrance of the building. Since she felt like she was being followed, she went into an alleyway and hid between a few trash cans. There she was sitting, an expression of sadness, fear and rage on her face, her self-respect and dignity gone and with the future looking grimmer than ever. The only thing she was hoping right now was that nobody was hearing her sobbing.

 _I can't imagine how mom can do this on a daily basis. How? She must be really strong. Much stronger than I am. Or maybe ... maybe my dream has spoiled me a little._ She covered her eyes as if it was going to help her concentrate. _Maybe life simply isn't like I expected it to be. It's rough, much rougher than I thought. And cruel. Why? Why does it have to be like that? Why can't I live a life like in my dream? Is it so much to ask for?_

Once more, she felt likegoing back.

 _I hate this new life. So what if the other one is not real? At least I'm happy there._ Her thoughts returned to her mother. _But I can't return Not after everything mom's gone through._

No, even if she knew how, she wouldn't just leave. But right now, she didn't want to return either as she didn't want Johanna to see her in this miserable state of hers. She certainly would worry even more and that was the last thing Dawn wanted right now. This was supposed to be a happy day but it's already ruined. Once she had calmed down a bit, she would return and try to look as strong and unaffected as possible. After all, it was her fault. If she hadn't fallen into a coma, he mother wouldn't be in debt and she wouldn't have to do this. By now, she felt she deserved this as a punishment. At least her mother shouldn't be the one to pay for her mistakes. It was her and her task alone.

"You look distressed. Why don't you sleep? For a very long time, i mean." She looked up to see a masked man in a black cloak standing in front of her. "You've already spent so much time there, why not the rest of life? You've been through so much and deserve it."

"Who ... what are you?" Dawn asked, terrified of this being.

Apparently, it didn't have legs as the cloak didn't go all the way to the ground but there was nothing to carry its body. The arms were covered by the cloak or non-existent as well. At first she, thought it was a man's voice but now she could imagine it belonging to a woman too. A simple, white mask was covering its face, making identification impossible.

"Irrelevant. This isn't about me, it's about you." Somehow, the voice was really calming and she felt like trusting this stranger. "Is this the life you want to live? Is this the life you imagined as a child? Should anyone have to live like that? An even better question is, should you have to live like that? You have an alternative, don't you? Why don't you just return?"

Dawn didn't know how the stranger could know that and certainly wasn't in the mood for arguing.

"I can't," she simply stated. "My mother ..."

"Your mother would want to see you like this? You know all too well that she never wanted you to end up like this." That was a fact she couldn't deny but still, she shook her head. "You know I'm right. So why don't you fulfill her wish? She wants you to be happy and there's no place where you are happier than your own dream. Basically, you're doing her and yourself a favor. Besides, even if it was selfish, what's wrong with being a little egoistic from time to time? You suffered so much. You deserved it." It removed its hood, revealing Ash's face. "Besides, we could be together again. Isn't that what you want?"

An arm came from inside the cloak and touched her chin. It was as cold and pale as a corpse.

"But I can't abandon her," Dawn protested. "I have to ..."

"Have you already forgotten that she was willing to die for your happiness?" The arm retreated again and she could hear a soft laugh. "You really are slow. But if you insist on living here -"

All of sudden, everything else around them turned black so that it looked like they were inside an empty space. Absolutely terrified and completely paralyzed, she could only watch dozens of hands emerging from the endless darkness and approaching her.

"- you better get used to it." It was the last thing she heard.

The hands obstructed her view completely and started touching her everywhere. She tried to scream but three hands were covering her mouth, not allowing a sound to escape. Helplessness and desperation took over. A single tear escaped her eye and fell into nothingness.

 _Maybe it's time to return again. For good,_ she thought as she was getting weaker. _I can't fight this. Ash, please let me see you again._

Unable to scream or move, she could only endure the violation of her body and spirit until she felt something hard hitting her head, causing her to lose consciousness.

Suddenly, she was awake again and obviously lying on something soft, probably a bed. There was a blanket covering her but also something else, something warm around her waist. She instantly recognized it as Ash's arm and she slowly turned around to see him lying next to her, facing her. The moonlight was enough for her to realize that they were inside their bedroom. Somewhat relieved, she sank back into the pillow, careful not to wake him up. Her heart was racing like crazy but it couldn't compare to the chaos in her mind, which made her head hurt.

 _Was it just a nightmare or the reality and am I dreaming at this very moment? There was a hit to my head before the end so am I back in a coma or simply unconscious?_ Right now, she tended to think that it was just another nightmare and that this was the reality or at least she really hoped so. Pinching her arm had no effect except for the pain but then again, pain didn't really work in that nightmare.

Even if this was the dream, it wasn't her decision to return and she certainly didn't know how to wake up again from here. She concluded that it was best to enjoy her old and new life. There wasn't anything she could have done to prevent the return. It was that mysterious creature's fault.

She shook her head, angry at herself. This was the reality and no nightmare could convince her otherwise. Still, the pain in her head was killing her and all that heavy thinking only made it worse, but at least, her breathing was somewhat normal again and she didn't feel too tired.

 _This is real. Ash is real. Our love is real. This was just another sick nightmare._ However, they were really getting out of hand and Lucario hadn't been able to prevent them. _I'll talk to Alakazam. Maybe she can determine whether something's wrong with my mind. Come to think of it, perhaps it's because of that mind crush attempt? Yes, that's probably it. I have to talk to her as soon as possible. I'm sure she can help._

With newfound confidence, she tried to fall asleep again as those nightmares only seemed to occur once every night. She thought she would get some rest but got disturbed by Lucario's voice in her head.

"You're distressed. Was it another nightmare?" he asked.

"Exactly." Talking to him via the aura link wasn't easy for her as she didn't have as much talent as Ash so she wouldn't get too much rest like this. Therefore she hoped that the conversation would end quickly. "You haven't noticed anything, have you?" she asked with just a bit of hope.

"I'm sorry. Absolutely nothing," he told her sadly.

"It's alright. Currently, I'm thinking that it's a consequence of that failed mind crush. I'll talk to Alakazam soon," she replied. "Please let's leave it at that. I need some rest or I'll be exhausted the whole day. Good night, Lucario."

"Good night." He had failed and could only hope that Alakazam would prove more suitable for this task.

There was still one matter bothering her. Although it wasn't real, at least if it really was a nightmare, her body felt violated. That guy had done things to her nobody had the right to do and she wasn't sure whether her pride could ever get over this. If anything, this should give her the strength to prevent it in the future, now that she knew what if felt like. On the other hand, she couldn't be sure whether it was the real deal. It was just a dream, after all. Nevertheless, she told herself to never let it happen to her or anyone else for that matter as nobody should be forced to do something like that. Of course, she had to keep it a secret from Ash, even more than the other nightmares. Knowing Ash, he would storm the prison and beat Saturn to a pulp otherwise. She would have laughed if she hadn't been so sad.

"I hate this. Freaking nightmares," she muttered.

She fell asleep again soon, this time without a nightmare troubling her. Hopefully, the next night would be different.

* * *

 **This was the last dream chapter for now. There will be other nightmares, but they won't be written in detail. The Wallace Cup is approaching quickly so there will be a lot of contest battles among other things.**


	30. New Measures

**A more "normal" chapter again. Still trying to find something against nightmares and preparing for the Wallace Cup and other things.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 30 New Measures

The last night left its mark as both Ash and Dawn were exhausted to the point of having trouble standing up. To make matters worse, their mothers visited them during the breakfast and insisted on talking about Shira's announcement.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" At least Dawn was awake enough to offer them something.

"No, thanks. I already had breakfast," Delia declined.

"Same her. But thanks." They all took a seat at the kitchen table. "So you still want to enter?" There was no answer. "Hello?"

"What?" They both looked up in shock. "Oh yes, we do. We want to enter."

"Aren't you worried because of that threat?" Delia asked. "We sure are. I know you're adults and we can't forbid you anything but please ... are you even listening?"

"Yes ..." Although Dawn was looking a Ash's mother, her gaze was unfocused and it made them doubt that she was really listening.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we are very worried and ... what's wrong with you?" It looked like Dawn had decided to take a nap midsentence.

Johanna reacted by pinching her, which caused Dawn to jump and let out a high-pitched scream. She fell off her chair and was breathing heavily as she had just suffered from a huge shock. Ash was the first to react and, completely awake now, helped her back up.

"Did something happen? Are you alright?" he asked while she was getting up.

"I'm fine ... I just fell asleep for a moment and you surprised me," she explained.

"Are you sure that's all? You look really distressed. Haven't you slept well?" Johanna asked, full of worry.

"Not really. But I just need some fresh air to wake up. No need to worry." She was so tired that she didn't even notice her catchphrase.

Ash still had doubts, though. Maybe he was right and she was also suffering from nightmares. He couldn't think of any other reason for her to freak out like this. He would talk to her about it but that would probably mean telling her about his own dreams, thus making her worry about him as well. In any case, he wouldn't mention it until Reuniclus's attempt to help them.

"Well, at least you seem to be somewhat awake now," Delia pointed out. "Now please answer truthfully. Is there any chance of us being able to convince you not to enter?"

"You already know the answer, don't you? I can't imagine anything that could convince me," Ash admitted.

"I see. You know, I can understand you," Johanna told. "I wouldn't have let anything prevent me from entering something like the Wallace Cup. It's the dream of every coordinator, after all. But now I'm a mother and seeing you there worries me deeply."

"It's okay, mom. We'll be careful, I promise," Dawn said, hugging her from behind.

"Besides, the police will take security measures and the most powerful coordinators in the world will be there. I don't think there's a safer place in the world," Ash reasoned.

"I guess you're right." Delia sighed. "Well, I guess we should leave and you better get some rest."

Although they hadn't been successful, Delia and Johanna left with a slightly better feeling. After all, their children had some points and they had always been living dangerously. It was like a bit of worry had become a part of their lives.

Once they were gone, there was a call from May, Drew and Serena, who wanted to talk about the same subject. On the screen, Serena was between Drew and May. The brunette didn't seem to mind but Drew looked annoyed.

"You should start traveling again and take her with you," he said before the other could speak up. "She has your style and to be honest, she's getting on my nerves."

"You're just jealous because I've won my first ribbon in Kanto." She held it up for Ash and Dawn to see. "It wasn't even that difficult."

"That's because you were battling amateurs. Everyone could've won that contest," Drew remarked, rolling his eyes. "Besides, why should I be jealous. I'm way beyond simple grand festivals already."

"You're missing them, I know it. You'd love to battle at normal contests but you're just afraid of what others might think of you," she replied folding her arms.

"Why did I ever agree to let you come along?" Drew said, shaking his head.

"They've been like that the whole time," May told them, looking slightly frustrated. "At first it was kind of funny but now they're just getting on my nerves. They ... are you even listening?"

By now, Ash and Dawn were in a state that they had to lean onto each other in order not to fall down. When May said it, they blinked a few times before realizing what was going on and scratched the back of their heads simultaneously.

"Sorry, I got kind of carried away," Ash admitted.

"We're a bit tired so please don't be mad," Dawn added.

Drew was already really annoyed and May also didn't enjoy being ignored, whatever the reason. So they decided to get straight to the point.

"You have seen that announcement by that villain woman yesterday?" May asked.

"Yes, why?" They were determined to finish this conversation without falling asleep again.

"That Shira is a dangerous woman." Without a doubt, Drew had heard about the bombs in the cities as well. "You'll still enter, won't you?"

"He wouldn't feel safe there on his own," Serena said and received a glare.

"I'm not afraid of her," he told them , gritting his teeth. "It just wouldn't be the same without you. I want everyone to be there for my big victory."

"Big victory. Yeah, right," the blonde said again, enraging Drew even more.

"Can't we just drop her off at the next pokémon center?" he asked May with an almost whiny face. "She's really pissing me off."

"Nope, you're stuck with her for now," she replied, sticking out her tongue. "Anyway, we've already called the others and they agreed that not entering would be the worst thing to do. Glad you're with us."

Drew looked already extremely annoyed and just wanted the conversation to end.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we still have a city to reach by tomorrow and her bickering -" He pointed at Serena. "- won't help us getting there any sooner."

"Bickering?" She looked at him incredulously. "if there's anything preventing us from arriving in time, it's the time you waste on your hair. I could understand it if it were as smooth as mine but yours is a mess."

Before Drew was able to show her just what he thought of her comments, May stepped in between and turned towards the screen.

"See? It always ends like this. We better go now. Well, see you at the Wallace Cup," she said, waving at them and trying not to look too angry at her companions.

"Alright, see you there," Dawn replied, happy that she would finally get a few minutes to rest.

"Take care. By the way, can we talk in private, Serena? There's something I need to ask you." He looked serious so she nodded.

Dawn didn't know what it was about, but didn't mind him keeping a few secrets, so she left without a complaint. May and Drew, on the other hand, were a bit bothered by the fact, that he seemed to prefer talking to his new friends. Of course, it was merely their impression, which got confirmed now. Nevertheless, they left without another word, leaving those two to talk without interruptions.

"So ..." she said, rubbing hands in anticipation. "What do you want to talk about?"

"You know Dawn pretty well, don't you?" he asked even though he knew the answer.

"Yes, but so do you. I don't think there's anything I know about her that isn't known to you as well," she pointed out. She was really curious now, though.

"But you're a girl," he replied. "There might be some aspects you understand better. As you know, my birthday didn't exactly go as planned." She nodded. "You also know just how much effort she put into the party. I mean, you were with her, right? Anyway, she put much into it, but basically got nothing in return. You might say that it was my birthday and it wasn't my fault but I still feel like I should make up for it somehow. I thought of something romantic but I'm not too good with that."

"You can consider yourself lucky that she enjoys battling just as much as you or she might want more of that," Serena told him, laughing. "Anyway, you want something really romantic? Something she will remember for the rest of her life?"

"Well, that's a bit exaggerated but I want it to be more than a normal evening. Do you have any ideas?" he asked, hoping for a few good ones.

"Well, first you'll want to make sure that it's a surprise. She isn't eavesdropping by any chance?" She turned slightly with a sly grin, so that she could look behind her and noticed two shadows moving away. "Thought so."

"You're right, I should have done that before," he replied, hitting his forehead.

At first he checked the doors leading to the corridor with the videophone, then he looked for her up the stairs. When he couldn't find her there, he went to the kitchen and living room to look outside and sure enough, she was just outside the kitchen, talking to her pokémon and preparing for training. Apparently, the fresh air was doing her good as she looked much more focused than before. With that knowledge he returned to the videophone.

"Looks like you really don't want her to know," she said, slightly surprised. "You put so much effort in making sure the surprise wouldn't be spoiled."

"I guess you're right," he answered, scratching the back of his head. "Now, do you have any ideas?"

She scratched her chin and kept looking away as if deep in thoughts but it took so long that Ash was wondering whether she was just messing with him. Just when he was about to ask her again, she began.

"I have to warn you. I'm not exactly an expert on these matters. However, I think something that you both like would be a good start. I mean, it's great if you do something she loves but if you can't stand it, your bad mood might ruin it. Finding something good shouldn't be too difficult, considering how much you have in common. How about a tour through one of the safari zones? Or maybe you should watch a contest? Maybe you can find one with double battles. Those usually have more experienced coordinators participating." Ash thought about it for a moment. It was true that she didn't get to just watch a lot of of them. He definitely had to consider this idea. "I'm sure even you can think of something. Once that's done, you should go to a fancy restaurant. Check guest reviews to find a good one. The most expensive one isn't always the best but you shouldn't choose the cheapest either. You don't want your sweetheart to think you're cheap, do you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he muttered, looking away. So far, the suggestions weren't as detailed as he had hoped. "Shouldn't I start with something like flowers?"

"That's a given. I don't think I have to mention those trivial things. Get her a nice bunch of her favorite flowers. That'll get her in a good mood. Now to the important part." She shook her head. "That doesn't mean that the previous stuff isn't important but without a nice end, your date won't be better than average." No she raised a finger. "She loves watching sunsets and the quality of a sunset depends on the surroundings. If you know a good spot, now is the time to use it. And once she sees that beautiful red orb in the sky, you can do anything you want. Don't forget the condoms," she added with a wink.

"Serena! I wasn't going to do it for that!" he yelled, blushing deeply. "Jeez, why does everyone always assume that? I just want us to relax for one day and keep it memorable. I fear with the Wallace Cup approaching, she wouldn't organize anything since she doesn't want to distract me so have to do it."

"Shouldn't it be your job in the first place?" she asked.

"Well, you know me. I don't need much of that stuff. Spending normal time with her and our pokémon is usually enough for me and, luckily, for her as well. Sometimes, her romantic needs take over and she makes plans. And you know what? I enjoy those days. They remind me of what's important and clear my mind. Besides, our pokémon also need some rest, well, most of them," he told her. "Anyway, thanks for your help. I'll make sure to find a suitable place."

"No problem. It's a nice change to help you instead of the other way around. Oh well, we'll meet again at the Wallace Cup unless -" She pointed behind herself with her thumb. "- the green bean goes crazy and slaughters me."

"You're closer than you think!" a voice from behind said, followed by another one.

"Shut up!" it said, obviously talking to the first one.

Ash, barely able to keep himself from laughing, decided to end the call before he would lose control. From the looks of it, Serena was also highly amused by the reaction.

"I think it's time for me to leave or Dawn might decide to go to the lab without me. Take care and don't be too hard on Drew." He could swear that there was a cry from behind, but it was muffled.

"Don't worry about that. Have fun." She waved at him before the screen went blank.

Ash hurried outside and was met by the strong sunlight. The air was almost a bit too fresh, but it helped getting rid of the tiredness. After only a few, deep breaths, he already felt much better and ready for training instead of falling asleep while standing. Dawn and their pokémon were already ready to go. She was wearing a red coat due to the temperature but with the sunshine being so strong, it was only a matter of time until it became obsolete. Upon spotting him, she flashed a bright smile and a few pokémon came running towards him.

"About time. We thought you'd never come," she complained, feigning impatience.

She didn't ask about the conversation with Serena as he would have already told her if he'd wanted her to hear. A few secrets were alright, especially if they existed to surprise her somehow. After all, she didn't intend to tell him about her nightmares so she'd feel like a hypocrite for distrusting him.

"Remind me to keep Serena and Drew apart during the Wallace Cup," he said with a grin. "They really are a handful."

"Yeah, I noticed that," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm surprised they haven't already split up again. Anyway, let's get going. Shaymin is already waiting for me."

The combination of fresh air and warm sun made the walk to the lab invigorating even though the wind was still a bit too chilly for their taste. It was almost a shame that soon the heat of training and battle would take over, but then again, it had its own charm.

"Looks like we can't do too much together today. I need to train Pikachu and you surely want to focus on Shaymin for now," Ash said with a hint of sadness.

"Don't blame me. When you caught Latios, you spent a whole week trying to figure out what he was capable of," she countered. "And we can still have a few training battles later."

"True. Just don't be too hard on Shaymin or it's in for a shock." He grinned at the thought. "Have fun." He went to the spot, where Pikachu and his Lucario had already gathered.

It was true that their new pokémon were sometimes surprised about the intensity of their training and, under other trainers, some of them would have given up on day one. Without a doubt, Shaymin would be no different, especially since it had a false sense of security because of the rather easy tests the day before. Now it was in for a big surprise.

Unsurprisingly, it was already waiting nearby and quickly approached her upon noticing her and her pokémon. It was already in air forme so there had to be a gracidea somewhere on the lab grounds. Shaymin started flying around her head, asking what's going to happen and when. The excitement in its voice made it sound even cuter than usual. Dawn called all of her pokémon and once they were all in one place, she told them about her plans for the day.

"I hope you are well acquainted by now," she said, looking at Shaymin. "It's always exciting to have a new family member and today, we will train together for the first time. Of course, I will focus on our newest member so that Shaymin will reach your level as soon as possible. Most of your training will be pretty much standard for the next few days unless Shaymin is involved."

Most of the pokémon didn't look too happy about that but it was pretty much the same when they had joined so they could understand it all too well. Besides, the grass type needed all the help it could get.

"Alright, you know what to do. Pachirisu, Galvantula, Carbink, Alakazam, I need your help for the first training session." The pokémon spread out for their respective training. Most of them worked in pairs or small groups, only a few did it on their own. The four pokémon she mentioned and Shaymin stayed with her, waiting for further commands. "We'll try a variation of the last test yesterday. Pachirisu and Galvantula will keep shooting at you with weak thunderbolts and you have to dodge them."

"Really? The guided blades were more difficult so there has to be more. Alakazam and Lucario are there for a reason, aren't they?" Shaymin asked as it seemed way too easy like this.

Apparently, the other pokémon were amused by its reaction and sniggered, making it slightly nervous. Yes, there had to be a catch and pretty big one.

"Well, Carbink is here to heal you and Alakazam ... I think level two should be appropriate today," Dawn told the psychic type.

Shaymin didn't have a lot of time to wonder what she meant. Alakazam spread her arms, creating purple orbs on energy in her hands. Then she combined them above her head and smashed it into the ground, where it simply disappeared. A moment later, a large area around her lit up and Shaymin was instantly knocked off its feet as a powerful force was pulling it towards the ground. Using a lot of strength, it got up again and noticed that the light was gone but the effect remained. To its surprise, Dawn and her pokémon were standing as if they were completely unaffected, but on second glance, they looked like they were merely better at coping with it.

"The gravity effect should make it a lot more difficult. We have created different intensity levels if you're wondering what I meant by level two. Level one is a bit weaker than the standard move and is mostly used for training with new pokémon. Level two is the one we usually use for training and in battles. Level three should only be used if the weight of the pokémon nearby is low or they will be unable to move at all. We never use level four as we fear the strength of that move can cause serious internal injuries, even to small pokémon." The grass was hoping that it really was a fear and not an experience. "Since you're small and quite strong already, I thought we should skip level one. Or do you want to have a smoother start?"

"No, I can do this!" it said, standing proudly.

"Very well," she replied with a smile. "I guess you aren't able to fly under these conditions just yet but it'll happen eventually. Most of our pokémon can do it by now, at least under the effect of level two gravity. Don't get your hopes up too much about doing the same with level three. Not even Gengar can use her levitate ability. Most of us, including me, have trouble walking properly under those conditions."

"We can talk about that later. Let's start." It looked ready for it, but Dawn knew that it was probably heavily underestimating the effect.

"Pachirisu, you start," she shouted.

His body got surrounded by sparks before it shot a rather slow ball of lightning at Shaymin, who tried to dodge but simply couldn't move in time and got pushed away by the force.

"Galgal van," Galvantula said to Pachirisu. It meant something like 'I told you this would happen'.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" Dawn rushed to Shaymin and helped it up. "Carbink, please use the beacon."

Its gems glowed purple and hit shot an energy beam at the grass-type, who felt its energy returning. It looked up with a weak smile.

"Maybe ... maybe he should use only half his power at the beginning," it suggested. "Otherwise Carbink will waste his whole energy healing me."

" Good idea. And don't worry about failing. The start is always a bit difficult. I'm sure you will already be much better at the end of the day and if you're not we'll just keep training. The first thing you have to learn is that we don't give up on anyone," she told him. "Pachirisu, please try to be a bit more gentle next time. Take it easy, Galvantula."

 _I better don't say that Pachirisu already did only use half his power or it might demoralize Shaymin,_ she thought.

"Carbink, get ready to help us out if needed. Galvantula, Pachirisu, take turns now." Shaymin was surprised to see that she was still standing next to it, considering how dangerous it was for a human. Apparently, she noticed its worry and explained. "We often participate in the training as we think that a trainer shouldn't just be a master who gives commands, but does nothing else. We want to participate as well and give our partners the feeling that they aren't alone. It also helps strengthening our bonds. Besides, do you think I learned to move so well with the increased gravity just by standing around?"

The gratitude pokémon was pleasantly surprised by his. It had expected trainers to think of strategies, not to literally train with them. Maybe this was going to be even better than it had thought.

"Okay, I think I'm ready," it finally said.

"Let's start!" Dawn shouted and the training began.

Now that Shaymin knew what to expect, dodging the electro balls was a bit easier but his movements were still kind of sluggish. Soon thunderbolts were used to make it more difficult. From time to time, he was able to have a look at Dawn and what it saw almost made it jealous. Probably due to her experience, she was able to evade the bolts not only much more easy but she also looked like she was dancing. One time, it even got so enthralled by the image, that it got hit by one of the thunderbolts. Fortunately, Carbink was paying attention and quickly healed it so that it was able to commence the training.

Unbeknownst to it, Dawn wasn't even paying too much attention to the thunderbolts. There was something else bothering her, something she wanted to discuss with Alakazam.

"So what do you think?" she asked, using the telepathic bond so that the others wouldn't interrupt them.

"Judging from quickly it got accustomed to the gravity effect and its already quite remarkable power, I would estimate the time needed for it to become more than a liability in the battles against the Elite Four to be around five months. Depending on how ambitious and intelligent it is, you decrease or increase the amount by a few weeks. I daresay Sylveon is stronger at this moment but if she keeps being so insecure, Shaymin will surpass her within one month," she told her trainer.

" I see. Maybe its quick progress will also make her more motivated. It might be a bit too slow for the battle against Wallace, though," Dawn admitted.

"I'd suggest to Leafeon or Bellossom if you insist on using a grass type as Shaymin would lack experience in any case," Alakazam said. "Now would you mind telling me why you contacted me this way?"

It caught her off guard and she almost got hit by a thunderbolt.

"What do you mean?" Even the telepathic voice sounded nervous. "I just wanted to discuss Shaymin's progress."

"I seriously doubt that you used the telepathic link to talk about that. In addition, I can feel that there's something troubling you a lot so maybe that's the reason?" Even now, Dawn was hesitating. Sometimes Alkazam could be incredibly arrogant and might even laugh at her. However, the nightmares were a problem that had to be solved, no matter how. "Is something wrong?"

The coordinator dodged two more thunderbolts before she explained the situation.

"I don't know whether someone has already told you but I'm suffering from horrible nightmares." She waited for a moment and it seemed that Alakazam had decided not to laugh. "During the training, I forget about them again, but after that, the prospect of going through another terrifies me."

"Do you think that someone or something is creating them? If I remember correctly, and I always do, there was a ghost type doing the same thing during your first journey through Hoenn," she said. "And that's why both you and Ash took Lucario back home. You hoped that they would find the culprit, similar to Maylene's Lucario back then. However, considering that you're telling me about this, they weren't successful."

"Ash doesn't know about this and I'd like to keep it that way. He doesn't need even more distractions right now." She saw the psychic type nodding briefly. "But you're right, Lucario didn't find anything and I'm really worried that those nightmares will start affecting the training soon. They have to stop. I don't even care how by now. And I thought that you would be the best to ask about these matters."

She could something like laughter in her head.

"Although I admit that dreams aren't my specialty, I firmly believe that I'm still the most knowledgeable one around here so your weren't exactly wrong." Then she said something that really gave Dawn new hope. "If there is someone or something messing with your mind, no matter how small, I will detect and stop that influence."

"Are you absolutely positive?" Dawn asked, just to be sure.

"Do you truly doubt my capabilities? I can assure you, if the cause of your dreams is unnatural, I can detect it. And if-" She stretched the 'if'. "- I can't, which is highly unlikely, I do have a final advice for you. You should get another lunar wing or maybe even try to find a cresselia. Your old lunar wing was destroyed in a fire, I believe? Anyway, that would be the most reliable way. Of course, I'm not saying that I'm not reliable."

"I trust you can find the cause. We'll talk about further steps tomorrow." She was somewhat enthusiastic and tried to evade a thunderbolt in a way risky way, which resulted in her getting shocked. While falling, she sent her message to the psychic type. "Definitely shouldn't have done that."

She fell on her back and just stayed like that for some time until she heard Shaymin's voice in her head.

"Are you alright? Your hair looks funny." It was like it knew exactly how to catch her attention.

She got up slightly slower than usual due to the gravity effect and straightened her hair in record time. Years ago, she would've freaked out but she's grown up and didn't mind her pokémon seeing her like this, at least as long as they didn't make any annoying remarks. Then she removed as much dirt from her clothes as possible and had a look around as the shock had left her a bit disoriented. Her pokémon were standing around, most of them looked amused, only Shaymin looked slightly concerned, probably because it didn't knew that she has been used to getting shocked ever since the capture of Pachirisu, even if it was a hit to the head.

"Sorry, got a bit distracted." She stretched a bit while the others were returning to their positions. "Alright, let's keep going a bit longer."

"Thanks for your help," she said, using the telepathic link once more. "It really means a lot to me."

Instead of answering, the pokémon just nodded. There was no need for more words, especially if they were about a trivial matter like this one. She would solve his problem quickly and efficiently and soon Dawn wouldn't even remember the nightmares.

After about ten minutes, Dawn raised one of her arms, which, much to Shaymin's relief, caused the electric types to stop.

"I think that's enough for now. We'll move on to the next exercise after a short break." Not only Shaymin needed it, Dawn was also exhausted and the electric types as well. "Alakazam needs rest for a special task so please don't make her work too hard," she told Galvantula.

It took them a while until they had caught their breath and were somewhat ready for more. Only Shaymin, who wasn't used to such an intense training, desperately wanted a bit more time, even in its air forme. Since it was its first day, Dawn gave in and let it rest two more minutes. Its pride prevented it from asking for more so it just decided to just accept it.


	31. First Success

**Vacations are over, so uploads will be less regular again. In this capter another faction is briefly introduced, though it won't become significant until much later.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 31 First Success

Ash went into the lab building to change his pokémon team. He hadn't been entirely honest, as today he wanted to make plans for the special day with Dawn, and training Pikachu was only a secondary matter. In fact, there was already something on his mind. During their first journey through Kanto together, they had started on Cinnabar Island and Dawn had really enjoyed the little time they'd spent there, especially the hot springs. He knew that there were great hotels and restaurants since the whole island was a tourist trap. Unfortunately, there were no big events like contests so he had to look for something proper somewhere else.

He took Reuniclus for the teleport move and because he wanted to talk to him about those nightmares. The other pokémon he wanted was Latios , basically because of all the flying pokémon that were able to carry him, the eon pokémon was the fastest. Since Dawn thought that he was training with Pikachu and since she was busy with Shaymin's training, she wouldn't get suspicious.

Before going there, he wanted to check the different activities on the island and used one of the computers at the lab for that purpose. Although it was boring and time-consuming he felt that he had to do his best and read an awful lot of reviews to find something good. He used the opportunity to find a good restaurant as well and by the time, he was done, it was already time for dinner.

He went back home, where Dawn had already made something for them. He feared that the lack of training would show but apparently, he looked stressed enough that she didn't notice it. Dawn, on the other hand, looked terribly exhausted, which wasn't unusual. During the meal, she kept talking about Shaymin's progress, something for which Ash was grateful as she only asked about Pikachu's training once but without a lot of details. Once they were done, she told him that she wanted to stay behind a bit to make poffins for their pokémon.

Ash happily used the opportunity to have Reunclus teleport him to Cinnabar Island and immediately went to a hotel, which offered relaxing activities like hot springs and tried to make a reservation. At first, he was disappointed when someone told him that it was already fully booked, which was completely normal at this time of the year but the manager recognized him and turned out to be quite a fan of him. He made Ash a special offer, which allowed him to purchase one of their best rooms for one day just before the Wallace Cup for the usual price and an autograph. The trainer didn't have to think twice and accepted .

Although he also had to make plans for that day, he thought that he could still do it later. For now, he wanted more fresh air and combined it with the need to find a good place to watch the sunset, just as Serena had suggested. On Latios's back and with both Pikachu and Reuniclus in his arms, he kept looking for something suitable. On the big island, there were beautiful beaches but nothing really special so he kept searching smaller islands around it. While doing that, he remembered the second reason he had brought the psychic type along.

"Reuniclus, there's something we need to talk about," he said, not taking his eyes off potential targets. "I'm being plagued by nightmares during the nights. I think they're unnatural but Lucario hasn't been able to find anything just yet and those things are getting really annoying."

He would've said terrifying but didn't want his pokémon to think of him as a coward. After all, they were just dreams and he knew it all too well. Reuniclus, though, found it fascinating.

"Really? Unnatural nightmares? I know that there's a move that can cause some real damage during the sleep but I've always wondered what kind of nightmares it would cause. Something generic maybe? Or something more refined, something that addresses the fears of that particular individual? But then, how would the culprit know about those fears?" He kept rambling until Ash wasn't even listening anymore. "Hello?"

"What? I mean, the details aren't important. I just want them to stop, no matter how. And I thought you, as a psychic type, might know more about dreams than Lucario," Ash explained.

"Oh, I see." He sounded a bit disappointed. "I don't think I'm the right one to ask. You should talk to Alakazam, she knows a bit more about dreams and nightmares."

"I can't," Ash simply stated. "She'd probably tell Dawn right away and I don't want her to know just yet. Of course, that also means that you shouldn't tell her either."

"Don't worry, I won't tell her anything. And I can try to help you by staying in your bedroom during the night and scanning your mind. I can't promise anything, though," the pokémon told him.

"That's alright. All I ask of you is to try. Thank you for that. I'm already a bit desperate," Ash admitted.

They kept looking for a good spot but checking every single small island was a tedious and time-consuming task. It wasn't until after almost four hours that Ash decided to end the search for the day. They had searched the smaller island to the south and east of the main island without finding anything worthwhile and now Latios was tired. Besides, it was already getting late and he still wanted to do at least a bit of training. His original plan was to leave Pikachu and Lucario at the lab for that but the electric type insisted on accompanying him so he basically wasted almost an entire day for nothing. But since he knew just how important this was for his trainer, he wasn't going let him do it on his own. It was also an aspect of being partners.

Reuniclus took them back, where the other pokémon were busy and they tried to use the little time that was left for some training. They didn't get to do a lot, though, as Dawn approached them soon afterwards, asking him to return home. Judging from the way she looked, she had been awfully busy. She didn't even want any training battles, something Ash was grateful for this time.

They left quite early so Shaymin was still in air forme and leaned against a tree to relax a bit after all the hard work. It let out a sigh. The training had been much harder than expected but at least it had the evening off.

"Pretty hard, eh?" The grass type looked up to see Crobat hanging from one of the branches. "I saw you all confident yesterday. Must have been quite a shock."

"You can't even imagine." It sighed again. "I'm not sure whether I can do it."

"You're right that we can't really imagine it." Milotic approached the tree from behind. "We've been with Dawn for quite some time and the intensity of the training increased only slightly but constantly. I guess most of us didn't even notice just how hard it had gotten. Maybe she was wrong to start like this but I'm sure you can do it."

Despite her encouraging words, it felt even worse.

 _What if I don't make it? I would probably be the first one. The shame would be unbearable_ , Shaymin thought.

"Only the hardest training will make it really powerful," Birshard protested. He was right behind Milotic and now more and more pokémon appeared out of nowhere.

Dawn, who just wanted to have another look at them, was smiling in the distance. She was quite aware of the fact, that the situation was difficult for Shaymin but she firmly believed that it was for the best and even left a little reward. That, along with the other pokémon should make it much more bearable. Judging from the way they were looking, they got along pretty well so she left with a good feeling.

"Bisharp is right. Easy training won't get you anywhere," Infernape said. "Better take it to the extreme right from the beginning."

"Stop it, you'll make Shaymin even more nervous," Bellossom protested.

"But you all made it. What if I'm the only one not strong enough?" Shaymin asked.

"For a legendary pokémon you're quite a whiner," Floatzel remarked, folding his arms. "And I thought you were supposed to be brave in air forme."

"I am brave! You want me to show you?" It tried to stand up but the body was hurting too much.

"Maybe you're strong but you're also exhausted." Flygon laughed. "Better luck next time, kid."

"Kid?" Now it got up in record time. "I'll show you ..."

"Stop that useless blabber." It was the deep voice of Trevenant. Despite being annoyed, he sounded calm. The other pokémon respectfully made way for him, allowing him to get closer to his fellow grass type. "There's nothing to worry about, young one. Look around. There are pokémon of every kind here. Strong ones -" He pointed at Bisharp and Buizel. "- kind ones -" He looked at Milotic and Espeon. "-lazy ones -" Everyone looked at Snorlax and Greninja sleeping nearby. "- and those with way too much energy for their own good."

Although he didn't point at anyone, it was clear that he was referring to Pachirisu. Those were sometimes at odds with each other because of their vastly different personalities.

"They all made it. Do you know the reason?" It shook its head. "It's because Ash and Dawn don't give up on their partners. If some training doesn't work as intended, they find another way even if it means much more work for them. They believe in us and their trust makes us go to our limits. And if it turns out too difficult for you, it's not the end of the world. They try to turn you into the pokémon you want to be, not the one they imagine you to be. Whatever it is, they will help you because they love you. They love all of us and would protect us with their lives."

"I see." Shaymin wasn't sure whether there was less or even more pressure now as it didn't want to disappoint such a trainer. "Well, I guess I'll get used to it. It's just that I don't feel stronger at all. In fact, I feel feeble."

"Did you really expect great results after only one day?" He reached forward and gave Shaymin a pat on the head. "The youth's eagerness and impatience never ceases to amaze me. Looking for success and running straight past it. You must learn patience, then success will come to you."

"I ... see." Shaymin wasn't too keen on those lessons but at least Trevenant and the others decided to leave it alone for now.

There was only one pokémon who approached it shyly. It was Ash's sylveon, who was the most inexperienced pokémon of the bunch, apart from Shaymin. She gave him a kind smile.

"Don't mind them. They don't know what it feels like to just be thrown into the real training," she told him. "I'm the youngest one around here. Pleased to meet you. I hope we get along well."

"Pleased to meet you, too. It looks like you're the only one able to understand me." It was good to have someone around with similar experiences. "But you've already been her for a while, haven't you?"

"Ever since I hatched. They raised me well and let me decide what wanted to be. I really can't imagine better trainers," she said, looking at the sky dreamily. "Of course, the training is hard but they never demand anything impossible. They don't demand anything, actually, if they feel that the task is a bit too difficult, they find something else. We try not to disappoint them as we also want to become as strong as we can. I'm sure you'll be fine. It just takes a little time to adjust. Maybe you should talk to them and tell them just what you expect and how you want to get stronger. With a clear goal, it should be much easier."

"I guess I'll do that. Thanks, I feel better now." Although it hurt its pride admitting this, it felt like she could be trusted. "You know, I've wondered just how strong I can get after my first, real battle. And the last few weeks made realize that I never want to feel helpless again. No, I won't disappoint them. I will make it and become a partner they can be proud of."

"Well, you won't find more suitable trainers than Ash and Dawn." She curled up next to the grass type. "Don't worry. It'll be fine. You should get some rest now. The next days will be rough."

It also laid down and would have fallen asleep if it wasn't for something big and heavy basically falling from the sky and landing nearby. At first, Shaymin thought it was an attack but then it recognized Dawn's metagross with a large box on its head. The others seemed to know what was going on as they gathered around it, waiting for something to happen. Sylveon seemed to notice its confusion and explained.

"That box contains poffins. Since Metagross is bringing them, Dawn probably made them." It was still giving her a questioning look. "Poffins are delicious treats with different tastes so you have to find the ones you like most. You can try one of mine and the others will surely share theirs as well. At least most of them."

Shaymi wondered what she meant by that but then it saw Snorlax and Mamoswine rushing towards the box and received two large portions, which they carried away to eat them in peace. Hydreigon and Pachirisu did the same, albeit with smaller portions.

"Don't even ask them. They'd protect their poffins with their own lives," Sylveon remarked.

Apparently, she was right about the others as they approached the duo.

"Try this," Scrafty said, offering a poffin. "Should make you a strong warrior."

Hesitantly, it took the pink treat and put it in its mouth before spitting it out almost instantly. The grass type shook its head violently as if to get the taste out of its mouth.

"Ha! I knew it wouldn't like yours. Try one of mine." Infernape gave it another.

Shaymin tried this one as well and it wasn't nearly as bad as the first one but it still grimaced and had to force itself to gulp it down.

"Doesn't look like it liked yours. Better luck next time," Scrafty replied.

"How about one of mine?" Sylveon asked after receiving her share.

Trusting the fairy type, it ate the poffin and immediately regretted the decision. Although it wasn't as bad as the first one, the taste was still unpleasant.

"If I didn't know better, i would think that you're trying to poison me," it said jokingly.

"Well, there has to be one you like. It would be very sad for you if you didn't like any." Anther poffin was floating in the air in front of Shaymin, kept there by Espeon's psychic power. "Why don't you try it? Sooner or later you simply have to find something you like."

That was a lot to ask for, considering how much of a disaster the other ones had turned out to be. Honestly, it didn't know what was so great about those poffins. Nevertheless, the gratitude pokémon gave it a shot. It swallowed the poffin quickly but even like this, the taste didn't go unnoticed.

"Wow ..." There was a sparkle in its eyes, followed by a voracious look on its face. "Can I have ... another?"

"Sure." She threw one of the in the air and Shaymin immediately caught it in midair before devouring it.

"Not so tired anymore, eh?" Floatzel said, laughing. "I have a feeling with a bit of motivation, you'll be just fine."

Shaymin wasn't even listening as this new treat was unlike anything it had ever tasted before. It was at least one thousand times better than the food they had received from the lab assistant earlier and just one of them was probably worth going through all the training.

"I'll tell Dawn that for your poffins she should use the same recipe she uses for mine," Espeon said, earning eager nods from Shaymin .

"I just hope we haven't created another Pachirisu," Staraptor whispered to Swellow in a nearby tree.

It spent the rest of the evening socializing with the other pokémon, especially Sylveon. By the time it was too tired for anything, it already had such a good feeling that it was actually looking forward to the training the next day. Everything was much better with friends and clear goals and with time, its goals would become much clearer.

Almost at the same time, Ash and Dawn gave each other a goodnight kiss before turning off the light and trying to fall asleep. Due to the previous nights, it took longer than usual. The fear and nervousness delayed it but as soon as they were sure to be asleep, Alakazam and Reuniclus entered the room simultaneously. They stopped in their tracks upon noticing each other.

"Nice to see you, albeit a bit unexpected. Did Ash send you to protect his mind from possible enemies?" Alakazam asked telepathically. After all, she didn't want to wake them up.

"I guess there's no denying it. And you were sent by Dawn?" Reuniclus asked in return.

Before she answered the question, Alakazam levitated just above the trainers, reaching towards their heads without touching them. Her hand started glowing slightly, not strong enough to wake anyone up. She also closed her eyes and would have looked asleep as well if she hadn't been levitating.

"You're correct," she finally answered. "Dawn asked me to take actions because of nightmares disturbing her rest and making her quite nervous. Ash's behavior was also quite peculiar lately. I assume he has a similar problem and that's why you're here?"

"Not bad. Yes, he sent me and he doesn't want Dawn to worry about his problems for various reasons so please don't tell her or he'll know that I told you," Ash's pokémon said, giving her a pleading look.

"Certainly. And in return, I have to ask you not to tell Ash about her own dilemma." She didn't even wait for an answer and just continued. "Currently, there's no unexpected influence on their minds and I intend to keep it that way. Your presence here may make matters a bit more easy as we could take turns. Otherwise, doing this the whole night would become quite tiresome eventually."

"Of course. I wouldn't want you to do all the work," Reuniclus replied.

"Very well. I'll tell you when I need to recover a bit," she told him.

Even though he didn't like the fact that she just made the plan and expected him to simply agree to it, he had to admit that it was reasonable. However, what really got him thinking was the fact that both Ash and Dawn were having a similar problem. Considering this, an unnatural cause was more than just likely as the thought of it being just a coincidence was pretty ridiculous. Without a doubt, Alakazam was having similar thoughts or she was too busy protecting their minds.

Watching her had a soothing effect so Reuniclus had to be careful not to fall asleep. After all, he would have to take responsibility soon and failing tonight was not an option as his trainer's mind was at stake here. No, if Alakazam could do it, he could do it as well and he was going to do it just fine. Maybe he'd be the one to find the culprit.

Alakazam, on the other hand, didn't have time to draw conclusions as she was busy scanning the trainers' minds. It required a great deal of effort and missing something was easy but of course, she wasn't going to let anything slip away. Not only would her reputation be ruined but it would also put her beloved trainer in danger. And in case she found the source of their trouble, she'd make it suffer a bit before telling them about her success. However, this procedure could only last a few hours before she would need some rest, but since Reuniclus was here now, she wouldn't have to leave them vulnerable.

* * *

The man in the silver cloak, that was covering his whole body, was standing in front of some kind of altar. He was young, handsome, had very short black hair and yellow eyes. The room was lengthy, dark and full of pillars with torches attached to them, which illuminated the room at least a bit. At the one end, there was a stone altar and a grey carpet right in front of it. On the other side, there was the only entrance.

While he was staring at the wall behind the altar, deep in thoughts, someone clad in an knight-armor-like uniform entered and walked up to the man before stopping in front of the carpet and clearing his throat.

"High sage?" he asked, causing the man in front of him to turn around. He was wearing a circlet with a single, yellow gem in the middle.

"What is it? I'm ... busy." He sounded both tired and desperate, but the other one pretended not to notice.

"The men are getting impatient. It's time for another operation," he said bluntly, making the high sage jump a bit.

"But we lack the weapons and pokémon for something big. We'd get slaughtered," he protested.

"That's why we need to get better pokémon. We'll attack the Unova gyms. Those are well-trained, especially dragon-types," he explained. "Once that's done we should be able to do something even bigger."

It sounded like he was already determined to do this, which made the high sage wonder who was the boss around here. Of course he was, he just had to show it from time to time.

"What about the police? What makes you think they won't make short work of you, grunt?" he asked triumphantly, emphasizing the grunt. "It isn't that easy, you know."

The grunt didn't look impressed and leaned against one of the pillars before proceeding.

"We just need some distraction. For example, Shira's threat makes the Wallace Cup a perfect opportunity for us," he explained calmly. "With the international police busy -"

"- we can plunder the gyms without interference. Not bad, this might actually work." The high sage scratched his chin. "But I doubt the pokémon would help us in our cause. They are usually brainwashed pretty well in the gyms."

"Then we'll just sell them. They should fetch good prices," the grunt said casually.

The high sage reacted rather violently and grabbed him by the collar, trying to lift him but failing miserably. Almost without effort, the grunt freed himself but remained calm and didn't fight back.

"What are you saying? We are Team Plasma! Not poachers! We are here to free the pokémon, not to sell them to the people we want to fight!" The grunt just rolled his eyes. "What, you have nothing else to say?"

"You mean free the pokémon like we freed the shaymin?" The high sage froze. "What's the problem all of sudden?"

 _I had to do it. I had to give the shaymin to the international police in return for some money and the safety of my men. With that protection we were able to kill so many poachers without having to worry about the police chasing us. Of course, I told them that I simply sold them. I had to. Nobody else was allowed to know about the deal._ The grunt was leaning against the pillar again. _Oh crap, he's waiting for an answer. What am I supposed to say? If I refuse, they'll get suspicious._

"We ... I don't like this," he answered, shaking his head.

"Just look at it this way. It's for the greater good. We can use the money to increase our strength and save many other pokémon," the grunt explained. "This is war. And in every war, there have to be sacrifices but in the long term, we'll save much more of them."

The high sage turned towards the altar again and closed his eyes, trying to make a quick decision. The ideals of Team Plasma were important, but so was the morale of his men. In the end, he decided to keep up the morale.

 _For the greater good_ , he told himself.

"Alright, I leave the planning to you. Do we even have enough men for such a big operation?" he asked, slightly worried again.

"Not enough for every gym but enough for the strongest ones. We need more and stronger weapons, though. And for that, we need money," he added.

"I see. Fine, I'll get something later. This better be worth it," a disgruntled high sage muttered. "Now leave me."

"As you wish," The grunt quickly left and closed the door.

Somewhat relieved, he also went to the door and locked it to make sure that nobody would disturb him.

"I don't like this. I don't like this one bit." He went to the space behind the altar, took one of the torches on the wall and turned a second one around, which caused a secret door to open. "But I need this. The inheritance is running low and we need more income. I wonder what they'd do if I told them that I don't have much left."

The door revealed a dark and narrow corridor, for which he needed the torch. It didn't take him long to reach another, smaller room. It was round, dark and had a round altar in the middle, on which the picture of a woman with a child was placed.

 _Good thing Team Rocket never found that hidden passage. Well, I wouldn't have found it if it wasn't for my clumsiness. At least it was useful for once. It was already a miracle I found the base itself. The police wasn't able to._ He kneeled in front of the altar. _Don't worry, mom. I'll show them that you were right. I'll show them that I'm better than my brother. I created another Team Plasma and it has become my destiny, my purpose. Yes, it gives me the chance to prove myself to the world. If only you and father were still alive to see me._

He stood up again and clenched his fist.

 _He thought I would never become successful. I'll show him. I'll show the whole world!_ he thought, raising it. _Soon I'll make a name for myself._

* * *

Once again, Dawn was the first one to wake up but this time, she felt actually rested instead of dead tired, having stayed asleep the whole night for a change. If she had actually dreamed something this night, she couldn't remember it and that was good enough for her. After a good stretch, she went to the bathroom to have a refreshing shower.

"I really have to make a few extra poffins for Alakazan," she mumbled, stepping into the shower and turning on the water. For almost a minute, she just stood there and let the water flow down her body. "Now I can enjoy this so much more. Whatever she did, it worked perfectly."

In fact, it felt so good that she spent much more time than usual and hurried upon realizing just how late it was getting. As soon as she stepped out, she noticed a crack in the wall. Then she tried to have a closer look but the crack moved as well. It wasn't in the wall, it was in her vision.

 _No, not again!_ There was a sharp pain in her heart and she fell to the floor, crawling to the opposite side. Her breathing was heavy and she was tempted to rush into the bedroom and tell Ash about it. _Is this nightmare? No, it can't be true! I don't want to go back! This is the reality, isn't it? This is just a coincidence._

She blinked violently and rubbed her eyes until the crack was gone and her vision back to normal. She took a deep breath, stood up and picked up the towel again. With shivering hands, she opened the door to the bedroom and saw Ash still fast asleep in the bed.

 _It was just a coincidence. Damn, that really frightened me. How silly._ She let out a soft but nervous laugh. _Oh well, I better get to work._

She hastily put on fresh clothes and went down to the kitchen, where she found Reuniclus and Alakazam sitting on the floor, leaning onto each other. Since she didn't want to wake them up, Dawn tried to do everything silently but failed as after the very first step, Alakazam's eyes opened.

"You look rather distressed. Was there another nightmare?" the psychic type asked. Surprised by the sudden voice, Dawn almost fell down."There has to be something, usually you aren't this easily scared."

"I'm not scared!" she complained. "You just startled me. And no, there was no nightmare. I just saw something that reminded me of a past one so I'm a little jumpy right now. The more important question is, did you find something? And why is Reuniclus with you?"

"I asked him to help me out since the scanning required more energy than I expected." She seemed to guess Dawn's next question. "I can assure you that he won't tell Ash anything. But to answer your original question, no, we haven't found anything."

Dawn took some cutlery out of a cupboard and hit the table with it. Thankfully, Reuniclus's sleep was so deep that he didn't wake up.

"Sorry," she said, sitting down and covering her face with her hands. "Just when I thought that it was over, you tell me that they were natural all along?"

"I'm not implying anything. If there really was something causing them, it didn't show itself, maybe because it knew I would find it. However, I can't exclude the possibility of the nightmares being completely natural," Alakazam explained.

"I see, so basically, we don't know more than before." She sighed before standing up again and proceeding to prepare the breakfast. Suddenly, there was a wide grin on her face. "Wait a second. If they are really natural, they're unlikely to happen too often. And if there's someone or something causing trouble, your scanning obviously prevented it. I know it's a lot to ask for but could you maybe ..."

"Do this procedure every night? You're right, that's an awful lot to ask for, considering it would mean having to stay awake all night, not to mention just how tiring it is." Dawn lowered head. Maybe it was too much. "I'll do it but only if I have someone to help me out and I demand a fifty percent poffin increase for the duration of this secondary task."

"Thank you, thank you!" Dawn stopped what she was doing and gave her pychic type a hug. "I'll tell Espeon to help you."

"I guess those nightmares are really bad." So far, despite Dawn's shaken state of mind, she wasn't sure just how bad they were. "Although Espeon doesn't know how it works, she should be able to learn it rather quickly with my help and besides, there's still Reuniclus to help me out if necessary. Now would you mind finish preparing the breakfast? The procedure left me rather hungry."

"Of course," Dawn replied, laughing. "I'll make you something that can carry you through the whole day."


	32. The Crystal Cavern

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 32: The Crystal Cavern

"Well, it's not too bad but not exactly what I'm looking for," Ash admitted.

He was currently standing on a snowy hill near Snowpoint City, observing a lake. Due to the disappointing first day at Cinnabar Island, he wanted to try a different area instead of exploring the rest of the little islands. Since he knew that Dawn liked snow, this area seemed ideal but so far, things weren't looking too good.

"If I can't find anything better, I guess this one will have to do. But I don't give up that easily." He went to Charizard, who was already waiting and climbed on his back along with Pikachu. "Let's keep looking."

The fire-type launched himself into the air with so much force that his passengers almost fell off. He was the first choice this day because Latios didn't like the cold climate and although he was a bit slower, the fire-type still did a very good job. Pikachu, on the other hand, didn't seem to enjoy the ride at all, maybe because he was pretty exhausted. He'd spent the whole morning training extremely hard to make up for the previous day and now, with almost all of his energy gone, he needed some rest. However, his loyalty made him accompany Ash instead of having a nap. His trainer thought that it had been too much for a single morning and also voiced his concerns, yet he still supported his decision. After all, there was no way to change Pikachu's mind, he could be just as stubborn as Ash.

"You look really tired. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, Reuniclus can take you back if you wish." Pikachu shook his head but was too tired to complain in another way. "Alright, alright, understand. Come to think of it, I have to reward him somehow for helping me with those nightmares. Maybe I'll make him some poffins." Even Charizard turned his head and looked at him like he suggested to poison the psychic type. "Hey, I was just kidding. I know mine aren't too good."

Still, he felt annoyed by the reaction and thought about showing them by making the best poffins in the world but quickly dismissed it as he had many other things to do. For example, even though there had been no nightmare this night, he had heard a loud and cold laugh when entering the kitchen. He'd been the only one to hear it so he was assuming that it was just his imagination but it still made him worry. There was something about that laugh that frightened him, something incredibly cruel and full of spite.

Before he could think a bit more about, he noticed another spot, which seemed interesting enough for a closer look.

"Please land over there," he told Charizard, pointing at it.

This was going to be a long day.

Dawn was observing a training battle between Shaymin and Sylveon when she noticed that her shirt was looking slightly red and remembered that she was wearing her aura stone. Taking it outside, she realized that it was shining with an intensity she'd never seen before, not even the day before. Despite the glow, it was still cold, something she was used to by now. He had to be somewhere far away and he hadn't told her anything, which made her worry a bit.

"He's gone again," she muttered, looking at the red gem. "I wonder where he went this time."

"Do you want me to find out?" Metagross, who was standing next to her, asked.

"No, I'll ask him later. But this provides an excellent opportunity. Please get Alakazam. She should be sleeping somewhere around here." Metagross used magnet rise to rise into the air and started looking.

Dawn kept instructing Shaymin until Metagross returned with a tired looking Alakazam on its head. Considering what the psychic had gone through the night before, Dawn was hesitant to ask her for even more but there was nobody else she could ask. Even though Espeon also knew how to teleport, she didn't know long-range teleportation and the place she wanted to go was pretty far away. Maybe it was time to teach it to Espeon as well. Gallade also knew how to do it but he surely was with Ash right now.

"What is it this time? Do you require my transportation skills again? Has it ever occurred to you that it's time to teach the long-range teleportation to Espeon or maybe Reuniclus?" This almost caused Dawn to laugh she had the very same thoughts. "My patience is running low. Would you mind telling me what this is about?"

"Keep training like this. If you're too exhausted or injured take a break or let Lucario heal you." She told the battling pokémon before turning to the matter at hand. "Well, I was thinking about your recent suggestion and wanted to visit Fullmoon Island as we know that a cresselia is living there but since you seem to be in such a grumpy mood ..." Dawn was about to let the matter drop but surprisingly, the psychic interrupted.

"You are aware of the fact that she isn't supposed to be there at this time of the year, are you?" she asked, looking annoyed.

Actually, she wasn't and it made her feel really stupid right now.

"Well, not exactly," she admitted, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment . "What about lunar wings? I thought we could find one of those."

Alakazam sighed and turned around, either because she was annoyed or lost in thoughts. Whatever the case, interrupting her wasn't a good idea so she just waited until her pokémon was ready.

"As much as I hate admitting it, this is an option we can't ignore. Besides, a success would remove the need for me to stay up every night." She scratched her chin. "Alright, let's get this over with."

"Thank you." Dawn hugged Alakazam, careful not to be too forceful. "This may sound stupid but do you know the location?"

"Of course I do!" Maybe it wasn't exactly the right time to ask stupid question. "Don't you remember the time we visited the island? We also visited Newmoon Island but I don't suppose you're too eager to meet a darkrai."

"Alright, alright, I get it already," Dawn replied.

She quickly gathered the pokémon she wanted to accompany her and apologized to Shaymin for leaving it in the middle of the training. Much to the other pokémon's horror, she left Galvantula in charge of the training. Most of all, they felt bad for Shaymin, who would feel it for the first time. Nevertheless, the bug type was the most efficient taskmaster of them and without her strictness most of them wouldn't have become as strong as they were. Dawn very much appreciated it although she thought that Galvantula was a bit too hard on newcomers but then again, she admitted that she was maybe a bit too soft in that regard. Her pokémon often complained during the training under Galvantula but rarely after, mostly because they appreciated the effect.

Alakazam took Dawn along with Piplup, Metagross, Crobat, Togekiss and Gengar to a beach at Fullmoon Island. Even though the sun was shining there brightly as well, it was much colder due to the cold wind from the sea, which made her regret not taking her coat with her. However, Alakazam was tired and she didn't want to ask her to take her back home again just because of a minor issue like that. No, Dawn had already asked so much of her and was determined to just endure the temperature.

 _What's the worst that could happen?_ she asked herself. _Wait, what's this?_ The aura stone wasn't nearly as bright as before, which could only mean that Ash wasn't too far away, probably also in Sinnoh. _I should think about it later, first I have to find a lunar wing. Wow, it's really cold, though._

Trying to look strong, she picked up Alakazam, who was surprisingly easy to carry, and stepped on Metagross's head, using it as a platform. Other pokémon probably wouldn't allow something like that but the steel type was always modest and happy to help in any way, even if the work was considered menial by others like transporting poffins. It rose in the air, giving Dawn a good view on Fullmoon Island. She was watching it for a while before addressing her pokémon.

"Alright, let's see whether we can find a cresselia or at least a lunar wing. Spread out, keep your eyes open and most of all, be careful. Send a signal if you find anything. Metagross will tell you if it's time to return. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Very good. Let' go!"

The pokémon went in every direction to search the whole island. Dawn insisted that Metagross didn't move too fast as she was already cold enough and the wind would only make it worse.

Just when she thought that she noticed something lying on the ground, the colors vanished from her vision, making everything look gray and desolate. Surprised by this, she almost fell off but after blinking only once, her vision was completely back to normal. Of course, it reminded her of the problem in the morning, which had vanished just as quickly. As if that wasn't enough, the item on the ground turned to be a silver ring, which was maybe left by a visitor of the island.

That moment, when her vision had turned gray, was bugging her the entire time, it made her actual work sloppy but Metagross's vision was way better anyway so it was no big deal. Unfortunately, neither the steel type nor the other pokémon were successful. There was no cresselia, no lunar wing, nothing.

"Impossible! Not a single lunar wing? This seems unlikely," Dawn muttered, already shivering because of the cold.

"The whole island was probably already searched thoroughly by scavengers," Metagross told her. "Lunar wings are pretty desirable but it has already been a while and you're unlikely to get a lunar wing at this time of the year."

"I see. Well, I guess it's no use," she said with a sigh. "Let's go back. Thank you all."

She recalled every pokémon except for Piplup and Alakazam, who had recovered by now and was able to take them back without a problem. Shortly after, Ash also arrived, looking disappointed and exhausted. Once again, he didn't ask for the almost obligatory training battle at the end of the day. He did notice, though, that she was shivering and immediately took her back home, leaving the rest of the training to the pokémon.

Although she insisted that she wasn't cold anymore, which made him wonder why she was cold in the first place, considering it was pretty warm at the lab. Together, they made a warm meal and spent the rest of the evening in the living room. During the short times they were alone, each of them gave their pokémon instructions for the night as they didn't want the nightmares to return. Since the plans seemed to have worked, they didn't intend to change anything in that matter, only this time, Dawn had brought Espeon with her so she would help out the other two psychic types.

The night was pretty much like the last one. There were dreams, but not nearly as bad or lively as the nightmares, and they were soon forgotten. Ash and Dawn returned to their daily routine, which was only interrupted by maniacal laughter in Ash's head and cracks in Dawn's vision. As much as they tried to ignore it and act normally, those moments were really creeping them out. In the morning, they trained as usual although Dawn felt an itch in her throat, which could only mean that a cold was coming. Considering the event of the day before, it didn't come as a surprise at all. In order to not make it any worse, she passed on participating in the hardest training sessions. Ash was too busy with Pikachu's training to notice, it looked like he was trying to compensate for the missing training in the last few days.

After dinner, he tried looking for a good location for the date again and for that, he wanted to check the remaining islands around Cinnabar Island. Dawn kept making poffins as it was much colder than during the last few days and her throat started hurting slightly. This way, she was inside at least and it wasn't as hard as the training. Besides, with Shaymin as her new pokémon and Alakazam's work, she needed to make more of them than usual anyway and since she felt that she was going to be sick very soon, she made even more for the next few days as well. Her aura stone was shining weakly so he couldn't be too far away.

Meanwhile, was on Latios's back, flying above the islands once more, checking almost every single one but with every try, his hope vanished a little bit. Nevertheless, he was determined to finish it even without hope. Most of the islands were little more than big rocks in the sea and as such, weren't suitable for what he had in mind. A few were bigger but useless nonetheless, either because the waves made staying on them impossible or the terrain was just too rocky. Those who didn't have those faults were usually simply boring and thus the whole flight was getting on his nerves. However, he started this whole ordeal and wanted to finish it now, no matter how.

Directly after another disappointment, he suddenly heard that voice laughing in his head. But unlike before, it actually spoke to him.

"This one is weak. This one is helpless," it said. "We will crush it. The other ones won't be able to help it."

"What the ...?" Ash muttered, making his pokémon look at him questioningly. "Oh, it's nothing. I thought heard something but I guess I'm just getting tired. No need to worry."

"We see it. We hear it. It is using the phrases of the other one it calls Dawn. We know it. It is helpless." The voice was full of spite. "It will feel our wrath. Its tricks won't help it."

The voice finished its little speech by laughing once more, leaving Ash completely flabbergasted. Was this voice responsible for the nightmares? Was it planning even more? Why was it saying those things? These and other questions were rushing through his mind. In fact, where was it coming from and most importantly, what was the source? Was it just a ghost type with a sinister sense of humor? He shook his head, dismissing the thought again as Lucario would have felt it. No, whatever it was, it was something different. He couldn't even ignore the possibility of it just being his own imagination.

 _This is bullshit! Why can't it just leave me alone?_ he wondered. _And that voice is really creepy. It's ..._

"Ash?" It was the concerned voice of Latios.

"Huh? What?" He realized that the dragon probably had been trying to tell him something for a while. "Sorry, I got a little distracted."

"No problem. I just thought you might want to check that island down there," Latios told Ash. "It doesn't look too promising, though."

"Maybe so, but we have checked even smaller ones." Ash sighed. "Let's try."

Latios landed on the surface, which looked like a huge rock in the water and everyone spread out again. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing special about it but at least it was big enough to protect them from the waves. Ash was about to leave when Pikachu motioned for him to come. He was standing on a higher position, almost like a tiny cliff.

"Pikapi! Pika!" he shouted, pointing at something below.

Ash and Latios went to his position and looked town to see the entrance to a cave, maybe an underwater cave. Having the advantage of levitation, Lations flew in front of it and then inside before returning about one minute later. Judging from how much time he had spent in there, it couldn't be an underwater cave.

"It's a grotto. You really should have a look at it." He sounded excited and let Ash and Pikachu get on his back. "It may not look like much at first so just wait for it."

When they entered the grotto, Ash thought that there was something in the water but it disappeared as soon as they were inside. Just as Latios had said, it didn't look very impressive, which was mostly due to the darkness, which didn't allow them to see anything. Upon reaching solid ground, Ash stepped onto it and tried to find out what Latios had meant. After about half a minute, they saw light coming from inside the water. So he hadn't been imagining things, after all. At first, it was weak and did barely anything but soon it became stronger and stronger until it became clear that the sources of that blue light were actually moving. He had seen it before and recognized it as the result of lumineon in the water. The more they looked at the dancing lights, the more fascinating it got and the more Ash started to think that this was the best place so far. Little did he know, there was more to come, much more.

The light illuminated the grotto a bit and revealed it to be full of strange crystals, which reflected the light and gave the place an eerie, mystical and almost unreal appearance. The moving light made the walls of the cave look like they were flowing waves and the crystals looked like they were pulsating with energy but he knew it was just an optical illusion. Nevertheless, it was remarkably beautiful and he would chose this as the place immediately if it wasn't for a tiny flaw. The plan was to find a place for a nice view on a sunset but understandably, a grotto wasn't exactly made for something like that. However, it looked the exit was facing to the west so that it might actually work. Just to be sure, he called out Reuniclus and when he did it, the light vanished. Apparently, the lumineon got frightened by the flash and retreated into the deeper parts of the water. It made him wonder just how deep it was but it also explained why it had been dark at first. Slowly, they were returning, making both Ash and his pokémon look at them.

"Reuniclus, please memorize this place. I need you to take me back later." Ash finally said but there was no answer. "Hello?"

The pokémon was too enthralled by the light to notice him until Pikachu gave him a tiny shock and repeated Ash's words for him. Slightly embarrassed, he just nodded and turned away so it wouldn't happen again. Ash just waved it off.

"It's fine. We were also pretty fascinated by that light show," he assured the psychic type. "I doubt we'll find something better and I'm too tired for more anyway so let's go back. We'll return here later."

Reuniclus teleported them back to the lab, where Ash intended to train until shortly before the sunset.

Since Pikachu got tired again quickly due to the training in the morning, he decided to focus on the teams he wanted to use in the Wallace Cup. Dawn noticed that and offered to work with him, an offer her happily accepted. She used her team for the opening battle before letting others battle as well. The lack of training battles between them in the last few days made them only more enjoyable, but Ash also noticed that she wasn't as energetic as usual. During a break, while they were sitting a small bench under a tree, she told him the reason.

"I think I caught a cold. My throat is hurting a bit already," she explained, touching her neck with a pained expression. "I spent a lot of time making poffins because I felt it coming but it seems I was still too reckless."

"You really have to be more careful," he said with an innocent expression before they burst into laughter. "It doesn't sound convincing when I say, does it?" he muttered, removing tears of laughter.

"Not really," she replied as soon as she was able to speak. "Oh boy. You shouldn't get too close to me, though, or you might ..."

He answered by pressing his lips onto hers. After the initial shock, she closed her eyes and kissed him back. They had to pull back to catch their breath soon and he gave her his characteristic, goofy grin.

"I'm not afraid of a cold. Something like that wouldn't stop me from doing the things I like," he exclaimed proudly, raising her chin.

"Yeah, right." She pulled his hat down so that is face was covered by it. "I can still remember the last time you caught the flu. You had to be pampered twenty-four-seven."

"You weren't much different," Ash protested, returning his head to its proper position.

"Maybe so, but I never told anyone otherwise," Dawn said, folding her arms.

At least the sunlight wasn't blocked by the tree at this time of the day and she really enjoyed the warmth it provided. It made Ash think a bit.

"How did you even manage to catch a cold anyway?" he asked. "It has been pretty warm lately."

She scratched the back of her head as if she was embarrassed.

"Well, I discovered that Shaymin was weak to ice. I mean really, really weak," she said, gesturing wildly. "As you know, it also causes Shaymin to revert to its land forme but I didn't know just how little it took. So I wanted to work on that or it would be a real weakness in battle. Now it seems I participated just a little too much." She shook her head. "It's nothing big. I'll get over it. But I also have a question. Where have you been lately?"

He tried to look surprised by staring at her with wide eyes but he could see that it wasn't working as she just raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't take me for a fool." She pulled her aura stone from inside the shirt and held it in front of his face. "I know it's not its original purpose but this thing is like an alarm. And yesterday, it was impossible to miss so denying it isn't really an option," she added, giggling.

He realized that she knew about his absence so he had to give her a satisfactory explanation. Thinking quickly, he decided to tell at least part of the truth.

"It's supposed to be a surprise so I can't tell you much. All I can say is that you'll see after the Wallace Cup. Please have patience," he explained, hoping that she would believe him. Apparently, she did.

"I see. Please don't tell me anything else or you'll spoil the surprise ... even more I mean. I kind of ruined it already. Sorry." She laughed nervously.

"Don't sweat it." He waved it off. "I'm sure you'll still be pleasantly surprised. At least I hope so."

They spent the next few minutes just sitting there, enjoying the fresh air and watching their pokémon play after a hard day. Pikachu and Buneray looked like they were playing catch, Floatzel, Absol and Scrafty were dozing off next to them, Scyther and Scizor were still training, and Bellossom and Bulbasaur were trying to catch the last rays of light from the setting sun.

 _Come to think of it, this isn't too bad._ Dawn seemed to have similar thoughts and leaned her head on his shoulder, to which he reacted by putting his arm around her. _I don't even need a special place. But since I've found that grotto I might as well ... oh crap._

The red sun in the distance reminded him of what he wanted to do and, without thinking, he moved the shoulder his girlfriend was leaning on so quickly that she fell to the side, banging her head on the bench.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said, stroking her head for a moment and then gaining some distance. "I just remembered something I have to do. I have to hurry, sorry again."

He left her in dazed state and she could only watch him running away, calling Reuniclus the whole time. Whatever the reason, it had to be significant or at least he thought so. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left her like this, especially since it was his fault in the first place.

Finding the psychic type didn't take long and Ash immediately told him to take them back to the grotto, not even bothering to look for Pikachu and the others. Since time was running out, he couldn't afford that anyway. He could consider himself lucky that Reuniclus didn't have the same kind of humor as Zoroark or he would have teleported them right above the water. They arrived just in time to see the sun disappearing behind the horizon, but fortunately, they could still see the last rays of light getting reflected by the crystals, illuminating the grotto with the red light. Since the lumineon were startled by the flash of the teleport move, there was no blue light interfering, making the red one look all the more impressive. But then again, maybe it would have looked even more beautiful with both types of light or if he had arrived earlier. The problem with the red light alone was that it wasn't moving at all.

It didn't matter to Ash, this place was clearly the best he had found so far and finding a better one seemed unlikely so he decided that looking for something better it wasn't worth it. Now he had something else to worry about, though, a dizzy and angry girlfriend waiting for him at the lab.

He wasn't sure whether it was good or bad that she was already on her way home when he reappeared at the lab. Pikachu also seemed offended because he also wanted to see the grotto during the sunset. Although Ash suspected that he wanted to do this with Buneary, he didn't mention it as it would have only agitated him even more and he had enough problems already. Unsurprisingly, she was already waiting at home, hands on her hips and an annoyed look on her face.

"I trust this was part your surprise so I won't ask for details." Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, she continued, raising a finger. "However, it won' stop me from having a little revenge." She gave him the sweetest smile she could muster before returning to the living and from there, he could hear her voice. "By the way, I don't feel great. Please make something easy for supper."

 _Is this her little revenge or is she already planning something more insidious, maybe with the help of Zoroark_? The mere thought made him shudder. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, though, and, after giving Reuniclus the same instructions, he went to sleep.

With Espeon helping him and Alakazam, it was much easier for them as they didn't have to keep up the scan as long as before and could take more breaks. Their efforts appeared to prevent the nightmares once more so their trainers woke up well-rested again or at least they didn't feel exhausted because of the nightmares. Just as expected, Dawn's cold had worsened over the night and in addition to a sore throat, she got a runny nose and slight fever. Although she still wanted to go to the lab, Ash insisted that she stayed at home ad after a long argument, she finally gave in but not without asking him to give her orders to Galvantula and Lucario. Of all the pokémon in her current team, only Espeon and Piplup stayed behind to make sure that she would be alright when Ash returned.

The next day, the coughing started and Ash also started to feel sick and sure enough, the same symptoms showed after a while. To his annoyance, Dawn made him do exactly the same things she had done because of him, but it was starting to show the first good results for her so he didn't complain and just went along with it. At least their pokémon were spared and under their care, they recovered rapidly and were soon ready to return to the daily routine. It would have been a wonderful week if it wasn't for the other problems they had. Ash kept hearing that voice, which taunted, ridiculed and threatened him at the most inappropriate moments as if it was trying to make him look foolish in front of the others. Dawn, on the other, experienced moments, which made her wonder just which world was real as her vision showed a strange behavior repeatedly, sometimes showing cracks, sometimes turning gray. Needless to say, it caused a lot of distress for both of them but they tried not to show it and although they did notice a few things about each other, they had their reasons not to mention them. Dawn thought that Ash was worried about his surprise being spoiled even more and therefore didn't to ask. Ash somehow got the impression that Dawn was worried about the Wallace Cup, much more than he was even though she wasn't participating in the actual contest. He wasn't entirely wrong, though, as the opening battle was incredibly important to her, even more important than a grand festival.

Those little problems didn't prevent them from enjoying those days so they were in a good mood when they woke up in the morning of the last day before the Wallace Cup. Little did Dawn know, that Ash's surprise was about to come that day instead of after the Wallace Cup.


	33. Unleashed Love

**This is probably the most romantic chapter so far, and it's necessary. It's day for the sole purpose of forgetting about their troubles and worries for a while. The Wallace Cup with begin in the next chapoter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 33: Unleashed Love

Dawn woke up at the usual time, but everything else was very differnt this day. For one, Ash's place on the bed was empty, which was astounding given his sleeping habits. Additionally, the bed was in a surprisingly good condition so either he or one of their pokémon had done a neat job on it. That wasn't what was bothering her, though. Her head was spinning and the colors of the surroundings were changing every second. Rubbing her eyes often helped in such cases and this time was no different. However, when she looked to the side, she let out a scream and fell off the bed. At a snail's pace, she lifted the head until she was able to have a closer look because on the bed, on her bed, there was a skeleton.

After blinking, it was gone again but now she was somewhere else, a place that looked like a hospital room. Unsurprisingly, she was freaked out and pulled the blanket to her and wrapped herself up in a vain and silly attempt to escape those 'visions'. She stayed like that for almost a minute, then she slowly removed the blanket and stood up, having a look around. Apparently, the room was back to normal and she cursed herself under her breath for freaking out like this. In her mind, it had happened often enough for her to ignore it by now. Ash was still missing, though, so she put on a few clothes and decided to search the house.

Trying to find him without alarming anyone, she sneaked about. She didn't find anything until she entered the kitchen, where she was surprised to find a full breakfast, which looked so inviting, it almost seemed to beg her to devour it. For just a moment, she let her guard down and entered the kitchen, only to get surprised by Ash, who was waiting on the side and jumped at her from behind once she had passed a certain point.

"Surprise!" he shouted, covering her eyes from behind only to receive an elbow to the stomach.

Dawn was about to follow up with a kick to his nuts but realized her mistake and embraced him instead. He sank to the floor, holding his stomach.

"We're off to a good start," he managed to stammer. "My pokémon warned me you would do that if I made breakfast."

"I'm so sorry," she kept repeating. "I was already pretty jumpy and then you were gone and then I thought someone was in here."

"I can only admire your imagination," Ash replied, getting up with her help. "Something wrong? Usually, you aren't this easily scared."

"Usually, I'm not assaulted in the morning," she answered defiantly. "What are you laughing about?"

At the other side of the room, their pokémon were sniggering and talking amongst themselves, no doubt making jokes at their trainers' expenses. But when Ash also started laughing about their current situation, she couldn't refrain from doing it as well. As soon as they were done, Ash led her to the table, where she found a large variety of meals. It was hard to believe that he had done all of it by himself, maybe his pokémon or their mothers had helped him.

"Alright, let me just go the bathroom and then I'll be ready for breakfast," Dawn said, turning around.

"And after that, we have to pack," Ash said casually, trying to provoke a certain reaction from her.

"Pack? Why?" she asked, stopping in her tracks.

"Because -" He raised a finger. "- we will be staying in a hotel today. I have already planned many different activities, that should make this whole day enjoyable. Forget about the training for one day. Today we'll just relax and forget about all our troubles. Our pokémon also get some free time as it's their day as well."

Dawn was speechless and just stood there for a while, pondering about the situation with a funny look on her face. He could be romantic if he wanted to, but it was still surprising since he was always so focused on his dreams.

"That's amazing!" she finally exclaimed before her eyes narrowed. "Wait, my birthday isn't until more than one month. You didn't break something, did you?"

"What? What makes you think that?" He looked away, trying to look as innocent as possible. "I didn't break anything, I promise. Not this time," he added so quietly that she didn't hear it.

She was sure that he was telling the truth but teasing him from time to time was just so enjoyable. Still, she didn't know the reason for his efforts and he explained, feeling that she was dying to know.

"You know better than everyone else that my birthday didn't go the way you planned, at least not for you. You went through so much trouble to organize everything but didn't get to see it in action. It was supposed to be a happy day for both of us and that's why I decided to make another special day, as a thank you for the party, to show you how much I love you and simply because I think we need to clear our heads before an important event like the Wallace Cup," he explained. "So ... you think I made the right decision?"

Her answer was a short, but sweet kiss. Then she went up the stairs and turned around once she was at the top.

"I think you did just the right thing for all of us. So I'll make sure this day will go as planned," she replied. "Just give me some time, I have to properly prepare myself for such an important day."

"Are you sure he didn't break anything?" she asked Espeon telepathically.

"I can't be entirely sure but now stop worrying and just enjoy the show. He worked very hard for this," the psychic type told her, half-jokingly.

Ash watched her go into her bedroom with a great deal of nervousness. After all, this was supposed a great day for everyone so mistakes were to be avoided at all costs. Actually, he'd already done the first one and forgotten about the flowers but he would give them to her once she was back in the kitchen. While waiting, he heard the voice again.

"It thinks it can forget about us. It thinks it can run. It will soon realize that it's wrong. It will realize that we're always there. We're patient. We'll strike when it let its guard down," it said with a hint of frustration.

Ignoring the voice wasn't always easym but by now, he was used to it so it wasn't nearly as terrifying as in the beginning. Still, it made him wonder who or what was speaking to him, how it was speaking and why it was talking so strangely. Today, he wasn't going to think about it, though. Today was their day and nothing, absolutely nothing could ruin it.

Ash shook his head, realizing that he was thinking about it anyway and it almost made him miss the sound of Dawn coming down the stairs again. Holding the flowers behind his back, he waited for her to appear at the door. She looked excited, almost nervous but was smiling brightly nonetheless and It lit up even more when he handed her a bouquet of pink and white roses.

"Oh, they're beautiful!"she exclaimed, before hugging him tightly. "I think I already love this day."

"Just wait till you see the rest. Now how about some breakfast." He turned to the side, allowing her to see the meal in all its glory.

They sat down and that seemed to be the signal for the pokémon start eating as well. After only a few bites, she knew that he probably hadn't done everything by himself, but she wasn't going to mention it. Instead, she just ate as much as she could, not wanting his effort to go to waste but as usual, he ate much more and pretty much finished it by himself. She didn't mind as she didn't want to gain too much weight. Only May was somehow able to eat tons of food without ruining her figure, making Dawn and many others quite envious.

Finally, Ash leaned back and let out a content sigh before turning to his girlfriend again.

"We should pack now. A great hotel is awaiting us. And don't forget to take a proper dress. We'll be eating at one of the best restaurants on Cinnabar Island," he told her, making her eyes sparkle.

"Really?" She clapped her hands excitedly. "We haven't been in a good restaurant for quite some time. It'll be fun to dress up for something, which isn't a contest."

On the way back to the bedroom, all the different dresses were running through her mind. It would be hard deciding on one, especially since this day obviously was very important to Ash so she wanted to get the best one. A romantic date was a more than welcome change to the daily training, which wasn't bad by any means. Actually, it was fun and she loved it, but sometimes her romantic needs, which she also seemed to neglect regularly, became apparent.

She was also wondering what else he'd planned. His mention of Cinnabar Island made her hope that the hot springs were also part of the plan as she simply loved them ever since their first visit. Actually, she was sure that it was, otherwise she would have to talk a bit, concerning his knowledge of her and the things she liked to do. But since she was sure that knew about her love for those hot springs, she didn't worry too much about it. As far as she knew, Cinnabar Island has become even more of a tourist trap than it had already been so a lack of activities certainly wouldn't be a problem. The beaches alone were worth going there for, especially at this time of the year.

Upon entering the bedroom, Dawn immediately took off her clothes for inside the house and opened the wardrobe, looking for something appropriate before realizing that she really needed to know for the best results.

"Apart from that hotel and restaurant, what else do you have in mind?" she asked, her bare back facing him. "Ash?"

When there was no answer, she turned around and gave him scowl.

"Ash, are you even listening?" He blinked before nodding.

"Of course," he said but didn't sound very convincing. Maybe it was because his gaze wasn't focused on her eyes. Fortunately, she had always been pretty dense as well and still was.

"So what else is there? Hot springs? A museum?" she asked again.

"First we go the hotel. Then there's a contest in Fuchsia City I have two tickets for. After that, we'll have dinner at the hotel restaurant. You don't want to look too casual in there. In the afternoon, there are a lot of things we could do and it's up to you to decide. We can go to the beach, visit one of the museums, go to the hot springs or just explore the island. I'm sure you'll find something you like," he told her.

"Alright, let's talk about it at dinner," Dawn replied.

They decide to change their clothes later as for the first part, they didn't need anything formal but Dawn took one of her favorite clothes for the restaurant and even high heels, which she usually despised. It was pretty much the same as with Ash and suits. Although taking the clothes to the hotel was a waste, considering they could just teleport back home, put them on and return, it was because of Reuniclus. They left their aura stones, though, because they would stay together so they weren't needed. Since the psychic type wasn't trained in long range teleportation, teleporting to Cinnabar Island was difficult and exhausting enough so Ash didn't want to demand too much of him. Of course, it wouldn't have been too much of a problem for Gallade. However, Reuniclus had volunteered for the task and he'd accepted. Maybe it wasn't the smartest choice, but it was too late to change his mind again.

Before going to the hotel, they took their pokémon to the lab as this date was for them alone and Reuniclus was only there because of the teleportation. Once they were there, they told their pokémon to have fun and let Reuniclus teleport them right in front of the hotel entrance. Dawn had to admit that it looked impressive from the outside and as soon as they entered it, it became clear that the interior wasn't different. If their room was only half as decent, their stay would be most enjoyable, even it was for only one night.

The receptionist gave them their key, allowing them to have a first look at it and they weren't disappointed. Not only was it pretty huge and had a big double bed in it, there was also a lot of furniture, it was bright, welcoming and even the bathroom was big and had an incredible variety of shampoos, much to Dawn's delight as her favorite one was among them. Apart from that, there was also a TV, two computers and a bookshelf with an amazing number of books and magazines. The best part, though, was the balcony, which offered a great view on the sea and the beach.

"Too bad we don't have very much use for all of this," Dawn remarked while putting her clothes into the wardrobe next to the bed. "This must have been really expensive."

"To be honest, it really wasn't cheap at all." He shrugged. "We barely spend money on anything but electricity, water and food, especially pokémon food nowadays so we can afford it as long as it doesn't become a regular event. And with the coming events, I doubt it does."

They already left after only depositing the clothes as the contest wasn't going to wait for them. Reuniclus teleported them to Fuchsia City and fortunately, it was the last time for the next two hours as he was already tired.

Unfortunately, it didn't feature double battles as he couldn't find one just before the Wallace Cup. Nevertheless, quite a lot of experienced coordinators were participating. In fact, there were many who would put up a hard fight, even against them. They could only guess that those coordinators used this contest, which was probably the last one in Kanto before the Wallace Cup, as a kind of last test. Without a doubt, they would see all of them the next day and Ash might even have to face one or more of them, therefore it could be able to be good for more than just entertainment, at least for him. Realizing this, he decided to pay very close attention to their moves and combinations.

Dawn, on the other hand, could just enjoy the show as she wasn't going to battle any of them too soon. She had to admit that simply watching it as a part of the audience without worries felt somewhat weird.

It took only the appeal round to show that these coordinators were indeed among the best in the world. Without a doubt, they would be formidable opponents and there so many of them that they didn't envy the judges for their task of choosing the best in such a short time. In the end, a lot of them got disappointed but it was pretty much nothing compared to what would happen at the Wallace Cup, where even more of them competed. Hopefully, Ash wouldn't be among those.

The battle rounds were even more interesting as the coordinators showed that their pokémon's moves and combinations were more than just show. Even theirs would have trouble against them although none of them would admit it. Ash saw many combinations he had to be prepared for and because of having to pay close attention, he couldn't enjoy the show. That was the case until Dawn put her head onto his shoulder and whispered right into his ear.

"Relax, Ash. You said it yourself, that's what this day is for. Besides, I'm sure they won't use the same combinations again at the Wallace Cup. No, against you, they will use entirely new combinations." If she was trying to make him nervous, it was definitely working. "If you can't do it for yourself, please do it for me."

He didn't even need to look at her face to know that he wouldn't be able to resist anyway. Her voice had that effect on its own and with a sigh, he gave in and relaxed a bit, just enjoying the combinations instead of trying to think of ways to counter them.

"Alright. I'll just watch it," he said but still, it got her thinking. Maybe the Wallace Cup was more important to him than he was willing to admit. He often claimed that he entered mainly because his pokémon wanted to.

She wasn't going to worry about it on this day, though, and just put and arm around him, trying to make him feel better. He did the same and like that, watching the battles was much more fun.

In the end, a female coordinator they didn't know just yet, made it to the finale and defeated an old and experienced one and from what they heard, it was a small sensation since the old one was considered much stronger by the people. But those surprises were also a part of contests and made them highly unpredictable. Apparently, most people were happy about that unexpected result, only the fans of the defeated coordinator were devastated.

Since Ash and Dawn weren't among them, they were in a very good mood in the end and left the contest hall with the feeling that the money for the tickets was well spent. Getting out of the contest hall again was harder than expected due to an overzealous fan, who pretty much exposed them so they had to answer questions and sign autographs. There were also other things a few of them wanted, things they didn't even dare to speak of. It was a relief, when they finally got a chance to call out Reuniclus and let him return them to the hotel.

They quickly changed their clothes to something just a bit more formal and went to the hotel restaurant. Belonging to one of the best hotels, it was quite good and they weren't disappointed by the variety or the quality of the food, only Ash was a bit annoyed because he had to hold back in order not to catch unwanted attention.

"Regard it as a test for supper at the real restaurant," Dawn tried to motivate him jokingly and he passed this test easily this time.

While eating, they discussed the further activities of the day. Dawn refused the most obvious choice, the beach, as the hot springs would mean enough water for her. Instead, she wanted to simply explore the island, especially the area around the volcano. After that, they would visit the hot springs to relax a bit before the supper and his special surprise. Of course, he didn't tell her any details, no matter how often she asked.

Once they were full or at least not hungry anymore, they returned to their room, where they let Reuniclus rest on the bed. Then they left to explore the island. It wasn't until they stepped outside that they realized just how strong the sun was shining. The air was already really warm and the sun only made the heat worse. Fortunately, they both had similar hats to protect them, hers was a recent present from him and they both did the job just fine. There were a lot of tourists on the streets, many of them on their way to the beach and maybe it would have been the best idea, given the temperatures but Dawn thought that it was already too late to change her mind.

Their first destination was a hotel near the volcano. From there, they would be able to make a good climb for a great view over the whole island. Ash started to think that it wouldn't have been a bad choice for watching the sunset and it certainly would've saved him a lot of time but then again, he couldn't possibly imagine it being better than that cave.

At first, the incline was pretty moderate, which changed after about half an hour, when it started to get really hard and soon, it also became harder for them not to lose their footing. Only few people were adventurous enough to make that trip so they didn't meet a lot of them, most of them resting on the way or climbing back down. Although they were tempted to take a break since it was really tiring both because of the incline and the merciless sunshine, they decided against it because they felt that they should be able to it without one. Upon arriving at the platform, which was considered the end of that path, a great sense of accomplishment overcame them and they felt that it was worth the sweating and pain. Instead of enjoying the view, they had to drink an awful lot of water since they felt like they were about to die of thirst. As soon as they were done, they went to the edge, looking down.

Just as expected, the view was wonderful and they were able to see almost the whole southern side of Cinnabar Island. From there, even their hotel looked like just one house among many. They could also see people, who haven't made the climb yet, on the lower parts of the Volcano. Now that they were at their destination, not even the sun could make them feel uncomfortable. Ash sat down near the edge and just enjoyed the view but it was soon obstructed by Dawn, who sat on his lap. Surprisingly enough, she was facing him and had a peculiar look on her face.

"Don't you want to enjoy the view?" he asked. It wasn't like he was against it, though.

"I find this one much more enjoyable," she whispered, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him into a deep kiss. "You didn't really think I just came her for the view, did you?"

"Well, you could have gotten that at our hotel as well so why come here?" he asked again.

"Maybe." She put a finger on her mouth and looked up as if she was pondering. "But I think it's much more exciting up here, especially after all the trouble we went through to get here. Besides, I have already seen most of the things on the way."

"What if others see us?" He looked around and noticed that they were all alone but others could arrive at any moment.

"Come on, it's not like we'll go far. I just want to feel your company." She leaned in for another kiss and this time, he didn't hold back.

Even Dawn was surprised at just how much energy she had left after that trip. In fact, she hadn't felt this alive for days, if not weeks and she wanted him at her side. Ever since those nightmares had started, she had never felt completely safe, which was the case now, in his arms. She didn't mind the sweat or the burning sun and could have easily fallen asleep there if it wasn't for her hunger for his lips. Ash, on the other hand, was glad that she seemed completely relaxed so this day was already showing first results. He could only hope that the rest would have the same effect. For now, he was more than happy to fulfill her current desires, and actually, they were also his. Those nightmares and the voice had disturbed their love life for far too long and this day was perfect to get rid of all the frustration they had caused. Even though it wasn't exactly the best place, they didn't want to wait any longer.

"I love you, Ash. Thank you for this wonderful day," Dawn whispered, taking off her hat and burying her head in his chest.

"I love you too. But don't thank me just yet. The day is far from over," he replied, running his finger through her hair.

They closed their eyes and just stayed like that for what felt like an eternity and enjoyed every single moment of it. The volcano could have erupted and they probably wouldn't have even noticed it. Eventually, the constant sunshine became unbearable for Ash so he looked up only to see that they weren't alone anymore. His first reflex was to jump up but it was just a small group of tourists. He wasn't sure whether his girlfriend was asleep so he poked her, causing her to open her eyes.

They stood up and stretched before Ash realized just how much time they had spent in that position and urged her to leave quickly.

"We should get going. The sooner we return, the more time we can spend at the hot springs." That was enough reason for Dawn to grab his hand and dragged him along.

"Then there's no time to waste," she said, already picturing it in her head.

Getting back to the hotel was much easier than getting up for several reasons. Apart from the stay having restored a lot of energy, getting down wasn't nearly as hard as dealing with the incline all the time. And finally, the prospect of visiting the hot springs was a huge motivation. Hand in hand, they walked back like there hadn't even been a journey up. The only thing they really had to pay attention to was not to fall down but in the end, they made it without any major fall.

Before actually going to the hot springs, they quickly returned to their hotel room and took everything they needed. Ash thought that she really missed them, judging from how much she hurried.

As soon as he stepped into the water, he remembered why. After that exhausting trip to the volcano, it was even better than expected and he could hardly imagine a better place to relax. It was most unfortunate, that they couldn't bath together as a wooden fence was separating them so the best thing they could do was to talk. However, they were already tired and didn't have anything important on their mind so they just enjoyed the hot water.

It was a shame they had to get out eventually and a part of them was willing to starve just to stay a little longer but it was no use. They had to go back to the hotel and change their clothes to something more appropriate for one the most famous restaurants in Kanto.

Ash chose a rather boring outfit, consisting of black shoes, a black suit, a white shirt and a red tie. The important part was that he couldn't possibly go wrong with it, as that certainly would draw unwanted attention to him. In addition, he also combed his hair, which was a more than rare occasion and Dawn had to do a double take , having not expected it. She was wearing a very simple, strapless blue dress, which went to her ankles, along with blue high heels, a pair of long, blue gloves and silver earrings with small sapphires. Her hair was flowing down like a river, just the way Ash preferred it.

"You look beautiful," Ash exclaimed, looking at her thoroughly.

"Thanks. You also look rather handsome," she complimented him, looking away with a red face. Even now, she was a bit embarrassed like this.

"Shall we go then, milady?" he asked, bowing deeply and offering his arm.

"Why, most certainly, my good sir," she replied, accepting it.

They walked to the restaurant like that, earning quite a few stares from the people on the streets. Fortunately, it ended as soon as they entered the restaurant as most of the people in there had even fancier clothes. One of the waiter showed them the table Ash had reserved, which was near a window and gave them the menus. The hall was bright and inviting but there weren't a lot of tables, a fact that wasn't surprising since the restaurant was only there for rich people. A band was playing a relaxing piece of classical music, which was still loud enough to drown the conversations of the guests out, giving them some kind of privacy.

Deciding on something was not an easy task as all of them sounded at least interesting and Ash would've tried everything if it hadn't been so incredibly expensive. Dawn in particular was a bit intimidated by the prices and didn't want to be the first one to order something. Finally, he ordered something with noodles and an exotic sauce and a steak. Dawn chose the same with only a salad replacing the steak. They also chose one of the cheaper wines, which was still pretty good nonetheless. It took a while for the food to arrive, time they spent to discuss a few of the weirder choices they could've made.

When the food arrived, they were surprised to see that it didn't look like food at all, it looked more like a piece of art and they almost regretted having to eat it. On the other hand, the aroma was so intense that it almost drove them mad. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be among the best food they had ever tasted, giving them dreamy looks on their faces. Whether it was worth its extraordinary price was still worth discussing, though.

The longer they were eating, the more they felt out of place.

"So how is the food, milady?" Ash asked jokingly.

"Most exquisite, good sir," she replied, causing both of them to chuckle slightly. "Just look at the jewelry on those women. I feel like I don't belong here."

"Well, if they need expensive jewelry to match your beauty, it's their bad." He noticed that she looked like tearing up and got worried. "Is something wrong? Is there something in your eyes?"

She wiped a tear off her cheek before proceeding with a slightly shaking voice.

"You probably don't even realize just how sweet your words were. Thank you, thank you so much for everything today," she told him.

"It wasn't that big of deal, was it?" he asked, slightly surprised at her reaction.

"It means a lot to me. You are indeed the sweetest, kindest and most selfless man I know and I couldn't think of a better boyfriend. Even though you don't always show it, I know you have a good heart. I love you so much. Please never change." This time, it was Ash who was almost moved to tears.

"Strange how a restaurant like this can make you confess things like that," he joked. "Those are the kinds of confessions I would have expected on that platform at the volcano or at ... well, you'll see."

"True." Dawn let out a content sigh. "You know, this is great and all but next time, we should chose a more affordable place."

"We don't really have another choice. This and the party nearly annihilated our savings," he admitted.

"Is that so?" She pretended to be annoyed. "Well, in that case you have to win the Wallace Cup for the prize." Then she became serious again. "Once you're a champion it shouldn't be a problem anymore."

"Only more reason not to lose this time," he agreed.

Ash kept checking his watch during the next hour as missing the sunset after all the preparations was simply not an option. He had even written down the time the sun had set in the last few days so that they could arrive at the right time. When they were done with supper and received the bill, Ash had to recover from a small shock. The prices were outrageous, but he paid nonetheless and they left the restaurant with some time left. As soon as they were far enough away from the entrance, Ash suddenly rushed towards a bench nearby.

"Race you!" he shouted.

"You think you can beat me?" She also started running but due to the high heels, she lost her footing and fell only to be caught by Ash. "Thanks ... wait, you planned this all along, didn't you?"

"Guilty as charged," he admitted with his goofiest grin.

"Oh, you'll pay for that." She started hitting his chest playfully.

He carried her to the bench and they sat down. The air was still warm but at least the sunshine wasn't nearly as strong anymore. For a minutes they just sat there in silence, which wasn't awkward at all, only comforting. It reminded him just a bit of the scene at the volcano. In fact, it was so peaceful that he almost forgot about the next stage of his plan so he jumped up in shock upon realizing how late it already was.

"Oh boy, Reuniclus, come on out!" Dawn looked at him expectantly but instead of explaining, he chose to just show her what he wanted. "It's time for the special surprise. Reuniclus, you know where to take us."

The psychic type happily obeyed, teleporting them into a cave. Both the surprise and the terrain caused Dawn to fall once more but she didn't mind at this point. The setting sun was already shining into the grotto, thus illuminating the grotto via the reflective crystals. Dawn was speechless at first and just when she was about to say something, she noticed a different light coming from inside the water. It was blue and its intensity grew with every second. Having seen this before, she identified the source as a bunch of lumineon. What was most important was the fact that, just like the red light of the setting sun, the blue light got reflected by the crystals in the grotto, but since it was moving, it created a beautiful light show and together with the red one, it was a truly remarkable sight to see.

"This is beautiful," Dawn whispered, unable to look away. She took Ash's hand and made him sit next to her. "Now that's a way to watch a sunset."

"I thought you'd like it. This should be our special place. A place, only we know. A place, we tell nobody else about," he suggested.

"A good idea. Now let's enjoy this," she replied.

Soon the need for more closeness became overwhelming and they embraced with a passion that made everything else on that day pale in comparison. If Reuniclus hadn't known exactly what they were doing, he would have guessed that they were trying to eat each other's faces. They put everything they had into that kiss, their love, their passion, all of their feelings, good or bad. In that moment, there were no nightmares, no strange voices, no Shira, no threats, no challenges, no problems. No, there was nothing to worry about at all, only them. They had to pull back eventually but even like that, there was still this overwhelming feeling of being connected. Indeed, they felt that nobody and nothing could separate them. With their eyes closed and their bodies tangles, they simply stayed like that as they felt an inexplicable warmth in that position. There was no need for words or further actions. If there was anything like a perfect moment, this had to be it.

Eventually, they opened their eyes again and watched the sun disappear behind the horizon although they still didn't let go of each other. Without its rays of light, the grotto wasn't as exciting but it was still amazing and soon, something else happened, something Ash hadn't anticipated.

Something big jumped straight out of the water onto the ground next to them, followed by something with a similar shape, albeit much smaller. Since they had frightened the lumineon, it was dark so identifying them was impossible at first. Fortunately, they seemed just as surprised as the trainers and didn't do anything. When the light returned, they turned out to be Lapras, one of them a baby and the bigger one probably its mother. It would certainly explain the aggressive way it was looking at them, it was just worried about the child.

Ash had thought that the grotto was uninhabited, but now it seemed like he was wrong. Reuniclus stayed in the shadows, ready to strike although he hoped that it wouldn't be necessary.

"I didn't know you're living here. We just wanted to watch the sunset in this beautiful grotto," Ash explained. "We're already on our way. Just a moment."

Even though it pained him to leave the grotto and he knew that a wild pokémon wouldn't be a challenge for Reuniclus, he was careful not to disturb the lapras any longer than necessary. Reuniclus took the hint and teleported them back to the hotel entrance.

"I guess they need it more than we do," Dawn said with a sigh. "A pity, I was so comfortable there."

"So was I. How about we ... continue in our room?" He couldn't deny that he was feeling rather aroused and she wasn't different in that regard.

"Of course! It'll be a nice end to a magnificent day." She offered her hand, which he gladly took. "Let's go."

They could consider themselves lucky that the hotel rooms were soundproof. Otherwise, their passion would have caused a lot trouble in form of complaints from the other guests. However, they didn't care about that, as this night, they let their love control them.


	34. The Wallace Cup

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 34: The Wallace Cup

The alarm rang early in the morning, waking up Ash and Dawn, who were lying on top of each other. She was the first to react by rolling to the side and turning it off but by doing so, she experienced a massive pain in her head. Somehow, she managed to sit upright and covered her face with her hands.

"Oh ... it appears we were a little too wild yesterday," she mumbled. "My poor head. Maybe we shouldn't have done this the night before the Wallace Cup. I need something to ease the pain or I'll be easy prey at the opening battle."

She stood up and stumbled to the bathroom while Ash was still trying to stand up. Needles to say, he had exactly the same problems and combined with his usual condition in the morning, it made for a grumpy young man. Since Dawn was gone for the moment, he had no real reason to get up and just continued lying around after a short struggle. Fortunately, unlike her, he didn't have any battles this day and could just wait for his condition to improve again. Dawn took quite long in the bathroom, which didn't surprise him so had a lot of time for some extra rest.

When she returned, she looked only a bit refreshed. Her most obvious feature right now was her funny walk, which, without a doubt, was the result of last night. She gave him a weak but sweet smile, which also gave him the strength and motivation to get up.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she greeted him.

"Morning. In hindsight, I should have chosen the day before, then we could have recovered all day. Sorry about that," he said.

"If you really think a small headache will prevent me from doing my best, you obviously don't know me very well," she teased. "I just need to stretch a bit and some fresh air."

"You better be right or your fans will be disappointed," he countered. "Now time for the bathroom."

Upon returning, he saw that the room service had brought breakfast but Dawn was still doing morning exercises, either because she really wanted to wake up or because she wanted to wait for him. Despite the problems in the morning, they were truly happy.

They had to leave after the breakfast. Ash paid the bill and Reuniclus took them back to the lab, where they chose their teams for this day. Ash took Pikachu, Greninja, Aurorus, Gallade, Trevenant, and Durant. Dawn chose Piplup, Buneary, Shaymin, Bellossom, Espeon, and Lucario. Since it was Shaymin's first contest, it was much more thrilled than the other ones although it wouldn't even participate, only watch. It was strange that its first contest experience would be made at the most advanced of them all. Dawn also took the outfit she had prepared for the opening battle, an outfit not even Ash was allowed to see.

This year's location was Vermillion City, which was chosen because of its harbor. A new contest hall was build just north of the city, specifically for this event, it was probably the biggest and most modern in the whole world at the moment. Unlike the last times, they hadn't reserved a room at a hotel or a pokémon center since, for Gallade, the teleporting was no problem at all so they would return home for the night. For now, he just had to take them to Vermillion City and he teleported them in front of the pokémon center.

Unsurprisingly, the whole city was full of visitors from all region, though there weren't as many as expected, which was probably due to Shira's threat. Still, it wasn't enough to scare most of the people, so the hotels and the pokémon center were completely full. At least the weather was nice as it was warm, almost hot, and sunny. Only in the distance, a bunch of dark clouds could be seen approaching. With a bit of luck, they wouldn't hit the area until nightfall.

Finding the new contest hall was an easy task as they just had to follow the masses. They were moving so slowly, though, that Dawn was worried about getting there in time. After all, she still had to dress up and prepare for her battle. Unfortunately, they spotted a group of their friends in the distance but at least they didn't spot Ash and Dawn. Since she knew that getting into a conversation would put her in a bad situation as she couldn't just go away without raising suspicions, she decided not to approach them at all.

"I don't have time to talk right now," she told Ash, hiding behind other people. "Tell them something so they won't get suspicious. I have other things to do. Oh, and let them watch the battle. Especially Shaymin. It really wanted to see a real contest battle." She quickly handed him two pokéballs.

Dawn was gone before he could protest and just at that moment, he could hear someone calling his name and saw his friend waving at him, motioning him to come to them. He saw May, Drew, Serena, and Misty. Finding the latter here surprised him a bit as she never seemed to be too interested in contests apart from watching one from time to time. It seemed unlikely that she'd compete, shaving never talked about or even mentioned anything about the Wallace Cup. Ash quickly made his way to them and they exchanged greetings.

"Tell me, Misty, what are you doing here? You aren't going to enter, are you?" he finally asked.

"No, I'm not a coordinator but Wallace is considered the best water trainer in the world so I wanted to see him. As far as I know, he was part of every opening battle so far and I hope it's also the case this time. Besides, the Wallace Cup has never been this close to the gym and my sisters are there for a change so I can leave it, at least for a short time," she explained. "But didn't I tell you about it on your birthday? I guess your thoughts were somewhere else."

"I can't really remember. Anyway, I thought you didn't trust your sisters in that regard?" Ash asked and she immediately lowered her head.

"I know. They'll probably ruin our reputation within one day but this is an opportunity I just can't miss." She sighed. "But the more I think about it, the more I regret this decision."

Ash realized that asking her even more about it was pretty pointless so he dropped the matter entirely and changed the topic to something else he was wondering about.

"Drew, Serena, I thought you would have ripped out each other's throats by now. Are you finally getting along?" he asked, not exactly full of hope.

"With her? Are you kidding me?" Drew shouted. "I'd rather eat a grimer."

"He just doesn't have the balls to do anything to me. He knows I would crush him," Serena boasted.

"Ha, I could annihilate you with my pinky finger alone. I just don't hit girls," he retorted. "Can someone please make her shut up?"

"Typical Drew, let's someone else do the work he thinks he's too good for. Well, you can't expect a lot from him," she said, shrugging.

While Drew and Serena were arguing, Ash tried to talk to May and Misty instead. Although he and Misty also used to argue a lot, it was rarely this bad and she seemed just as annoyed as May.

"When May told me about them, I didn't expect it to be this bad," she told him. "At your birthday, they were already on bad terms but it had only gotten worse since then."

"Be glad you don't have to endure this every ... single ... fucking ... day!" May almost yelled, gritting her teeth afterwards. "At least she'll be gone after the Wallace Cup. I'm not saying I don't like her presence but together with Drew, it's a toxic atmosphere."

"I wonder ... isn't that Zoey in the distance?" Misty asked and waved her hand. "Zoey! Come here!"

Despite the crowd between them, Zoey heard her and made her way to the small group. Apparently, Drew and Serena also noticed the newcomer and stopped arguing, at least for the moment. After the greetings, Ash was the first to speak up.

"So what are you doing here? I thought you didn't enter this year?" he asked.

"You can't possibly think that I wouldn't at least watch it. It's the most important contest in the world and the best of the best are gathering to win here. I even canceled the classes at the coordinator school and advised the pupils to watch it as well." She had a look around. "By the way, where's Dawn?"

It was the question Ash had dreaded all the time. Fortunately, he had prepared a lie for this.

"She's not feeling very well and was still in bed when I left. I don't think she'll want to miss the opening battle and the introduction of the participants so she should arrive soon," he explained.

"You left her in bed, possibly sick? That doesn't sound like you at all," Zoey remarked, having her doubts about his story.

"She can take care of herself. She's strong and she still has her pokémon," he replied, waving it off.

"I'm still disappointed that she didn't enter again. I mean, she has no real reason not to, she's on a roll and I expect more ambition from my rivals." She shrugged. "Oh well, she probably has her reasons."

"Whatever the reason, with you two, Robert and Solidad missing this time, there's nobody to stop me from winning," Drew claimed.

"I doubt it," Zoey simply stated, earning a glare from him and causing Serena to laugh.

"And why is that so?" he asked, trying to hide is anger. "Who's going to stop me? May is strong but she has just returned after a long break from coordinating. Ash is powerful but no true coordinator. As for the rest, who can possibly take them seriously," he added with a side glance at Serena.

The other rolled their eyes as it was about to start again. Only Zoey was still new to their permanent arguing so she took their statements seriously.

"If you mean me, then say so instead of hiding behind general statements. At least I know that I don't have a real chance to win. I mostly want to make new experiences." It was like she was talking to the others, not to Drew. "It's about staying realistic. Some people just have those delusions of grandeur that make them blind to the truth."

Drew was about to retort but Zoey was faster and what she said made him even angrier.

"Although I wouldn't call it delusions of grandeur, she does have a point," she told him. "Your arrogance has been your undoing more than once. Ash and Dawn have the same problem sometimes but it doesn't happen as frequently. This is a friendly advice. Don't take your victory for granted and don't underestimate your opponents or you will lose ... again."

It was that last word that really drove him mad. He certainly didn't need to be reminded of his own defeats by anyone, let alone by a coordinator who wasn't even trying to win this year because she needed to regain her focus and strength after the last defeat or something similar. After all, he was one the best coordinators in the world and didn't need advice from others. On the other hand, her words did carry a bit of truth. He had always been strong enough but lost because of unexpected turns, which could have been avoided if he had been a bit more cautious. He was going to make sure that it wouldn't happen again.

"Although I appreciate your advice, I kindly ask you to mind your own business," he replied, folding his arms.

Ash was already fearing another argument similar to those between Drew and Serena so he tried to change the topic once more.

"How about we go inside? We still need to find seats," he suggested.

The others welcomed it as they were just as concerned as he was so they made their way through the people and into the building. It was oval-shaped and a large part of it was made up of glass and steel. It didn't just look modern, it was built to provide a perfect view from every seat. The acoustic was also pretty good and allowed the audience to hear more of the battle than in every other contest hall. The stage itself could be changed within half an hour for every possible occasion, in this case, it contained a large pool with little islands in the middle, as befit the Wallace Cup. The roof could be opened and closed anytime, right now it was open due to the warm temperature and the sunshine.

Ash thought that Dawn was lucky to have chosen a water type for her battle as they obviously had an advantage over the other types in this environment. Of course, due to its popularity, the water types would face a lot of electric and grass types and poison types were also used frequently as they were able to poison the whole pool, thus restricting the movement of their opponent unless they were ready to get poisoned. Ice types were another option as they could freeze the water, creating slippery ground and thus making it harder for many other pokémon to move.

There was a number of exclusive seats on a platform above the northern side of the hall. Ash recognized Wallace himself, Max Wright, Thomas, Cynthia, Lance and Nathan Sorlan. There were far more, though, probably agents of the international police or friends of the host. Ash wasn't sure whether he should be relieved or worried by the strong presence of the international police. At least Wallace didn't look concerned at all, in fact, he just looked excited about the coming event. Max Wright, on the other hand, seemed busy making emergency plans and looked like he was expecting an attack at any second.

Meanwhile, Dawn was in a room in the back of the building, making some final preparations for the battle, which, in her case, meant combing her hair. Her pokémon were with her with Bellossom walking around nervously and Piplup doing some exercises. Unlike the grass-type, he was completely calm, which was mostly due to his confidence. Dawn had already changed into her outfit and was basically just waiting for the battle to start. The fixing of her hair was little more than an excuse to have something to do until then. Saying that she was excited was an understatement, this battle was probably the most important one in her life so far even though she could neither win nor lose. It was a matter of pride. By having chosen her, Wallace had also put a lot of trust into her and she wasn't going to disappoint him. No, she had to do nothing short of delivering the best battle of this age and thus turn this Wallace Cup into the best one ever or at least that's how she was trying to motivate herself. The whole world was watching, so if that wasn't going to make her go to the limits, nothing was.

There was one particular thought she just couldn't get out of her head. Was Wallace going to be her opponent? It certainly would explain his refusal to battle her. In that case, she'd have to fight even harder and wouldn't even need to get through the Elite Four to battle him. Somehow, she doubted that life would be so kind to her, though. So far, it had always been far more complicated but one could still hope.

One reason she was so nervous was the fact that she had arrived much later than she had planned, mostly due to the previous day. Because of this, she didn't have the time to mentally prepare herself for this important battle, at least not as much as she had been hoping for. Ash was right, his chosen day hadn't been the best but it was still so much fun and she couldn't be mad at him for trying to make her feel better. But his behavior the days before still made her think.

 _He was so ... easily frightened. I tried to lift his spirits with a few harmless pranks and he acted like the house was under attack. Also, I found him daydreaming so often that it made me wonder just how he was able to train at all. Always looking into the distance, deep in thought and barely paying attention to his surroundings and whenever someone startled him, it made him jump._ Then she remembered a particularly troubling event. _I barely even recognized him. He was alone or at least there was nobody I could see and he just shouted 'shut up' out of nowhere. And that look on his face ... fury, desperation, even hatred. Just what could possibly make him look like that? Even worse, his behavior was aggressive when I asked him what's wrong. I should have been more persistent but I thought that he didn't need any more distractions. Now I see that we have to discuss it or it will keep bothering us. Same with the nightmares. But then again, is it alright to talk in the middle of the Wallace Cup or should I wait a bit longer?_

She buried her face in her hands and sighed.

 _Why do things have to be so complicated? And why am I thinking about this now? I have to focus on the battle, I don't need a distraction like that,_ she told herself. _Alright, I'm sure Ash is just fine. I'll have a lot of time to think about it after the battle. Focus, Dawn, focus!_

Instead of thinking about Ash, she found herself thinking about the Wallace Cup. Despite his good intentions, Dawn couldn't help but think that Wallace had forgotten about the original purpose of the Wallace Cup. It existed to find young and talented coordinators, not to be a replacement for those who wanted a system similar to the Elite Four although it certainly served that purpose just fine. That's why there were two different events right now but she felt that the Single Wallace Cup, as it was sometimes called, didn't receive the attention it deserved. Indeed, most people seemed to only care about the double variant, ignoring the younger and inexperienced coordinators although it was the best way to find real talent. Even Wallace himself seemed to only have eyes for the double battles, a development she deeply regretted.

Another problem was that, despite being the most advanced contest, it was made for water-types and she felt that it should be more balanced, at least as long as it was considered the greatest contest in the world, as the best coordinator should be able to use any pokémon without having to fear a disadvantage because of the contest hall.

All in all, the Wallace Cup did a magnificent job, though, and was just what the contest world needed. Dawn was proud to be the third winner and would have competed again to become the first to win it twice if it wasn't for the invitation to participate in the opening battle, an honor that was impossible for her to refuse.

She looked around and noticed that Bellossom looked very nervous. It wasn't surprising as this was by far the most important battle ever for her and Dawn knew exactly that nothing could reach her in that state. Nevertheless she had absolute faith in her pokémon and was more worried about her strategy. Sometime she wished she had Piplup's confidence, but whenever she did, it usually ended quite badly as it bordered arrogance, something that made her overestimate herself.

 _I just have to keep calm and I'll be just fine,_ she kept telling herself.

For now, she had to make sure that Bellossom wouldn't freak out at the start of the battle so she walked up to her and placed her hands on the grass-type's tiny shoulders.

"You'll be fine," Dawn said, giving her an encouraging smile. "I have utter faith in you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen you for such an important task, right? Just do your best and I'm happy. Leave the worrying to me."

She became a bit calmer and tried to embrace her trainer but her arms were way too short so she just did to Dawn's right leg. Dawn looked at Piplup, who did the same to her left leg as if he was trying to match her at showing affection. She could consider herself lucky to have such a loyal and devoted pokémon.

It was then that she heard a knock on the door and the voice of a woman.

"Excuse me, the battle will begin shortly. Please be ready in three minutes and I'll show you the way," she said, sounding nervous.

"Right away," Dawn replied. "Alright, just remember your training, do your best and everything will be fine."

They cheered before she recalled them and put unique seals, which were made just for this event, on the pokéballs. Although Piplup hated being in his pokéball, he also knew how important the entrance was and didn't mind staying in there for such a limited time. Dawn took a deep breath and opened the door.

Without the door between them, the woman leading her looked like she was about to break apart and didn't dare look at the coordinator, but Dawn didn't know why and she didn't have time to investigate as she was pretty nervous as well.

"P-please stand over here," she stuttered, pointing at a small platform, which would soon be lifted to make for a sudden entrance. "It w-will start in t-two minutes."

Once she was done, she hurried off and left Dawn with a few workers, who looked just as nervous. Soon, it would finally begin.

Ash looked around, trying to take in every detail. Apparently, Shira's threat had a greater effect than everyone had expected as he could see a few empty seats. It was shame that this happened just when Dawn participated but they would probably just watch in on TV instead.

"She sure is taking her sweet time," Drew remarked. "Makes one wonder. Maybe she's one of the coordinators in the opening battle."

"I wouldn't be surprised at all," Zoey agreed.

"Same here. Why didn't she tell us, though? We're her friends." May asked.

"Don't be naive," Zoey replied. "She isn't supposed to tell anyone. I wonder, do you know about this?" she asked Ash.

"You're acting like it's a fact. What if it's just a misunderstanding?" he answered, hoping that they wouldn't ask too many questions.

"If it's true then either she lied to you or you lied to us," Serena said, pointing at him. "Don't worry, I don't blame you. I would want to surprise the others as well."

"Let's just wait for it, alright?" The questions were already annoying Ash, which only confirmed the others' beliefs.

They kept discussing other possibilities while Ash was being awfully quiet until the MC appeared on the stage and greeted the audience.

"Welcome! Welcome to the fourth Wallace Cup since the reforms. I hope you are prepared for mind-blowing battles and amazing combinations!" There was an eruption of cheering, which only subsided very slowly. "Because you won't find a better place for those. The best of the best, the elite of the coordinators have gathered here today to battle for the famous Aqua Ribbon and especially the greatest symbol of accomplishment in the contest world, the Ocean Ribbon. Watch them fight for those treasure. Many tears will flow, both of happiness and sadness. Because in the end, there will be only one winner of each of them. We've had a lot of close victories in the past and this time won't be different. When you hear the names of the participants, you will realize how it's going to be. But first, our host, the Coordinator Champion Wallace has a few words for you."

The whole hall went completely silent as he stood up and took a microphone from someone nearby.

"Welcome to this wonderful event. I'm so happy to see the contest hall well-filled as I'm quite aware of the danger you might put yourself in. There's no denying that Shira is a dangerous criminal and must be taken seriously but we won't let someone like that prevent us from living our dream!" The audience cheered loudly once more and he had to wait for it to die down. "They can't and won't make us live in fear. The presence of the police here is strong and they will stop anyone who's trying to defile this event so that you can enjoy it without having to worry. As usual, there will be an opening battle, but this year, I won't be part of it. Instead, I have two of the best and most renounced coordinators in the world so I doubt that you'll be disappointed. I hope you are just as excited as I am because without you, I could never turn this into the success it deserves to be. Enough words for now! Let the contest begin!"

This time, it took almost two minutes for the hall to become silent again. Then MC spoke up again.

"So let's not waste any more time. The two coordinators are already waiting to entertain you. For those of you who are new, I will explain the purpose and rules of this particular battle. It was made as a kind of appetizer, to start the event with a bang. And indeed, it has always been one of the highlights every year. The rules are simple. There are no points, no winner, no loser. The battle is only for the entertainment of the people so the coordinators are encouraged to use combinations that are otherwise too risky to use if there's something at stake. Since knocking out the opponent's pokémon isn't advised here, the battle lasts exactly ten minutes and therefore double as long as ordinary contest battles." She raised arms. "But I know you're already growing impatient. Let's see who has been chosen this year!"

On each side of the stage, there was hole in the ground but only one of them was fully illuminated. Unsurprisingly, a platform was raised from below, a platform, on which the first coordinator was standing. It was a tall, handsome man with long, blond hair and light blue eyes. He was wearing a white suit with golden markings and a glittering, golden cape. It made him look both elegant and majestic. Of course, everybody knew him all too well, it was Robert, one of the most renounced coordinators in the world. in fact, many people, even fans of other coordinators considered him the best coordinator, second only to Wallace himself. Dawn had battled him twice before and lost each time.

"Our first participant is Robert from Hoenn, top-coordinator and the first winner of the Ocean Ribbon. Sometimes called the Golden Serpent, he is among the best of the best and certainly won't disappoint you." The cheering knew no bounds as Robert was admired by many, even his rivals. Ash had to admit that Dawn's task wasn't going to be easy at all. "Naturally, for a great battle, you need two worthy opponents and our second coordinator should prove quite a challenge, even for him."

The light moved to the other side, where the platform revealed Dawn. Her clothing consisted of simple, blue shoes, blue pants and a sleeveless, blue shirt. Two long and wide pieces of blue cloth were thrown over her shoulders, going down to her ankles and held together at the waist by a silver belt. They had silver markings on them, which looked like birds from afar, and allowed her to move freely, unlike normal dresses. Still, they flowed nicely like a skirt, only divided in four parts. She was also wearing blue gloves with the same silver markings on them. Her hair was bound in a ponytail, probably so that it wouldn't get in her way.

It was an outfit Ash had never seen before and for a moment, he was speechless. Although it couldn't be considered as cute and pretty as classical dresses, it made her look strong ad graceful, like a true fighter, not a beautiful but helpless princess. He could definitely get used to this kind of look.

"Robert's opponent is Dawn from Sinnoh, top-coordinator and last year's winner of the Ocean Ribbon. She also has a stage name, the Sapphire Phoenix and will more than a match for him. Let's watch them turn battling into a piece of art!" the MC shouted, making the audience go wild.

"I knew it! Didn't I tell you?" Drew exclaimed.

"We all knew. But great job anyway," Serena replied sarcastically.

It fortunate that they were sitting as far away from each other as possible. Ash was in the middle with Zoey, Misty and Serena to his left, and May and Drew to his right. Otherwise, their arguments would've become unbearable soon.

"Now you can tell us. Did you know, Ash?" May asked but received no answer. "Ash?"

"This one likes the blue one but it shall never have it. We will take it instead and there's nothing this one can do about it. It is helpless and will know fear soon," the voice in his head said again.

After the previous day, he'd almost forgotten about but now it was back and angered him more than ever. Only the fact that he was in the middle of a huge crowd prevented him from yelling back. But he definitely had to do something about it or it might distract him in the middle of a battle, making him lose. Maybe it was finally time to talk to Dawn about it.

"Ash!" The voice made him jump a little and he looked to his right to see May and Drew looking at him questioningly. A look to his left revealed that his other friends were also looking at him.

"I bet he was staring at Dawn. Doesn't that silver part on her outfit look like a bird?" Serena asked. "Maybe she likes her stage name a bit more than she's willing to admit."

"Yeah, I was a bit distracted," Ash admitted. "Now let's just watch the battle. I don't want to miss a single detail. Oh, I nearly forgot." He called out the two pokémon she had given him, Buneary and Shaymin.

The coordinators on the stage grabbed their pokéballs and got ready to use them.


	35. The Opening

**The first battle of the Wallace Cup. Since there is technically no winner here, the fighting will be less competitive than usual, though each contender will still want to look better than the other.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 35 The Opening

The battle between Robert and Dawn was about to begin. He was the first to call out his pokémon by throwing his pokéballs into the water.

"Battle time!" At first, nothing seemed to happen but then a tornado of water and fire was formed and made its way to the center of the pool. Finally, Milotic's head emerged from the water right in front of the tornado and the tornado dispersed, revealing a blaziken standing on Milotic's tail fins. It made an incredible jump onto one of the platforms close to Robert, leaving behind a glowing trail in the air. There was a burst of flame at the place it landed and it remained there after striking a pose. Milotic, who had dived during the jump, reemerged in front of it.

The audience was quite impressed and was waiting for Dawn to make her move now and she did by throwing her pokéballs into the water as well.

"Spotlight!" A blue light soon came from the depths, growing stronger with each second until a massive ice crystal formed. Something was happening to it, though, as it sounded like it was cracking but nobody was able to see anything. That could only mean that something was damaging it from inside and indeed, thin roots made their way through the ice. Suddenly, they got thicker at the same time and basically blasted the crystal into pieces. Everyone could see Bellossom standing on top of Piplup with her arms being the source of the roots. They were spread out so far, they looked like a tree without leaves and were obviously quite strong as they were able to shatter the ice with ease. Then the tree shrank and her arms returned to their normal form within seconds. She jumped onto a platform close to Dawn and got ready for the real battle.

"I see we're off to a great start," the MC shouted. "It already looks promising and they haven't actually started yet."

"You know, I was hoping to battle Wallace today but this is as close as it can get," Dawn told Robert.

"That almost sounds like a compliment," he replied, smiling brightly.

"It is. Now who shall begin?" she asked.

"You first. I insist." She knew that she would never be able to convince him otherwise so she just nodded.

"Ten minutes on the clock. Battle, begin!" the MC announced.

"Alright. Bellossom, use the ice toss!" Both she and her pokémon spread their arms and Bellossom's turned into long roots, which grabbed two large blocks of ice left from the entrance and penetrated them. Unbeknownst to the audience, she injected poison into them before spinning and tossing them towards her opponents. However, Robert noticed that the ice had turned slightly purple and reacted accordingly.

"Milotic, use twister! Blaziken, fire blast!" The tornado coming from the water type's tail fins shattered the ice and Blaziken's fire evaporated the other ice block instantly along with the poison. "You should try to make the poison transparent. Anyway, it's our turn. Burning ground!"

With its incredibly strong legs, Blaziken jumped up high and shot a large number of fireballs in every direction. What looked chaotic at first, turned out to be precise as each fireball hit exactly one of the small platforms, among them the one Bellossom was standing. In order to escape, she jumped on Piplup's back and watched the fireballs starting fires, which kept burning even after being hit by water. It made his back the only safe place for her apart from one single platform, which was occupied by Blaziken now.

"I've never seen moves like that," Serena admitted.

"That's because you're a rookie," Drew said, smirking."Besides, they're not even battling for real. They're just warming up."

"Whatever." Serena continued watching the battle. She noticed that Pikachu and Buneary were dancing as if they were cheering for Dawn. Shaymin was a bit hesitant but joined in soon and didn't stop.

Serena also noticed that Dawn was moving similarly to her pokémon, depending on who was the more active one. Other coordinators often did the same but none of them showed the same enthusiasm.

"Not bad. Let's start for real now shall we? Aqua jet!" Bellossom used her roots to stay on his back even during this move and only hopped off once Blaziken was driven off its platform due to Pilup coming after it. Of course, it wasn't willing to give it up so easily and jumped back as soon as Piplup started attacking Milotic. After all, he still had a score to settle. "Stun ball! Oh, and mix it with the others." She filled a tiny energy ball with stun spores, which were almost invisible inside, then followed up with sleep and poison powder on two others. Juggling them at first, she threw them at the fire type, who wasn't impressed at all by such a mediocre grass move. However, when it tried to dodge the ball in midair, it exploded, dealing low damage, but also releasing the spores while looking like fireworks. Since the stun ball exploded first, Blaziken was paralyzed instead of poisoned or put to sleep.

That way, Dawn hoped to counter its increasing speed, which made her think that it had speed boost as an ability. Poison or sleep on the other would've been too much for such a non-competitive battle. Blaziken emerged soon and immediately got on one of the platforms despite the fire as it saw a blue beam approaching the water and it was right to do so as the beam froze the entire pool within a few seconds. Milotic was partly frozen but broke free quickly.

"I guess there's no more need for those flames." Blaziken nodded and the fire on the platforms stopped. "Alright, no more messing around. Milotic, get them with twister! Blaziken, get ready!" It penetrated the ice with its tail and spun the fins inside. A moment later, Bellossom felt the ground below her shake and a small tornado emerged as it broke and launched the grass type into the air. Dawn looked at Blaziken but it was gone.

"Piplup, protect her!" Apparently, he was thinking the same as he was already on his way up with aqua jet and caught the fire type in midair while it was trying to use blaze kick on Bellossom. A brick break sent it flying towards the ground, where Milotic was already waiting.

"Twister again!" The tornado sent Blaziken right back with even more force and he managed to get a few hits on Piplup. "ice beam!"

"Magical leaf! Then aqua drill!" A leaf from the side interrupted Blaziken's attack and Piplup used the chance to combine aqua jet with drill peck and even used Milotic's ice beam for ice aqua drill. He hit the fire-type, who blocked the attack with a blaze kick, causing the ice shell of the aqua jet to detonate with enough force to send it towards the ground. Piplup also fell, but landed gracefully nearby. "Now waterfall burst, then cleansing water!" A pillar of water rose almost horizontally from Blaziken's position with Piplup near the other end before he used drill peck once more, drilling trough it and finally used ice beam while spinning to cause an icy explosion, freezing the water around him, which took the shape a huge flower. A weak pokémon would've been encased in an icy prison or damaged by erupting ice spikes now, but Dawn doubted that Blaziken was defeated that easily. The combination had its price as she couldn't prevent Milotic's following ice beam from hitting Bellossom. Piplup surrounded himself by an aura of clear water to heal the wounds he had received, though she quickly used magical leaf twice to block the attack and create two ice blades in the process.

A few moments later, fire burst from inside the ground next to Milotic and Blaziken emerged out of a star-shaped crater with a few scratched but otherwise not looking injured. Although everyone knew that Robert's pokémon were extremely tough, Dawn doubted that this massive attack really had no effect whatsoever.

"Wow, those moves have so much strength," Serena muttered. "But I expected them to be a bit more ... flashy, like in Kalos."

"I'll be blunt, only inexperienced coordinators use that kind of moves," Zoey told her. "They may look pretty and lower the opponent's points a bit but there are much better and more efficient ways for that. And at their level, wasting energy or time means defeat, simple as that. As far as I know, contests haven't been around for long in Kalos so it's no wonder many of the coordinators there use them.

"Are you trying to say that I should just battle as if I was in a gym?" the blonde asked incredulously.

"I didn't say that. I think it's a good way to gain the edge early on but later on, your pokémon must be strong and their combinations effective or your opponent will just crush you. The judges also reward true strength and know when a move is pretty but lacks real power." It gave Serena something to think about. "There was a coordinator, who thought that he could overcome any foe with fancy combinations. His pokémon got knocked out by the first move. Dawn also had to learn the hard way that the pokémon is more important than its moves. The most important lesson is that there's no substitute for hard, physical training. The rest will come with experience. Though I must say, this isn't exactly a competitive battle, so I wouldn't be surprised if they focused more on appearance. In these battles it's not unusual to let the opponent heal or prepare a combination without interruption."

They ended the conversation for now and watched the battle instead.

"I'll make it a bit more interesting. Storm wrath!" Dawn and the audience knew this move all too well. It created a bunch of small but mobile tornados on the stage, which usually followed the nearest target. They were slow, but kept the opponents from staying in one place for very long and severely limited their mobility. "Now burning ground!" Although it couldn't set the ice on fire, Blaziken rekindled the flames on the platforms, further limiting the mobility.

"Aqua whip with poison!" Piplup didn't have as much time as usual but he still managed to stretch one of his aqua rings long enough so when he cut it, it created a whip-like weapon of water, which Bellossom grabbed.

"Don't let it do anything with it. Ice beam and flamethrower!" Piplup quickly got in the way and countered the ice beam with scald. Bellossom dodged the fire with a spin and in the same moment, she swung her whip, making it go around Milotic's neck. Then she injected the toxic poison into the water of the whip and watched it travel towards the water type. Unbeknownst to Robert, she also used her roots to travel through the ice in the same direction.

"Aqua drill again!" Piplup tried to attack but was stopped by Blaziken this time, who hit him with a quick blaze kick from the side. It only caused him to miss Milotic, though, and he changed his direction once he was at the other end of the stage.

"Blaziken, stop it! Milotic, use ice beam on the whip!" It wasn't easy and cost it a lot of energy due to the type disadvantage but in the end, the fire type managed to stop him dead in his tracks. While the two pokémon were struggling, Milotic froze the water of whip along with the poison inside. However, it also caused icy spikes to appear, which hurt its neck quite a bit, before shattering. Even worse, Bellossom's roots emerged right next to it and entangled its tail, injecting a weak poison. She followed up with a giga drain, using the root system to her advantage. The whole stage lit up green as she was draining life from everyone nearby, even her ally, although the cleansing water countered this well enough. Milotic, being entangled by the roots, was hit especially hard. Of course, this kind of move required the roots to reach far in order to cover the whole stage so it took a bit too long when she retracted them again since she wanted to avoid the approaching tornados. In the end, she managed to do it just in time.

"Piplup, come back for now!" He used aqua jet to retreat but Blaziken wasn't going to let him escape that easily and with a kick from behind, it made him fall to the ground.

"Keep distracting him! Milotic, use twister to draw Bellossom closer!" The water type used the same move as earlier to hit Bellossom from behind, launching her and making her fall close to Milotic. What happened next was surprising for Dawn as the tornados formed a circle around the two pokémon and even increased in size considerably, making an escape impossible. As far as she knew, Milotic couldn't control them like this but maybe the move had improved at some point.

Anyway, the situation reminded her of her battle against Zoey last year, only that merely one of her pokémon was trapped this time. Nevertheless, helping Bellossom seemed difficult from Piplup's position. Of course, he could drill a tunnel through the ice but it was far too risky with Blaziken around as it could just send fire down the tunnel, dealing heavy damage to him that way. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to give up.

"Piplup, try to find a way inside! Bellossom, use razor leaf and leaf blade!" Bellossom released a storm of small leaves, which blocked the view on her. Most of them were sucked into the tornados and once it was over, the grass type had a leaf blade in each hand before launching herself at the water-type. Meanwhile Piplup was using the ice to glide in circles around the wall of tornados, which was dangerous, for they were pulling him towards them. Surprisingly, Blaziken was also pretty good at gliding and was staying next to him the whole time, while they were reading blows with none of them able to gain the upper hand just yet.

"Use blizzard!" Milotic unleashed a powerful storm of ice, slowing down the grass type but not stopping her entirely. The wind also froze the leaves in the tornados, and sent them flying outwards. Piplup had little trouble evading the blade-like leaves due to his size, unlike Blaziken, who suffered several cuts. Bellossom got into melee range in the meantime and started her dance-like fighting-moves. Robert was apparently quite surprised about just how difficult to hit the small grass-type was even though she wasn't actually fast. It was mostly her size and unpredictable movements that made her so evasive while still delivering some cuts, making him wonder whether getting her in melee range was really a good idea.

The audience was watching Piplup and Blaziken circling the area between tornados again and again until it looked like it was a race. From time to time, they tried to help their ally inside by shooting something at the tornados but most of them had no effect and were simply sucked in. At least the combination of poison and type advantage started to show first results as Milotic's style was getting more and more defensive. However, it was Dawn, or rather Piplup, who ended this situation.

"Use waterfall!" He gained a small lead and rose up on top of a pillar of water, which Blaziken evaded just in time. The water was soon sucked in by the nearest tornado. "Freeze it!" By doing that, he basically created a sculpture of the tornado although it soon shattered as it couldn't hold long with other tornados around. Still, it disabled the one tornado long enough for Piplup to get through before it reformed, thus blocking the way for Blaziken.

"Get in there!" It wasn't a problem for the fire type to use its flames to create a tunnel inside and he emerged only a few seconds later. Now everyone was inside and for a few seconds, they just looked at each other, waiting for further instructions.

"Piplup, use hydro pump! Bellossom, root yourself and Blaziken!" Dawn shouted.

"Blaziken, fire blast! Milotic, dragon pulse!" The fire blast hit Piplup in the back, thus weakening Piplup's move, which was still strong enough to match the turquoise orb of Milotic. Fighting moves would have been way more effective but since Robert knew that roots were already entangling his pokémon's feet, he didn't even try.

The moves hit and merged, creating a beautiful but also highly unstable orb, which exploded a few moments later. The blast was so enormous, that it sent both Blaziken and Milotic flying into the tornados. Bellossom, on the other hand, stood her ground because of her roots and also used them to keep Piplup from flying away as well, whereas she let go of Blaziken.

The tornados vanished soon after, mostly because they were causing more harm than good for Robert right now. The coordinators looked at the display, which showed that they still had five minutes to go. A normal contest would have been over by now and it was impossible to tell who would have won. It didn't matter as this wasn't a normal battle so they had used combinations they wouldn't have used otherwise.

For now, they seemed to give their pokémon a moment to regain some health. Milotic used recover, Piplup renewed cleansing water and Bellossom healed herself with synthesis. Only Blaziken had no way of recovering in the middle of battle so it had to make do without. There was a good reason contest battles only lasted only five minutes, only the strongest could keep up this pace much longer against opponents of equal strength.

Carefully, Bellossom and Piplup made their way to the side of their trainer, not taking their eyes off their opponents, who did the same. As soon as they were at the right position, they continued.

"Ice beam and storm wrath again! Now the big one!" Dawn and her pokémon didn't have to wonder what it meant for very long. First, Milotic created large pillars of ice in front of herself before wrapping her tail around one of them. Then it created the small tornados, which fused quickly, creating a huge twister. The pull was so strong that Piplup and Blaziken were sucked in almost immediately. Bellossom and Milotic managed to resist it because of the roots and the ice pillars respectively.

The pokémon inside the twister didn't receive any damage, though, as it was simply another place to fight under different circumstances. Unlike Piplup, Blaziken knew what to do and how to move properly inside the tornado and this knowledge allowed it to gain the upper hand soon. It made one blow after another and used the extra speed provided the raging winds inside to its advantage, increasing the speed and power of its own moves, dealing some heavy damage with mostly fighting moves. At the same time, it was usually already on the other side of the tornado before Piplup could even realize that he was under attack. Only the paralysis made it more careful. Meanwhile, Bellossom wasn't faring any better as she couldn't move at all without her light body getting sucked in, which allowed Milotic to make some clean hits. The water-type, on the other hand, was able to hide behind the pillars, thus avoiding most of Bellossom's moves. Even worse, she couldn't use a few of her strongest attacks as any move involving leaves would also get sucked in and there it would hurt Piplup more than Blaziken. At least her usage of roots worked like the ingrain move, making her heal at least a bit.

"Interesting, so a Piplup can fly, after all," Misty remarked. "Even if it's just under very ... special conditions."

"See how Blaziken moves inside that tornado?" Zoey asked Serena. "That must have taken a long time to practice. It's the kind of power and elegance that really makes contest unique. I think it's even more impressive than the move itself. You also have to remember that Blaziken is still paralyzed and even though most of the effect is countered by its speed boost ability, it's still amazing just how little it seems affected by it. Well, some people may call it luck. Anyway, Dawn will have to think of something quickly if she wants to turn this around."

Dawn also realized that she had to change tactics here.

"Bellossom, use sludge bomb! Smash the ice with it! Piplup, hydro pump!" When the sludge bombs hit the ice, the remains and the ice shards were sucked in and due to Piplup's size, it was much easier for Piplup to avoid them. When he got used to fighting in there and learned how to use aqua jet to move much faster than before, the tides turned. Robert's advantage slowly turned into a disadvantage and the ice, water and poison flying around in the twister were making observing the battle almost impossible. It was a shame because for the audience, watching the two pokémon clashing again and again like this and fighting on an equal footing was most enjoyable. Especially the water from the hydro pump proved extremely dangerous for the fire-type, who could no longer avoid the increasing amount, especially when Piplup learnt to use it to empower his aqua jet.

"Cancel the twister!" Robert finally shouted. The two pokémon inside were thrown out before the twister disappeared and all the rubble, which was no insignificant amount, landed at the center of the stage. It was hard to imagine how Blaziken was able to hold it this long in the first place with all that stuff flying around. Judging from the cuts all over its body, it had taken a lot of damage but so had Piplup.

He looked at his trainer and pointed at Milotic and Dawn understood what he wanted. He had never quite forgotten about his first loss against Milotic, which had caused so much grief for both of them so he wanted to do something about his hurt pride. Yes, he wanted to fight the water-type instead of Blaziken. Of course, it wasn't the best decision for Dawn and Bellossom as without his aid, she was vulnerable to the fire-type. Nevertheless, she was going to do this favor to him. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't have allowed it but this wasn't a normal battle and she felt that he deserved it.

"Alright, Bellossom, get mobile again." There was no need to remain rooted, especially since she had a new combination in mind. "Now the tree-whip!"

Bellossom raised her arms, which spread in a tree-shaped fashion, while Piplup used aqua ring to get them surrounded by his healing water, which also gave the roots some sort of stability so that they could spread until they covered an area the size of almost the entire field. Small razor leaves were hidden among the branches, giving this particular whip a secret cutting power.

Robert's pokémon also had a combination prepared, only to postpone it when the whip came crashing down on them. Due to their slim body shapes, they managed to avoid the whip itself, which cut through the ice with ease. One second later, there was strong green glow coming from the gaps, and everyone standing near them felt their energy being drained. It was not only impossible to avoid, but also beautiful to watch as the glow formed an intricate pattern on the ice. In addition, the leaves shot out from the ice near Robert's pokémon, where they exploded, releasing a green light. Blaziken jumped onto Milotic's tail, having prepared the next combination.

"Now the hellfire combination!" The tail pointed at Piplup and Bellossom. At first, it looked like it was creating a normal twister but then Blaziken used a fire move to create a fiery storm instead in the shape of Blaziken's head, which moved towards Dawns pokémon and got larger the farther it got and covered nearly the whole frozen pool. The fires on the platforms vanished and that could only mean that he was trying to melt the ice, maybe completely. It was clear that Piplup would need additional power to get through that hellfire combination.

"Bellossom, get on a platform and power up a solar beam, Piplup, protect her from the fire until torrent activates! Then use the divine aqua drill!" While cleansing water gave Piplup a sustain that far exceeded his natural defenses, which was the only reason he was still standing, he couldn't afford to take heavy damage in a short time. Thus his ability was activated quite soon despite being a water-type, and he used the energy from the solar beam hitting him from behind while spinning with aqua jet to make him look like an orb of light, which penetrated the flames and pushed them away as it got closer and closer to the source of the fire. The aqua jet protected him from the fire, and he prevented the flames from reaching Bellossom in turn. Of course, Robert's pokémon couldn't miss the blinding light approaching them and dodged it just in time. However, when he hit one of the platforms, there was a flash of light, which blinded them and which was used by Bellossom to power up her synthesis move so that it healed her almost completely, making her glow as well. The flames quickly dispersed without the pokémon focusing on it. Like an armor, the light was surrounding Piplup, giving him a most unique look.

"That combination was my idea," Ash told the others. "The divine aqua drill is an improved version of the ice aqua jet, just with a different element and much, much stronger. That glow isn't just for show, it is like a shield, which will absorb some damage before fading. It took her quite a while to make the effect this pretty without making it lose power. Now it's even stronger than usual because it's usually done with flash cannon, which is a bit weaker."

"That's a good example for a combination that's both beautiful and useful," Zoey pointed out like the teacher she was. "I should show it to my pupils along with that battle inside that twister."

"Will you please be quiet? I don't want to miss anything because of your talk," Drew complained.

Blaziken was lucky not to have looked at Piplup at that time and was only blinded partially. It managed to land on a platform, which had its former function back as the ice was mostly gone. Milotic wasn't as lucky since Piplup, who had retained some of the glow for the moment, attacked it with incredible fury. Especially the arms were glowing brightly and were hitting it over and over like swords.

"Blaziken, blaze kick on Bellossom. Milotic, dragon pulse!" Robert saw that the grass type was alone and intended to use the type advantage.

"Petal blizzard!" Blaziken thought that Bellossom was unable to just jump to another platform and it was right about that. However, it simply created its own platforms in form of large petals, which were unusable by Robert's pokémon because it was simply too heavy. Thus, she evaded the kick and since her own platform was mobile, she moved it away from it, especially when Blaziken landed, causing a fiery explosion on the platform. "Now petal dance!" Finally being able to dance, she did as well as she could without falling off the petal. Dawn didn't have that problem but it was still hard to keep up with her best dancer. There wasn't much time left and hopefully the confusion wouldn't take effect until after the end. She started her dance, which released countless petals to surround her. Most of them were flying in every direction and Robert realized that trying to attack her in melee would only cause his pokémon to get interrupted and damaged by them. In the worst case, Blaziken would simply fall into the water, where it would be an easy target.

"Use flamethrower!" Even this was difficult as she maneuvered her platform faster than she was able to move by herself. Indeed, the melting of the ice had increased her mobility and, at the same time, limited Blaziken's. But then again, Robert couldn't have expected the petal platform when he had ordered the hellfire combination and Milotic had certainly benefitted from it.

Currently, it was battling Piplup underwater. Although its opponent had the better start, the battle was pretty even once its eyes were back to normal. Even inside the water, he could still be seen due to the glow but Dawn wasn't sure whether he could hear her commands.

"Get out of there and use aqua drill!" He did as he was told and attacked from above.

"Use whirlpool all over the pool!" It simply endured his attacks and created several powerful maelstroms, one of which sucked in Bellossom's mobile platform. It forced her to interrupt her move and she jumped onto the next real platform once hers was close enough. Unfortunately, it left her quite confused. Although it was the perfect opportunity for Blaziken to deal some major damage, it was way too exhausted to act under the effect of paralysis.

"Piplup, use aqua drill and surf with full force to get rid of those maelstroms! Bellossom, get to safety with another petal." He moved into one of them and let its power accelerate him before he launched himself out of the water. Milotic felt that he was gone and also left it, levitating slightly above it instead. The penguin pokémon gained an impressive altitude before he let himself drop on one of the platforms with the aqua drill, crushing it and sending large waves of water in all directions. It removed the maelstroms and almost hit the other pokémon. Blaziken used its remaining strength to make an impressive jump over the wave. Bellossom overcame her confusion created another large petal and used it like a surfboard. "Now solar beam with mirror wing!"

"Ice beam on Bellossom!" Robert wasn't going to let her charge that solar beam, especially now that Milotic's eyesight was back. Piplup also used ice beam, albeit a special kind on his own arms, covering them with a thin layer of ice before swinging one of them and throwing the ice shield in front of Milotic when she was about to fire the ice beam. The spinning mirror reflected the beam in every possible direction while looking quite beautiful by itself but this also caused it to shatter. Then Bellossom shot the solar beam at Piplup, who used the other mirror to reflect it at Milotic. The water-type had guessed this, though, and moved out of the way. He followed up by throwing the remaining icy mirror at it like a blade, which got shattered by Milotic's tail.

Time was almost up now and both coordinators were eager to turn it into a worthy end, which usually meant a huge explosion. Apparently, Blaziken felt that its trainer needed it so it jumped right on Milotic's head, ready for one final combination.

"Piplup, use water pulse! Bellossom, sludge bomb on it! Then the hydra combo!" He powered up the orb but didn't use it just yet. The sludge bomb merged with it, turning it black.

"Golden dragon pulse!" Similar to Piplup, Milotic charged up an orb, which was turned golden by Blaziken's fire blast although it was already too weak to unleash its full potential. Still, the orbs looked quite impressive and a clash would certainly make this very interesting.

Dawn's pokémon was the first to release his orb and his opponents intended to block it with their own. However, it hit one of the platforms in front of them, leaving a blob of black goo. Bellossom rammed her arms into the ground, causing long vines to emerge from said platform, covered by the goo. Taking the shape of serpentine heads, they were ready to strike. Blaziken used blaze kick on the orb to send it towards Piplup. Like Dawn's stage name, his was given to him because of one combination, in his case it was this golden orb, which took the shape of a snake's or dragon's head. It wasn't just for show, though, as she knew that it was enormously powerful and it wouldn't stop until it was drained of energy or its target was destroyed. The vines tried to block it, only to get obliterated in the process. Two of them snuck past the orb, grabbing Milotic before exploding with a hissing sound. This sprayed goo and water all over the stage, even onto the coordinators. Fortunately, it wasn't actually poisonous, as there was no need for it. Meanwhile, Piplup quickly dodged the golden orb, only to see it return from behind.

"Create another aqua whip!" Unfortunately, Piplup had to dodge an ice beam by Milotic before he was able to stretch and cut an aqua ring and throw it towards Bellossom. Because of that, he didn't have to time prepare his defenses against the orb and used a hasty mirror wing to block it.

"Hydro pump!" He used his other arm to block Milotic's next attack as well, but things weren't looking too good as he was quickly crumbling under the pressure. Fortunately, Bellossom, after rooting herself again, struck the golden orb with her whip, causing the tip to get sucked in but because of her roots, she remained in her position. "Very good! Giga drain!" The whip glowed green and it looked like water was flowing from the orb to Bellossom. With time, the orb got smaller and smaller until all of its energy was absorbed. It started to emit a bright, white light and the grass type had a peculiar smile on her face as she knew just how much power she had in her hands. "Fire blast with blaze kick! Use everything you got!" The battle was almost over, so there was no reason to hold back. Using the last of its strength, it created an orb of fire and kicked it at Bellossom.

"Absorb it!" The grass-type swung her whip so that it surrounded her, absorbing the fiery orb as well. "Now attack!" She swung it at Milotic, who canceled its attack on Piplup and concentrated on the whip.

"Ice beam!" It was frozen before it was able to hit its target but something just didn't seem right. Bellossom quickly let go of it and used her roots to create a protective shield. Piplup jumped into the water, ignoring the slime for now. Soon Robert saw why, as the frozen whip glowed extremely irregularly while the energy was concentrating at the side close to Milotic until it simply exploded, releasing a blinding light and shattering into countless pieces. They were too small to cause any damage, though, but the light forming a rift in the air was pretty amazing and blinded all the pokémon on the surface except for Bellossom, who simply absorbed it. She celebrated it by doing a little dance, which, as usual, was mimicked by her trainer although it was much harder with the slime.

Piplup resurfaced and was ready for another attack despite being almost finished due to the latest attack. There were only four more seconds left, not enough for another combination, so the coordinators didn't attempt another attack and just waited for it to end.

The first important part of the Wallace Cup was over.


	36. Truth

**ShadowxWing1701: Thank you for your reqviews and words. I also don't know why it's going so slow, but as long as some people enjoy it, I'm happy. I agree about Chapter 29 being the most disturbing one. There are other quite nasty ones, but they tend to draw it from physical pain, blood, and violence. For this one I wanted to try something else, something that messes up the mind instead.**

 **I absolutely agree with the part about many pokémon not being as developed as others. I'm afraid this is simply due to their sheer number, especially Ash's. I couldn't even let all of them have a part in an official battle. Giving them all the same develepoment would've probably resulted in filler chapters and I'd prefer every chapter to be significant to the main story (that doesn't mean I always succeed, but I try). That doesn't make your argument any less valid, but I hope you understand why it would be simply too much for me.  
**

 **Now let's get back to the story. This chapter isn't as flashy as the last one, but it has its purpose.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 36: Truth

A signal marked the end of the opening battle between Dawn and Robert and while the audience was applauding madly and MC was praising the performance, the coordinators and their pokémon made their to the side of the stage. All of them were exhausted but also happy. Robert used an antidote on Milotic before extending his arm. Despite his clothes being soaked due to the water wave and the goo, he was smiling brightly and Dawn, who was just the same, shook his hand.

"A wonderful battle with most intriguing combinations. We should do this more often but you might want to fix your hair until then," he told her jokingly. He was right, it was a real mess.

"A few years ago, I would become angry and maybe even freaked out because of that remark. Funny, how things can change." She had a hard time catching her breath. "Damn, doing this for ten minutes is pretty hard, especially with the ... oh, sorry about that slime. I ... didn't think it would spread this much. Piplup, please try to wash it away," she said, pointing at Robert, the other pokémon and herself.

She laughed nervously but he just waved it off.

"It's no problem. Clothes can always be replaced, you can't say the same about experience. Milotic, please help Piplup." Together, they cleaned everyone quickly. "Our clothes are still soaked, though. Let ..."

"Leave it to Bellossom. Use sunny day." A shining orb appeared, radiating a warm light that dried their clothes and hair while they were talking.

"Oh well, I wanted to do the same." He shrugged. "Anyway, I hope you had as much fun as I did."

"This battle can even compare to my last battle against Zoey. I must say, you have gotten much stronger since last time." She tilted her head to the side. "I bet you could get past the Elite Four and challenge Wallace for the title of Coordinator Champion."

"Maybe I would if it was an official title." He shook his head. "But under these circumstances, no. I have a lot of respect for those who participate in both gym and contest battles but I'm a coordinator and nothing will change that fact."

"I understand. Even now, I'm hesitant about it. But enough of this, sorry about bothering you," she replied, scratching the back of her head, which made her realize just how soaked her hair was. "Oh boy, it's a real mess, isn't it?"

"It is but I doubt too many people noticed with that battle distracting them. By the way, do you intend to enter the Wallace Cup next year again?" he asked.

"I do. And I hope so do you. It would an honor meeting you again on the stage," she said.

"Yes, it would be my pleasure. Unless I get invited to participate in the opening battle, of course," he added before checking his clothing. "Much better already. I think I'm ready for the worst part of this."

"The interviews," Dawn said with a grim look. "Well, good luck to you."

"You too." They shook hands once more and went their separate ways.

They also recalled their pokémon for now as, understandably, they were even more exhausted. Unfortunately, journalists stopped her to ask questions, a lot of questions. It felt like an eternity until Dawn finally lost her patience and called out Espeon. Even if she asked them to, they probably wouldn't make way for her so she had to resort to other methods.

"I understand you have more questions but my pokémon need to rest and I'm quite tired as well so if you please excuse me. Espeon, teleport to my room." They disappeared while the journalist were begging her to stay. She didn't particularly like them as she knew that they weren't always honest in their articles, something she truly despised.

In her room, she called out Piplup and Bellossom again before embracing both of them.

"You did a wonderful job. I think we were quite successful, weren't we?"They nodded eagerly. "Anyway, I'm proud of you and now with that out of the way, you can relax and enjoy the show. You've done your part most admirably."

Words couldn't express just how proud she was. Robert proved an extremely powerful opponent and the fact that they were able to stand their ground was impressive by itself. Actually, she wasn't sure whether this battle or the one against Zoey last year was better, but it didn't really matter. Both of them had their own good points and they were certainly among the best. In the end, she even thought that a battle against Wallace wouldn't have been that much better since their levels of power were so close nowadays, although it would've been more prestigious. She let herself sink into a chair and watched Piplup gesturing wildly in front of the other pokémon, probably boasting about his performance. Undoubtedly, he had earned this right for now so she didn't stop him, despite the annoyed look on her face.

While they were enjoying a bit of rest after everything, someone knocked on the door.

"I believe nobody will disagree that this was one of the most exciting battles in the history of contests. And to think that it was the very first one in this hall, it boggles the mind," the MC shouted. "A big applause for the top-coordinators, Robert and Dawn! This was an excellent display of power and beauty."

While his friends were discussing the battle, Ash stood up and tried to go to Dawn's room, giving the others only a short nod. On the way, he heard the people saying a lot of things, mostly praise for the coordinators but also a few dirtier things concerning her wet outfit. Ash tried to ignore it despite wanting to punch those idiots badly and was almost gone, when he heard one last conversation, which made him really mad.

"... looked so good together. I think she should dump that brute Ash and get a worthy boyfriend. Someone with style, like Robert," a woman nearby said, unaware of his presence. "Maybe he will make a move on her soon. Or maybe another one will. We'll ..."

The pokémon who were with him gave him concerned looks but he waved it off. It couldn't make them miss the fury in his eyes.

 _What the hell does she know about us? By what right does she judge us?_ Ash had enough and left quickly with the pokémon following. _Stupid people, I don't care what they think. Dawn and I belong together, no matter what they say._

"Is it quite sure about that?" He halted, looking around, but he and his pokémon were alone in a corridor. "It belongs to us."

Ash covered his ears but it couldn't prevent the following, sinister laughter in his head. The only things he knew about that voice was that it referred to him as 'it' or 'this one', to Dawn as 'the blue on', to Pikachu as the 'small yellow one' and to itself as 'we' and that it obviously didn't have good intentions. Apart from that, he knew nothing about it and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to.

Soon he realized just how huge the building really was and that he was lost. Even though he met other people from time to time, they couldn't really tell him the way, mostly because they were lost as well. He was already about to give up hope on ever finding her room when he met someone who was working there and was able to describe the way. Finding it wasn't so difficult anymore after that so he was standing in front of the door after only a few minutes. Fortunately, there weren't too many other people around right so he didn't have to worry about crazy fans too much. Maybe that meant that she wasn't there just yet or someone would have noticed and alarmed the crowd. On the other hand, she could have teleported in there without anyone noticing. Determined to find out, he knocked on the door.

"Yes? Who is it?" He immediately recognized her voice.

Usually, she didn't mind fans visiting her after the battle but this time, judging from just how tired she looked at the end, he could understand if she wanted a bit more time to rest. Still, he was sure that she wouldn't send him away.

"Try to guess," he replied.

"Ash! Come in, the door is open." He entered and found her sitting lazily in a chair. "Ah, you've brought Buneary and Shaymin as well. I hope you've enjoyed the show. But you also look tired."

"Well, we got lost while searching for your room," Ash admitted.

"I should have known. Typical Ash." They watched Buneary, Pikachu, and Shaymin asking Piplup questions about the battle and him recreating a few scenes for a while. "I think we did well, right?"

"Are you kidding me? This contest hall will never see another battle like that ever again." Ash said.

"Not until it's my turn." That sickly sweet voice sounded familiar. Ash turned around to see Miranda standing at the door. Even though she was wearing an expensive silver dress, he had the feeling that she considered it casual. "What? No welcoming kiss?"

"What do you want?" he asked with an unusually aggressive voice.

Their pokémon were also staring at her with a mix of anger and contempt in their eyes, except for Shaymin, who didn't understand the sudden, hostile atmosphere in the room. After all, it didn't know the visitor and her past actions.

"Why so aggressive? My only intent was to congratulate Dawn on her marvelous performance. Is that such a bad thing to do?" she asked, smirking when he lowered his head. "Always these ... prejudices. Anyway, I really enjoyed the battle and I'm sure you've caught the eyes and hearts of many others as well. You might get a lot of attention in the future."

"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Isn't it obvious? It's a wonder you aren't this slow in battle." She let out a girly laugh before proceeding. "A lot of coordinators will regard her as worthy of their ... attention, even more than before. They will make advances and she will surely find someone she likes, a fellow coordinator, not a brute like you. You wouldn't understand. You're not one of us."

It was hard to imagine how furious he was at this moment. Miranda was not only insulting him, she was questioning Dawn's loyalty and dedication to him. He couldn't remember a time he had ever been this close to hitting a woman. No, right now, she wasn't a woman but a demon to him. However, he managed to restrain himself from doing that and attacked verbally instead before Dawn was able to reply.

"You know nothing about us and I don't appreciate you spreading lies. I know she'd never do something like that and that's all I have to say to you. Now get lost before I do or say things we would both regret." Dawn barely recognized him, there was so much venom in his voice.

She went between them and turned to Ash.

"She's not worth it." Then she turned around and faced the fellow coordinator with an expression similar to Ash's. "You will leave this room immediately. I have some talking to do and I don't want you around. Go! Now!"

Although Miranda was surprised at the hostile reaction, she retained her composure and even winked at Ash.

"Looks like it's already happening. Have fun." She laughed and walked away extremely slowly.

Dawn still didn't trust her and turned to the pokémon. Please wait for us outside. I want to talk to Ash in private." They weren't exactly happy, especially Piplup but complied nonetheless. "Espeon, I almost forgot. Please make absolutely sure that this ... person doesn't eavesdrop on us."

The psychic type simply nodded and left the room along with the others, closing the door behind her with psychic. Ash was a bit nervous. Whatever Dawn wanted to talk about, it had to be something serious. She was just about to start, when they heard a high-pitched scream from the other side. They immediately rushed to the door and opened it to see their pokémon lying on the floor, laughing. Espeon had an overly innocent expression on her face, which instantly raised suspicions.

"What happened here?" Dawn asked, looking around.

"Just as expected, she ignored my warning and tried to eavesdrop. I made her do a little dance in front of the others. I'm afraid it wasn't quite her style so she ran away quickly. It was almost like she felt humiliated." Her trainer knew that she had done this completely intentionally but to her relief, she smiled.

"Good job. I was afraid you hurt her but hurting her pride is fine. Actually, she really needed that. Keep up the good work." Ash was still looking confused as Espeon hadn't talked to him but instead of explaining, Dawn just dragged him along. "Time to talk."

They went to the other side of the room and she just stood there for a while, thinking of how to begin. The longer it took, the more nervous Ash got so she finally took pity on him and spoke up.

"First of all, I really hope you don't believe that bitch. I would never leave you, not even for Wallace himself. I love you and nothing will ever change that," she reassured him.

"I never doubted you. She just said it to provoke me and undermine my confidence. I guess she's afraid of meeting me at full strength," he explained.

"Good. But there's still an important matter I'd like to discuss." Please don't interrupt me. Now he was really curious. "You've been acting strangely lately. When I heard about the surprise, I thought it was the reason, but now it hasn't stopped. You're unusually aggressive and easy to frighten. I heard you talking to yourself. You're even more protective of me than usual. That's just to name a few things I noticed about you. But then again, you might have noticed a few things about me as well and I'll tell you what's been bothering me lately first."

She wasn't quite sure where to start so she decided to start with the most pressing matter. She took a deep breath.

"Ever since that ... incident on your birthday I have been suffering from nightmares. It may sound silly to you but they're really scaring me, especially the last one. I won't bother you with the details, it basically tried to make me believe that this life was just a dream. And the reality in that nightmare wasn't very pleasant. Even worse, from time to time, it feels like I'm waking up again and it's making me lose my mind." Seeing her like this made his almost lose his mind in turn and he tried to embrace her but she prevented it. "No, let me confess first. That second part started when the nightmares ended, which was after I asked Alakazam to prevent it somehow. Right now, I'm wondering whether it's a result of that mind crush she told us about. Anyway, I even went to Fullmoon Island and tried to look for a cresselia or at least a lunar wing. The only thing I caught was that cold and I haven't been able to do anything about the matter ever since. I didn't tell you about it because I thought it would just distract you. After all, you had so much to prepare for. Now I know I was wrong. It distracted me instead and probably made you worry as well. Besides, if I have to die during Shira's attack, I want to do it with a clear conscience. I'm sorry."

Finally, she let him hug her and they stayed in that position for a few minutes. Then he pulled back and also took a deep breath. At least she wouldn't laugh at him because of his nightmare problem, not after her confession.

"Nobody is going to die. I will protect you, no matter the cost. To be completely honest, I've also suffered from nightmares quite a lot. After a few days I had enough and asked Reuniclus to help me find a way to prevent them and it seemed to work although now I'm not sure whether it was his or Alakazam's achievement," he told.

"She told me that they were working together," Dawn clarified.

"I see. So they knew about our situation all along. Anyway, ever since that day, I keep hearing voices. Well, it's actually always the same voice. It taunts, threatens and ridicules me. It said that it would take you away from me. I'm ashamed to say that it really worries me and that's the reason I didn't tell you. It seems so ... childish and I was afraid that you would laugh at me. It was also one of the reasons for the surprise, I wanted to forget about those problems at least for one day." He sighed. "It worked, but now it's back and worse than ever. I fear for my sanity."

"These problems seem connected. I mean, it's unlikely that timing is just a coincidence, isn't it?" He nodded. "At least we can work together now. That way, we should be able to solve them for good. What do you think?"

"I think you're right." He didn't sound very confident, which was highly unusual for him but suddenly, his expressions brightened. "What am I thinking? Of course you're right. We'll find the source of the trouble and crush it. And you know what? It feels much better not having to hide it anymore. So much pressure ... just gone. It really put a strain on us and our relationship."

"Yes, I feel so relieved. We should have done this much earlier. And who knows? Maybe my performance would have been much better?" She doubted that, though. Once she was focused on a battle, there were very few things that could get her attention and those problems weren't among them.

"At last that's out of the way. I always told you how important communication is," he bragged, earning an incredulous look from her.

"You? I said that!" she replied.

"Try to convince me." He went behind a chair.

"Alright, now you've done it!" she shouted, following him.

All their worries and problems were forgotten for a moment and she just kept chasing him around the chair for a while, sometimes changing the rotation until Dawn went on her knees after a few minutes, panting heavily. Ash immediately stopped and kneeled next to her, only to get tackled to the ground by her.

"Gotcha!" she shouted, laughing.

"What a cheap trick," he complained but laughed with her nonetheless.

However, her breathing was still far from normal and she had trouble getting up again.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned about her condition.

"It wasn't just a trick," she said, standing up slowly. "I'm exhausted. Only ten minutes, but moving like that costs so much energy."

"You wouldn't be this tired if you had focused on Piplup's movements more," he teased.

"Shut up," she replied, sticking out her tongue. "It just shows my dedication. Pity this one s ruined," she added, looking at her dress.

"Yeah, stupid slime. Did you make it yourself?" he asked.

"You know exactly I'm only good at designing them, not making them. Mom did that for me," Dawn admitted. "Anyway, I'll go back home and change. Let's meet at the pokémon center later."

"Alright." What was intended as a short kissed ended up much longer than anticipated, yet it also had to end at some point.

With a better feeling than before, they left the room again to find their pokémon waiting around the door with concerned expressions. Relief washed over them when they realized that their trainers were looking much better than before the argument and offered them genuine smiles.

"Let's go home for now," Dawn said to hers. "I really need to get out of this. The slime may be gone but it's still getting more and more uncomfortable."

The sun pokémon teleported her along with her other pokémon into the bedroom, where the coordinator finally got rid of the outfit and put on her usual, more comfortable clothes. After all, her part in the Wallace Cup was basically over so she could just watch the battles and cheer on her friends. For a moment, she even thought about using her cheerleader outfit but in the end, the attention would have been too much. Besides, Ash didn't need it, being more than capable of winning without and there were still the pokémon. Pikachu and Buneary had their own outfits for those occasion and loved using them.

As soon as she was done, Espeon teleported them in front of the pokémon center of Vermillion City, where Ash and their friends were already waiting. It was a hearty, albeit hasty reunion as most of them were already hungry and tired of waiting. May knew a good place for dinner and they all followed her. While eating, they mostly discussed the opening battle but also talked about their recent achievements. Apparently, May already had four ribbons whereas Serena had only two. Since there was still a lot of time left, she didn't have to worry about it, though, and remained calm even when Drew started taunting her again. By now, Dawn was the only one surprised by the hostility between them, at least until Zoey explained the situation to her.

When Drew listed his most powerful rivals at this Wallace Cup, he didn't mention Solidad again, much to Ash's surprise.

"What about Solidad? Isn't she participating?" he asked. The others reacted by rolling their eyes, sighing or laughing. Dawn seemed slightly embarrassed by his question. "What?"

"Have you forgotten? She's pregnant so no, she 's not participating," Drew told him with an amused grin.

"Really? Who's the father?" Their reactions were even stronger than before.

"Ash!" Dawn whispered into his ear. "You were at the wedding!"

"What? Oh, OH! Now I remember." he scratched the back of his head. "How could I have forgotten? Sorry."

His friends kept laughing at his expense for a while until they had enough but they reminded him of his mistake a few more times before they were done with dinner.

The next part of the Wallace Cup was the introduction of every participating coordinator, which would take a while due to the large numbers. Ash, May and Drew left the group to prepare for it as even though it wasn't their turn until later, they had to stand ready the whole time. As a result, Dawn, Misty and Zoey had to go to their seats without them. After some waiting, a familiar man appeared.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Dawn. Misty, Zoey, I don't believe we've met yet." Dawn recognized him as Nathan Sorlan but her friends had no idea who he was. "Please forgive me my rudeness, I'm Nathan Sorlan, head of Sorlan Corporations."

"Pleased to meet you." They shook hands. "By the way, how come you know our names?"

"You're a famous coordinator, Zoey. And Misty is one of the most promising gym leaders in Kanto. You may not know but I love pokémon battles of every kind so naturally, I also know the most powerful trainers. Try to take it as a compliment. But I digress ..." He turned to Dawn. "This time, I'm a mere messenger. Wallace would like you to join him, at least for a while. Robert should be already there."

At first, she wasn't sure since it would mean leaving the others on their own but both girls made her stand up.

"I know you want it. You have to seize such an opportunity," Zoey told her.

"We'll be fine," Misty assured her.

"Alright, alright. Take care, I'll be back soon." She wanted to go but realized that she had no idea how to get there. "Can you ... show me the way?" she asked Nathan bashfully.

"No problem. That's why I'm here. Please follow me." She did as she was told and together, they left the hall for now. "By the way, I loved that battle. But I'm sure you're hearing it constantly right now."

"Thank you. I did my best," she replied, slightly embarrassed.

"No need for false modesty. Even though Robert made the bigger combinations, you were able to use all of them against him, making him cancel them." They went up a few stairs. "Wallace was also pretty enthralled by that aqua jet. He said it reminded him of your beginnings."

Dawn didn't really know what to say so they walked the rest of the way in silence. Two guards were standing at the final door but upon seeing Nathan, they let them through immediately. The room behind was an elevated platform, from which the guests had a perfect view on the stage. Of course, not just anyone could get here, only friends of Wallace, rich people who could afford it, and, in this case, police officers were present. A lot of them recognized her and just had to congratulate her on her performance, which got annoying with time. When they were finally done, Wallace himself shook her hand lead her to a sat to the left of his. To the right, Robert was already sitting.

"I'm glad to have chosen you two for the opening battle," Wallace said after sitting down as well. "It was marvelous, truly marvelous. It doesn't matter what others keep telling me, a battle between too equally skilled individuals surpasses any other."

They could only guess that he was referring to the previous opening battles. His opponents certainly weren't bad but it was still an one-sided affair so they weren't too thrilling. Of course, they felt honored by his words although they didn't really know how to reply to such a compliment. Instead, they watched the introduction, which had just begun and was featuring the participants of the classic Wallace Cup. The names of the countless young boys and girls were still unknown to the people but that's why they were here. They wanted to make a name for themselves, to show that they were worthy of a victory here. And one of them would.

Dawn used the distraction to have a closer look at her idol. He was wearing a huge ornate, white and green cape, which covered everything but his head. For some reason he didn't look as confident as he used to. No, there was a tiredness in his eyes that she couldn't explain. Something was bothering him greatly. He seemed to notice her and spoke up without taking his eyes off the stage.

"You haven't changed your mind about the challenge, have you?" he asked.

"Of course not. Don't worry about it. I'll try to give you a fight you deserve," she promised and he laughed softly.

"I don't doubt you will. Who knows? Maybe you will defeat me and take my place." Before she could protest, he continued. "Look at the young coordinators down there. Undoubtedly, some of them will become very strong and maybe one day, one of them will claim his or her title as a champion from you. Who knows? The future ... is unpredictable. When I created the Wallace Cup, I didn't know it would become this popular but I gladly accepted this change. I did all I could to turn it into the event it deserves to be. It became my legacy. And I certainly won't let it be destroyed by some pathetic, dim-witted ruffians."

His voice rose sharply during the last sentence but then he sighed and leaned back a little.

"I apologize for losing my temper, I got a little carried away." His eyes looked more tired than ever. "I would prefer to judge the performances myself but the police thinks I would be an easy target and that I'm much safer up here. It's bothering me, but I trust Mr. Wright's judgment and have utter faith in him. He'll protect the good people."

Robert and Dawn could understand him all too well. His greatest creation was threatened by a bunch of criminals and there was nothing he could do about it, having to rely on people he didn't even know instead. Why Shira would even attack the Wallace Cup was beyond them. Whatever the reason, he had to take precautions, no matter what he thought of them, for the safety of the people. No, they certainly didn't envy him right now.

"There's still something I'd like to know," he suddenly said. "Why do you wish to battle me so badly? Is it because of your mother?"

Dawn looked puzzled, wondering what her mother had to do with this.

"Not exactly. What do you mean?" she asked, eager to know the answer.

"You don't know? Oh dear, in that case I'd rather not be the one to tell you. That should be your mother." He looked somewhat embarrassed as if he had just told her something she wasn't supposed to know.

That was something Dawn definitely wouldn't forget. Her curiosity would make her keep asking until she knew the answer as it sounded like it also affected her. She'd find out the next morning, when Johanna would pay her a short visit.

To Dawn's right, Max Wright and Thomas were watching the show with a bored expression. Clearly, they didn't want to be here and it would be wrong to get angry at them because of their problems. They were Shira's victims just as much as she was.

"Dan would have loved to be here," Thomas muttered.

"That's exactly why I've chosen you to accompany me. I don't need distracted fools," Max replied.

Unbeknownst to him, Thomas also quite enjoyed contests, only the introduction bored him to death. A least the next two days would be more exciting and if didn't Shira lie, they would also be safe. It was the fourth day, the day of the double appeals, that carried the risk. Unfortunately, the prisoners hadn't been able to tell them anything useful so they didn't know how she was going to strike or whether this was just a distraction so they just had to be prepared for anything.

Dawn had enough for now and slowly stood up.

"I'd like to return to my friends. They 're already waiting for me," she told Wallace, who nodded.

"I understand. Feel free to visit me here anytime." They shook hand once more.

She also said goodbye to Robert and the other people before going back or at least trying to find the way. At the exit, she looked back briefly and saw Robert standing up as well. She could only guess that he also wanted to return his friends. It didn't matter, she had to find her own seat. As long as she could watch Ash's introduction, missing the others wouldn't be too bad.


	37. Family Matters

**This chapter concludes the first part of the Wallace Cup. The more advanced version will start in the next one with the appeals and there is still the matter of the threat.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 37: Family Matters

The introduction of the coordinators had begun and the first part, the introduction of those competing in the classic Wallace Cup came to an end just when Dawn finally found her seat next to Zoey and Misty. Trying to find her way left her pretty tired so she sank into the seat. Naturally, the redheads wanted to know what this meeting with Wallace had been about.

"So what did he want?" Misty asked.

"We could see you from here but you didn't stay for very long," Zoey added. "I thought you would want to spend more time with your idol-"

"Maybe under different circumstances. He looked tired and sad this time so I didn't really want to bother him longer than necessary. I guess Shira's threat worries him deeply," Dawn explained, lowering her gaze. "We just talked about the battle and that's pretty much it."

"I see." Zoey stared at the stage for a while with an unfocused gaze. "It's a shame a matter like that overshadows this great event."

"I still don't think that bitch will attack here. It doesn't make sense and many of the strongest trainers in the world are here, ready to fight." Misty looked determined to help as well in the case of an attack.

"Let's hope it won't be necessary." Dawn tried to change the topic to something else. "By the way, Zoey, was one of your pupils among the introduced ones? I wasn't exactly paying attention and I'm sure one of them winning would also increase your reputation."

"No, they're still too young," she replied. "I hope to see them participating in the near future, though."

The introduction of the more experienced coordinators was pretty much the same. Their names, which were often well known, and their home region along with a short history of their contest achievements were announced. Of course, that made it take much longer than before, but it was also important for the coordinators themselves, who got to know their rivals that way.

It took a while for the more interesting coordinators to appear, Drew was the first one of them. His outfit consisted of a white tuxedo, white shoes and a big cape, which was white on the outside whereas the inner side was green. It was held together by a silver brooch with a huge emerald in the center. There were also fine, green markings on the tuxedo itself, which looked like vines. When he did his hair flip, many of the female spectators went wild.

"Let's welcome Drew, top coordinator from Hoenn, also known as the Emerald Blossom," the MC announced. "He has already been victorious at three grand festivals and made it to the finale at the very first advanced Wallace Cup. So far, he hasn't won it yet but maybe this time will be different? Let's find out whether this great coordinator can claim the Ocean Ribbon!"

He waved to the crowd before leaving the stage, where a female coordinator stepped into the light. After a few people Dawn didn't know, Serena appeared, wearing what looked like a summer outfit. It was a light yellow dress, which still exposed one of her legs and there were many ribbons attached to it. She was also wearing high heels of the same color and a wide hat, which could've served as an umbrella if it wasn't so thin. All in all, it was pretty simple yet it made her look quite beautiful.

"This is Serena, a young coordinator from Kalos." She curtsied towards the audience. "Compared to many others here, she is still inexperienced and as such, she is easy to underestimate. But contests are full of surprises so maybe she will prove a dangerous opponent."

Serena made place for her most bitter rival. Miranda walked into the light, revealing a massive silver and purple dress. It consisted of countless layers and ribbons and would have even put real princesses to shame. The most prominent feature was a huge collar made of shimmering black feathers. An ornate silver mask with a laughing expression on it was covering her face, only her eyes were still visible.

"Here we have another coordinator from Kalos. Miranda is a top coordinator, who has won the grand festival in her home region thrice already and now she has come to show her abilities here as well. We will see whether she will be just as successful." Miranda waved at the audience and slowly made way for the next one.

Several coordinators later, it was May's turn. On first glance, her dress looked extremely simple. I was basically a white evening dress, which hugged her body tightly, showing off her curves. There was also a broad cape, which was attached to her gloves and shoulder straps. On the outside it had the same color as the dress itself but when May spread her arms, she revealed the inside to be black and glittering, making it look like the night sky. Dawn smirked, imagining Miranda's face upon seeing this.

"May, top coordinator from Hoenn and sometimes referred to as the Princess of Hoenn, has taken a break from coordinating after her second and, so far, final victory at a grand Festival. As a result, she might still be unused to contests but I highly doubt anyone will have it easy against her. Her return will make her opponents despair and her fans rejoice." The MC sounded even more enthusiastic than usual, probably because she was among the latter.

Then it took a while until Ash was introduced. His outfit was simple, yet made him look handsome. It consisted of a black suit, black shoes, a white shirt, and a blue tie, which fit the blue rose attached next to it.

"Ash from Kanto is not your typical coordinator. In fact, he's more of a regular trainer who just likes to enter the Wallace Cup every year but we don't mind. He has shown to be perfectly capable of standing his ground in contest battles even against seasoned coordinators and surprised us again and again with his combinations. His power has earned him the stage name Dragon." Dawn cheered and clapped louder than anyone else but he also had to leave the stage eventually.

The next coordinator looked familiar, a woman with red hair and pigtails. She was sporting a red and black dress, which resembled a robe, almost like that of a priest. It had golden markings on the chest and there was also a crescent-shaped part on the back and a veil attached to it. It somewhat resembled a cape but nobody could deny that it looked quite good on her as it was like an ethereal trace in the air following her every step.

She was Ursula, Dawn rival from Sinnoh. They hadn't met ever since Dawn's victory at the Hoenn Grand Festival, something both of them appreciated. Although their rivalry had been difficult at best and hateful at worst, Dawn was willing to start anew as she had never been one to bear grudges for very long. It was doubtful whether Ursula was also willing, though. Yes, she'd done a lot of bad things but at least she never mistreated her pokémon as far as Dawn knew, which was the main reason she wanted to give her that chance.

"Ursula is a top-coordinator from Sinnoh. She has won one grand festival and also made some experiences with gym battles lately so it would be foolish to underestimate her power." Dawn didn't know that Ursula was a top-coordinator but she wasn't really surprised. There was no denying that she was strong enough to be one. "We'll see whether she can leave a lasting impression."

The rest of the coordinators weren't too exciting. Nonetheless, the sheer amount of coordinators would make this event quite entertaining. As soon as the introduction was finally over, everyone but Dawn, Misty and Zoey changed into their normal clothes before they met in front of the contest hall. It was so late by now that it was almost time for supper but instead of going back home already, they formed small groups to discuss mostly unimportant matters. While they were slowly making their way back into the city, Serena asked Dawn about something that had been bothering her lately.

"They used that name again. Sapphire Phoenix. I've heard it a few times already so why are they calling you that?" she asked.

"Oh, that stupid name," Dawn groaned. "It's all because of Zoroark and Ninetales, mostly Zorark. During a rather unimportant contest with double battles, I was just about to finish an opponent, when he decided that just finishing him wasn't enough. Ninetales shot a strong but otherwise ordinary fireblast at the pokémon and Zoroark decided to use his illusions to make it a bit more ... exciting. He turned the flames blue and made the move look like a giant, fiery bird enveloping them with its wings. They were pretty much trembling with fear and didn't even attempt to dodge. Well, to be fair, they were almost done for so maybe they just couldn't. Anyway, the color of the flames kind of resembled my eye color as some people liked to point out so they started calling me Sapphire Phoenix. It's silly but I haven't found a way to stop it so far."

"I see." Serena saw Ash rolling his eyes at the mention of that old story. "I think it's a nice name, though. Are you mad at Zoroark?"

"He never intended to create a stage name although-" She raised a finger. "- I'm sure he would've done if he knew of the consequences. But I appreciate pokémon that can think for themselves and can also improvise. Their ideas are sometimes even better than mine but they shouldn't go overboard. Otherwise there would be no need for me to command them in the first place."

Actually, there was another reason for that name. It symbolized her rise from the ashes after the Johto disaster. The change in style and power was so significant that many people called it a rebirth, which made the name even more fitting in hindsight.

Even when they reached the pokémon center, they stayed in front of it, talking, making jokes and just having fun. The following days would prove a challenge for all of them so they tried to relax as much as possible for now. Because of the light-hearted atmosphere, they didn't notice that Miranda was listening to them from next to the pokémon center, determined to find out everything she could about her rivals. Of course, the topics of their conversations didn't allow her to get to know anything useful so she got frustrated after some time and just left. They didn't even notice it as they were having too much fun, especially Dawn, who had had so little time for talking to the others during Ash's birthday and thus had a lot to tell and a lot of things to hear. In the end, it even made Ash and May forget about their hunger, at least until it was starting to get dark.

They decided to leave for their respective places. In Ash's and Dawn's case, it was their home in Pallet Town, May, Drew and Serena stayed at the pokémon center, albeit Drew and Serena hopefully didn't share a room, Misty returned to her gym and Zoey stayed with friends at Saffron City nearby. Before Ash and Dawn went home, they quickly went to the Oak lab to pick up the pokémon against the nightmares. They were surprised but also happy that their trainers had talked about it as trying to keep it a secret made things awkward for them at times.

Unsurprisingly, Ash urged Dawn to prepare supper quickly as soon as they were back home and she was going to use it to her, or rather their, advantage even if Ash wasn't going to like it. She started cooking intentionally slow until he couldn't wait any longer and entered the kitchen, just to take in the scent.

"Well, since you obviously have so much time left, you might as well clean the house," she said casually, making his eyes widen.

"What? Now? But it's already late," he complained.

"Yes, now. The whole house is a mess. You've been too busy with training and other things lately. I don't expect you to clean everything, just maybe the upper floor. Otherwise I have to do it and then I won't be able to finish this delicious meal. It would be a real shame, wouldn't it?" She wasn't looking at him but she could still imagine his face all too well. "Come on, it has to be done. Unlike you, I had a an exhausting battle today so I should be the one complaining about too much work."

Over the years, she'd learnt how to persuade him to do things he didn't like and situations like this one were perfect to use her skills. Ash, in turn, had learnt when he was defeated and, unlike in pokémon battles, he usually accepted it. After all, a bit of cleaning wasn't too bad and would probably even distract him from his hunger. Besides, he was often the one to do the cleaning as Dawn was the one to prepare the food for both them and their pokémon, which took an awful lot of time. Tasks like bathing the pokémon were done by both of them. All in all, they thought it was fair and rarely complained.

The night was uneventful and without dreams, or rather, they couldn't remember them. Apparently there had been a storm during the night and although it wasn't raining in the morning, more dark clouds could be seen approaching so it was only a matter of time. When Ash realized that Dawn wasn't at home, he got worried despite a small note telling him that she was visiting her mother. This time, however, her pokémon could confirm everything, much to his relief. Since she rarely went there without him, it had to be something very private and very important and hopefully, she'd tell him about it later.

Meanwhile Dawn sitting in the kitchen in Johanna's house. Her mother was sitting nearby and there was an awkward silence between them. Dawn didn't really know how to start and Johanna felt that her daughter was trying to say something so she waited. In the end, Dawn couldn't find a way of asking her without mentioning Wallace so she tried the direct approach.

"Yesterday Wallace asked me something. He wanted to know whether I wanted to battle him because of you." Johanna visibly paled and looked away. "I don't know what he meant by that and he wouldn't tell me and instead advised me to ask you instead. And ... well, that's what I'm doing right now. What did he mean by that?" There was another long silence. "You don't want to tell me?"

"No, that's not it. The question is how," she explained. "When I was at my peak, Wallace was a young and ambitious coordinator. He was dreaming of an advanced contest, which would grant a title similar to the local champion. Some people believed I should challenge him and become the greatest coordinator in the world. I don't know whether I could've done it as he was stronger at that time, but I thought that with hard training, I could defeat him. So I was determined to do it, but something or rather someone got in my way." Dawn was afraid of what she was about to say. "I met your father and fell in love with him soon. I was young, foolish, careless. I got pregnant and he left me. Now I could either have an abortion or give up on my dream and raise the child. That child was you and now you can probably guess my decision."

Dawn didn't really know what it say, it was worse than she'd expected.

"So ... it's basically my fault that you couldn't achieve your dream?" she asked with such a quiet voice that it was almost a whisper.

That was exactly what Johanna had feared. She stood up, put her hands on her daughter's shoulders and looked directly into her eyes.

"Don't ever think that!" she said so aggressively that Dawn was a bit shocked at first. "It's definitely not your fault. With your father's support I could've done both, but the bastard abandoned me. For me, he died the moment he left. Although many people wanted me to have an abortion, I raised you and never regretted. So don't ever think ridiculous things like you've ruined my life or other nonsense."

It was still bothering her, though, especially since it was reminding her of the situation in her last nightmare. Moreover, it raised a lot of questions. What would've happened without her? What would've happened if her father hadn't abandoned her mother? It was impossible to say but it didn't stop her from wondering, in particular about her father. Who was he and where was he right now? Unfortunately, Johanna didn't want to talk about him at all, no matter how often Dawn asked.

"Still ... I'm wondering what your life would be like," Dawn admitted. "Do you want me to defeat Wallace? Do you want me to finish what you didn't have the chance to do?"

"I can't deny that it would make me incredibly proud but ... it's your life and your decision. You have to do it for yourself, not for my foolish dreams." Johanna embraced Dawn and they stayed like that for a while. "You know, I've been fearing this moment for years. I was afraid that you'd blame yourself. That's why I've always kept it a secret from you. It didn't really concern you, after all."

"But it does!" She replied, pulling back. "Well, indirectly. Anyway, I need to think about it. Thank you for telling me so quickly, but I better go back home or Ash will worry."

"Don't blame yourself. Really. And please visit me and Delia more often," the former coordinator added.

Dawn stood up and went to the entrance, where she turned around, hugging her mother one more time.

"No need to worry. But you know how easily we get lost in training," she admitted. "I'll tell him, though, and we'll try to remember."

"And be careful." Dawn knew what she was talking about but just nodded and left.

The conversation hadn't been nearly as bad as Johanna had feared, yet she was still full of worry. With a sad and concerned look she was watching her daughter return home. Nobody knew whether she and Ash would still be alive in two or three days. The mere though made her sick but she just couldn't find a way to get into those thick heads, as their stubbornness was legendary. Delia was probably having similar thoughts so maybe it was a good idea to visit their children before something could happen. With newfound determination, she made her way to Delia to discuss further steps.

Ash was relieved when Dawn was finally back, but immediately noticed the strange look on her face. She wasn't as enthusiastic as usual so there was probably something troubling her, something important. She didn't even noticed his questioning and concerned looks, walking just past him as if nothing was wrong. Eventually, he stopped her, though, and finally asked the question.

"What's wrong? Does it have something to do with Johanna? Come on, you can tell me," he urged her.

Remembering the previous day and their discussion, she realized that she had to tell him, otherwise she wouldn't be able to look into a mirror ever again.

"You're right. It's about my mother." She took a deep breath. "Wallace mentioned something yesterday, something about her. So I asked her about it and her answer was ... unexpected. It appears she thought about challenging Wallace before she became pregnant and had to give up on that thought because my father had left her."

"And you're blaming yourself for that?" Ash asked. It didn't take much for him to realize this.

"I know it seems silly and mom also said that but I can't help but feel ... guilty." Her eyes were dull and expressionless, the way he loathed seeing them.

He wanted to ease the pain but his embrace could only do so much. Still, he put everything he had into it before picking her up and carrying her into the bedroom, dropping onto the bed along with her. He was lying on his back and she was lying on him, her head buried in his chest while his fingers were running through her hair.

"I don't even know why I'm like this," she whispered. "It's not like I had a choice, it was her choice. But it still hurts so much."

"It's alright. It's not your fault. It's because of your father. How can anyone leave your mother like this? Well, the fool missed out on a talented and gorgeous daughter." At least, his compliment made her smile.

Much to his discomfort, she got up and went to a window, staring outside with her hands behind her back as if she was deep in thought. She opened the window, letting warm air enter the room. Obviously, the storm hadn't helped against the heat in the slightest.

"Your father was also like that, wasn't he? Left your mother when you were young," she muttered.

Although Ash didn't like talking about his father at all, he didn't want to refuse her after the things she had told him. It was still difficult for him, though, as he had trouble hiding his contempt.

"You're right. He left us when I was but a small child because he wanted to become stronger or something like that. What a pathetic excuse to run from his responsibilities. He should've thought about it before getting a child instead of leaving all the work to the mother. Because of that, I have nothing but contempt for him. I hate him," he hissed.

Even though he remained calm, Dawn could almost feel the hatred he was radiating. It was rare for him to do that but given her own history, she could understand him. It wasn't surprising that he refused to talk about him so far and she certainly wouldn't ask again. Their fathers were little more than useless pieces of the past that could or rather had to be forgotten. Feeling the tension, Dawn decided to change the topic.

"Now that I know what happened, I'm even more eager to defeat Wallace. This isn't just for me and my pokémon, it's also for mom." If she ever had any doubts, they were erased this day. Unintentionally, she returned to the former topic. "Maybe he will watch the battle and regret having left mom. What am I saying? It doesn't matter."

They agreed that dropping the topic was the wisest choice and discussed the first part of the Wallace Cup instead, making first predictions although they knew that it was useless due to the large number of participants. Dawn in particular was excited about watching the appeals as she hadn't watched those of less experienced coordinators for quite some time. Of course, they wouldn't be as good as the others and full of mistakes. Maybe they would even fail outright, but that was also part of the excitement and made them unpredictable. From time to time, a combination worked better than intended or even had beneficial side effects but the judges usually knew when something was accidental and reduced its effect on the score. Anyway, it was going to be a lot of fun, they were convinced of that.

Before they left, Alakazam seized the opportunity to ask something of them. For some reason, she seemed to think that a lunar wing would be the best solution to their problems and urged them to go back to Fullmoon Island after the Wallace Cup for a more thorough search. It took her a while but in the end, they agreed, if only to make her happy. They had no idea that she'd visited it a few times by herself or with Dawn's Lucario and had a plan, which would never work if the trainers knew about it. Of course, it was uncertain whether it would work at all, but she was going to try nonetheless.

About half an hour later, when everyone was back to normal, they left for the Wallace Cup. This time, they waited directly in front of the contest hall for their friends, who arrived soon after. Everyone seemed much more relaxed than before, even Drew and Serena remained civilized, at least compared to the previous day. Unsurprisingly, Zoey was even more interested in this part of the Wallace Cup than others and she even had a camera, maybe to record some battles or appeals to show them later to her pupils as good or bad examples. Unfortunately, it also meant probably missing a lot of details while filming which was a risk she was going to take.

The appeals were just as expected. Most of them were quite entertaining, several failed horribly and a few were that good that the corresponding coordinators could've even made it to the battle round of the advanced cup. Whether they could have succeeded there was a different matter, they would've been crushed for certain. Nevertheless, everyone respected their performance and choosing the best 32 wouldn't be easy, not only because there so many of them. When it was time for dinner, only about a third of them were done so the afternoon was sure to be fun as well.

However, after so many appeals, it was kind of getting tiring eventually, yet they didn't want to just leave. After all, the coordinators couldn't chose the time of their appeal and people leaving during an appeal can have a demoralizing effect, which could cause failure in the worst case so it would have been extremely unfair to the coordinators doing the last appeals. It was a good thing the whole audience seemed to think that way or the competition would've become highly unfair. The results were shown shortly after the last one. The remaining 32 coordinators had the rest of the day to prepare for the battles, the rest had to leave or watch the rest. Although it was sad seeing the disappointment on their faces, it had to happen to someone and their appeals simply weren't good enough. If they were strong, they would learn from the experience and return with more determination next year.

This time, Ash, Dawn, Misty, May, Drew, Serena and Zoey didn't stay for long after the event both because they were tired and because it was starting to rain. They were truly glad about their decision when it turned into a real storm and even in Pallet Town, it wasn't much better. Ash's original plan was to train a bit so his pokémon would stay in shape and he usually didn't mind training in the rain, but this was just ridiculous. It didn't take long for lightning to strike periodically and the weather stayed like that the whole evening, only improving for a short time before worsening again. It wasn't until it was time to go to bed that it calmed down a bit.

The following day was pretty much like the previous one, it was only much colder. However, at least it wasn't raining anymore. The battles weren't always exciting, a few pokémon were rather weak and couldn't remain in battle for very long. That was to be expected, though, because a good appeal didn't necessarily mean that the pokémon were tough. Naturally, those coordinators tried to win by reducing the opponent's score, which didn't always work since a lot of them were quite powerful in that regard as well. When the first round was over, it was already time for dinner and everyone left the hall, hoping that the next one would be a bit more balanced. Once they were back, it didn't take them long to realize that their hopes had been fulfilled. Ash, Dawn and their friends were reminded of the first Wallace Cup they had entered while watching the young coordinators making a name for themselves.

One by one, they got eliminated from the tournament, sometimes the defeats were extremely bitter, sometimes deserved, but in every case, they put up a fight. In the finale, a boy from Sinnoh with his prinplup and drifloon was facing a girl from Kanto with an ivysaur and a golduck. It was a glorious battle, in which every pokémon lasted until the time was up. In the end, the coordinator from Sinnoh won by a small margin. Needless to say, the girl from Kanto was devastated but the expression of pure bliss on the boy's face made watching it somewhat easier. His victory was absolutely deserved, his style reminded Ash of May's. That boy would probably get far, but one could never be entirely sure of that as not even the Aqua Ribbon guaranteed a bright future.

For the boy, it didn't matter at that moment, when he finally received it from Wallace himself. It was like a dream come true and they even had a small conversation, whose topic remained a secret between them. With the conclusion of the classic Wallace Cup, the mood got gloomy all of sudden, as everyone remembered what was supposed to happen the next day. Would Shira attack the contest hall directly? Would she attack somewhere else, using the threat as a bait for the police? Or would she do something completely unexpected? Everyone kept asking those questions.

Just like before, the coordinators and trainers left quickly without much talking, albeit for a different reason this time. They weren't tired, but simply not in the mood for talking because of nervousness and even fear. No matter how much they tried to deny it, a threat by Shira had quite an effect on them and with good reason. She was infamous for her ruthlessness so ignoring it would be foolish at best. Therefore their sleep was uneasy and short. Nobody doubted that the fourth day of the Wallace Cup was going to be the most interesting by far, and almost certainly in a negative way.


	38. Appeals in Fear

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 38: Appeals in Fear

The fourth day of the Wallace Cup began just like the third, only with a little more sunshine. Rays of sunlight woke Ash from his unpleasant sleep, yet he had no motivation to get up. No, he didn't feel rested at all, just like Dawn, who had struggled to wake up properly, but she didn't have a choice as she had to prepare the breakfast. Even while doing that, she often caught herself staring out of the windows. The weather was perfect, not too hot but also not too cold and with very few clouds in the sky so the chance of a storm was minimal. If there was going to be a storm, it was going to be of a different kind, the kind everyone feared. It was easy for people to say that the threats of a madwoman like Shira wouldn't stop them from enjoying the event but staying calm when the attack could happen at any moment was much harder, especially with so many innocent people around, people they wouldn't be able to protect. Because of that getting out of the bed was already a challenge for both of them and they weren't the only ones. Their pokémon were just as nervous, especially Piplup, who refused to leave Dawn's side at all despite not being at the contest hall yet.

Not even their daily interactions were safe and they found themselves eating in silence, a highly unusual behavior for them. They were simply not in the mood for many words, but at least, it wasn't an awkward silence as nobody expected the other one to say something. If there was anything that could truly tell just how worried Ash was, it was the fact that he ate barely more than Dawn. Anyone who knew about his hunger would get suspicious immediately, but Dawn already knew the reason and could understand him all too well.

They almost expected their mothers to burst in and tie them to their chairs just to make sure that they were safe, but the morning remained quiet. In the end, they left the house a bit later than usual. The exact time of the attack, if there would be any, was still unknown so they had to be on their guard.

Unsurprisingly, their friends seemed just as nervous and apart from the initial greetings there was little talking. The clear sky was like a mockery of the gloomy atmosphere among the people. As predicted by many, a lot of seats were empty, which wasn't all bad for Dawn as it allowed her to call out a few pokémon to take the empty seats so that they could watch and maybe even learn a few things. Besides, in case of an attack, she wouldn't have to waste precious time by calling them out. Ash, May, Drew, and Serena went to their rooms to change into their contest outfits before it was time for the waiting game. In addition to the threat, they also had to make sure that their appeal worked, which wasn't easy, considering they were always slightly distracted, but they were going to do their best anyway.

Just as expected, the appeals were of much higher quality than the previous ones, but at the same time, there were fewer coordinators so this day should be over relatively soon. In fact, a lot of spectators were hoping that they'd get be finished quickly in order to evade Shira's possible attack. Drew was the first of the group to make his appeal.

"Absol, Claydol, show time!" he exclaimed, trying to spark at least a bit of enthusiasm. "Absol, use wind rush! Claydol, get ready!"

Absol's claws extended while emitting a purple glow, hinting at a psycho cut variant. Then it charged forward, cutting the air itself in the process and leaving a white trail behind. It was like it was walking on the water and soon started circling the area around which Claydol was levitating right now. While Absol was getting faster and faster, the water began to move along, maybe also due to a psychic move by Claydol. Apparently, the goal was to create a water tornado, which took some time and in the end, Absol was moving so fast that it was barely visible. As more water was sucked in from below, the tornado got taller and eventually blocked the view on Claydol. Usually this wasn't a wise move, so he had to do something to make up for it. Upon reaching the appropriate height, the water was used to stabilize the tornado instead until Drew thought that they were ready for the next phase.

"Hidden power!" That command was for Claydol since Absol basically walked up the tornado like it was a spiral staircase, now slow enough so that human eyes could see it. The water glowed green from the side due to Claydol's move when the dark type reached the top, where it jumped up high. "Psycho cut!" While spinning, it shot several blades on the tornado without a visible effect except for preventing the water from rotating. In fact, most people were worried about Claydol inside. Absol jumped into the tornado, disappearing behind the water as well.

Suddenly, the psycho cut blades showed first results as the tornado fell apart, but in a most interesting manner. At first, the upper part simply lowered a bit, giving it the look of an orb. Then it opened up like a flower, revealing Claydol levitating in the center with Absol sitting on its head. The audience couldn't help but think of Drew's stage name, Emerald Blossom, as it looked exactly like that and even stayed that way for quite some time. Without a doubt, a massive amount of energy and power was required to control that large amount of water with psychic. Claydol, however, didn't show any sign of exhaustion and just slowly let the 'petals' sink into the water, where the green glow disappeared and everything returned to normal.

"Simple and brilliant! What started as a stage name, ended up as one of the most interesting appeals so far," the MC shouted.

Drew received a lot of applause although it wasn't quite what he deserved, and it would have been so much more with a full contest hall.

 _Damn Shira,_ he thought. _She stole my glory._

Nevertheless, he was pleased with his and his pokemon's performance, praising them before recalling them and returning to his room. His part for today was over so there was no reason not to change his clothes once more and watch the rest as part of the audience.

When he joined Dawn, Misty, and Zoey, it was almost time for Serena's appeal. They expected him to make fun of her but he remained silent. Even more surprising, he didn't even brag about his performance, nor did he show any reaction to their praise, the gloomy mood was already getting to him. Instead, he was just watching the appeal while keeping an eye on the area around him.

Serena was standing in the spotlight. She had to take a few deep breaths before she was able to overcome her nervousness and call out her pokémon.

"Delphox, Slowbro, time to shine!" The pokémon appeared at opposite sides of the stage. "Create the avatars!"

Delphox held its stick with the burning end in front of its face, gazing deeply into the flame for a while before breathing fire through it, creating a vortex in front of itself. Using its psychic powers, it made the fire take shape until it looked like a large, fiery version of itself. Meanwhile, Slowbro was drawing water from the pool and made it levitate nearby. Just like Delphox, it used psychic to make the water look like its copy and even managed to capture the goofy look on its face, much to the amusement of the audience. The avatars approached the center until they were directly facing each other.

"Begin!" Copying their masters' every movements, they started what looked like a fistfight. Delphox started by shooting its first forwards, making its fiery copy hit the slowbro copy in the face. Slowbro reacted by looking like it was hit as well and took a step backward before rushing forward and hitting the opponent with its head. Every contact also meant a lot of steam and with time, the avatars got smaller and smaller. Even the pokémon's expressions were mimicked by the avatars although it wasn't difficult in Slowbro's case as it was always the same.

Nevertheless, the audience was impressed by how in synch everything looked. They could only imagine how hard it was to move and control them simultaneously. Unfortunately, the fight itself was rather primitive with blows being traded one after another, yet that was pretty much the only weakness of the appeal.

"Time to merge!" As soon as Serena felt that the avatars were small enough, they simply merged, creating a vortex of water and fire, which collapsed soon. With a small explosion, the water was evaporated and rose up as steam. Maybe that was also the reason the roof opened soon after.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a battle of the elements. Too bad there can be only two pokémon in the appeals." Serena bowed, praised her pokémon and left quickly .

It seemed the excitement was a little too much in the end but at least the appeal worked flawlessly. On her way out, she saw Miranda approaching, but simply ignored her. Unbeknownst to her, Miranda didn't try anything, she was just as concerned about her appeal and the attack as the others. Hers was next, which also meant that Serena would miss it, which was something she wasn't sad about in the slightest.

Once Miranda was at the stage, she didn't waste any time.

"Talonflame, Dragonair, go!" she said somewhat unenthusiastically. Clearly, the atmosphere had quite the effect on her as well and tuned the usually attention-loving girl into a nervous and scared woman. "Rain dance, twister and flamethrower ..."

Unlike Miranda, her pokémon showed determination and didn't hesitate. Dragonair lifted its head and created storm clouds above, yet it didn't start to rain. Instead, several tornados appeared on the platforms. It was the signal for both pokémon to start using flamethrower on them. The fire made its way up the tornados into the storm clouds, turning them red and making it look like a burning sky.

"Brave bird! Dragon rage!" The coordinator was a bit more motivated now. While Dragonair was still using flamethrower, Talonflame was flying around, gaining a red glow. Then the dragon type, created a single, larger tornado, which shot up into the clouds. It caused a red lightning to shoot down, hitting Talonflame in midair. It didn't take any damage, though, but gained a huge crimson fiery aura instead. It made it look like it increased in size by several times and nobody could deny that it looked incredibly majestic like this, which was also due to the burning sky and the fire tornados. It spread its wings, causing flames to shoot out of its tips and let out a shriek that echoed through the hall. A few seconds later, it was over with the red aura disappearing along with the tornados and clouds, giving way to the blue sky above.

"If Miranda wants a stage name for herself, she's on a good way." The applause was maybe the biggest so far, but she didn't seem to care and just recalled her pokémon. She hurried off the stage, making way for the next coordinator.

"As much as I hate to admit it, she has talent," Drew muttered, folding his arms. "That was more impressive than your blue phoenix, Dawn."

"Well, it's not like had prepared it. It was Zoroark's quick idea," she replied, knowing that he was completely right. She was sure to get to the battle rounds.

"Is he making fun of my appeal?" Everyone present turned to their right to see Serena approaching, looking just tired instead of mad. "Go on, do it. I don't care."

To everyone's surprise, he didn't, and even praised her instead, at least a bit.

"It wasn't bad. Maybe you could have let them mimic moves like water gun and flamethrower to add a bit more variety. Apart from that, there's not much I have to complain about." Not only Serena but also the others were speechless. He was actually making suggestions on how to improve her performance. "What?"

"At least Shira's threat improved his manners for one day," she said, chuckling slightly. "Pity it won't last."

He wasn't in the mood to argue and tried to just watch the last few appeals before the dinner break. Most of them weren't too interesting but maybe it was because of the atmosphere. Anyway, it was over soon and the hall was empty in record time. Ash and May met the others on the way outside still in their contest outfits as they were too lazy to change back just for dinner. Fortunately, Zoey invited them to join her at her friend's house in Saffron City for dinner, an offer they gladly accepted. That way, they didn't have to show themselves in those clothes in a restaurant.

The friend was a nice, old woman, who made a massive amount of food for them and encouraged everyone to eat as much as possible. However, not even Ash and May were willing to eat a lot, despite the food being truly delicious. It seemed fear could ruin any meal. Sensing the depressed atmosphere, the woman tried to cheer them up by praising their appeals or initiating conversation, but it was no use. If anything, it only made everything worse as they were slowly losing their patience. She obviously had good intentions, though, so they didn't say anything about it.

Eventually, it was time to return and as much as they hated going back there, it was too late to bail out.

* * *

Inside a dark cave, the Storm Raider grunts were waiting for further orders. It served as a emergency hideout and was one of the few bases they had left after the fall of the main base. Next to them, the psychic types, who would teleport them to the target location, were sleeping. Unlike the atmosphere at the Wallace Cup, the one right there was light-hearted as the grunts kept making jokes about the attack and how they would scare the crap out of the people. The whole cave fell silent, when their leader was teleported inside.

"Is everything ready?" Shira asked the captain of the bunch.

"Yes, the mortars are ready to be deployed. We're just waiting for the command," he replied.

"Good. Just a few more hours. Get some rest, things are going to get brutal soon enough." She sat down next to them so they could wait together and also used the opportunity to have a closer look at the grunts.

Most of them seemed pretty relaxed even with her around, a few were just sleeping but there was one who caught her eye. Of course she didn't know it but he was the grunt who had seen her talking to her boss. So far, he'd been smart enough not to tell anyone about it, having tried to hide it instead. Now his nervousness was showing, though. He was fearing for his life since he thought that she didn't actually know what she was doing. Despite the darkness in the cave, that was only lit by a few torches, she noticed his fear.

"What's the matter, Matt?" she asked when she was sure that he wasn't expecting it.

"What? What do you mean?" he asked, barely hiding his nervousness.

"You're being awfully quiet and frankly, you look like you're going to burst any second? What the hell is wrong?" The others nodded in agreement, looking at him as well.

With everyone's attention on him, he had to think of something quickly or he was as good as dead. Maybe it was best to voice a few concerns that were common among the others.

"Well, those galactic bombs are quite powerful. Are you sure it's safe to use six of them at the same time, in such a small area? What if they rip us apart?" Apparently, he said the right thing as the other grunts started talking among themselves. "Besides, I still don't understand what it is about. What's the point? We won't be able to free the others that way."

Shira waited for the others to fall silent before she answered.

"I told you, it's a demonstration of power. Compared to this, even the poison is nothing. We will scare them so much, they will let our men go immediately and also fulfill all of our wishes. With that kind of power, there's nothing that can stop us." she stated. "And don't worry. As long as we follow the instructions, we'll be completely safe so gather your strength for now so that you won't make mistakes later."

Although he wasn't less worried than before, at least she turned her attention somewhere else for now. It gave him time to think of an escape plan. This wasn't how he wanted to die, not like this.

Shira, on the other hand, wasn't worried about the operation one bit. She was worried for completely different reasons. Sooner or later, her boss would find out about her ambitions so she had to be strong enough to overthrow him by then. The most important part was to get her men out of prison, the rubble she had right now was certainly not enough. With the others and a few of those galactic bombs, she'd be able to destroy anything and anyone. It was a pity they were so expensive, much more expensive than the original that had been used by Team Galactic, but then again, these ones had completely different uses. As far as she knew, it had taken quite a bit of persuasion to make Charon improve them, maybe he had known what would happen to him once his usefulness was at an end, which was pretty much the case right now. Although she didn't know where he was right now, she couldn't imagine the boss just letting him go or keeping him at one of the bases.

Yes, there were so many bases, but her boss refused to let her men stay there, instead they had to use this natural cave. At least it was highly unlikely to be found by the police, which happened to a few other, smaller bases lately as her threat increased the activity of the international police significantly. It didn't matter, soon they would pay.

* * *

Just because things were already bad, it didn't mean they couldn't get worse. The coordinators returned to the contest hall only to find out that the remaining appeals had been postponed for unknown reasons. Their only guess was that the police was taking extra security measures, but all they did was making the audience even more scared. Most people just wanted this day to end as quickly as possible so this was counterproductive, but then again, there was hardly anything they could've done without receiving a lot of criticism. It was a hard day for them as well, no doubt about that.

Apparently, the involuntary break didn't help improve the next few appeals. Either they were extremely nervous or exhausted as the mistakes they did were difficult to explain otherwise. With enough time, the level of skill rose back to an acceptable level and then it was already May's turn. Needless to say, she'd seen the last appeals and was determined to do better than that. Actually, she was maybe the most determined coordinator this day.

"Venusaur, Glaceon. Take the stage!" The two pokémon appeared on a platform at the center of the pool with the ice-type on top of the grass type. "Start with the icy mirrors!"

Venusaur used tentacles to lift Glaceon up high, where it jumped up, shooting a lot of tiny ice shards at the water. Upon hitting, they froze just a small part of the surface, creating small ice floes. The modified ice beam made them reflective, just what was needed for the appeal. Venusaur grabbed all of them with countless tentacles and kept holding them around herself.

"Now the prism!" Glaceon used ice beam on the water in front of the grass type, creating a block of ice, which got turned into a triangular prism of ice by a razor leaf move. Then she held a few of the mirrors right behind it. It took her quite a while to adjust their positions and the audience was already getting impatient when May gave the command. "Aurora beam!"

The light passed through the prism, getting dispersed in the process before getting reflected by the ice. The different rays of light took different routes, which seemed awfully complicated at first glance but in the end, all of the hit the flower on Venusaur's back. She absorbed it and use the light to power up a solar beam, which she also shot through the prism. It was much more powerful than the aurora beam but instead of hitting the flower, it got reflected by several other mirrors, which had been out of reach so far but which she used to focus the light again. As a concentrated beam, it shot up into the sky, getting stronger the more power she used for the solar beam. She kept it up for several seconds with the light getting dispersed and focused again before shooting into the sky.

The best part of the appeal was the laser barrier around her, which consisted of countless rays of light in different colors without blocking the view on the pokémon. The coordination required to this without flaw had to be enormous so unless the end was a total disaster, the people were sure that she would make it to the battle rounds.

All of sudden, Venusaur changed the positions of the mirrors and kept spinning them, making the pillar of light disappear but also creating a light show, which reminded them of a disco. Eventually, the ice melted due to the warm light of the solar beam, in contrast to the cold light of the aurora beam, despite it having been created by Glaceon's powerful ice moves. Fortunately, Venusaur let go of it in time so that it didn't look like an accident and retracted her tentacles again.

"Beautiful, just beautiful. A perfect combination of ice and light." The audience seemed to feel the same and she received a big applause, at least considering the amount of spectators.

"Flawless. I'm proud of you." May recalled her pokémon, waved at the audience and left the stage.

Her double appeal was among the more modern ones, in which one pokémon played the bigger part and the other one mostly supports it by doing things the main pokémon was unable to do. There were many who despised this kind of appeal, calling it primitive and simple but not even they could deny that a lot of magnificent appeals had been created that way. May's appeal was one of them. She joined the other soon after and thus would still be able to watch Ash's appeal.

"Hey, nice appeal," Serena told her.

"Congratulations. You haven't lost your touch." Drew gave her a quick kiss but to his disappointment, she just sat down next to him.

"Thanks," she replied.

Despite her awesome performance, she didn't appear in a very good mood and didn't even react to the other compliments. Drew wasn't surprised by this. With every appeal, the attack was becoming more likely, it was only a matter of time. Apparently, the audience had similar thoughts as more and more seats got empty. When they looked up, they saw Wallace, looking both worried and angry, as if he had had a big argument, maybe with Max Wright. Never before has anyone seen him this pale, on the verge of breaking down. Seeing him like this was especially painful for Dawn and everyone who looked up to him and a few of them started asking themselves, whether it wouldn't have been the better decision to cancel or at least postpone this year's Wallace Cup.

It didn't matter, it was already too late for that now. They could only hope that it wouldn't start during Ash's appeal. It was his turn soon after and just like the others he looked worried although he tried to hide it during the appeal.

"Greninja, Aurorus! I choose you!" Greninja immediately jumped into the water whereas Aurorus stayed on the platform at the center. "Let's get this started!"

 _And let's get this over with_ , he thought to himself.

"Create the ice palace!" Aurorus used stone edge on the water next to her, making water shoot up high because of the explosion and then she froze it in midair. The resulting, massive sculpture couldn't really be called a palace, it was crude and with a lot of pointy edges and it was only going to get worse as she kept using stone edge on it, blasting the ice until it looked incredibly fragile. "Get up there!"

To everyone's surprise, Greninja walked up the sculpture. They expected it to collapse with every touch but it didn't happen and the water type reached the top easily, not even slipping once. He stayed there, waiting for the next phase of the appeal.

"Now the targets!" Aurorus combined stone edge with hidden power, creating rocks with a crimson aura, which were ready to be shot at any target. "Go!"

One by one, the pointed rocks moved towards the ice sculpture and then shot upwards. On the top of the ice, Greninja was waiting for it and, with impressive precision, hit it with a tiny water shuriken. Upon contact, the aura turned blue and the rock flew a bit further away before exploding like firework. It was crucial that they wouldn't explode near the sculpture or the little shockwave might be enough to destroy it, a fact Ash had found out the hard way. What made this really difficult for Greninja was that the rocks were moving up on different sides so he had to move around as well, careful not to shatter the ice in the process. His balance, speed and precision were flawless, though and he got every single rock, thus creating a nice, little firework although that was merely a small addition. The pokémon's skills were the most important part.

"Now finish it!" Greninja made an impressive jump next to Aurorus before grabbing a pebble she'd left. Almost casually, he threw it casually at the ice, causing first cracks to appear the moment it touched the ice, which quickly spread until the whole sculpture shattered and fell into the water. To show that it was over, the pokémon bowed.

"To be honest, I was worried that the ice would shatter and bury Greninja under its weight but it seems it knew just how to move without damaging it. Good job." The applause wasn't as loud as Ash had hoped the day before but then again, there weren't a whole lot of people left in the hall and now he didn't really care anymore.

He went back to his room to change into casual clothes again as he wanted to be with the others as quickly as possible. Together they would be stronger, better prepared to repel any attack and the others would be easier to protect. When he was with them, there were only a few appeals left.

"Ash! You, Greninja and Aurorus were amazing!" She gave him a kiss, to which he only reacted halfheartedly. The fear was too present right now.

"Thanks but I'm a bit tired now." May and Drew moved a bit, allowing him to sit next to his girlfriend. "Thanks."

Nobody was in the mood for talking anymore. If Shira was really going to strike, the attack had to be imminent. Or maybe it really was just a distraction. Whatever the case, they were more nervous than ever and only back at their places, they would feel safe again. By now, barely anyone apart from the judges and Wallace himself, was paying a lot of attention to the remaining appeals. They even missed Ursula's appeal, which was pretty good, considering the circumstances.

Time went by horribly slowly until, at last, the final appeal was over. A short break followed, during which the successful participants were chosen, a difficult task, not only because there had been a lot of noteworthy performances but also because they had to ignore the circumstances and just do their job, no matter how grim the situation looked. After about half an hour of agonizing waiting, the judges appeared again and everyone knew that the result were about to be presented. Of course, the coordinators could have just gone home and watched the results on TV but hardly anyone was able to do that. After all, they were still coordinators and no matter how nervous or indifferent they looked, getting to the battle rounds was incredibly important to them.

"We've seen many magnificent appeals and believe me, the judges didn't have an easy time. Only 32 coordinators can make it but the matchups will be determined tomorrow. So here they are, the chosen ones!" It appeared that the MC was the only one showing true enthusiasm, probably because of professionalism.

Half of the audience stood up when the faces of the coordinators appeared. There were a lot of disappointed sighs and several sighs of reliefs. Ash, Drew, May, Serena, Miranda and Ursula were among those who made it but instead of celebrating their success, they mostly just congratulated each other briefly. May and Drew, and Ash and Dawn also hugged each other but that was pretty much it. Right now, everybody just wanted to go home.

"Congratulations to the winners. And to the rest, don't despair! I'm sure you will be more successful next year. Just don't give up. I hope I'll see you all again tomorrow, when the fourth winner of the Ocean Ribbon will be determined!" There was probably no one left to listen to her as everyone was busy leaving the contest hall. They thought they were finally safe. They thought the attack would happen later, when they were back home. They were wrong.

A bright flash, which came out of nowhere, lit up the sky for a moment and suddenly, it was black. There weren't any clouds blocking the view, though. No, it was the sky itself, that was black. The sun was still there and shining, albeit not as brightly as before, thus it didn't feel like it was nighttime. Needless to say, people were terrified, unaware of the fact that this was just the beginning. Lightning struck the surrounding area even though there weren't any clouds and then the pokéballs started to behave strangely. Sparks appeared around them and all of sudden, every single pokémon in the hall was released, looking just as surprised as their trainers.

Quite a few people began evacuation the rest of the audience and Ash thought that they were probably undercover agents. However, he also noticed that many of them were struggling with their equipment, which failed to work just like the pokéballs. On Wallace's platform, he could see Max Wright unsuccessfully trying to contact his men.

"Afraid?" Ash heard that strange voice again. "It should be. It is helpless."

There was a weak earthquake, which was followed by another and then another. By now, everyone was panicking but at least the agents were trying to help them.

"Stop messing around!" Zoey shouted at her friends, who were mostly trying to figure out what was wrong with their pokéballs. "We have to get out of here!"

Before they were able to do it, something else happened. It was both fascinating and terrifying, and impossible to ignore.

Through the open roof, the black sky turned into a dark reflection of the city. It was like looking from above at a twisted city full of dark clouds with massive crystals in midair and upon looking directly above, they noticed a building that resembled this contest hall. To the south, there was an ocean or a huge lake on the sky, exactly at the position where the sea was supposed to be on their level.

The fascination didn't last for long, as there were more important matters at hand. For now, they just wanted to get to safety.


	39. Disturbance

**It happened and its effects are far-reaching. This chapter about those effects, from Kanto all the way to Unova. How it happened exactly or the reason won't be revealed until much later, though.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 39 Disturbance

The strange image of the city above the city vanished quickly, being replaced by the black sky again. Nonetheless, the people were still panicked, but at least, with relatively few left in the hall, evacuating them wasn't as bad as it could've been. With the lights out, finding a way through the dark corridors would have proven difficult if it hadn't been for the pokémon providing light.

"Why aren't we teleporting? We could have gotten out instantly," Serena remarked on the way.

"How nice of you to remind us. A bit late, isn't it?" Drew retorted.

"This isn't the time for arguments!" May scolded him. "Besides, we're almost out of here."

Finally, they reached the exit and stepped into the open, only to find that things have gotten even weirder. The sky was pretty much back to normal by now but they had other problems. For a short moment, it was raining at their spot and only there. It stopped quickly and the surroundings were completely dry. Lightning was still shooting directly from the sky regularly, apparently not even needing clouds at this moment.

One of the most awkward things was that they could see places that weren't supposed to be here. For example, there was suddenly a part of Mt. Silver right next to the city. It was literally a part as it looked like it had been cut in half. A few moments later, it was gone again, only for Slateport City to appear nearby, but not in original size, it looked like a miniature model of the city. They kept seeing things like that and even recognized a few places from Unova and Kalos but the meaning or the cause remained unknown. Whenever this happened, people felt a strange pull to the sides, as if gravity was not working as usual. Sometimes they could hear whispers, screams, or normal talking out of nowhere.

The other big problem was maybe even more strange. From time to time, an bunch of people nearby would literally stop moving before moving at high speed as if to make up for their earlier slacking. Sometimes it was the other way around with them moving at extremely high speed and then standing still for a while. Needless to say, everyone was extremely confused, too startled to even be afraid.

Ash, Dawn and their friends just stood there for a while, watching all those strange phenomena. The only good part was that were neither attackers nor any dead, at least so far. In fact, they didn't even know for sure that it was Shira's fault. As far as they knew it might just be a huge coincidence although nobody actually believed that. The question was what she did to create effects like that, as it seemed like something that could only happen in a movie. How she could benefit from this chaos was another question. Others , like robbers or looters, would certainly find a way so the police had to be really careful not let this spiral out of control, now that their equipment seemed to be damaged or even destroyed.

Everybody was so busy that only Ash noticed Dawn sinking to her knees, holding her head as if she was in pain. He immediately put his arms around her.

"Are you alright? What's the matter?" he asked, full of worry.

"The image ... I was in the hospital again. Whenever I blink, it's back," she replied, whimpering. "My head ... hurts so much ... so many images ... don't want to ... go back."

"Is it afraid? It should be. Soon darkness will take this world." The voice followed up with twisted laughter, which kept echoing through his head, getting louder and louder until his head felt like a drum that had just been used. He also sank to his knees, right next to her. "It should just accept ..."

Suddenly, the voice was gone, and he saw an image in his mind. It was too blurry to see anything specific, he could only make out a small creature , whose eyes opened slowly. Similarly, Dawn saw another, familiar creature doing the same thing. Those images weren't terrifying, though. In fact, they made the pain and fear from the attack go away and calmed them down.

Espeon, noticing that something was wrong with them, ignored the rest of the strange effects and held her paws above their heads, trying to find the source of their trouble but it was already too late. It was gone. Their other pokémon also went to them, fearing an attack.

"I'm ... fine," Ash said, slowly standing up.

"So am I. No need to worry." He tried to help her but she got up by herself, still holding her head. "That was intense. We really have to do something about it."

"Trevenant thinks we should go back home," Lucario told them. "And I agree, there's nothing we can do here."

They looked at their friends, who were gawking at a forest next to them, which somewhat resembled Eterna Forest, and hadn't noticed their trouble.

"I guess you're right. Hey, guys." They turned around to see him and Dawn surrounded by all of their pokémon. "We're going back home. You're welcome to join us or you can go to your own places. There's no point in staying here."

They quickly agreed with him but turned down his offer. The situation was really bad and they had to know what was going on at their places. Only Misty was without a pokémon that could teleport her back to her gym so Zoey volunteered to take her there before returning to her friend in Saffron City.

Ash and Dawn were already at home by now and what they saw was depressing. Everything electric inside was either not working or even destroyed, which included some of the more expensive devices like the TV. Replacing all of it would cost a lot of money, money they didn't have right now. They weren't too worried about that, though. Their mothers were also in the house, having obviously waited for them since it was impossible for them to get news on the situation in Vermillion City. The events in Pallet Town, which weren't too different, worried them so much that it felt like they were about have a heart attack. As a result, the relief washing over them when they saw their offspring all healthy again and they almost crushed them with their hugs. It didn't matter to Ash and Dawn as they could imagine their worry all too well so they returned the hugs with equal strength. Besides, they had been just as worried.

After only a few minutes, they realized that the situation in Pallet Town wasn't that much better than in Vermillion City with confused and scared people walking around aimlessly. Everyone was trying to find an explanation, which was impossible. as without TV, computers, radio and even cars, the town was basically cut off from the rest of the world. Fortunately, the Oak lab was nearby and the pokémon might help be a big help because of the flying and teleporting pokémon. In addition, the large number of them made it one of the safest places right now so going and staying there was a natural decision. Apart from their own safety, it would allow them to protect the others, their family in particular, much more effectively.

Apparently, a large part of the townsfolk had similar thoughts as they found the lab already full of people. That obviously implied that the professor, Tracey and Gary were way too busy to even talk to them but they didn't really care. With all their pokémon around they felt safe and now the only thing they had to do was to wait for the crisis to end.

* * *

As soon as all of his agents had their orders, Max Wright let his alakazam teleport him to the Kanto HQ, leaving Thomas in charge of the situation in Vermillion City. The situation in there wasn't much better.

"Sir, our equipment is down," one of his men told him. "Nothing is working anymore. We only have our pokémon left."

"I see." They walked to his office, gathering information on the way.

At least they didn't have to pass nearly as many security checks as usual as all the devices for that were destroyed, just like the rest. He'd never seen such a chaos in there and replacing everything would cost a fortune. The thing that angered him the most was the fact that they still didn't know how Shira managed to pull this off or why. Judging from the events in Kanto alone, the damage had to be immeasurable.

"A few pokémon from the other regions arrived recently. They told us that the situation there is just as bad, even in Unova, and they don't know the cause, either. We have only one clue." That got Max's attention. "One of the men reported a strange signal from the east, near the big power plant, right before everything went to hell. It's not much but it's everything we have."

"Then I'll follow this clue myself. Make sure the flying and psychic types are ready in ten minutes." The captain nodded at one of the agents who was walking next to them and he went off to take care of the matter. "Any news from Dan?"

"Yes, sir. One of his Alkazam was here and told us that he's got everything under control. As bad as the situation is, there has been no reported attack by Shira's men so far. Mostly looters, who try to take advantage of the chaos." They passed the final door to Max's office. "With the communication down, we can't say just how many of them there are."

"Let the local police take care of it. I want every available agent here to gather with the pokémon. I'll have a look at the situation in the east myself." He grabbed a few documents on the recent prisoners' 'testimonies', trying to find a clue they had missed before. When he looked up he saw that the captain and few other men were still standing there. "What the hell are you waiting for? Get moving! I want everything and everyone to be ready when I go down there."

They quickly saluted before leaving the office, leaving only Max and his pokémon there. Unfortunately, reading the reports again didn't yield any results so either she hadn't told her men anything until recently or her plan was relatively new, which seemed highly unlikely, given the effect. No, something like that required long and careful planning and Shira couldn't have possibly prepared everything by herself. It only confirmed his belief that someone powerful was backing her up, someone her men didn't know. However, proving that assumption would be much more difficult as he would have to catch Shira herself and he was too smart to hope for that.

As soon as he was done with the documents, he stood up and, with his pokémon following him, he went to the hall where every single flying and psychic type of this HQ was gathered. They flying types consisted of a lot pidgeot and even more crobat. Despite their reputation as poachers' pokémon, the police appreciated their speed and ability to see clearly in the dark. If trained properly, they were also loyal enough so they were perfect scouts. Alakazam and Gardevoir were the most common psychic types. The agents saluted but Max waved it off.

"We have no time. Every team consists of one pidgeot, one psychic type, one agent, and four crobat. Go!" The teams were formed quickly with him and the largest pidgeot leading them. "Take us to the power plant near Lavender Town."

As helpers of the International Police, they psychic-types were able to teleport pretty much anywhere in Kanto. When they were there, they quickly realized that a search wasn't even necessary as in the distance, above the sea, there was a huge, black cloud, which looked highly unnatural. Just to be on the safe side, Max sent a few teams to check the surroundings and led the rest to the area around the cloud. Soon they reached an island, barely more than a huge rock in the water but it wasn't the island itself, it was the thing on it that made it interesting. For once, there was massive crater in the center, containing a lot of rubbles and, even more interesting, corpses. In fact, the whole island was full of them and he soon realized that they were all Storm Raider grunts or at least they were wearing their uniforms. The pokémon were hesitant to approach the island and the agents weren't much different in that regard although they didn't know why. They couldn't even describe it, everything on this island just felt so horribly wrong and unnatural. The stench was unbearable and didn't smell like anything they knew.

The view wasn't much better. A lot of bodies were mutilated, others were without visible wounds, only a look of pure terror on their faces but they weren't the only ones, their pokémon were dead as well, often even more mutilated than the humans. There were also remains of weaponry like mortars and handguns and other stuff in the water. Now that they were on the island, they noticed the raging sea. Hopefully, its waves hadn't washed away too much evidence but judging from all the rubble in the water, it wasn't looking too good. But even without those, there was no doubt that whatever they had done, they'd done it here. The strange effects in Vermillion City were also here, albeit much more frequent.

"Boss! BOSS! Come here." Although he didn't like being talked to that way, the agent's voice sounded more than just excited. It had to be something extremely important. "Look at this."

There was the corpse a blonde. The agent puller her over, revealing her face. The lower part was a bloody mush but the scar on her cheek was a dead giveaway. It was Shira and if it wasn't the scar, the dead raikou next to her erased any doubts. She would've never left it behind. Just to be sure, he checked her pulse only to confirm that she was dead. Even though he was glad that this demonic woman was gone for good, he would have preferred to capture her alive, simply for the sake of questioning her. Deep inside, Max knew that now he wouldn't find out just who'd been supporting her until that person chose to reveal himself. Shira's knowledge had died with her, there was no way to extract it from a dead body.

 _What were her last thoughts? What were her last feelings? Regret? Surprise? Fear? Oh, I would have loved to see her face in her last moments. Now it's impossible to say._ For some reason, he didn't feel the way he had felt when he had arrested Giovanni. _It's so cheap. Death is too good for that scum._

"Sir?" He couldn't turn away from her. It was like she was laughing at him for not being able to arrest her. "Sir?"

"Go back to the HQ. Tell the press Shira is dead and that the Storm Raiders are finished. But no details just yet." The agent left and left Max to his thoughts.

 _Finally some justice. You have pestered this world with your presence for far too long._ He was tempted to spit on her face but had enough restraint not to do it. As the president of the International police, he was better than that.

Instead, he proceeded to coordinate the gathering of the evidence. They had to know what had happened here, after all, so they had to secure it before it was washed away by the waves. At least their biggest of their problems was gone forever now.

He had a look at the others as well. Judging from the look of the island and their wounds, there had been a big fight. Maybe they had awakened something in the water and it ripped them apart in response. Whatever the case, it wasn't a pretty sight but the thought of one of their plans finally backfiring was highly satisfying. The real plan was still unknown as this might as well be just the result of their failure. In fact this seemed to be most logical explanation. Of course, disabling the communication and defenses around the world would make raids much easier. But then they'd be stupid to do something like that with so much weaponry nearby that simply got destroyed as a result.

Max was sure that they would find it out eventually as there had to be some kind of clue around here somewhere. Maybe he would even get to know more about her boss, if there really was one.

* * *

"This is bad. This is bad." For the first time, Iris regretted that the new gym was much further away than the old one.

Not even Unova was far enough to avoid the results of Shira's actions, although the effects were considerably weaker. Actually, most people didn't notice anything apart from the failure of their electric devices, including their pokéballs, and the reflection in the sky. Initially, that was the only effect Iris noticed as she was relaxing in the garden. Deeply worried, she tried to turn on the TV only to find it disabled and all of her pokémon outside their pokéballs, and those also didn't work anymore. Since there was only a gym assistant at the gym right now, he probably needed help. It was impossible to say what was going on in there with all the machines down and the pokémon released. Naturally, she was dying to know the cause of these problems, but making sure that everything was alright at the gym was essential right now.

On the way she saw a lot of people taking a walk as if it was merely a blackout, but those obviously hadn't seen the sky. Iris knew better, it felt like something huge had happened and her pokémon agreed with her. They all had a bad feeling, and it certainly wasn't because of the rain that was just starting. No, this had to be something more sinister, the image on the sky was far from natural, no matter what other people thought about it. The bad feeling only intensified when they reached the gym.

Iris opened the door and went to the private section, immediately noticing that far too many doors were open. By now, she wasn't surprised when she noticed one of the windows behind a door broken. Iris told her pokémon to get ready for a fight and together they went to the lab, where the pokémon of the gym were supposed to be for a check-up. On the way, they found the gym assistant lying on the ground unconsciously. He was more of a scientist and didn't stand a chance in battle but maybe he had noticed the intruders before they had knocked him out. Iris tried to wake him up, which was the smartest thing to do before venturing further as they might still be there and it was always better to be prepared.

"Hey, wake up!" Iris kept slapping him lightly until he stirred. "What's on going on here? Who did this? Come on, answer me, damn it!" She grabbed him by the collar and shook him.

Dragonite stopped her but not to prevent her from harming him. Instead he slapped the assistant until he was completely awake like he was trying to show Iris how to do it properly. Although the poor man was confused, he recognized Iris and her pokémon.

"I'm so glad to see you!" He fell to his knees, still too weak to stand on his own. Iris gave Haxorus a nod, which he took as an order to help him up. "They ... they entered through one of the windows. I don't know why the alarm didn't work or who they were. I can only guess that they were pokémon thieves. I mean, what else would they be here for if not the dragon types? They had weapons, which looked like tranquilizer guns. Anyway, they weren't in the mood for talking and knocked me out with one hit to the head. I have no idea what they've done in the meantime."

Listening to him was a bit difficult since he was talking so fast that Iris was wondering how he was able to catch his breath. At least it seemed he was finished as he looked at her expectantly. It took her some time to fully understand his words, but then she almost freaked out.

"What are we waiting for?" she screamed. "The pokémon are in danger. Let's go!"

Letting the assistant drop to the floor, Haxorus and the others followed her to the destination. After a short pause, they entered, only to find it completely deserted. Empty pokéballs were lying on the floor but at least there was no blood. If there was a fight, they were captured without bloodshed, but the fact that they got captured was already bad enough.

However, raging now wouldn't bring them back so she tried to find some clue on the guys who'd done it. There wasn't a lot she could see, only large darts that had obviously missed their target, which wasn't surprising, given how dark it was without the light on. In order to have a better look, she tried to go to a room with windows and met the assistant, who was still a bit shaky, on the way. He followed her and once they were able to have a better look, she opened the dart carefully, revealing light blue liquid inside. It immediately grabbed the assistant's attention.

"That looks like ... wait a moment, just let me fetch something. Don't spill it!" He went somewhere, probably the lab and returned a few minutes later with a white powder in a jar. "I have to make a small test. Please give me that dart."

Although she didn't know what he was talking about, she complied and watched him putting a bit of that powder on a plate. Then he let one drop of the liquid fall onto it, turning the powder black.

"Just as I thought. That's dragonsbane, an illegal substance used by professional pokémon thieves and poachers due to its effect on dragon types. A tiny amount is already enough to put even the biggest and meanest dragon pokémon to sleep, a very long and very deep sleep. On other pokémon and humans, the effect is a bit different. They suffer from intense pain and hallucinations . In larger doses, it's always fatal." He noticed that Iris seemed somewhat distressed by his remark and tried to calm her down. "Don't worry, unless they used more than four of those darts on one pokémon, it shouldn't suffer from any permanent damage."

Now she was really glad that all her non-dragon-types were with her right now or these intruders might have caused a lot of pain using that substance on them. That didn't change the fact that the gym pokémon were gone, though.

 _Damn it! Were those guys behind that strange effect? Did they do it just to disable the alarm?_ She gritted her teeth. _Poor pokémon, in the hands of those bastards. Don't worry, I'll rescue you before they can sell you or do even worse things. They will pay._

"Why was there no alarm?" the assistant asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Haven't you noticed? Nothing seems o work anymore. No idea why." Iris realized that Drayden had to know about this as they were his pokémon as well. "I must tell master Drayden. Maybe he'll know what to do."

Naturally, he wouldn't be pleased and his fury could be terrifying, but it was necessary. They had to act swiftly and strike before the thieves could sell the pokémon or use them for their vile purposes.

* * *

The high sage of Team Plasma was standing next to the gate to the inner base, trying to think of way to open it. All of sudden, pretty much everything there simply had stopped working. There had been no warning, no explanation and with the gates down, he'd be trapped if it wasn't for the teleport blocker being disabled as well. Still, the situation was dangerous as enemies could just appear in there and there would be nothing he could do about it without the defenses. While he was picturing different situations in his head, something smashed against the gate, doing a significant amount of damage to it. That wasn't exactly encouraging, considering it was a massive steel gate.

 _Speaking of the devil,_ he thought to himself. _If they get through, I'm done._

Knowing that there was no way to escape, he just waited. Of course, he could hide in the secret chamber or teleport away but he didn't even consider it. Either way, this base was lost and it was pretty much everything he had at this point. No, he might was well just give up and shorten his pain.

The next attacks on the gate left few doubts that it was going to break soon. Once it was done, to his surprise, the people following the huge rhyperior, that had obviously broken down the gate, weren't enemies but his own underlings.

"You ... why did you destroy the gate? You could have just teleported," he told them angrily.

"Really? Oh well, whatever." They shrugged. "Looks like nothing is working here as well. Same problem at the gym. At least we only had to break a window there instead of a steel gate."

The high sage was about to retort when he noticed unconscious pokémon on the backs of their pokémon and those weren't just any pokémon but dragon types from the gym.

"Are those ... you were successful?" he asked in disbelief.

"Of course we there," one of the men replied proudly. "Most of our equipment stopped working but we still had the tranquilizer guns I brought along."

"Hey, that was my idea," another one retorted, starting a fight, which the high sage quickly broke up.

"I don't care whose idea it was. You did a good job but now we have to have a look at the base and see what's destroyed and what not." He gave them a signal to follow before stopping for a moment. "Oh, and someone needs to make sure the dragon types don't break free and slaughter us all."

"Don't worry," one the others said. "I have just the right ... equipment for that. You won't even notice they're here."

Although the leader was slightly worried about the way he had said 'equipment', he knew that he didn't have enough authority to stop him . In his mind, accepting the plan was already a mistake and he loathed the prospect of selling them. On the other hand, he understood that he needed to find new ways of earning money as his inheritance wouldn't last forever and hesitating would only make everything worse. Nevertheless, he remained optimistic that one day, they would be able to live up to Team Plasma's true ideals.

* * *

Divine watched his new secretary approach him in his dark office. She was a woman in her thirties with short, curly, brown hair and matching brown eyes. Despite being just a little overweight, she could still be considered attractive but he didn't really care about that. Her outfit was made of a black skirt, black shoes and a black jacket over a white shirt. The important part was that she was bringing the damage report. The way she walked, the way she scanned the room, pretty much everything about her was saying that she was still new to this job and not exactly comfortable with it. He'd make sure that she got used to it as soon as possible.

"We ..." She stopped when he gave her a disapproving look. "I have news about the event."

"So?" He sounded bored but in his mind, he was still incredibly impatient.

"Apart from a few minor problems, the precautions prevented most of the damage. The base remained mostly functional and the repairs won't cost too much," she told him.

"Splendid. But I don't care about this base. What about Alpha-3?" he asked.

"No damage at all. The next phase of the plan is already in progress. it should be done within the next hour." That was all he wanted to hear.

Of course, they had tested the improved galactic bombs in controlled environments and used the gained information to shield their bases from the effects. Base Alpha-3 was the focus of the precautions as it played an important part in the following procedure. If any machine had been disabled, the whole plan would've failed but apparently, that wasn't the case. This part was the only one he had truly feared.

"Very good." He let out a laugh. "Very, very good. You may go."

"Sir, one of the captains wishes to speak to ... you." He raised an eyebrow. "It ...he's waiting outside the office."

"Let him enter." He could already guess which one she meant and was already looking forward to have some fun.

Only a few moments after her departure, a tall, bearded man, wearing the dark grey uniform with the emblem of his elite, entered the office. For some reason, he looked incredibly mad and his boss knew it all too well. He walked with so much force that it felt like his steps echoed through the entire base. He found his boss sitting at the desk in the center, one of his hands supporting his head as if he was close to falling asleep.

"Yes, what 's wrong?" he asked, trying to sound as bored as possible. Judging from the expression on the captain's face, it was working.

"You know damn well what's wrong," he growled, showing all of his teeth. "Shira's dead! What the hell were you thinking? How could you make such a mistake."

Divine decided to get to the point immediately. Without a doubt, the reaction would be most delightful.

"Mistake?" He laughed softly. His calm voice was the complete opposite of the captain's, which was loud and full of spite. "There was no mistake. She did a fantastic job and I'm proud of her."

"What?" Anyone who had thought that the captain was close to erupting, had to admit that it had been nothing compared to the demonic look on his face now. He smashed his hands on the desk and leaned forward until his boss could feel his hot breath on the face. "You ... you wanted her to die? You sent her to her death? How dare you?"

"Why are you so upset? I know about your ... infatuation." It was hard to believe but the captain looked even madder now and an attack was bound to happen. Nevertheless, his boss remained completely calm and even stood up, so he was looking down on his underling, their faces as close as ever. "You should be thankful. I have given your sweetheart a good death, that's more than most people can ask for. So where's the 'thank you'?"

Pissing him off would be a dangerous game if it wasn't for his 'guardian angel'. That's what he called his oldest and most powerful pokémon. Sure enough, the captain finally had enough and went for the gun at his belt, only to stop dead in his tracks when a large claw cut off his right arm. With an absol becoming visible right behind him, he just stared at his boss in disbelief.

"Does it hurt? Well, love hurts so no reason to be surprised." He stood up and walked next to the injured captain. "Did you really believe that I'd let a pathetic brute like you simply walk into my office with impudence and put an end to my life? Ridiculous!"

"Senile old fart ..." The captain tried to use his last strength to deliver a powerful punch with his left fist, only for his opponent to dodge it and counter with a punch to the stomach.

"You didn't answer my question." While the captain was sinking to his knees, wondering how an old man can have so much strength, Divine gave Absol a nod. It raised its right paw and pierced his chest, ending his suffering. "Good girl. It's a shame you don't get to have as much as fun nowadays, but we need to keep a low profile. My time is running out."

Absol nodded and took a step back, vanishing from his view. Invisibility was her special ability and she used it to remain with her master the whole time, protecting him from anything and anyone that threatened him. More than one overambitious underling had met his end at her claws as she always remained undetected. Apart from fear, she was his greatest weapon as without her, he could never feel entirely safe.

Not taking further notice of the corpse, Divine stood up and left the office.

"Tell someone to clean up the mess inside. I want it gone till tomorrow," he told his secretary at the desk just outside the room.

He was dying to view the reactions to his little operation on TV, at least once it was back up.


	40. Of Ambition and Loyalty

**A little more background about the recent events. The Wallace Cup will continue in the next chapter with the first battles.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 40: Of Ambition and Loyalty

Staying at the Oak lab wasn't too bad. With a lot of other people and the pokémon around, it was difficult to get bored around there. Unfortunately, there still weren't any news as the equipment at the lab was also disabled. The professor and his assistants tried to repair them but there was just too much to do and Gary was currently teleporting around, trying to get the information everyone was craving. Ash was making a few last exercises when Oak approached him with a pokéball in his hand.

"Well, it seems the pokéballs at the lab will be just fine eventually so you don't need to worry about them. Those you had in your possession in Vermillion City, on the other hand, ..." He looked at the one in his hand in discontent. "They're beyond repair. You have to get new ones."

"What?" Pokéballs were usually pretty robust so that came as a surprise. "Doesn't that mean that Pikachu and the others ...?"

"Technically speaking, they're wild pokémon right now." Ash and his pokémon exchanged confused gazes. It was hard to tell what they were thinking right now. Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and pointed at the ball, gesturing wildly. "It looks like he wants to change that as soon as possible. You can have six of my pokéballs but I'm afraid they won't work just yet. Maybe tomorrow. Oh, and you can tell the others that my offer stands for them as well."

"Thank you, professor." His pokémon inclined their as head as if to say thank you. "And thank you for being allowed to stay here. We're all a bit nervous."

"No need to thank me. Even I like to have some company from time to time. I just hope Gary returns soon. I'm anxious to hear the news." He wasn't the only one. "Anyway, you should tell the others, I have other things to do for now."

They went their separate ways, the professor back to the lab and Ash to a lake nearby, where Dawn was supposed to be. Indeed, he found her on her milotic's back. The water type was swimming slowly in the lake while humming softly with Piplup swimming on his back next to her. Dawn was looking at the sky, which was turned red by the setting sun. The scene had a calming effect, Ash could have watched it for an eternity without getting bored, she just looked so beautiful with the light shining on her face and with the reflections on the water. Of course, Milotic also played her part in that but he barely noticed her. The girl was much more fascinating to him and he was lucky that she didn't notice him, giving him more time to look at her.

Unfortunately, Pikachu didn't share his enthusiasm and walked towards them, also revealing Ash's presence in the process. Dawn smiled and told Milotic to swim to the water's edge before stepping on solid ground again. Ash cursed under his breath and tried to hide that he has been staring at her.

"Bored? Tired?" he asked with a grin. "Or just lazy?"

"Maybe a bit of everything? Who knows?" She shrugged. "I envy your ability to just ignore this and go on with the training."

"I'm just that awesome. Well, to be honest, it's just a way of distracting myself from that problem." He gritted his teeth. "I hate it when there's nothing I can do but wait for news."

She faced him with a sympathetic expression. They thought very much alike in that regard so she could understand his frustration all too well.

"I know, I also hate this waiting. But there are just things forever out of reach and we should just use that time for something useful." For some reason, he laughed. "What's so funny?"

"I was the one training and you were ... I have no idea what you were doing." He scratched his head. "Do you mind telling me?"

"I was just relaxing and reflecting on various things like whether the Wallace Cup will still take place at Vemillion City tomorrow." He looked at her questioningly. "You know, without the equipment, that seems unlikely."

"True." Ash looked at the lab and noticed that the sun had set so it was getting dark quickly. "You want to go back? Perhaps Gary is back already." She nodded after a short moment. "Alright, race you!"

Dawn was baffled at first but reacted swiftly.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! I have to do something first." She waited for Ash to backtrack a bit before turning to Piplup. "You want to stay here this night, don't you? It's alright. I'll meet you tomorrow morning. And now ..."

She darted off towards the lab, leaving Ash far behind.

"Hey! That's unfair," he yelled when realized that he'd been tricked. "You have a head start."

"Never stopped you before," she replied, half-laughing. "Come on, Ash. Show me your competitive side. I want you to run like you've never run before."

Ash tried his best and used all the energy he had just to show her but it was in vain. In the end, the distance was even larger than at the start and she was laughing when he finally arrived.

"Is that your best?" Dawn also had to catch her breath, though. "You used to be faster."

"I was already tired because of the training." It wasn't because she was faster, as he was superior in that regard, she only had a little more endurance. Of course he'd make weird excuses before admitting this.

"Suuure." She sniggered and turned to the door. "Shall we go in?"

"Sure." He wasn't eager to discuss his defeat so the change of topic was welcome.

There were a lot of people inside, talking, playing cards or doing other things to pass the time. A few of them were already preparing their sleeping bags although it was still far too early to go to sleep.

"Oh crap, we forgot the sleeping bags," Ash exclaimed.

"Yes, you did." They turned around to see Delia, hands on her hips and a reproachful look on her face. "But who am I to expect something like planning ahead of you? Consider yourself lucky that I brought two extra ones because I knew this would happen."

"Oh, thanks." He looked around nervously. "How about we talk to other people and hear whether they had similar experiences?"

Actually, he wasn't too interested in their stories, but he would do anything to get away when his mother was angry for whatever reason. Interesting enough, she didn't insist on embarrassing him any further but kept an eye on him throughout the evening. Unlike Ash, Dawn seemed interested in talking to others and to his surprise, they heard a few astonishing and funny stories. Then again, there was nothing better to do anyway so they spent almost the whole evening like that, sometimes playing cards or smaller games with them.

After a few hours, they almost forgot why they were at the lab or that they were waiting for Gary to return with information. There were just so many people and pokémon that everyone felt completely safe despite the unexplainable effects as together, they would be able to defend against anything the Storm Raiders could throw at them. Alone at home, on the other hand, they would be like sitting ducks, at least assuming that an attack was imminent. Nobody really thought that Pallet Town was the target but it was always better to be on the safe side and there would surely be criminal scum trying to take advantage of the chaos. Without an effective way of alarming the police, burglars and robbers had a lot of easy targets, so they were the true reason people preferred to stay at the lab.

Being able to defend themselves against scum like that, Ash and Dawn certainly didn't have to fear them. They were worried about the Storm Raiders themselves as they certainly haven't forgotten their role in taking down the base a few weeks ago. If there was anyone who had to be prepared for a Storm Raider attack, it was them. In the end, someone else appeared when people were already going to sleep.

It was Gary, who was finally back, hopefully with the answers everybody needed. Unsurprisingly, he was soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of people asking their questions at the same time. At first, he tried to calm everyone down but eventually, he lost his patience and had enough.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "If you don't ask your questions one by one, I will leave this lab immediately and you can wait for your precious information until tomorrow."

Ash and Dawn could only hope that the people would take his threat seriously as they knew that he would do it without a second thought. They were relieved to see that everyone calmed down a bit and then Gary started picking people raising their hands to ask their questions.

"What causes all these problems?" a woman asked.

"We only know that the Storm Raiders did it but not how or why. And I fear it might take a while till we know." They were wondering what he meant by that and he loved leaving them in suspense. "Let me explain. It might surprise you. You might even be shocked but probably also relieved. You see, whatever they did, they didn't survive it. You heard right, folks, Shira and her men are all dead."

There a lot of different reactions. Of course, everyone was relieved that she wouldn't be able to do anything more to them, but the extent of showing that relief varied. A few of the younger people cheered when they heard about Shira's death but most people, including Ash, Dawn and their mothers, remained calm. No matter how wicked someone was, they didn't want to celebrate her death although it was really tempting in this case. Shira had been a monster and the world was better off without her, that's for sure. Still, others still had their doubts as they knew how slippery she was.

"Are you absolutely sure?" one of them inquired.

"The international police confirmed it and I even heard that her corpse has already been taken to Saffron City so we don't need to worry about her anymore." Gary looked at the crowd. "More questions?"

"When will our stuff finally work again?" an old man asked him.

"No idea," he answered honestly. "Next question?"

" What about the Wallace Cup tomorrow?" Dawn asked.

"Can't really know anything about that. Just go there tomorrow and have a look for yourself." The answer wasn't satisfying but he simply didn't know better. "Next one?"

"Any attacks by the Storm Raiders before they got killed? Any notable damage?" Those were two questions and Gary would have loved to follow through with his threat, but decided against it. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Anyway, I don't know whether they wanted to try, but they didn't get the chance to cause any more trouble."

The following questions were a bit more specific so once Ash and Dawn felt that they had heard everything important, they went outside. The air was fresh and just right to clear their heads. After all, that was an awful lot of new information, but on the other hand, there was no need to talk about it. Shira, her men and her threats were gone forever and that was all that mattered. Holding hands, they were staring into the distance, trying to process the recent events while other people were leaving the lab for their homes. In fact, there was no real need to stay at the lab anymore. However, since everything was already prepared, Ash and Dawn decided to stay. One main reason was that Dawn didn't want to separate Piplup and Milotic again.

When they were back inside, most people were gone already and Gary was sleeping on a chair, exhausted by the questions and the traveling. Wasting no more time, they quickly changed into pajamas and went to sleep as well. For the first time in days, it was a peaceful sleep and without anything but that strange voice and the other effects to worry about, they got a lot of rest. The Storm Raiders, their attack, even the Wallace Cup were forgotten for now. Except for Alakazam, Espeon, and Reuniclus the same held true for their pokémon, only those three had to make sure that nobody messed with their mind or their dreams would have turned into a nightmares.

* * *

Early in the morning, Divine called his chosen into his office. They had already heard about Shira's demise but their reactions were different. Boris seemed somewhat amused and kept badmouthing her on the way to the office whereas Victoria looked distressed as if she was fearing that she would be next. As much as she hated Shira, she couldn't deny that the bitch had done a lot for the boss so she concluded that nobody was safe. Seth was calm on the outside, but he had thoughts similar to Victoria's and despised Boris's carelessness. Only Wraith was mostly unaffected but then again, there was very little that could truly affect her. They took their seats in front of the desk and waited for him to speak up.

"About time you showed up. As you can see, we're one member short." The boss watched their respective reactions. "Do you have any questions about Shira's ... misfortune?"

"How did she die? Did she suffer?" Boris asked.

"It's difficult to describe because nobody has ever died that way. Let's just say it can compare to being run over by ten trains at once" He laughed softly. "Don't you wish to hear the reason, though? Aren't you wondering why someone like Shira died this way?"

"She's dead. We're not." Boris shrugged. "So who cares?"

"I do," Victoria protested. "Shira was by far the most successful commander and leader you had."

"I agree. How are we supposed to feel safe if those considered the most competent are sent to their death?" Seth asked.

"A fair question," the boss admitted. "Let me put it this way. Competence isn't the only attribute I ask of the people working for me. A certain obedience is desired and that's what Shira lacked. She was overconfident, overambitious and didn't show the proper respect. Sooner or later, she would've tried to overthrow me, something that wasn't exactly in my interest. However, instead of just eliminating her, I gave her one last assignment and allowed her to die fighting."

"Fighting what?" Boris was eager to know what could possibly crush her and all of her men.

"You'll see later and then everything will become clear. But there was another reason to get rid of our friend, or rather her organization. The Storm Raiders were a notorious gang. As long as it existed, the police would have kept searching for bases and this way, they discovered quite a few of ours. Without them, they will feel safer again and maybe even forget about us." He looked extremely serious all of sudden. "Our next activities need to remain undetected so a loud organization like the Storm Raiders would have meant trouble for us. Cutting off any ties to them was important. But enough of this. To sum it up, I'm sure you have learned by now that blind ambition can be fatal for anyone and that attention isn't always desirable. Let's come to a few pressing matters. Victoria, I haven't heard from you lately. What about your mission? Is that ... Darryl eliminated?"

"What?" Victoria was still a bit distracted and had to clear her head. "Oh, yes. He was well-guarded and it took a lot of time to find the right place and moment but I did it. He won't trouble us anymore."

Much to her annoyance, the others, including her boss, looked surprised. It made her wonder just how incompetent they thought she was.

"Very good, Viccy. That was certainly faster than expected, but I'm pleasantly surprised for a change. Continue to impress me and you might take Shira's place one day." She was used to him criticizing her every action, even when she was successful but now he was praising her. It was something new to her and it made her euphoric. "I already have the next target for you. Scouts report that one of Shira's men somehow escaped from the onslaught. It's imperative that he doesn't fall into the hands of the police. Although I doubt that he would go there voluntarily, given his involvement in her last attack, it's better for him to remain silent forever. If you kill him, make sure they don't find his corpse or they might get ideas I don't want them to have. I put a great deal of trust in you so don't disappoint me."

"I won't you can count on me, master," she cried, saluting.

"Splendid! That's all for now so get to work."Victoria saluted once more and hurried out of the room, eager to fulfill her new mission.

The boss turned to the remaining chosen. He had new missions for them as well but first, he wanted to complain about their performances so far.

"I must say, your work was disappointing so far. One lousy zapdos and that's all. I expected a bit more so we'll change the method now. Instead of capturing them, you will use these." He placed a few pokéballs in front of them on his desk. "These contain dittos. If you see a worthy pokémon, they will transform into it and we will use them as the base for a single Okcha prototype, which we'll use for further copies. A new base is already under construction for this single task. Until then, base Alpha-3 will serve that purpose. Just send them a message to turn off the teleport blocker for a moment, get there, and let the workers there do the rest. It's really simple. And yes, that's also for you, Seth. There's nothing else for you to do right now. Just remember to keep a low profile and everything will be just fine. Michelle, my new secretary will provide you with the dittos. Unless there are questions, you should get to work."

"No questions, boss." Boris left the room quickly. This new mission wasn't his favorite but knowing his boss, he'd get to do something more fun soon.

"It shall be done," Seth replied before leaving as well.

Wraith also turned to leave but she was stopped by her boss.

"Not you. I have a special task for you," he said. "Since you got me that zapdos, I entrust you with something important. Although it's not essential, just like the other legendary pokémon, I want it to be completed soon as it would help me tremendously with a personal matter. I want you to find Yveltal and Xerneas."

"As you wish. Anything I need to know?" she asked. Just as expected, she didn't question his choice or the difficulty of the task.

"Nothing special. As long as you perform the task, I don't care about the means." It was clear that there was nothing more to say so she saluted and left the room.

Even though he had his doubts that she would be successful, he knew that she'd do her best, being his most reliable agent. There was still another matter of importance, though, which concerned his scientists. He picked up his phone and talked to the secretary.

"Send Maris in," he told her.

While waiting for the new visitor, he took a round, black crystal out of his desk and kept it well hidden in his right hand. It would serve him well very soon. Sure enough, a young man wearing the typical white lab coat entered his office. He had short, green hair, and grey eyes, which made him look cunning and cold. As far as the boss knew, this scientist used to be Tareth's favorite helper. However, that was before he'd turned against him. This one wouldn't betray him, though, he would make sure of that.

"My dear Maris. I don't know whether you know about Tareth's betrayal but it certainly raises suspicions about your loyalty." The scientist paled visibly, not because his mentor was a traitor but because his devotion was questioned. "But don't worry. You get the chance to prove it and this is a matter of uttermost importance so don't fail me."

"I won't. My loyalty is without equal, you'll see," Maris protested.

His master stood up and started walking around, looking at the ceiling, hands behind his back.

"At the current state, the Okcha shells will last for ten years, am I right?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. Of course, battles may reduce the time even further, depending on the damage taken," Maris added.

"Indeed. And that's not enough. Not even close. No, my dear friend, I want them to last at least 100 years." The scientist looked at him in shock. it was a lot to ask for and he wasn't sure whether he would be able to help. "You can do this, can't you?"

"I'm ... not sure. That's a bit ... extreme, isn't it?" He was careful not to say that it was impossible in order not to anger his employer.

"I don't care what you think. You will do it or you will die. Simple." He went directly behind Maris, who didn't dare face him. "What's the matter? You wish to disappoint me, just like Tareth?"

"What? No! I'm loyal. I'll do it. I promise." He was desperate and willing to make promises he might not be able to fulfill just to buy a little more time.

"That's all I ask for. But -" He raised his right hand. "- just to be on the safe side..."

Before Maris could even wonder what he meant by that, his boss placed his right hand on the scientist's back. At first, he felt a sharp pain in his head, which was followed by a numbness and a chill he couldn't describe. Then his body was completely paralyzed and he lost control of it entirely. His eyes flashed up in a green light for a moment before they returned to normal and his initial, shocked expression was replaced by one of anger and desperation. The body was shaking violently until it stopped again a few seconds later and a creepy smile graced his face. During the first minute, he was walking like a robot but with time, the movements became as fluent as ever.

"We ... obey. What is ... the master's wish?" he asked as if he was having trouble speaking.

"You have the same mission as your body. Make the shells last longer. And you will refer to yourself as 'I' and to me and others in the second person when you talk. Did you hear me?" he asked, speaking slowly.

"I ... heard ... you," Maris managed to get out.

"Do you understand my orders?" the boss asked again, a bit louder.

"I understand your orders, master." He saluted, showing that he was ready to act.

"Good. Now get to work and don't forget to send me a report from time to time." He turned his back on the scientist, signaling him that the conversation was over.

As soon as Maris was out of the room, he sat down put his feet on the desk. He stayed like this for a while, then he pointed at the corner of the room and Absol appeared, walking up to him and sitting down next to his chair. He kept petting the dark type before speaking up.

"They have to be successful and once they are, we have the power to change the world, the power we deserve. And then my vision will become reality. True freedom." Absol let out a purr-like sound. She was just as excited as he was. "We just have to be a bit more patient and our wishes will come true."

* * *

Ash and Dawn woke up late in the morning with a bunch of pokéballs next to them. A note was attached to them, in which Oak apologized for not being able to talk to them in person as he simply had too much to do. Most of the other people were already gone, as they didn't want to stay too long either, so their psychic types teleported them directly to their bedroom and bathroom, where they prepared themselves before returning to the lab. After all, a lot of stuff was still there, but that wasn't the reason. First, they wanted to 'recapture' their pokémon, much to the amusement of the other ones. At least their pokéballs were working again, just like most of the equipment at the lab. They'd have to check everything at home later.

The Wallace Cup was a more pressing matter right now, though. After taking their belonging back home, they went to Vermillion City. It was there that they noticed that the other weird effects were also gone here. People were running around, carrying strange things, which they probably intended to use for repairs. It almost looked like on the first day of the Wallace, only that the atmosphere was much darker, so much that they wondered whether the people here even knew about Shira's demise. However, even her death couldn't repair the damage and without a doubt, most people had lost a lot because of her so their bad mood was understandable.

The fact that a huge number of coordinators was already waiting in front of the contest hall didn't really come as a surprise. Since a lot of them were already leaving, Ash and Dawn guessed that the Wallace Cup wasn't taking place this day but maybe they could get more information on that so they tried to get past the others. They could've passed their friends without noticing it as both coordinators and visitors tried to get to the door and others tried to get away from it. Finally, they got close enough to notice a note on the door. Whoever had written it, he or she obviously wasn't too smart as the size of the writing was ridiculously low, which explained why it was taking so long. It wouldn't have been so bad if there had been a few more notes but like this, everyone had to get through that huge crowd just to read it.

It said that because of the heavy damage on the equipment, they had to postpone the battle rounds. Although they were hoping everything would be ready the next day, it was impossible to say whether it was realistic so the coordinators shouldn't get their hopes up too much. It also advised the reader to watch the news on TV as any result was likely to be shown there. All in all, the note was a disappointment and not worth the trouble of getting though all the people in front of it and almost worse, getting out. When they were finally back, they decided not to wait for their friends to appear as it would be impossible to spot them among the others so they went back home instead.

They inspected the damage and soon noticed that most of their stuff was still working. Unfortunately, the most expensive machines like the TV weren't among those, which almost made Ash regret just how much he had spent on the day before the Wallace Cup. He shook his head, knowing that it was both necessary and absolutely worth it. Besides, they didn't exactly need the TV as they had more than enough other ways to entertain themselves in the evening but it was still annoying as they didn't get to watch the news that way. It was most fortunate that Delia visited them at noon, offering them to stay at her house for dinner and her TV, an older one, which was still working. Since her cooking was brilliant and they wanted to see the news, they gladly accepted the offer with Johanna joining them soon after.

Just as expected, the food was delicious, but the most interesting part was yet to come. They got cozy in the living room, turning on the TV. Nobody was surprised that the recent events were on every channel. Since the Kanto channels were still down, they had to watch the others, which was no problem for them. The first thing they got to know was that the damage in Kanto exceeded that in the other regions by far, so the source of the trouble had to be there, an assumption which had already gotten confirmed by the international police, albeit details were still unknown. An analysis of the effects followed and although it was rather interesting, the experts were unable to draw any proper conclusions. At least they knew that the effects had been the same in every region, albeit the intensity had varied, as explained before.

They had caused tremendous damage, which easily surpassed anything they'd ever seen before. In terms of money, it had already cost hundreds of millions despite the full extent being still unknown as part of it hasn't even been reported so far because all means of communication had been down until recently. Lavender Town, which had been hit hardest, was still suffering from the effects and had lost its iconic radio tower. With the power plants down, Kanto had to import electricity but fortunately, the others understood the situation it was in and sold it for a low price. Even better, rich individuals and companies had already promised to contribute to the rebuilding as a quick recovery was in everyone's interest.

There was even a special about the president of a large company, who wanted to donate a fortune and lots of spare parts and even though most people were sure that this wasn't entirely due to his kind-heartedness, his supplies were well-needed. The events had ruined quite a lot of people but in terms of human lives, it was much better than expected. The number of deaths was surprisingly low, which was mostly due to the precautions made by the international police like preventing planes from taking off. This measure along had probably saved countless lives but they weren't able to prevent everything. Especially during the aftermath, when looters and other criminals tried to gain as much as possible, they were simply too few to get everything under control. Still, considering the amount of trouble, everyone agreed that they were doing a decent job.

Finally, there was also something about the Wallace Cup. Apparently, they were awaiting supplies from Unova for repairs and depending on the delivery speed, the last phase would be ready within one or two days. Although Ash and Dawn were disappointed that it would take this long, they were glad that it would be finished in the first place. Then again, Wallace wouldn't have it any other way. This contest was his greatest creation so canceling it, even just once, was unthinkable. Otherwise, he would've already cancelled it the moment Shira had made her threat.

Now that they finally knew what was going on, Ash decided to train for the rest of the day. After all, he would compete soon so his pokémon had to stay in shape. Dawn helped him and without the fear of another attack, they were battling with even more enthusiasm. Indeed, for the first time in days, they felt absolutely safe and only the voice in Ash's head and Dawn's visions were causing trouble. It wasn't enough to ruin their mood this day, though, and they had fun training the rest of the day until it was time to go to bed. Hopefully, everything for the Wallace Cup would be ready the next day.


	41. First Steps

**Now to start the Wallace Cup for real. There will be several battles in the next few chapters, starting with Serena's now.**

 **Disclaiemr: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 41 First Steps

Ash and Dawn had gone to sleep with great hopes for the future and part it was fulfilled the next day. It seemed the supplies for the contest hall had arrived and because of the tireless work of the staff, the repairs were finished in time. The coordinators knew about it the moment they saw the open front door. In front of it, their friends were already waiting, except for Zoey. After the greetings and few hugs, they talked again and it was like before Shira's threat. The relief could be felt pretty much everywhere.

"So glad nothing really bad happened to us," May said. "These effects were so crazy, I was worried we'd get sucked into a black hole or something like that."

"I can confirm it. She really believed that," Drew replied nonchalantly, earning a punch to the arm for the remark. "What? You did."

"That doesn't mean you can tell everyone, you big oaf," Serena remarked.

"But she was the one who told you. I just confirmed it, stupid girl," he retorted.

They kept arguing and the others just sighed. As much as they liked returning to normal, those squabbles were among the aspects they would've preferred to disappear. Right now, they didn't mind too much, though, as anything was better than the silence and fear of the previous days.

"Have you watched the news?" Misty finally asked, interrupting the argument. "Some of the theories really gave me the creeps. I mean, what kind of sick mind makes up things like that?"

"I know, it's disturbing," Dawn replied, shuddering.

"I guess it's their job to assume the worst." Drew shrugged. "Anyway, it's not worth listening to."

"Reminds me of you," Serena pointed out with a sly grin.

The rest just sighed and stopped listening and tried to escape by forming their own small group. Unfortunately, the two coordinators followed them, ruining their efforts by arguing all the time. Actually, it was even worse than before so they just hoped that Zoey would arrive soon. For once, they were in luck and the redhead made her appearance, which allowed them to enter the contest hall without having to explain themselves later. In the entrance hall, they went their respective ways with Dawn, Misty, and Zoey going to their seats and the rest going backstage to change into their contest outfits.

Unlike the days before, the contest hall was full and the people showed much more enthusiasm. Although they weren't sure whether it was just because they wanted a distraction from the trouble, they welcomed the change in atmosphere. It felt so much more like a real Wallace Cup this way. When the coordinators entered the stage, there was a huge applause as the audience knew that they had been brave enough to make their appeals despite the attack and the atmosphere. The huge screen at one side of the side looked a bit different but served its purpose nonetheless. Since it was going to be a long day, the MC didn't waste a lot of time with words and pointed at the screen, where the matchups were being randomly selected.

Many coordinators said that to become the best, you had to beat the best, yet battling the best right at the beginning still wasn't their first choice. Of all the potential opponents, Drew was probably the most feared although nobody wanted to battle Ash or May either. All in all, the probability was pretty so, which didn't prevent them and their fans from worrying, though. After all, some of them would meet them unless the strongest coordinators were paired up right at the beginning. The process of determining the matchups was agonizingly slow, probably to add to the excitement but most of them just thought it was flat out annoying.

Finally, the faces of the competing coordinators appeared on the screen and there were both sighs of relief and cries of frustration. Drew would battle an unknown coordinator in the second battle, which was followed by the match between May and someone else they didn't know. The pair would meet in the quarter-finals unless one of them got knocked out before. Miranda was part of the seventh battle and thus a potential opponent in the semi-finals. Ash, Serena, and Ursula, on the other hand, wouldn't battle them until the finale and also had an unknown opponent each. Ash and Ursula might become opponents in the quarterfinals and the victor might meet Serena in the next round. Naturally, the first battles were full of weaker coordinators, but usually they got defeated early on. It made the first round pretty unbalanced as the matches were either over quickly or extremely one-sided. Occasionally, there were battles between even opponents but the spectators didn't get their hopes up too much.

Whether they liked their opponent or not, the coordinators had to leave the stage for now, apart from the first two contenders. Despite the first battles not being too exciting, the atmosphere was fantastic. Maybe Shira had showed them the value of fair and peaceful tournaments like this so, ironically, she did some good after all. Of course, Drew was welcomed even more enthusiastically, but his opponent was so weak in battle that he didn't even want to play with him, which resulted in the battle being over after only one minute. May's opponent was just a bit stronger, lasting for three minutes, but in the end, she didn't have any problem getting to the next round. Similarly, Miranda defeated hers but unlike the former, she spent the five minutes to play with him, not bothering to reduce his points to zero or to knock out his pokémon until the very end.

The interesting part of this round was Serena as, depending on her luck, she would have a standing chance or she'd get crushed. Being from Kalos, she was mostly unknown, but with her friends, she had a small and loyal group of supporters.

"Now let's see Serena from Kalos and Gerald from Hoenn fight it out!" the MC announced.

"Lanturn, Goodra, stage dance!" Serena shouted.

She called out what looked like a lavender ball of goo but then it opened up like a flower and revealed a lanturn, who immediately jumped into the water. The goo took shape and turned out to be Goodra, Serena's strongest pokémon apart from Delphox. Without a doubt, she wanted to at least put up a fight, even if her opponent turned out to be superior.

"Swampert, Dusclops! Showtime!" The fact that Gerald, a man in his thirties wearing a flawless white tuxedo, looked way more experienced than Serena, didn't really help her confidence.

A large cloud of smoke appeared on one of the platforms in the pool. A swampert jumped out of it and into the water, where it created a huge splash. The audience was looking at the cloud, though, where something was glowing red. As soon as the smoke cleared, they recognized it as a dusclops's eye. Serena thought that her entrance was better and thus gained new hope.

"A promising start!" Like the audience, the MC was hoping for an even battle for a change. "Battle, begin!"

Since her opponent didn't show any sign that he was going to start, Serena took the initiative. No matter how bad things looked, she had a plan and was going to stick to it, at least at the beginning.

"Use the sludge mines!" Goodra used sludge bomb repeatedly, which got frozen in midair by Lanturn's ice beam.

"Intercept them with shadow punch! Muddy water!" While dusclops kept making them explode before they were able to reach their target, Swampert turned the clear water of pool muddy so that Serena wouldn't be able to watch its movements. Dusclops missed a few, though, which fell into the water and kept floating like sea mines. Suddenly, Swampert launched himself out of the water in front of Goodra. "Hammerquake! Shadow punch! Use disable when necessary!" It was a combination of hammer arm and earthquake, which usually dealt massive damage to anything nearby.

"Power whip! Lanturn, storm jet!" Using its large antenna as whips, Goodra hit the water type for super-effective damage, albeit with only one of them as Dusclops's shadow punch threw the other antenna off-balance. Still, it was enough to send Swampert flying back into the water and Lanturn used the opportunity to launch an attack on the ghost type. It was unable to prevent the disable move, which got the power whip. The storm jet was a combination of thunderbolt and aqua jet, which was only possible due to its volt absorb ability. Originally, it was Ash's idea but due to the lack of a suitable pokémon, it was Serena who had perfected it with his help. Aqua jet was a move a lanturn didn't learn naturally so they had to invest a lot to make it work, an effort well spent as it allowed for combination. The glowing and sparkling water aura was quite a sight, reducing Gerald's score considerably. It also hit for quite a bit of damage and knocked Dusclops into the water, giving Serena another great opportunity. "Whirlpool! Goodra, use sludge bomb!"

It turned out even better than expected. The maelstrom both cleared the pool by sucking in the mud and the sludge mines, and dealt damage as Gerald's pokémon also got trapped and the mines exploded upon contact, poisoning the water nearby.

"Ice beam!" Swampert froze the water around itself and easily broke free before smashing the ice that was encasing Dusclops. While sludge bombs were hitting the area around them, they escaped onto one of the platforms. However, now a wave was coming towards them, carrying the poison and mud. "Use ice wall!" Dusclops used ice punch to create a wall in front of itself and Swampert, protecting both of them from the wave but it got shattered by a storm jet, which knocked the pokémon into the water again.

Gerard looked at their scores in disbelief. This attack gave her a good head start but he wasn't going to give up just yet. No, he had already turned other battles around so there was no reason this one should be any different.

"Swampert, use waterfall and earthquake!" A pillar of water with Swampert on top rose up high. It was clear that it would drop from that elevation to increase the power of its stomp so Goodra got ready to hit it in midair. However, the pillar crashed down on it, forcing it to dodge instead of attacking and thus the stomp was successful. Just as expected, the power was tremendous and pushed Lanturn against the pillar of one of the platforms in the water. Although Goodra was able to stand its ground, it took quite a bit of damage. "Ice punch!" Unbeknownst to it, Dusclops had been able to jump over the shockwave and had gotten close enough for a sneak attack. It hit the dragon-type in the back and made it turn around, an opportunity Swampert used to quickly swim to its platform.

"Watch out! Dragon tail!" Serena feared another hammerquake but she didn't intend the way it turned out although it was quite effective. The hammer arm hit the tail and even got stuck in it. More importantly, the tail completely absorbed the power of the move. That way, Goodra prevented the attack and also greatly decreased Swampert's offensive potential. With only one arm against Goodra's two, the water-type was at a disadvantage, but at least, the dragon-type wasn't able to use its power whip. The traded a few punches until Dusclops grabbed Goodra's right hand from behind and pulled it behind its back, where it used ice punch to 'glue' the arm to the back by encasing it with ice. "Come on, Lanturn. Get back here." Unfortunately, the water-type had hit its head pretty hard so it needed a lot of time to recover from its dizziness.

Her pokémon was in a real pinch right now with Swampert in front of it and Dusclops hitting it from behind. Even worse, it formed a ball of light, which she recognized as a will-o-wisp. The ghost type was about to shoot it, when Lanturn shot out of the water, still a bit dizzy, but ready to fight.

"Hydro pump with thunderbolt!" A glowing stream of water pushed Dusclops away and extinguished the fire move, creating a lot of steam and even more sparks in the process. The move was not only quite powerful but also reduced Gerald's score even further. On the other hand, using the hydro pump simultaneously with the electric move from the antenna cost a lot of energy. A secondary effect was that the steam melted the ice on Goodra's back, freeing its arm, an opportunity it immediately used to punch Swampert.

"Use waterfall!" With the water pushing it upwards, Swampert was able to free its arm before getting ready for another stomp. Due to the water crashing down, Goodra wasn't able to stop it.

"Jump into the water and get away! Lanturn, use aqua jet to evade it!" The dragon-type tried to swim as far as it could but it failed to escape the earthquake entirely as the shockwave still hit it. Lanturn was more fortunate as with aqua jet, it could fly over it.

"Blizzard on the water and go to Dusclpos! Dusclops, use the wisp-combo!" Gerald looked at the score, which showed that he was still behind her. He still had one and a half minute left, though. "You'll regret having annoyed me!"

Upon hearing the command, Goodra tried to get back to the surface as quickly as possible only to get stuck in the ice when the entire pool got frozen moments later. Lanturn, on the other hand, was still outside and now it was forced to keep using aqua jet to move at an acceptable rate. Most importantly, it had to evade Dusclops's combination at all costs. It looked like a large will-o-wisp circled by several tiny ones like a sun being circled by planets. The usually slow move was accelerated by a psychic move, which was also used to guide the wisp. For a few seconds, the water type was busy fleeing from the wisp, a feat that was only possible due to aqua jet but then Serena got an idea.

"Attack Dusclops with storm jet!" However, Swampert was already there to protect it from harm with its ice beams. One hit during the aqua jet would certainly mean the end so Lanturn had to cancel the attack. "Come on, Goodra!" There was nothing she could do right now except to hope for her dragon-type to break free. As if it had heard her, the icy ground started shaking, showing that it was at least trying.

It took a few more seconds for it actually break through, though, and it had to pay a price. Its body was surrounded by a crimson aura, and it had an expression of pure rage on its face, indicating that it had used outrage. Being fully aware of the drawbacks of the move, Serena knew that she had to deal major damage during the short time she had left.

"Attack!" Since it didn't have other things in mind right now anyway, Goodra complied and, after letting out a deafening roar, launched itself at Swampert, who got ready to fight. "Ice aqua jet on Swampert!" It was Ash who had taught her this combination. Although ice aqua jet wasn't as effective as the storm jet, Swampert's typing didn't allow for electric combinations. Hitting Gerald's pokémon's head from the side, it stunned the water type long enough for Goodra smash its body against it, sending it flying. Now Dusclops was the closest target and Goodra didn't waste any more time. The next hit broke the control over the wisp, causing it to fall onto the ice, where it melted its way down until the light was no longer visible.

"Swampert, fight back!" Gerald shouted desperately. Right before Goodra was able to finish Dusclops, it got in the way, grabbing the hands of the dragon-type with its own and stood its ground despite the heavy injuries. "Dusclops, use will-o-wisp!" Not only was Serena too far ahead but with only 20 seconds left, he could only win by knocking out one of her pokémon now so he didn't bother with fancy combinations.

"Hydro pump!" Lanturn extinguished the fire move before it could do any damage but Dusclops dodged the stream of water. Meanwhile, Swampert and Goodra were still battling but then the crimson aura suddenly disappeared, showing that the outrage was gone, which could only mean one thing. It left Goodra confused and due to its dizziness, it could no longer stand its ground and got pushed back.

"Earthquake! Full power!" For a moment, Serena feared the worst. When Swampert raised its foot, Lanturn couldn't stop it as the water type was still fighting Dusclops, who prevented any interference with psychic. However, instead of stomping on the ground, the whole body collapsed. Finally, the heavy damage Swampert had suffered, took its toll. The last fight against Goodra's outrage had cost the last bit of energy it could muster and now it was finished. Gerald was too shocked to do anything so the last few seconds passed without another incident, leaving Serena as the winner.

"Amazing! And the winner is Serena. Congratulations!" The crowd went wild as it was the first close battle this day.

"Damn it ... At least we tried." Gerald wasn't in the mood for more talking and simply walked off after recalling his pokémon.

Serena didn't even notice, though. Right now, she was living in her own, little world, unable to comprehend her own euphoria. It felt like a dream although she wasn't aware of just how real it was. Against all odds, she managed to get to the top 16 and made a name for herself in the process. She could already picture herself receiving the ocean ribbon from Wallace himself while the audience was yelling her name over and over. Her thoughts were interrupted by a certain dragon type coming towards her with spread arms, which could mean one thing. It was going to give her a hug.

As much as she appreciated the affection, it always left a sticky goo on her clothes, an issue she didn't need right now so she started running into the opposite direction. It had to be funny for the audience watching the trainer feeling from her own pokémon.

"Please not now!" Serena cried. "I don't have a spare contest outfit."

Whether it was because it understood or because it was exhausted, Goodra slowed down and came to a halt, panting heavily. She looked at her tired pokémon proudly. It didn't matter how the rest of the tournament would go for her, it was already a huge success in her mind.

"I promise you that you can hug me all you want after this. But for now, I have to keep my clothes clean." She was going to change into a more expendable outfit before allowing it, though. Then she noticed a light coming from the edge of the pool and recognized the source as Lanturn's antenna. "You two did a great. I'm so proud of you but now let's take a short break."

She recalled her pokémon and made place for the next coordinators. An old woman with long, white hair and pink eyes, wearing a simple, white dress, walked past her.

"See you next round," she said.

There was something in the voice that alarmed Serena. It wasn't threatening or taunting, not even arrogant, although it was close. No, it was just so full of confidence that Serena didn't doubt for one second that this woman was going to be her next opponent. Shaking her head, she continued walking. She would be able to watch the battle backstage and maybe Ash, Drew or May could tell her about this woman.

When she arrived there, she could see them already watching the battle. Upon noticing her, Ash and May approached her.

"Congratulations! You sure showed that guy," May said, hugging the fellow coordinator.

"A bit crude but well done. I guess you didn't want to get knocked out quickly and told your pokémon to hold out as long as possible," Ash told her and he wasn't entirely wrong. "A really good job, though. But your next opponent won't be this easy."

"Have a good look at this," Dew told her with a smirk, pointing at the screen. "That's Gwen. A powerful trainer but a horribly boring person. Always serious and completely immune to irony or sarcasm."

The woman that had told her that they would meet in the next round, was pretty much wrecking her opponent. It wasn't just her power that surprised Serena but also her choice of pokémon. It was rare to find a furret and a bibarel winning at this level, but that woman made them look powerful. Similar to Dawn, she was moving a lot during the battle, but the purpose was still unknown.

"She's going to kick your ass. Hell, even I would have trouble against her," Drew admitted.

"Furret and Bibarel? That seems weird," Serena said, raising an eyebrow.

"Most people would expect pokémon like Milotic from her but don't let looks deceive you. They're dangerous, especially since nobody knows what to expect," Ash warned her. "I think she prefers the pokémon that get overlooked by other coordinators. She's already battled with a magikarp and won so don't underestimate her."

"Why sugarcoat it? She's fucked. The only way she'll be able to see the quarter-finals is as part of the audience," Drew told them.

"You really could be more sensitive sometimes," May replied.

"What for? It'll only lead to more disappointment." He shrugged. "Yeah sure, just believe in yourself and you can win against anyone."

May sighed. Sometimes he really was hopeless.

"I don't need your sarcasm," Serena hissed.

"See?" Drew turned to may and shrugged. "She doesn't want it so I'll just keep it to myself."

Gwen quickly finished her opponent without wasting too much time. No matter what the others said, Serena knew that Gwen was a lot more powerful than Gerald so getting past her would prove extremely difficult, if not impossible. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to back away, but put up a fight that Gwen would remember.

Soon after, it was Ash's next opponent that was determined. The battle was between two young coordinators from Kalos so he didn't expect them to be very experienced. Sure enough, the way they fought showed that they were still far from his level so he got an idea. Maybe he would get to do a favor for Sylveon by letting her battle in the next round. He was convinced that she was already strong enough and if something went wrong, there would still be Samurott, her chosen partner. Due to one certain combination, he was a good choice, Ash reckoned.

When it ended and it was his turn, he realized that it was not the time to think about that just yet. For now, he had to make it to the next round, which proved to be no problem. He tried to prolong the battle a bit but that wasn't exactly his strong suit. Dawn was much more prone to playing with them and, depending on the opponent, she could be surprisingly cruel, sometimes without realizing iz. If a coordinator incurred her wrath, maybe by treating his or her pokémon poorly or by insulting her friends or family, she liked to show the audience just how inept they were, often humiliating them in the process. Even then, she was careful not to be too rough to the pokémon, though, as she didn't want to hurt them. That wasn't Ash's style, as he thought that beating them in record time was a better way of showing dominance even though he had to admit that watching a horrible person struggling like that did give a certain satisfaction.

One battle later, Ursula had a lot of trouble defeating a powerful coordinator. It almost looked like she was going to lose in the end but a great comeback made her the winner. It was obvious that she was quite surprised about the resistance her opponent was putting up and nearly paid the price for it. The final two coordinators appeared a bit weaker so Ash was counting on battling Ursula in the quarterfinals, assuming he also got there, of course.

Finally, the first battle round was over with only half of the participants remaining. From now on, things were going to be a bit more difficult, but first, it was time for dinner. Ash and the other participants met Dawn, Misty, and Zoey in front of the entrance. Drew jokingly asked whether they could have dinner with Zoey's friend again, to which she replied that the kitchen was pretty much ruined so it was pointless. Instead, they went to the pokémon center, which also had been repaired in record time, mostly because of the Wallace Cup.

They used this opportunity to talk about the battles so far, especially Serena's since it was the most exciting of that round, but they also discussed potential opponents. The appearance of Gwen was a major topic as well as Miranda's performance. Although May, Zoey, and Dawn had never battled her, they knew her all too well, mostly because she had almost defeated Drew once and made him lose his temper in the process. At least May and Drew wouldn't meet before the finale but Ash wasn't this fortunate, not to mention Serena. Even though nobody said it out loud, it was clear that they didn't expect her to put up any considerable resistance.

Miranda's first battle was even more worrying. With a dragonite and a lucario, she had humiliated her rival without mercy. Moreover, these pokémon were clearly extremely powerful, probably on champion-level so they had to be cautious not to get knocked out. Something every true trainer had noticed was how terrified the poor pokémon had looked, not of the others but of their trainer. Without a doubt, their training had been brutal and only fear could possibly make them obey Miranda. However, they doubted that it was Miranda who'd trained them. She just didn't seem patient enough for this kind of work, it was more likely that her father had paid professional trainers to do it for her.

Before the next round started, Ash changed his team to include Sylveon and Samurott instead of Greninja and Aurorus, who had done their part. Needless to say, the fairy type was thrilled. Despite her lack of practice, Ash believed that she more than just up to the task and she didn't want to disappoint him. The only thing Ash somewhat feared was that her eagerness would make her careless.

Before it was their turn, they had to watch the other battles. The first one included Drew and a coordinator from Kanto, who was already much stronger than the previous but in the end, it wasn't too difficult either. May had a few more problems against a male coordinator from Hoenn, especially at the beginning, when the opponent unleashed a few devastating combinations. It soon became clear that his pokémon didn't have the endurance of May's, though, which meant that it was pretty much over as they simply lacked strength to cause serious trouble for her. May overtook him soon and defeated him by knockout after four minutes. Whether he would've lasted longer if he hadn't used all of his energy at the start, remained unknown.

With her victory, the first really big match was set. In the quarter-finals, she would meet her boyfriends, which was a bit early for their taste, but they would do their best nonetheless. Their fans were already thrilled and looking forward to a an awesome battle. First, they had to 'endure' the others, though.

Miranda was up next. Just as expected, her opponent was also much more capable but still no match for her although he did manage to embarrass her in one scene, resulting in a pretty brutal end. For some reason, she sometimes gave her opponents opportunities to prove their power by letting her guard down. Ash thought it was because of arrogance, yet the true reason remained unknown. If she got the impression that her opponent was abusing this gift a bit too much, she usually put an end to them rather quickly, like in this case.

Her battle was followed by another one and then a break of about ten minutes. Now it was time for the match between Serena and Gwen. They were standing at the opposite sides of the stage, looking at each other, not paying attention to the things the MC was saying. This was Serena's first battle against a truly powerful coordinator and she was going to put up a fight, at least she hoped she would. When the MC stopped, they had to call out their pokémon.

"Delphox, Sneasel, stage dance!" Ash and Dawn didn't know that she had a sneasel. Considering the importance of that match for her, she had to trust it a lot, though.

At first, a sphere of ice appeared. From inside, it was illuminated by a raging fire without getting melted by it. Eventually, the flames grew strong enough to shoot out of small holes in the ice until the sphere shattered completely, releasing a blinding, blue light. Once the effect was gone, the audience could see Sneasel standing on top of Delphox's head, surrounded by a ring of blue fire. The audience cheered, whereas Gwen gave her a strange smile.

"Go!" Gwen called out a linoone and a ledian. Unlike Serena, the others weren't surprised by the missing entrance. They knew that Gwen was often unconventional and not afraid of being different. Like Ash, she preferred to shine in battle and took a fighting stance.

"Battle, begin!" Serena took a deep breath. Things were about to get serious.

* * *

 **The next chapter will be about Serena's and Ash's battles in the next round.**


	42. Growing Tension

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 42 Growing Tension

Serena, Gwen, and their pokémon were ready to battle, waiting for each other to start. Since it was her most powerful opponent so far, Serena was too excited to start. Gwen was much more relaxed and took the initiative.

"Freeze the pool!" Linoone opened its mouth, shooting a blue beam at the water, causing the whole pool to freeze. Serena wasn't upset about this, as she would've ordered Sneasel to do the same eventually. "Now go!"

Linoone started running in a straight line towards Delphox whereas Ledian kept flying above the stage. Judging from the rushing pokémon's speed, a direct hit would cause a lot of damage so she needed a proper response.

"Black fire! Quickly!" Delphox created a fire blast in front of herself, which got cut into five pieces by Sneasel's slash, turning it darker. Then she used mystical fire to merge it with the pieces, creating five orbs of dark green fire. This combination took a bit long to build up for her taste, but it was powerful and had quite a unique look.

"Dodge it! Ledian, reflective shield!" Using ice beam again, Linoone created a loop of ice. With its help, she was launched backwards without the need to stop. Meanwhile, Ledian was charging four blue orbs in its fist before hitting its ally in midair, creating a shining shield around it. Once it was back on the ice, Linoone created one more loop to turn around once again. On the way back, it got hit by the fire orbs, which got deflected by the shield but also caused it to shatter , damaging the ice around the pokémon. That wasn't the end of the orbs, though, as they turned around again, following the normal-type. Instead of crouching, Linoone destroyed the first loop with shadow claw and jumped at Delphox with the fire orbs following it.

"Stop it!" Sneasel tried to intercept Gwen's pokémon with an ice punch and it got help by Delphox, who was trying to slow it down with psychic. Serena's hopes were quickly destroyed as Linoone simply pushed the ice type aside like it was nothing and struck Delphox with shadow claw for tremendous damage, completely resisting the psychic move.

"Silver wind!" A powerful silver beam hit the fire type. It was so bright that Sneasel was blinded and to make matters worse, when the orbs passed through it in their pursuit for Linoone, they were pushed against Delphox, exploding in a green light and leaving the area on fire. Linoone escaped by using ice beam to create something like a wall and used to it move like in a bobsleigh. This way, it was able to keep up its impressive speed without the disadvantage of having to stop for even the slightest curve. "Like my shield? I thought that the effect of reflect was lacking so I created it for Ledian," Gwen explained with a peculiar smile.

"This is not over yet!" Thinks were looking bad for Serena, though. Her strongest pokémon had been hit quite hard and her points were already pretty low. Even worse, Linoone was already coming back. "Ice and flame wall!" Sneasel blocked the way with a wall of ice by using ice punch on the ground and Delphox created a wall of fire right behind it. It was a pretty sight but its usefulness had yet to be proved.

"Light screen!" With the help of the defensive move, Linoone made it through without taking a lot of damage, pushing Serena's pokémon aside in the process. This time, the rushing pokémon took another way back and soon the whole stage was littered with its walls and loops of ice.

By now, Serena was aware of the fact that she couldn't stop Linoone with brute force, which she was clearly lacking. Since Gwen's pokémon seemed unable to change directions without the use of the ice, maybe it was best to melt it. Another way would be to destroy its means of turning but she was going to try that later.

"Flamethrower on the ice!" she shouted. The fire-type started melting the ice around herself. However, she didn't have to wait long for Gwen's reaction.

"Oh, I don't think so. Bug buzz!" Ledian flapped its wings extremely fast, causing them to emit red waves and an extremely unpleasant sound. When they hit Delphox and Sneasel, they interrupted their current actions and made them hold their heads in pain. Linoone did the rest by undoing Delphox's actions.

As if it had no worries in the world, Linoone just kept running and sliding, waiting for Serena to make her next move. Obviously, she was in a bad spot. Her score was already down by half with three minutes left, her pokémon were hurt, and that was evem with Ledian having donebarely anything. She could only imagine how much worse the situation would have looked if it had fought actively. But then again, maybe it was intended as a supporter and taking it out somehow was the best option. It was worth a shot as she had nothing to lose.

"Sneasel, ice shards and icy wind! Delphox, use mystical fire orbs and psychic to control them!" Sneasel spread its arms and five large orbs of ice appeared in a straight line in front of it. Similarly, five orbs of green fire, ready to shoot them at Ledian. "Fire! Sneasel, stop Linoone with protect!"

"Reflect shield!" Delphox was quite aware of the shield's effect so she simply let he ice shards and fire orbs circle their target, just waiting for the moment the bug type let its guard down. Of course, that required a large amount of concentration and that's why Sneasel had to protect her from Gwen's other pokémon. Despite the speed, it was easy to tell where it was going next so Sneasel simply got in the way, burying its claws in the ice below and activating the shield. Even with the protect move up, Sneasel got pushed back quite a bit, leaving claw marks in the ice but in the end, Linoone really came to a halt and the two pokémon engaged in melee combat. "Slash!"

"Slash!" They kept wasting time that way until Gwen had enough.

"Bug buzz! Then finish it with a silver spiral combination!" The bug-type stopped maintaining the shield and flapped its wings rapidly again. The red waves destroyed the ice shards but they failed to affect the fire orbs so it got hit by them although they dealt only little damage. Furthermore, the sound interrupted and stunned Serena's pokémon, allowing Linoone to take a few steps back. It used ice beam to create a spire that got used by Ledian. Its silver wind traveled all the way up the spire before staying at the tip, forming a silver orb. Now Linoone tried to reach the spire, albeit not directly as it wanted to gain a bit more speed on the way. This gave Serena the chance to intercept it.

"Delphox, use flamethrower to stop it! Sneasel, use protect!" Since Sneasel had already stopped the normal-type once that way, she was confident that it would be able to do so again. Just in case it didn't work, Delphox melted holes into the ice behind it.

"Ice beam for a ramp!" Linoone simply created a ramp of ice to jump over the obstacles ad next to the spire. It proceeded to walk up before passing through the silver orb, absorbing the power and gaining a white glow. It was practically sparkling with energy when it descended again. "Bug buzz and headbutt!" The move was even stronger than before as Ledian used it at full strength, paralyzing Serena's pokémon, thus preventing them from dodging or using defensive moves. Linoone hit Delphox with tremendous force, causing an explosion of blinding light and sending the fire type flying far away.

Serena knew the strength of her pokémon well enough not to hope for a comeback and indeed, Delphox was unconscious. Although Sneasel was still able to battle, the knockout reduced Serena's score to zero so Gwen was the winner.

"Gwen has won this round and reached the quarter-finals! Congratulations!" The audience cheered loudly apart from Serena's supporters, something she barely noticed.

Right now, she was devastated. This wasn't just a defeat, she had been utterly annihilated by an opponent, who was far too powerful for her. Of course, she hadn't thought that she'd win, but she had hoped to stand at least a little chance. This, however, was humiliating and showed her that she still had a long way to go.

"She was simply too strong ..." She sighed and recalled her pokémon.

Gwen, on the other hand, took a deep breath, as she had moved quite a bit, gave her partners a bright smile and walked away without another word, hands behind her back.

With her head lowered, Serena walked backstage in shame. Maybe going straight to her room and joining the audience would be the batter choice. At least, she'd avoid Drew's snide remarks that way. However, the more she thought about it, the more she felt like going backstage was better. After all, she had been more successful than anticipated so there was nothing to be ashamed of apart from maybe the way she lost. But she was mature enough to learn from it instead of grieving for her loss. Still, meeting her mentors wouldn't be easy. In terms of contests, Ash never was much of a mentor for her so meeting Dawn was probably worse. May and even Drew had taught her quite a bit during their short journey, though, making this difficult for her.

When she arrived, she raised her head, trying to look as confident as she could. They looked at her sympathetically, except for Drew, who was basically ignoring her.

"Didn't go as planned, did it?" Ash asked with a sad smile. "Don't be too hard on yourself, you'll do better next time."

"I sure as hell will!" Serena exclaimed loudly, surprising everyone.

"Good to see that you haven't lost your confidence," May remarked, her spirit already lifted a bit. "See, Drew? I told you she would get over it."

"I never said she wouldn't," he replied. "I just said it would take ..."

"Shush!" May placed a finger on his lips."This is not the time for your negativity."

"I believe it's the perfect time for that." It was a sweet voice that was all too familiar and belonged to the person they needed least right now. They turned around to see Miranda standing next to a wall, hands on her hips and a concerned look on her face. "How is the poor girl supposed to learn if you keep telling her that everything is fine? You should tell her just how much she failed and point out every single mistake or she'll never become a responsible adult."

Somehow it sounded ridiculous coming from her. Ash simply laughed.

"You are trying to tell us how to become a responsible adult? Sorry, but that doesn't sound very convincing," he said, earning nods from the others.

"Oh, don't be like that." She didn't seem to take his criticism seriously. "It was such a pitiful display of failure that she really should just admit it. You must understand, I only want what's best for her."

If there was anything worse than what she was saying it was the way she was saying it. Masking her gloating with concern was low and the sweetness only added to the insult. It was a miracle none of the others lost their temper and just punched her in the face, an urge all of them were having right now.

"Ignore her. She's not worth it," Serena told them, trying to prevent a disaster.

"Why? Isn't Drew excited about meeting me in the semi-finals?" Miranda asked, showing her best puppy look.

"What are you talking about?" he retorted, clearly annoyed by now. "Neither of us is in the semi-finals yet."

"Oh, I beg to differ. Our opponents are too weak to stop us," she said with a side glance at May.

"Too weak?" May was fuming. "When we meet in battle, I'll crush you that you'll go back to Kalos, crying for your daddy."

"So aggressive. How do you think you will accomplish this? Oh, wait." She slapped her forehead and rolled her eyes as if it was obvious. "Now I know."

She turned around to leave but now May and the others were curious. At the same time, they weren't sure whether they wanted to hear it.

"What do you mean by that?" Drew asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Shouldn't you know?" She turned around for face them. "I have watched quite a few of your battles, both old and recent ones. You have to know the enemy to beat him. I happened to watch the battle of May's second victory at a grand festival. The beginning wasn't too special but the second half was pretty much a disaster on your part. It felt like you've been replaced by an amateur." She took her time looking at her fingernails before proceeding. "I wonder, did you let her win? Did your love make you manipulate the contest?"

Now everyone was looking at Drew, who looked somewhat embarrassed, even ashamed. The way he looked away and his initial silence confirmed Miranda's words in their eyes.

"You ... didn't really do that, did you?" Serena asked nevertheless.

"I ... damn, this is hard." He took a deep breath but still couldn't look into May's eyes. The guilt was just too much. "I had to do it. May was about to quit contests and I thought a victory there would prevent it. You must understand, I was afraid of losing her as a rival so I was willing to try anything. Unfortunately, it didn't work, making my sacrifice pretty useless."

"Sacrifice?" May was remarkably calm on the outside but her eyes gave away her rage. She wasn't sure what made her angrier, the revelation, the fact that he didn't even have the guts to look at her, or that he wasn't speaking to her directly. "Have you ever thought about how it felt winning like that? What did you think it felt like knowing that my own boyfriend didn't have enough faith in me to let me win fair and square? Yes, I knew you did it, or rather, I had a feeling you did it. Is that your idea of boosting my confidence? The only reason I never mentioned it is because I knew you meant well, no matter how stupid it was. But hearing it from you like this, how you shown no remorse whatsoever ..."

"Please!" He begged her, his expression twisted by grief and desperation. "I only did what I thought was right. I ..."

"Is that so?" Suddenly, all the anger burst through. "You know what? That fucking victory made me take that break. You own actions caused this! You never had any faith in my abilities anyway. Are you happy now?"

Drew didn't know what to say without angering her further. The reproachful looks of his friends didn't make things any better. Only Miranda was looking with glee at the discord she had caused, but nobody was paying attention to her anymore. Since Drew seemed to have lost his ability to speak, May decided to end it. There was nothing more to talk about.

"I'll defeat you and show you what I'm capable of. But if you hold back, I'll forfeit immediately and you can forsake any hope of ever being forgiven. I don't want to see your face until then." She suppressed the urge to slap him and was about to leave when she turned around again and put a finger on Miranda's chest." As for you, you only did this to turn us against each other. If we meet in the semi-finals, I'll show no mercy."

Drew also left without another word seconds later.

"Truth has prevailed once again. My work is done here. I hope to see you in the finale, Ash." Miranda waved and walked away as well, leaving only Ash and Serena.

"I can't believe he did that. He's even worse than I thought," Serena exclaimed.

"It certainly wasn't his finest hour," Ash agreed. "But he meant well and May should have talked to him about it, maybe..."

"You're defending that creep? And criticize May, who has already suffered so much? I've had enough of this." Before Ash was able to explain or even apologize, she ran away,

"Why won't anyone just listen nowadays?" He sighed and shook his head.

Now this whole day, which was supposed to be a happy occasion, had been turned into a disaster. There were things that were better off being either forgotten or talked about thoroughly . This was certainly one of them, unearthing it at this point had already caused so much pain and it didn't look like things were about to improve anytime soon. If anything, they would only get worse and he was right in the middle. At least Dawn, Zoey, and Misty didn't know about this yet so they could enjoy the show but they would find out eventually, probably during the battle between May and Drew. Hearing it from them would probably be the most sensible thing.

Ash was wondering what he could possibly do to help them. Just joining one of the sides wasn't going to help much so he had stand somewhere between them, trying to negotiate. On the other hand, things might work out without his help. Worrying about it before the end of the Wallace Cup or at least the end of their battle was pointless, though. No, that was something they had to get through now. His own battle would start soon and he had to clear his head or he might fail, even against an inexperienced opponent.

"What a mess. They seem pretty upset." Ash knew that voice and turned around to see Ursula. Now he was wondering whether things could get any worse. Unexpectedly, she didn't seem too happy about it.

"What are you here for? Mock me? Or are you trying to destroy my confidence?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "I'm afraid I don't have much time for you."

"No, that's not it," she replied. "I'm ..."

"Here to ridicule Dawn and call all of her achievements purely based on luck?" he completed the sentence for her.

"Wow, you really are pissed," she exclaimed, surprised by his aggressiveness. "No, only a moron would claim that you can win the true Wallace Cup with dumb luck."

It was indirect and not really much but it was as close to a compliment as it could get out of Ursula's mouth. No doubt, he would have to tell Dawn about this although she would never believe that. Ursula seemed annoyed by his sudden, impish grin.

"What's the matter now?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Whatever. I was just following Miranda when I heard about that bit of trouble she caused."

"You followed her? Are you allies?" It was a scary thought, to say the least.

"Hell, no! That bitch insulted my pokémon," she replied furiously. "For that, hope that someone crushes her. Whatever happens, make sure she doesn't win!" Ash knew she was serious when she grabbed him by the collar and shook him until he nodded.

He could say a lot of things about Ursula, but at least she wasn't mistreating her pokémon. In his eyes, that a huge redeeming factor and set her apart from Miranda, who regarded them as little more than tools.

"Don't get any wrong ideas, though," she continued. "Our opponents won't stop us so we'll meet in the quarter-finals. And then I'll crush you. You're not a coordinator and never will be."

"It won't stop me from defeating you. I haven't forgotten the promise I gave you years ago in Unova. I didn't get the opportunity to fulfill it back then but it seems I get another chance today." At first, she didn't know what he was talking about, but then she remembered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a battle to win."

"Good luck. I want to be the one to defeat you," she added before leaving.

On the way to the stage, he tried to prepare himself mentally. Ash simply had to act normally or the others would notice that something was wrong. They didn't need Dawn, Misty, and Zoey to worry as well, at least not yet. Ash sighed, knowing that he wasn't too good at hiding his tension so they'd probably notice.

One of the coordinators from the previous match ran past him in tears so he assumed that she'd lost. His opponent was a young coordinator from Kalos called Jaque. Apparently, this guy had heard of him as he looked much more nervous than during the last battle. This made Ash believe that this wasn't going to be a true challenge. As soon as the MC was done talking, he was the first to call out his pokémon.

"Samurott, Sylveon, I choose you!" They appeared inside a cube of water with Sylveon's feelers tied around it, giving it the appearance of a wrapped-up present. Then the fairy-type retreated them, making it look like the present was being unwrapped. It caused the cube the collapse and the water to flow into the pool.

"Well, that was ... unique," Zoey admitted.

"I didn't know he had a sylveon," Misty remarked. "Isn't it a bit girly for him?"

"Say that with Sylveon around and you'll turn her into the most vicious fighter you can imagine. Don't let appearances fool you," Dawn relied with a grin. Pikachu, Buneary, and Shaymin in front of her sniggered before continuing to cheer Ash on.

"Chesnaughtt, Swanna, go!" Instead of the pokémon, a pale beige ball with spikes got called out. It unfolded a few seconds later and revealed a swanna inside, who spread its wings simultaneously. The rest obviously was the shell of a Chesnaughtt and now it stood up to its full height, smashing its fists onto the ground.

"Alright. Battle, begin!" The trainers go ready to start, but since Jaque showed no intention of making the first move, Ash began.

"Samurott, you know what to do. Sylveon, get ready." Sylveon jumped from platform to platform until she was a the center of the pool. Once she was above the water, Samurott created a pillar of water right below her via waterfall before freezing it and the entire pool with ice beam. Now she was on top of a pillar, which acted like a tower for her, offering her a good overview as well as protection from melee attacks. As soon as she was there, Samurott threw his seamitars towards her and she caught them with the bows on her left ear.

Ash had quickly realized that the feelers were the most distinctive feature of Sylveons body so he put a great deal of training into everything concerning them, which included extending them or moving them independently. It had become so successful that he considered it her individual move although it was still pretty early. She had also learned how to use them to wield weapons, in this case the seamitars, to great effect. Now she was swinging them, earning gasps from the audience. One of them, however, was utterly unhappy with something else.

"Why does everyone keep freezing the pool?" Misty cried. "It's not like fighting in the water is bad or unentertaining."

"Now the blade spin! Surf!" Sylveon put back her left ear, extended the bows and started spinning them, looking a bit like a helicopter. When the blades hit the ice in front of Jaque's pokémon, they had the effect of a chainsaw, easily cutting through it. At the same time, Samurott was approaching on a massive wave, eager to finally make an impact. Apparently, this made the coordinator finally act as he'd been almost paralyzed so far.

"Use spiky armor! Swanna, hide behind it!" The flying type jumped directly behind its ally, where it got shielded by Chesnaughtt's arms. Huge spikes grew on them, making a direct attack impossible.

"Get off the wave! Sylveon, pierce it, then draining kiss!" The water washed over the protected pokémon without Samurott and Sylveon shot her feelers at them in a straight line. They were thin enough to get past the spikes and strong enough for the seamitars to pierce the hard shell on the arms, getting stuck there. Before the grass-type could realize what was going on, Sylveon was already channeling energy through her feelers, both damaging it and siphoning its energy.

"Swanna, use steel wing!" It flew on Chesnaught's head, crossed its wings in front of herself before hitting the feelers pretty hard, causing Sylveon to cry out in pain. As a result, she also had to retract them again, which was a shame, considering she could have done so much more. Now Jaque was getting bolder. "Use hammer arm and steel wing to destroy the pillar!"

"Protect it with whirlpool!" The tower was way too beneficial to him to just let it get destroyed. Samurott created a special kind of maelstrom, which simply surrounded the pillar with the water flowing around it like a protective shield. "Now fairy wind!" Sylveon used it on the water, increasing its speed, power, and making it glow pink. It was not only a spectacular sight but also quite powerful as every projectile was sucked into the stream, something that would also happen to any pokémon unfortunate enough to get too close to it, unless it was really heavy.

"Cancel the attack! Use leech seed with scald on Sylveon! Then fly!" Chesnaught threw a bunch of seeds into the air, which got pushed towards Sylveon by a concentrated shot of hot water, causing them to move at an impressive speed. In addition, they sprouted in midair, coming at the fairy type as barbed vines. Without awaiting Ash's orders, she flailed around with her feelers wildly, cutting them before they could do anything to her.

"Keep doing that! Samurott, use swords dance and megahorn!" Seeing that the grass-type was hiding behind its armor so far, Ash tried to force it to attack. Without the seamitars, the swords dance looked a bit weird, but the effect was the same. Much to his surprise, the megahorn was countered by a powerful woodhammer, which was strong enough to withstand the horn. Apparently, Ash had gravely underestimated his opponent, who seemed to merely lack confidence. Nevertheless, he was sure that he'd win.

"Now!" Sylveon had kept using her feelers to protect herself from a surprise attack by Swanna so far. However, she got a bit tired eventually, and the flying type used the right moment to fly down and grab the feelers on her neck, pulling her off the tower.

"Moonblast!" Sylveon tried to hit Swanna but she wasn't able to fire it before she got thrown towards the tower, clearly with the intention of letting her get sucked into the whirlpool move. Getting her out of there would be incredibly difficult so Ash had to prevent it. "Aqua tail, ice beam and waterfall to catch her!" Samurrott understood. He spun, pushing back Chesnaught with his tail During the spin, he froze the water around the tower with ice beam so Sylveon only met ice and finally, he created another pillar of water below her, catching her before she could take damage from the fall. Unfortunately, the moon blast got deflected by Swanna's steel wing and Chesnaught almost got a clean hit on Samurott, who blocked the woodhammer just in time.

Although Ash's score was still higher, he preferred not to take any unnecessary risks. After all, he had to defeat Ursula but in order to do that, he had to defeat Jaque first. Knocking out one of his pokémon was the safest way for him and considering Chesnaught's defenses, Swanna was the natural choice. On the other hand, he didn't have any super-effective moves against it.

"Looks like he didn't expect this much resistance," Zoey pointed out.

"It doesn't matter," Dawn replied. "Sylveon may be less experienced than his other pokémon but he'll find a way. He always does." Nonetheless, she could feel that something was wrong. He wasn't moving as much as usually and his reactions were a bit slow sometimes. Although she was aware that he probably wouldn't even hear her, she cheered him on. "Come on, Ash. I know you can do this easily!"

However, it was Jaque, who made the first combination.

"Hurricane trap and leech seed!" It was similar to Ash's whirlpool earlier, only with wind around Samurott replacing the water. It was also much weaker, not strong enough to keep anyone inside apart from the tiniest of pokémon. That wasn't its purpose, though, which was revealed when Chesnaught released countless seeds to be carried by the wind. Clearly, the moment someone tried to get past the barrier, they would get hit by them and then the energy would be drained within seconds.

Of course, Ash knew how to get out of there but he also had to do it in a way Jaque wouldn't expect or he might find himself in just another trap. He had to think of something quickly as Jaque's pokémon weren't inactive. Swanna kept bombarding his pokémon with air slashes and Chesnaught used belly drum to increase its strength before smashing the ground again and again, sending shockwaves inside the storm. Finally, Ash had a plan. Once Swanna was flying directly above his partners again, it began.

"Sylveon, return the seamitars! Then grab its feet with your feelers! Samurott, get out of there with scald!" While the water type was quietly melting a tunnel for himself after he got his favorite weapons back, Sylveon extended her feelers to grab Swanna's feet. By retracting them again, she pulled herself in the air, smashed her body into the flying type and launched herself towards Chesnaught from there. It was still busy hitting the ground so it didn't notice the attack from above. "Fairy wind! Then power up a moonblast!" By using it towards the ground, she lowered her speed and hurt the grass type. In the end, she was slow enough not take any damage from the fall. Readying a moonblast, she took a few steps back, awaiting further instructions.

"Use needle arm on it! Swanna, get behind the hurricane!" Jaque wasn't expecting Samurott to come out of the ice right below Chesnaught, hitting it with a scald directly. It managed to counter the next attack with its needle arm, though, pushing Samurott back a little. "Now gust!" Whatever this meant, it had to be dangerous enough for the grass-type to use its spiky shield once more. Sure enough, a powerful wind was pushing Ash's pokémon towards the spikes and the leech seeds towards them.

"Stand your ground! Hold Sylveon and use blizzard!" The fairy type was a bit too weak to withstand the gust so Samurott had to push her against the ground, while she was still focusing on her moonblast, putting more and more energy into it. The leech seeds got encased in ice, which prevented them from sprouting upon touching a target, making them simply fly past the pokémon.

"Now woodhammer! Swanna, get there quickly!" Since the hurricane trap was still between the flying-type and the others, it had to fly around or above it.

"Throw the blade! Then blizzard and moonblast!" Samurott hit Chesnaught during the move with a seamitar, stunning it just long enough for him to grab its arms. With all his strength, he raised them, leaving its belly vulnerable before Ash's pokémon used their powerful moves simultaneously. Without its shell, the grass-type took massive damage and was launched against the wall on its side of the stage, leaving a path full of pink snowflakes. Swanna arrived a little too late so it could only watch its ally getting smashed against the wall.

At first, it looked like Chesnaught wasn't done yet as it stood up again. However, the belly drum and the point-blank attacks had been too much as it collapsed again a few moments later. This defeat took out quite a chunk of Jaque's points, making his situation look rather hopeless. Swanna was still determined to fight till the end and motioned to him to continue.

"If only I had your courage ...alright, use the hurricane trap to power up brave bird!" It flew inside the storm, using the winds to increase its own speed. The red aura from the brave bird move left a trail, which made it look like a red rings as it was moving so fast already. Ash wasn't going to just let it do this, though.

"Moonblast and razor shell boomerang on the ice in front of it!" The moves shattered a part of ice, causing smaller ice shards to get sucked in. This was inspired by Dawn's battle against Robert and the debris did a bit of damage to Jaque's pokémon. Instead of stopping it entirely by preventing it from starting or using protect, Ash wanted to just weaken it a little as it was a good opportunity to show off Samurott's strength. Knowing that it would probably target Sylveon, the water type already got in front of her. "Now block it!"

With incredible speed and strength, Swanna shot out of the storm like a red missile. With his bare hands, he grabbed its wings and after he got pushed back a little, he made it come to a complete halt.

"Use scald!" Jaque shouted.

"Counter with hydro pump! Sylveon, grab its feet and use draining kiss!" The water-types opened their mouths to shoot water at their opponent. However, Samurott's move was stronger and Swanna realize that this was a lost cause, especially when Sylveon started draining its energy. Still, it continued to fight bravely until Jaque could no longer watch.

"I forfeit!" His pokémon had already fought valiantly so there was no need to risk Swanna's health.

Although it wasn't even close in the end, Ash sighed in relief. Now it was Ursula's turn to do her part, then he would finally be able to fulfill his promise. For now, all he had to do was to watch the next battles, which included May versus Drew.

"Well done, you two. Now it's time to rest," Ash said, recalling his partners. Not even listening to the MC announcing his victory, he wandered off, his thoughts back to other problems.

* * *

 **Next up: May vs Drew and the first part of Ash vs Ursula**


	43. An old Promise

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 43 An old Promise

Dawn was watching Ash leaving the stage with mixed feelings. Despite his victory, he looked troubled. The way he walked gave it away so she was worried.

"I have to talk to Ash. Something is wrong," Dawn said, standing up.

"Oh no, you won't." Zoey reacted quickly by pushing her back onto her seat. "You will stay here and watch the rest with us, you worrywart. If there's something wrong, it will have to wait until after the Wallace Cup."

"But ... fine." Dawn knew that there was no way for her to escape but there was someone else, who could. "Please try to find Ash and see whether everything's alright," she whispered into Pikachu's ear.

The electric type nodded and ran away, much to Buneary's discomfort. Of course, Zoey also noticed it but there was nothing she could do about it so she didn't say anything.

Meanwhile, Ash was back again and looking at Ursula's battle on the screen. She was probably the only one who had less trouble with her second opponent than with her first one. This battle on its own told him that it wasn't going to be easy for him. That wasn't his greatest worry right now, though, for May and Drew were about to battle and the future of their relationship was likely to be determined by it. The worst thing was that there was nothing he could possibly do about it but then again, maybe it was for the best. After all, he might make things even worse.

Ursula's battle was soon over. It was followed by a short break, during which he got visited. Unsurprisingly, Dawn had noticed that was troubled and had sent the pokémon to find out just what was wrong. Since he didn't want her to worry, he told Pikachu that she should just watch the next battle. Although he didn't want to be the one to tell her about the problem, it would be hard to miss during the battle, considering how May was glaring at Drew right now. At least he didn't have to endure it for very long as they were called for the next round soon after. For Drew, the following walk to the sage was extremely long, whereas May just wanted it to begin so that she could show him just how powerful she'd become.

The audience noticed the tension between the two powerful coordinators but most of them didn't mind. If anything, this would make the battle even more interesting. Their friends, on the other hand, immediately knew what Pikachu had meant. Something bad had happened, but there was no time to sort out the differences. For that, they had to wait until after the tournament. First, they had to call out their pokémon when they got the signal.

"Blaziken, Kingdra, take the stage!" A giant bubble appeared on a nearby platform with smaller bubbles rising from the ground next to it. Steams of fire shot out of the main bubble, popping the small ones until the giant one couldn't take it anymore and got destroyed by a fiery burst. It revealed Balziken and Kingdra.

"Roserade, Tentacruel, show time!" There was a cloud of smoke next to him and then something started glowing inside. It was red and its shape was a heart. Then the glow intensified before the smoke disappeared, showing that Tentacruel had somehow done it with the red parts of is body. Roserade, who was standing on its head, threw a single, red rose at the center of the pool.

Originally, he had planned to use the two pokémon in the finals but given the current circumstances, he had use the best he had against May. Just for her, he had also created this entrance during Ash's match, which didn't have the effect he had anticipated. In fact, she looked even madder than before as she considered it just an attempt to distract her from the battle.

"Strange, apart from the rose, that didn't look like his style at all," Zoey pointed out.

"Just look at May's glare. Something must have happened between those two," Misty added. "At least, this should become really interesting now."

"I'm not sure it's the kind of interesting I want to see but let's just find out." At least Dawn knew that Ash wasn't in trouble himself, but it was because of May and Drew.

"Everyone is ready. Battle, begin!" the MC accounced.

"Kingdra, twisters!" May shouted.

"Roserade, giant petals! Tentacruel, toxic on the water!" While Kingdra was creating tornados on May's side, Roserade shot a lot of large leaves, that looked like petals from the distance due to the pink color, onto the water and onto the platforms before using one of them as a mobile platform. Tentacruel's poison turned the water dark and threatened to reach the dragon-type. Since the battle was only beginning, there was no real need for the petals so May was careful not to use them. Unbeknownst to her, they were full of tiny toxic spikes, making every contact painful for everyone who wasn't a poison type.

"Whirlpool! Balziken, use cleansing flame on it and the other petals!" Both the poison and the petals on the water got sucked inside the maelstrom, which was then hit by a blue fireball, making it also glow in a light blue. Then everything inside got burned by an extremely bright flame until there was nothing left inside, only the maelstrom itself. The rest of the petals got hit directly by blue fireballs, getting destroyed the same way.

Cleansing flame was Blaziken's specialty, it removed negative effects from allies and positive effects from opponents, making it a powerful support move. Its creation was mostly Drew's fault as his poison and other status effects had been really getting on May's nerve so she had tried to find a way to protect her pokémon from them. In the end, it also allowed her to prevent the opponent from powering up his pokémon. The only disadvantage was that the fireballs were moving rather slowly and the damage was negligible.

"Now the tornados! Kingdra, get ready for ice beam." Like a wall, they started moving towards the other side with her pokémon following them.

"Use surf! Roserade, prepare a solar beam!" A huge wave hit the tornados with both forces getting neutralized in the process. Blaziken jumped over them but got spotted by Roserade, who immediately shot the solar beam at the fire-type.

"Fire blast at the ground!" The force of the move pushed Blaziken just a bit higher, making it evade the beam although the fire move didn't hit anything. It landed on a nearby platform but instead of attacking, it seemed to wait for something. Sure enough, there was something inside the water, trying to grab the fire-type with its tentacles. However, before they could be used, Kingdra froze them from inside the pool, encasing them in a block of ice. Furthermore, it pushed the water-type towards the surface. "Now blaze kick!" Blaziken seized the opportunity by kicking the head, turning it over so that the head was underwater and the block of ice with the tentacles was floating right above.

"Free yourself with rapid spin!" This proved far more difficult than anticipated as the ice was strong. Meanwhile, Blaziken was already next to Roserade, trying to land a blaze kick, which wasn't easy as the grass-type was nimble and fast.

"Help out with dragon pulse!" The ice wouldn't hold forever so May had to make at least once clean hit. With one elegant move, Roserade dodged the orb but it didn't expect Blaziken to send it right back with a blaze kick, turning it into a flaming orb. That way, it dealt even more damage, both to the pokémon and to Drew's score. Finally, the ice shattered, allowing Tentacruel to use its tentacles to grab both Blaziken and Kingdra.

"Toxic and rapid spin!" Through its tentacles, it injected the poison before spinning like crazy even though it was technically still upside down. During the spin, May's pokémon could hardly do anything. "Good. Prepare a solar beam with magical leaf."

"Stop it! Use twister!" Releasing a tornado from its snout, Kingdra made the spin go completely out of control. The three pokémon kept moving in a chaotic manner for a while until Tentacruel, and therefore also the others, crashed against the pool wall. Roserade immediately used a green solar beam with leaves surrounding the beam on Kingdra, who was still stunned. Tentacruel released it from its grip just in time, making it the only victim of this powerful combination. As soon as it was over, though, the poison-type tried to grab it again, only for its tentacles to get dodged. "Twister towards the maelstrom!"

"Stop it! Seed bomb and rapid spin!" It was too late as the twister pushed Tentacruel and Blaziken into the maelstrom.

"Remove your poison and use dragon pulse to free Blaziken!" It sounded far easier than it actually was, though, since seed bombs were raining from above, exploding underwater and sending shockwaves through the water. Tentacruel was trying to use Blaziken as a shield against the dragon pulses but the plan failed as it used blaze kick, burning the tentacle, whenever it tried to grab its feet and with the feet free, the fire-type was able to move well enough to kick them towards its captor. One of those its caused so much pain, that it let go of May's pokémon entirely, who immediately jumped out of the water. "Blaze kick on Roserade!" Although Roserade escaped, it was forced to cancel the seed bomb barrage, thus finally allowing Blaziken to remove the poison with its cleansing fire.

"Use rapid spin to remove the maelstrom!" By spinning the opposite way, Tentacruel slowed down the water until it wasn't moving anymore. The it retreated a bit, waiting for further orders.

So far, May was content with the battle. Although she had a few more points right now, she was sure that Drew was fighting to the fullest. It would be better for him to keep it up or it would be over between them forever. Drew, however, was furious by now. At first, he wasn't holding back because he wanted to win her back, but now it was a matter of honor. While she had been busy with her league battles, he'd been training for this the whole time. A defeat at her hand was unthinkable and he would use his most powerful combination to prevent it. With three minutes left, there was more than enough time to turn the tables on her.

"Time for the utlimate light!" he yelled. Roserade got somewhere between Drew and the center, jumping on a pillar of water, which was raised by Tentacruel. As soon as it reached its maximum height, Tentracruel froze it with ice beam. Although it looked a bit like Ash's tower in his last battle, those combinations were created independently so it was a mere coincidence. On the way up, Roserade shot countless seeds in every direction and those hitting platforms or the solid ground at the edge of the pool, sprouted quickly, turning into large, white flowers, which faced the grass-type only moments later.

"Destroy it with a blaze orb!" The combination of blaze kick and dragon pulse was one of her strongest and it was certainly the most suitable for removing that tower.

"Don't let them do that. Barrier and toxic spikes! Then start the show!" Using several of its tentacles to hold onto the tower, Tentacruel tried to protect it by using transparent shields on the others to block the attacks. In order to prevent anyone else from touching it, the water-type created tiny spikes laced with poison that got stuck in the ice. The most interesting part, however, was Roserade, who was now collecting light coming from the strange flowers. It was making her glow and she used it to power up a continuous solar beam, which was now following Blaziken's every move. The construction reminded May of a lighthouse. The only problem was that the immense power didn't allow Roserade to change the direction of the beam quickly. This gave Blaziken the chance to run away but as long as the tower stood, the beam would follow it so it had to be destroyed. Although the first attack had failed and melee attack seemed pointless, May got an idea to overcome those strange shields Tentacruel was using.

"Gain a little distance. Then combine blaze orb with cleansing fire!" Blaziken moved a bit to the other side of the stage so that it wouldn't get near Kingdra, who had already prepared the dragon pulse. On the way back, it used cleansing fire on the orb and finally shot it at Tentacruel with a blaze kick. As expected, the shield dissolved on contact but Tentacruel simply took the hit before creating another. Given its powerful defenses, it would take a while to knock it out that way. She came to the conclusion that it was better to remove the power sources. Like floodlights, they were creating a stage just for Roserade and May's score showed the urgency of her problem by going down continuously. "Flamethrower and twister on those plants!"

"Renew them." Whenever one of the plants was destroyed, the solar beam got a little weaker. However, Roserade stopped using both hands for the solar beams to shoot more seeds with one of them, just as quickly as they got destroyed. For a while, May kept hoping that her pokémon would gain the upper hand eventually but when Blaziken got hit by the beam, she knew that it couldn't go on like this. By now, she had only one third of her points left whereas Drew still had more than half of his. At least her score was decreasing at a snail's pace now since the combination was pretty much overused already. Then she got an idea. Instead of destroying the plants, she could just remove their influence. After all, unlike the tower, they weren't protected at all.

"Smoke screen on the plants!" Kingdra kept shooting black smoke out of its snout on the plants, covering them in clouds and thus preventing the light from reaching Roserade. Drew could only watch the light sources disappear gradually until his pokémon couldn't keep up the beam.

"Use surf!" His plan was to wash everything away in order to create new plants.

"Create the biggest whirlpool ever! Blaziken, blaze kick on Roserade!" Before the wave of water was able to reach the platforms, a massive maelstrom sucked it inside, growing bigger all the time. With its incredibly powerful legs, Blaziken looked like it was jumping right on top of the tower.

"Stop it!" Tentacruel climbed to the top, covering its ally with the shield as the grass-type didn't have enough energy for another solar beam. May's pokémon landed on those shields.

"Jump back. Kingdra, break the ice underwater with a twister." May felt a bit stupid for now having realized it earlier. The underwater part of the tower was completely undefended, especially now that Tentacruel was at the top. Drew's pokémon could feel it when the lower part of their own platform was shattered into pieces and moments later, the tower was already falling over to the side. "Kick them into the whirlpool. Then smoke screen!"

"Dodge it!" Drew yelled, worried about the recent events. The fire-type hit his pokémon in midair, though. However, only Roserade was light enough to get launched into the maelstrom. "Get Roserade out of there!"

"Keep using smoke screen, Balziken, flame charge with blaze kick!" Like a fireball, Blaziken smashed its body into Tentacruel, who was defending with just a few tentacles while the rest was trying to get hold of Roserade, which was difficult as both a cloud of black smoke and black ink were making it impossible for Drew's pokémon to see anything. Moreover, the grass-type was moving all the time.

When it finally dragged its ally out of the maelstrom, time was almost over. The fact that Roserade was covered by a lot of black ink lowered Drew's score enough for May to overtake him again. His face twisted with anger, he gave final orders.

"Roserade, use petal dance! Tentacruel, create another tower!" May wasn't sure whether it was desperation, fury, or insanity that gave him the idea that it was smart to repeat this combination. There was too little time, especially since the petal dance would leave Roserade confused, something that was already unlikely to happen before the end of the battle. In any case, she had to finish it now.

"Use cleansing fire! Kingdra, shatter the ice with outrage!" The petal dance spin was slow at first due to the ink but the spin removed it, making Roserade go faster with time. Blaziken shot the released petals with fireballs, burning them down with blue flames. The tower of ice was still under construction when Kingdra hit the underwater part with a powerful physical move, making it collapse again. This lowered Drew's score even more right before a signal marked the end of the battle.

In the end, the score suggested a relatively clear victory for May due to Drew's mistakes in the late stage. Everyone who had seen it, knew that it had been awfully close, though.

May jumped and raised her arms when she realized the outcome before letting out a drawn-out sigh of relief. With her knees getting weak, the tackles of her pokémon knocked her down. It was hard to say who was happier at this point.

"Words can't explain how awesome you were. You certainly deserved a rest," she said, recalling them with a smile so bright, she wouldn't have expected to be able to do it after the recent discovery.

Then she spotted Drew, who was standing there with his head lowered. Although she couldn't make out his expression, she was sure that he was close to crying.

"I'm sorry," he whispered before recalling his partners, who looked equally down.

Even though May was still a bit mad at him, she felt bad for him at the same time. The way he walked backstage, like a robot, conveyed his utter misery rather well, or at least she thought that way. With her mood slightly down again, she slowly made her way backstage as she thought it was better to leave Drew alone for just a moment. Hopefully, he'd be somewhat back to normal by the time she arrived.

Dawn, Misty, and Zoey were both happy for May and sad for Drew. Unlike Drew, they weren't too surprised about his defeat, though.

"It's always the same lately. He uses an amazing strategy to gain an enormous advantage only to lose in the end by overusing it and completely underestimating his opponent," Zoey said, shaking her head. "That's why he lost the last time as well. The opponent found a flaw in his combinations and had more than enough time to find a counter that would utterly destroy him."

"Are you really surprised?" Dawn asked wearily. "After all, you were that opponent last year. I can still remember his face when it happened."

"Yeah, this time, he seems even more upset." She watched May leaving in a similar way. "May also doesn't seem too happy right now. I wonder what's going on."

"We'll see later. But at least it was a good battle with the coordinators using the water," Misty added.

May found Drew sitting on a bench, covering his face with his hands. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't even bothering with the current battle. She decided it was time to finally confront him.

"Are you going to stay like that ally day?" she asked nonchalantly.

"What do you expect me to do?" he asked, not even lifting his head. "Congratulate you for doing what I was meant to do?"

"Oh come on, it was a fair fight and I won. I know you did your best so you've passed your test." This didn't really make him feel better at all. "You've lost at the Wallace Cup before so why are you so mad now? What makes it so special this time?"

"You want to know why I'm mad? I'll tell you." He stood up and finally showed his face, which was twisted by anger and sadness. "I've always lost so far. So I trained and trainer and trained. I've been doing nothing but training the whole time, just for this tournament. I created one of the most powerful combinations I could think of. I was sure I would make it. I just knew it. And my pokémon were just as motivated. What's left now? Nothing! You robbed me of my victory. This was a chance I will never get again. Robert, Solidad, Dawn, Zoy, they weren't participating so by all means, it should have been a breeze for me. But no, I lost again. Now I have to wait one more year, a year full of training, probably to lose to an amateur." He sank back onto the bench. "Why am I even bothering anymore?"

"Listen." May grabbed his face, forcing him to look into her eyes. "This is not the Drew I know. The one I know is confident, even arrogant. Others have suffered worse and returned even stronger so why can't you? Luck wasn't on your side today but that's no reason to give up now because that would show weakness, not the loss."

"Easy for you to say. You're in the semi-finals, probably against Miranda. Whatever you do, don't let her win. I would hate having lost against anyone but the winner of the Wallace Cup," he added bitterly.

"I guess you need a bit more time. Just like I do. But you should be happy to hear that I'm giving you another chance." For some reason, he appeared shocked by her words.

"What? I thought this was the chance," he complained.

"Don't be foolish. It'll take some time to regain my trust but if you're patient , everything will work out. Now rest. Things will look much brighter tomorrow." To his surprise, she gave him a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

She went to Ash, who was currently watching Miranda's battle to discuss the next opponent. Apparently, she was having a bit of trouble with her current one, which wasn't surprising as the weak coordinators had already been eliminated.

"Just look at her. So arrogant," May remarked.

"Are you surprised? She always got what she wanted. One word from her and her daddy fulfilled her every wish. Not even once did she have to cope with loss or failure. I doubt she even realizes that the pokémon she is treating so poorly are living beings." He shook his head in disgust. "She's a spoiled child. She never had the chance to grow up to become a responsible adult. I wonder what will happen if she loses. Maybe that will give her that chance. Maybe that will change her for the better."

He had little hope, though. She would probably just ask her father for even stronger pokémon. The best he could ask for were doubts, doubts that would one day become something more, perhaps regret. Unfortunately, she won this battle in the end so the responsibility was resting on May now. The next battle followed soon after. If Ash won his, this victor would be his next opponent. After five minutes of fighting, Gwen finally won, making her the third semi-finalist, leaving Ash and Ursula as her potential opponents.

They arrived at the stage almost at the same time and after a long staring battle, they called out their pokémon.

"Emboar, Floatzel, I choose you!" Using aqua jet, Floazel was flying around, leaving trails of bubbles. Soon the bubbles were so numerous that they merged into one, huge bubble. Suddenly, a fire burst destroyed it from the inside. Once the smoke cleared, Emboar became visible.

"Garchomp, Vapoeron, show time!" A massive figure of water appeared, which looked like a mix of Garchomp and Vaporeon. It released a mighty roar and kept expanding until the water shell became too thin and dissolved. Only the pokémon themselves were left.

"I don't like this. Ursula looks way too confident for my liking. She must have something prepared," Dawn muttered. "Pikachu, Buneary, Shaymin, cheer for him as loudly as possible. He must defeat her."

"Her Vaporeon wasn't strong last time I battled her. But then again, it has been years so things might be different today," Zoey added.

"Looks like everyone is ready," the MC shouted. "Battle, begin!"

"Let's start. Vaporeon, become one with the water!" Ash wondered what she meant by that. The water-type jumped into the pool, basically merging with the water, thus becoming invisible while inside. This was a common trait among its kind so Ash wasn't impressed. Nevertheless, it was a great advantage he would have to consider.

"Use ice aqua jet on Garchomp! Emboar, help out with focus punch, then follow him!" Emboar used focus punch to give his ally a push. On the way to the dragon-type, Floatzel froze the water around himself while spinning, creating the famous ice aqua jet combination. Ash noticed that streams of boiling water shot up from the pool below him, missing him every time, though, due to his speed. Apparently, Garchomp was counting on these as she didn't seem prepared for the attack, blocking it with her arms just in time. Still, it dealt some damage because of her weakness and the water-type followed up with an ice fang, shooting two spears of ice from its mouth towards her. "Now ..."

Before Ash was able to give another command, two streams of water shot out of the water almost simultaneously at different positions. The fact that both of the streams went up vertically surprised Ash quite a bit as Vaporeon had to be at the two position at the same time to shoot them like that. One of them hit Floatzel without dealing too much damage, the other was a bit more dangerous and hit Emboar while he was jumping from one platform to another. Sensing Ash's surprise, Ursula laughed.

"You like that? Vaporeon isn't just part of the pool, she is the pool," Ursula explained. "It took us years to perfect this move but now, as long as she is inside the water, she is basically invulnerable. She is everywhere at the same time so you're never safe. Come on, try to beat her."

Ash had the feeling that she hadn't told him the entire truth and he was right. As great as it sounded, Vaporeon still was only part of the pool, but she was so fast inside the water that it really looked like she was everywhere at the same time. Apart from that, she wasn't invulnerable at all. Most physical moves had no effect on her but others, like light-based or electric moves could still hurt her. The greatest disadvantage, however, was that his form also crippled her in a certain way. She was only able to use water moves but not all of them, mostly attack moves like scald, water pulse or hydro pump. Ice moves would actually damage her. Weather moves like rain dance or support moves like aqua ring had no effect whatsoever, whirlpool and surf would only prevent her from doing anything at all for a while as she was vulnerable to effects that would cause great movement. Of course, Ash didn't know anything about those weaknesses so he had to find it out the slow way.

"Freeze it with ice beam!" It was his first thought and the most obvious solution. For a moment, everything looked alright but then several streams of boiling water shot through the surface with more following. At least, this try told Ash that ice didn't have a lasting effect.

He didn't try to use ice aqua jet again as Garchomp and Vapoeron would be prepared this time. Emboar's greatest strength, his melee attacks, were useless here as he wasn't able to cross the pool without exposing himself to Vapoeron's moves and considering his weakness, it would be foolish to risk it. Since Garchomp showed no interest in coming to him, which was smart due to Ursula's control of the pool, he had to rely on his ranged attacks for now. Unfortunately, Floatzel was also better with physical attacks but unlike Emboar, he was also fast and might actually make it to the other side without getting hit.

"Floatzel, use surf, Emboar, support him with rock slide all over the pool!" Riding on a wave, Floatzel approached Garchomp, while Emboar was letting large rocks fall into the pool in the hope of hitting Vaporeon or at least distracting her.

"Stone edge!" Unlike Ash, Ursula was aware of her technique's weaknesses. She was determined to repel his attacks at all costs.

"Use the vest!" Floatzel inflated his floatation sac, which blocked the sharp rocks easily before jumping off the wave. Meanwhile, the rock slides reminded the audience of a powerful bombardment. Emboar had nothing else to do so he could focus on this task completely.

Although the 'vest' as Ash liked to call it wasn't technically a move, Floatzel still considered it his individual move. Used at full strength, it was able to withstand any physical attack, thanks to his hard training. Considering his rather vulnerable body, it was necessary to hold out in long battles.

"Now ice aqua jet!" In record time, Floatzel used the combination to strike the dragon-type, dealing quite a bit of damage. The problem was that it hardly showed so Ursula's score wasn't lowered too much.

For a moment, Ash was convinced that the rock slide really prevented Vaporeon from doing anything in the water. However, when a hydro pump hit Floatzel from behind, he stood corrected. It was badly aimed, though, and missed the target so Ash figured that it at least had some kind of effect.

"He must use surf again." Dawn muttered. "Doesn't he realize that's what stopped Vaporeon?"

From her position, it was easy to spot but Ash had a lot of trouble. Trying to use the rock slides again, he launched a few more attacks, only to get interrupted by Vaporeon every single time. Finally, he abandoned this strategy and tried to find something else. Speed was essential now as his score was already down to half because of his failed attempts, whereas Ursula still had more than three quarters of her original score. Time was running short.

* * *

 **Next up: Ash vs Ursula part 2 and May vs Miranda**


	44. Dirty Fighting

**Discaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 44 Dirty Fighting

Ash was in a bad spot. Every moment he spent pondering lowered his chances of winning but blind attacks weren't going to help him either. Actually, he already had a plan but was hesitant to try it since his previous attempt had failed so miserably. With nothing to lose and time running out, he finally decided to give it a go.

"Alright, Emboar, sunny day, maximum power! Floatzel, protect him!" Emboar knew that when Ash said maximum power, he meant it so he raised his arms in an attempt to channel every bit of energy he could into that weather move.

"Stop them with a rock rush and hydro pump!" Garchomp used stone edge so that she got surrounded by sharp rocks, which would hurt her target even more, before launching herself at Emboar. Ursula had no idea what Ash was trying to do but she was smart enough not to let him do that.

Protect yourself with ice wall!" Using ice beam, Floatzel created a protective barrier around himself. Although Garchomp simply smashed it, she also took some damage due to her double weakness. The floatation sac did the rest by pushing back the attacker and the rocks. Three water moves from different angles followed but they got blocked either by the ice or Floatzel himself.

"Damn it! Earthquake!" Garchomp stomped on the ground, sending a shockwave in every direction. Floatzel couldn't protect his ally from a move like that, so the fire-type simply had to endure it. On the other hand, it also stopped the water moves, albeit for just a few seconds. "Break through! Fiery dragon claw!"

"Counter with ice punch!" The moves were evenly matched. Since Garchomp was blocking the way, Vaporeon couldn't interfere, making it easier for Ash's pokémon to hold the ground.

Finally, the sunny day was ready. Emboar lifted a bright orb into the air, which slowly moved to the center. Ash and Ursula were already starting to sweat, even the audience could feel the heat coming from the orb.

"Get back!" Ursula shouted, making the dragon-type move a few platform towards her.

"Use aqua ring!" Ash knew that such a powerful sunny day couldn't be good for a water-type. The healing ring of water should help him with that. "Now attack!"

Floatzel was the first to approach Garchomp and immediately got attacked by Vaporeon. However, the stream of water was so weak that it did barely anything. Emboar followed soon after, laughing at the pathetic water moves.

"ice and fire punch!" This technique was the reason he had chosen this team in the first place. Shrugging off Vaporeon's attempts to damage them, they kept throwing punches at Garchomp. One particularly powerful combination was when they hit the same place simultaneously, causing an explosion of ice and fire, which looked like quite beautiful, even out of this world. Garchomp was trying to block as many attacks as she could. Without assistance from her ally, she wasn't able to hold out for long. After the third combined punch, she was pushed into the water. At first glance, Floatzel and Emboar seemed to do a high five but in reality, they were combining the of ice and fire punch to create an orb, which was then shot at the dragon-type with focus punch as soon as she resurfaced. The ice component froze the water around her, trapping her, whereas the fire burned her and dealt massive damage, powered by the sunny day. The weather effect also made the ice melt quickly, though.

"Inner fury!" Ash had no idea what this move was about so he had to watch the result. Garchomp's wounds healed and her muscles grew bigger. The move healed the pokémon and increased her strength initially but lowered it in the long term. In this case, however, Ursula saw no other way as the danger of her getting knocked out was simply too big. "Fiery dragon claw!"

"Time for the icy drill combination!" Floatzel created a whirlpool, which was unusually small due to the sunny day, in midair before freezing it. Emboar caught it and for a moment, it looked like he was going to throw it at Garchomp but he just held it so that Floatzel could hit it from behind with aqua jet, basically using it as an oversized hat. When he started spinning, he turned it into a powerful drill, though. Since it would melt soon, he immediately attacked Garchomp with it, dealing quite a bit of damage. "Now the punches again!"

"Fiery dragon claw!" Even with the increased strength, Garchomp was no match for the two opponents so Ursula had to think of something, especially as her score was dangerously close to Ash's already. One option would be to withdraw Vaporeon from the water and rely on ice attacks until the sunny day was over. However, she had been working so hard to create this technique that she wasn't going to just abandon it. Instead, she wanted to get rid of the weather effect and for that, she only had one move. "Use sandstorm!" Besides, it would also activate Garchomp's sand veil ability.

The move was executed much faster than the sunny day, for it was just the standard move, causing the orb to disappear. Whereas the sand caught in water sank to the bottom, the dust stayed on the surface, turning it brown. Involuntarily, she had just recreated the effect of muddy water on the pool, making it impossible for Vapoeron to see anything going on above the surface.

"Remove it!" Emobar quickly used a weak variant of sunny day, which was only useful for canceling other weather effects. It also disappeared a moment later. "Attack with ice and fire punches again!"

"Don't let them!" Ursula was still unaware of her new problem, only when Vaporeon didn't obey, she started to suspect something. "What's the matter? Use scald!" The streams of water came but their directions were completely random.

Floatzel and Emboar proceeded with their effective punching attacks. By now, Ursula was aware of her problem, but she didn't have a solution. A whirlpool would have sucked in the dirt but it also would have interfered with her attacks for quite a while. There was only one way to save this, no matter how much she hated the thought.

"Get out of the water! Use hydro pump!" Even though she managed to scare Ash's pokémon away for now, this was exactly what Ash had been hoping for. Their scores were almost equal and there wasn't much time left so Ursula tried a powerful combination. Vaporeon approached her ally, then they got the order. "Use inner fury, then storm rage!" This time, the move wasn't to heal wounds but to temporarily buff Garchomp's strength as she needed everything she could get. A combination of dragon rage and surf created a wave, which looked like Garchomp. With her remaining strength, she let out a deafening roar, preventing Floatzel from reaction immediately.

"Freeze it! Come on! What are you waiting for?" Fortunately, Floatzel guessed what Ash was trying to say and turned the wave into a huge statue. On the other hand, this combination had almost reduced Ash's points to zero. Just a few more mistakes would mean the end for him. "Meteor and comet combination! Floatzel, get ready for the final attack." This was Emboar's individual move and extremely powerful but also hard to execute as he had to be protected. Ironically, Ursula's combination, which had almost brought Ash's end, was serving that purpose now as the statue was like a wall between the two teams.

Emboar created numerous fist-shaped rocks. Then he and Floatzel started using fire and ice punch on them, sending them flying over the statue and coming down like meteors. Upon impact, they exploded, freezing and vaporizing the water on that side. Although Garchomp managed to dodge the first few, with her strength declining at a high rate, she soon failed and pushed around by the explosions. Vaporeon tried to freeze as many meteors as she could but there were too many for her. Then Floatzel flew straight at her, using aqua jet.

"Ice beam!" Ursula knew that both scores were next to zero already and she was hoping to finish it by freezing Ash's pokémon.

Floatzel immediately started spinning so that instead of getting frozen, the aqua jet was turned into an ice aqua jet. The ice shattered upon hitting the water-type but it wasn't important. The moment Ursula had helped with the combination was the moment her points were gone. The usual signal marked the end of the battle with Ash as the winner. It was like the first ice aqua jet Ash had ever created, only this time, he was victorious.

"He did it! I knew he could do it!" Her enthusiasm forced Dawn to hug her pokémon and friends repeatedly. They simply endured it until she calmed down a bit. "That was close. She sure has improved. I'd like to battle her again one day."

"I agree." Zoey wasn't really in the mood for talking, especially now that her bones had almost been crushed by her friends.

The rest of the audience was also cheering wildly as this was maybe the closest battle so far and therefore just what they were craving. Most of them used the break to get refreshments as the sunny day had been powerful enough to affect them as well. Now they were dying to get a few drinks. Dawn tried to go backstage instead, to meet up with Ash.

Ursula was still standing at her place, watching her pokémon slowly approach her. Vaporeon wasn't hurt too badly, but Garchomp was little more than a wreck by now.

"My poor babies, get some rest. It wasn't your fault." She recalled them and held the pokéballs near her face, as if she believed that the warmth of her cheeks would help them get better.

It was her firm belief that she should've won this, that her final combination should have reduced Ash's points to zero. Once again she got defeated because she was simply unlucky, a feeling that she knew all too well.

"My storm rage was much more impressive than your meteor crap," she shouted at Ash before turning to leave. He didn't pay attention to her until she stopped for a moment. "And don't forget. She mustn't win!"

Ash knew what she meant and gave her a reassuring nod before turning his attention back o his pokémon.

"I'm proud of you two. Take a good, long rest." He recalled them and returned backstage, where Dawn was already waiting.

She approached him slowly before raising an arm, looking at him expectantly. He understood and gave her a high five. Their fingers intertwined and for a few moments they just looked at each other.

"You got me worried there for a second," she finally said.

"Oh come on, you know I had everything under control," he replied with a huge grin. She put her hands on her hips, giving him a questioning look. "Well, most of the time."

"Anyway, Gwen will be next and she's quite dangerous so be careful," Dawn warned him.

"Don't worry about it." He waved it off. "Everyone knows, careful is my middle name."

For a several seconds, they were just staring at each other with unreadable expressions. All of sudden, they burst into laughter. It took them almost a minute to recover from that and Dawn was holding onto his shoulder for support by then. As soon as they were back to normal, she turned him around so she could see his back. It was wet due to all the sweating because of the sunny.

"You better change that. Aren't you glad that I made you get a spare outfit?" she asked with a frown.

"Well, I didn't know I would have to use that overcharged move," he protested.

"Just do it already before the break's over." She turned to leave. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get a drink before they're sold out."

Dawn hadn't asked him about May and Drew because she didn't want to distract him from the coming battle. For them same reason, she didn't even try to ask May. Whatever it was, Miranda was probably already torturing her with it, there was no need for Dawn to rub salt into her wound by mentioning it. She would've asked Drew or Serena but those two were nowhere to be found. In the worst case, they would already be ripping out each other's throat.

Ash returned home via teleport so that he could change his clothes. Once he was out of the old, sweaty ones, he already felt much better and ,most importantly, ready for the battle. It was then that he realized that he had to change his team to include the duo he wanted to use against Gwen. Since the break was longer than the last one and there was still May's battle, it was no problem. He returned shortly before the beginning of the semi-finals, finding the backstage rather empty, which wasn't bad at all since he wasn't in the mood for talking anyway. Now he just wanted to see his final opponent, assuming he managed to beat Gwen, of course.

Finally, May and Miranda got ready. Whereas May was glaring at her opponent, Miranda looked merely amused by the hostility.

"Milotic, Gyarados, stage dance!" A pillar of water rose, from which strange sounds emerged. Furious screams and ethereal cries alternated until the heads of the two pokémon went through the water. They jumped into the pool, where they swam in circled for a few seconds before rising to their full size. May had to admit that the gyarados was huge, probably the biggest she'd ever seen. However, there were more important things in contests than size and she was determined to show it to Miranda.

"Beautifly, Blastoise, take the stage!" At first, only Blastoise could be seen but then it shot a cocoon out of its left cannon. The cocoon burst in a golden explosion once it reached a proper height and, releasing huge amounts of glittering, golden powder, Beautifly appeared as well.

"Oh my, do you think this is appropriate for the Wallace Cup? I think you need a few more lessons," Miranda commented the entrance, raising an eyebrow.

"Unlike other people, I don't need something like that to look good," May countered.

It looked like those two were willing to fight personally in this battle. There was an immense hatred between them as Miranda had visited her opponent during the break to break her spirit even more. Although what she had said remained a mystery, it had to be something really bad and provoking, judging from May's reaction.

"Didn't you hear me?" They looked at the MC, who looked confused. "You can begin."

About ten seconds had already passed without them noticing.

"Use the stun pulse!" Beautifly dropped stun spores into Blastoise's cannons with psychic, careful not to let any drop onto its face. The water-type followed up by shooting water pulse orbs with the spores inside at its opponents. They got controlled by Beautifly's psychic, leaving a trail of golden dust behind, while flying in a complex pattern.

"So insignificant. Come on, I know you can better. Twister!" Milotic spun its tail fins like a ventilator, sending a tornado at the orbs. One of them got destroyed but the other one was flying towards Gyarados now. "Aqua tail!" The water-type smashed the orb with ease. "Now let me teach you a few lessons. Fire tornado!" Similar to Robert's combination in the opening battle, Milotic's twister got turned into a fiery tornado by Gyarados's flamethrower.

"Whirlpool!" Blasoise used it like a shield, which also got stabilized by Beautifly's psychic. Since May didn't give another command once the attack was successfully blocked, it had to drop it, though. "Is that your idea of a good combination? It certainly is because it was made by Robert, not by you. You just stole it!"

"Don't be like that. With all the combinations nowadays it's impossible to find something entirely new. And if I show my true power, you will spend your evening sitting on your bed crying and swallowing everything edible nearby, which would be quite a shame, considering how much weight you've already gained lately." For May, she was going too far now. Still, she remained calm on the outside, only the clenching of her fists was a sign of her rage. "I think I've heard Drew complain about how heavy you've gotten. But don't worry, you'll come to enjoy the bitter taste of defeat together. He should be used to it by now."

"Now you've done it! Silver hydro pump!" It was a simple combination of hydro pump and silver wind, which got easily blocked by Milotic's tail.

"You really need to work on your self-control." Miranda let out a laugh that made May feel sick. "But just for you, I will use one of my more advanced combinations. Time for the dragon launcher"

Milotic balanced a dragon pulse orb on its tail, presenting it to Gyarados, who promptly ate it. Now it was surrounded by a red aura as if it was using outrage but it had still full control over its body. With the help of Milotic, who used twister to push it from behind, the water-type charged at the opponents with impressive speed.

"Stun spore into the cannons!" Beautifly used the little time they had left until the impact to fill the cannons with the golden dust. Blastoise got ready to hold its ground but it wasn't the target. Instead of attacking the fellow water-type, Gyarados changed direction shortly before hitting it, jumping at Beautifly instead. Blastoise saw only one solution. It got in the way so that it got trapped between the powerful jaws and used withdraw.

"Smash it with crunch!" However, the shell proved far too hard even for Gyarados's jaws.

"Only a fool would try to break the armor. You obviously have no idea what you're dealing with," May remarked, yawning to provoke Miranda even further.

"As long as it's in there, it won't hurt my pokémon either, you know? I might be a hard concept to grasp but there are still other ways to deal with it. How about we play some baseball?" Gyarados put the opponent on its tail before throwing it towards Milotic, who was already waiting with iron tail ready.

"Gyro spin!" Streams of water shot out of the openings as it started rotating and the shell got surrounded by a silver glow. Hitting Milotic's head with immense power, it turned around, flying straight into Gyarados's mouth once again. This time, however, it caused a l of trouble by spinning and unleashing even more water. "Now the stun spores!" At the right moment, it also shot two water pulses with the dust, paralyzing the opponent from the inside. "Use silver wind!" Beautifly used silver wind to hit the eyes, making it finally fall backwards into the water, from where it retreated back to its ally.

"How dare you? My father paid a fortune for that pokémon," Miranda shouted, clearly not amused by the turn of events. Especially the fact that May had more points was bothering her.

"Yes, I remember. Your precious daddy, who gets everything his brat of a daughter wants. How can you even call yourself a coordinator if you don't do the most important part yourself? Have you even spent one single day training?" May asked.

"Oh, I think you misunderstand the true nature of contests. This isn't about the pokémon, it's about the coordinator. Our mind makes it interesting by coming with wonderful combinations and strategies. Training, on the other hand, requires no special skills, it is merely a bother, one that is beneath me." Then she said something that finally made May realize the true ignorance in her words. "The pokémon are merely tools so training is like their construction and repairs. I'm an artist. Why should I bother with that if there are others, who are clearly more fit for such menial tasks."

"I see." May remained calm. "In that case, it is acceptable to buy them illegally from poachers, isn't it? As you said, they are just ... tools." She shook her head and finally started shouting. "You don't deserve the title of coordinator. Someone like you shouldn't allowed to have pokémon. They require love and a sense responsibility, something you are clearly lacking. You never had to do anything in your entire life, did you? One little cry and your father would shower you with gifts. You're a little child, nothing more. A spoiled brat."

Meanwhile, the audience was getting impatient. The fact that they couldn't hear what the coordinators were talking about only made it worse for them. The pokémon weren't in a much better situation and had no idea what to do but to wait.

"Don't be like that, my sweet. It's not my fault your father is a mere ... gym leader, right?" May wasn't sure what made her madder, Miranda's words or her calmness. It seemed like nothing could get to her. "Oh well, maybe he didn't have the brains to do something else."

"Clearly he has more than yours." This did have an effect as Miranda's eyes were twitching dangerously. "Maybe yours is a successful businessman but as a father, he's a failure. You're the living proof for that."

"You ... you ... insult my father one more time and I will crush you like a bug!" Miranda said, gritting her teeth. Although she was trying to control her anger, it was getting difficult now. May just smirked, having found the weakness she has been looking for.

"Face it, he failed miserably. And because of him, I have to defeat this abomination called Miranda today. I hope he will reconsider his ways once you come back to him in tears. But then again, maybe he will just completely abandon you because he realizes just how badly he messed this up." Although she didn't like this, her own fury and hatred made her say those words she never thought would ever come out of her mouth. At least, it seemed to be over now as her last few words had pushed Miranda over the edge.

"Nobody insults my family, you whore!" She looked at her own pokémon in such a way that it made them flinch. "You there, use storm of judgment, full power!" They were hesitant to obey and with good reason. This move was tremendously powerful, hurting both allies and enemies alike. The worst part was that they had to give up a lot of power permanently to make it happen. "DO IT!"

May was worried when the pokémon acted like they were about to throw up. Then they raised their heads and shot red lightning into the air. Above the stage, they collided to create a large, black cloud. The changes in the pokémon were instant. Despite its immense size, Gyarados didn't look threatening at all, its tired expression resembled a magikarp. Milotic looked just as tired and the colors on her body were somewhat duller.

"Recover!" Red lightning shot out of the clouds, knocking out Gyarados and hitting Blastoise as well while Milotic was trying to regain some health.

Although May still wasn't sure what was happening, she knew that the lightning was incredibly powerful as the first hit already brought Blastoise to its knees. It wasn't the power of the move that really shocked her but the fact that Miranda was willing to harm her own pokémon just to defeat her.

"Is that what you wanted? This move was my idea. It sacrifices the life energy of the pokémon for a storm of immeasurable power. Those two will never be the same again but they can be replaced. They can regard it as punishment for their failure." She raised an eyebrow when May didn't reply. "What's the problem? Forgot how to speak?"

The rage May was feeling could hardly be expressed by words. Miranda had just sacrificed those innocent pokémon for one win. It was hard to believe that they would even comply, probably because of the cruel training they had received. It would be a dirty victory, one she wasn't willing to let happen. She noticed that Milotic was only still conscious because of her healing move. Beautifly also had one and it was small and fast enough to dodge the lightning, which was now constantly coming down.

"Get in the cannon! Blastoise, shoot Beautifly at Milotic! Hurry!" Although they managed to do it, it also prevented Blastoise from dodging another lightning, which knocked it out. Now the responsibility was resting on Beautifly's wings. The bug-type shot at its opponent like a missile, ignoring the lightning strikes all around it.

"Get it with ice beam!" Milotic tried to comply but it simply couldn't muster the strength for the move. The storm had turned her body into a wreck barely able to do anything. May noticed just how much it was struggling and got an idea that would have been madness otherwise.

"Psychic!" Use Milotic's tail as lightning rod!" To her relief, it actually worked. Milotic barely put up any resistance, allowing Beautifly to move the tail at will. Flying just below it, the bug-type blocked a few lightning bolts, which would have missed or been evaded by the water-typed otherwise.

"Come on, fight it, you useless bastard!" It was no use, because of her own move, Milotic was unable to do anything but simple dodge movements and healing moves. Moreover, due to the abysmal state of the body, three lightning bolts were enough to knock it out so May won this most unusual battle. As soon as it lost consciousness, the cloud disappeared, revealing a blood red orb of energy, which split in two parts before returning to the pokémon that had fueled it. Hopefully, this would restore their energy at least a little.

"And the winner by knockout is May! Congratulations." It has been a while since the last win by knockout but barely anyone cared about that right now.

Nobody was applauding because they felt that something was about to happen. Miranda was running around the pool towards May, who was recalling her pokémon. Of course, she knew about her intention but despite her fury, she still had enough sense left not to be first one to raise her hand. Miranda stopped right in front of her. For a while, the coordinators were just glaring at each other until the defeated one spoke up.

"This isn't over. You'll pay for this, bitch," she muttered.

"Oh, yeah? How about you go to your daddy? Maybe he'll buy you some ice cream to stop the tears," May gloated.

"You better shut your damn mouth, cunt, or I'll do it for you and believe me, when I'm done with you, you will never enjoy a meal ever again." Her head leaned a bit closer so that they could feel each other's hot breath on their skin. "On the other hand, I'm sure Drew would appreciate the treatment. That way, you won't gain weight as easily."

"Is that the best you have? I expected more from a slut like you," May retorted, expecting the attack at any moment now. "Tell you what, you wouldn't even be able to beat me with Arceus."

They weren't even noticing that security guards were slowly approaching them. The audience could guess what they were saying and were watching the scene with even more interest than during the battle itself. The coordinators kept insulting each other until it was finally enough for one of them.

"Why don't you go back to your little Drew and suck his dick?" May was so close to slapping her right now. "With that big mouth of yours, you might be a natural."

"You just proved that you're so much better at sucking. I doubt that any guy would offer you to do that, though. How about you ask your father? He's fulfilled your every wish so far. I'm sure he'll buy a few guys to do it. But be careful not to let mommy catch you or she might get a heart attack." It was a low blow and caused Miranda to finally snap.

With a furious scream, she leapt at May before slapping her face and grabbing her hair. The other girl responded likewise. The people, including May's friends, watched a true catfight in disbelief. Fortunately, the guards separated them quickly before they could do too much damage and dragged them off.

"You can say what you want, this was by far the most intense battle I've seen so far" Misty muttered, still wide-eyed.

"I'm disgusted. May should be ashamed for losing her temper like that," Zoey said as she feared for the reputation of contests. "She might even get disqualified for that."

"Let's hope not. Besides, you've never met Miranda. She as talent for finding your weak spot and using it to her advantage and she was the first to raise her hand," Dawn explained. "I don't think Wallace will rob the audience of the real final battle."

"We'll see," Zoey replied with a grim look.

May was being guided by two guard, not regretting anything she'd said. During her whole career, she had never met someone more in need of a good punch than that girl. Even Harley, whom she considered her archenemy, at least treated his pokémon right and never made them use a move that would weaken them permanently. In her mind, those were a crime. For a powerful effect, the pokémon had to sacrifice a lot. She wondered Miranda would still do it if she had to sacrifice a few years of her own life instead.

Another guard approached her with a message.

"Wallace would like to speak to you in the manager's office after the next battle to discuss your outburst. I would not keep him waiting," he added before walking off along with the other two.

 _So this is it_ , May thought to herself. _Now I can only hope I don't get disqualified._

* * *

 **Next up: Ash vs Gwen**


	45. Weakness in Strength

**Getting close to end of the Wallace Cup, only one more chapter. Chapter 47 will conclude the 2nd arc.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 45 Weakness in Strength

Ash was currently standing on his side of the stage, waiting for the battle to begin. Due to the events after the last one, a few people were already calling it a scandal, everything was going a bit slower. Gwen didn't seem to be bothered by it at all, she was as relaxed as ever. Ash would become nervous if he didn't know exactly that this was just the way she was, always concentrating on the task ahead and not caring about problems that might only distract her.

For Ash, the possibility of May getting disqualified was a big reason to worry, though. In that case, this battle would decide the winner of this year's Wallace Cup. He tried to tell himself that it didn't matter right now, that he had to win this battle in any case. His opponent was powerful, in terms of contest battle strength, she was comparable to Drew, May, or Dawn. As far as he knew, Gwen had defeated Robert at the last Wallace Cup.

Although Ash was sure that her pokémon wouldn't be too hard to defeat in a regular battle, a contest battle was a completely different matter. Her style was completely focused on graceful dodges and evasive moves to make up for strength by lowering the opponent's score. Because of that, she was like the perfect counter to Ash's style, a fact that worried him greatly. Of course, he could have easily changed it to make it perfect for contests as well without losing its efficiency in regular battles, which Dawn and May had done the other way around in her own search for a unique style, but that required a lot of time and since he didn't have any greater ambitions concerning contest, he didn't think it was worth it, especially now that he was so close to becoming a champion. On the other hand, once his goal was reached, he could still do it as he would have more free time. Right now, he wished that he would have gotten Miranda as an opponent instead since May would have an easier time against Gwen.

Time went by without anything happening until, finally, the MC spoke up after getting a message from one of the security guards.

"Alright, let's continue. Either Gwen or Ash will become the second finalist. Call out your pokémon!" she shouted.

"Meganium, Scyther, I choose you!" A large, green pod appeared nearby, which opened up like a flower, only to reveal a second layer of vines. From the inside, those were cut by Scyther whirling attacks, finally showing the pokémon inside.

"I've been looking forward to this." As usual, Gwen didn't make a great fuss at the beginning, simply calling out her pokémon instead.

Much to Ash's surprise and maybe even shock, her team consisted of a buneary and a pachirisu. Since Dawn had used the very same team in their training battles, he knew better than to underestimate them. His worst fear was that his knowledge of Dawn's pokémon would lead him to false assumptions, expecting Dawn's combinations from them although they were probably completely different. It was something he had to keep in mind or he might make himself look ridiculous.

"Battle, begin!" He barely noticed the start but then he shook his head, pushing away his thoughts, and got ready.

"Let's get rid of that pesky water, shall we? Then use electro blast! Ash, so you're not a real coordinator, are you?" Buneary froze the entire pool with a single ice beam before it kissed one of its paws, creating a focus blast orb, which merged with an electro ball on Pachirisu's tail into a sparkling, transparent orb. With an iron tail, the electric-type sent it flying towards Ash's pokémon.

"Dodge it and use blade storm! And you're right, I hope you don't want to insult me for that." The orb left a sparkling trail on the ground but it was evaded by the pokémon. Meganium wrapped vines around her ally and then retracted them with force, making Scyther spin like a spinning top. Then she used magical leaf to create the effect of a living leaf tornado.

"Hit it! Not at all, it's a welcome change and I enjoy battling different trainers. I hope May will be the next one." Pachirisu hit the sparkling ground with thunderbolt, which made the trail explode with enough force to make Ash's pokémon fall over, although it wasn't enough to deal proper damage to them. Most importantly, it disrupted his combination as that was the way she wanted to defeat him. "Now the ice chandelier!"

"What? That's Dawn's combination!" He watched Pachirisu get surrounded by a sphere of ice, using discharge to light it up from the inside. Unlike in the original combination, it also used magnet rise to gain better control of the orb.

"You're right. It was inspired by her but improved by me. It's a shame she doesn't seem to use it anymore nowadays. It has a lot of potential." It was true that Dawn had abandoned a lot of her old combinations after the Johto loss since she wanted to start anew. The ice chandelier was among them as it was considered too ineffective and too difficult to set up for the effect, at least in high level battles. Maybe she was wrong, after all.

Pachirisu's movement was chaotic and thus unpredictable. Scyther took a step to her right as soon as it became clear that it was going after her. However, when it flew past her, the electric-type broke through the sphere, abandoning it and using sweet kiss on the surprised bug-type. Meanwhile, Buneary was bouncing towards them, trying to attack with an ice punch from above.

"Counter with wing attack! Then whirling defense and magical leaf!" Fortunately, the confusion from the sweet kiss didn't take effect so she was able to take a step back before attacking the pokémon in front of her with her wings from the sides. While Buneary was being attacked by a storm of leaves, Scyther had to reflect an electro ball from the side. She managed to do it despite the confusion but when it hit Pachirisu, it was healed instead of damaged, which wasn't even necessary as it hadn't taken any damage so far. It could only mean that its ability was volt absorb, as opposed to Dawn's Pachirisu's run away, which was completely useless in battle. It was something he had to consider in the future.

"Use ion deluge!" Sparks from its cheeks spread all over the field, turning normal-type moves into electric-type moves for the rest of the battle. Combining this with normal-type area attacks would result in Pachirisu getting healed now so he had to watch out not to use those.

"It's not looking good. Her combinations have reduced his score quite a bit," Zoey remarked.

"He will make it, I'm sure of it," Dawn replied, no taking her eyes off the battle.

Others would have been angry because of the usage of their combinations, Dawn felt flattered that a seasoned coordinator like Gwen found her old combination worth using. In fact, it even made her want to retry them again. Since she had seen this team during the training, she knew that Ash still had a massive combination up his sleeve and he was going to use it.

"Meganium, use plant frenzy, maximum power!" What sounded like a frenzy plant was actually her individual move. At first, it looked a bit disgusting as she was choking up a large seed, which she then spat at Gwen's pokémon.

"Ice beam!" Gwen wasn't sure what it would do and she certainly didn't want to find out so she let Buneary encase it in ice in order to prevent it from sprouting. Judging from just how tired Meganium was looking, it had to be powerful to make up for it but not even she expected what was about to happen. Dark, thorny vines shattered the ice from the inside, growing at an alarming rate. "Ice chandelier! Break through!"

It was no use, though, as the growing plant easily stopped the sphere before growing around it and smashing it with tremendous force. Right now, there was no option but to hide in gaps between the vines, which was also painful due to the thorns. Ash knew that her pokémon weren't going to get out of there quickly as there were only two effective ways of stopping this plant. One of them was acid and the other one was blades like Scyther's. The most obvious method, fire, was ineffective as the vines didn't burn well. Soon the plant approached Meganium's position but unlike Gwen, Ash had a plan.

"Use doppelganger!" At first glance, this move resembled double team, only that it was limited to three copies but they were also able to deal damage. Actually, Scyther basically split herself, which also included her power into four temporary bodies. Dealing damage to the bodies also dealt damage to the pokémon herself and upon destruction, the remaining bodies received the power of it until there was only one, the true body, left. Although the potential damage wasn't increased, they made for great distractions and allowed her to attack from different sides or even entirely different targets. The big downside was her vulnerability to area attacks as every hit dealt normal damage.

In this case, she was able to protect Meganium from the plant frenzy by cutting everything coming from every side. In the end, the whole stage, apart from a small part with Meganium at the center, was covered by the vines. That was just the beginning, though, as Ash had ways of dealing damage even despite the plant.

"Scyther, keep flying. Meganium, use poison powder and then earthquake!" A purpled powder was released from the petals on her neck, flying between the vines and thus poisoning everything trapped in there. It was followed by several shockwaves, which went right through the plants. It was impossible to say how much damage they did as the pokémon inside weren't visible so Gwen's score was reduced only slowly and mostly due to the doppelganger move.

When they emerged from the gaps with bruises and cuts all over their bodies, there wasn't much time left as it had taken so long and the scores were still so high that a reduction to zero was unthinkable. Time would run out before so they had to do their best to eliminate as many points, Gwen could consider herself lucky that her pokémon were ready to continue the battle. However, there was still the danger of falling in there again so Gwen had to do something to prevent that.

"Jump, then ice beam on the plant!" They jumped so that they wouldn't get frozen by their own ice beam and landed on a thick layer of ice covering the plant.

Ash's greatest fear was that Gwen would use his own combinations against him. The most promising approach seemed knocking out one of her pokémon as that was his greatest strength and would almost ensure his victory. Buneary was the best target due to Pachirisu's volt absorb. With Scyher's doppelganger, he was able to attack from different sides, thus being able to intervene quickly once she started a new combination.

"Let's end this quickly. Attack with x-scissor! Meganium, support her with magical leaf!" His pokémon unleashed a series of furious attacks, forcing the opponent into a defensive position. Due to the doppelgangers, they just couldn't retaliate against one without allowing another to get a clean hit on them and those would mean certain defeat for Gwen.

"Charge." She had a plan that could save her but it had to be executed swiftly. Since Ash didn't hear the command and the bodies of Scyther were blocking his view, he didn't know that she was preparing a massive counter-attack.

"Oh no, this is bad. I hope he notices it!" Dawn muttered, her cheerful expression suddenly replaced by one full of worry.

Of course, she had noticed that something was about to happen from her position and unlike the others, she knew about Scyther's weakness in this form. Unfortunately, her hopes weren't fulfilled.

"Buneary, ice rings, then protect! Pachirisu, discharge!" Pieces of ice broke free from underneath Scyther's copies, forming rings of ice around them in an instant. They were easy prey for the following attack. With its ally protected, Pachirisu was able to unleash the full power of the move, hitting the four bodies at the same time. This, along with the charge move and her weakness to electric moves, resulted in massive damage, to say the least. When she realized what was going on, she removed the doppelgangers to minimize the damage but it was already too late as they were already close to breaking. The only positive news was that the ice rings broke in the process.

"Get out of there! Meganium, vine whip!" Ash, having realized the graveness of the situation, tried to save her. The incredible amount of damage she had taken stunned her, though, not allowing her to move at all.

"Now hyper beam and spark!" Buneary shot the beam right through the electric-type, who was not only healed due to the ion deluge but also pushed towards Scyther. Using spark, it smashed its body, empowered by the hyper beam, into hers, hurting her even more until the vines got hold of the bug-type, pulling out of its reach.

"Use roost!" He didn't understand why she wasn't doing anything or why Meganium was shaking her, as if to wake her up. After all, Gwen's pokémon hadn't used any sleep moves. He didn't even consider the possibility of his pokémon being unconscious until her noticed a sudden drop in his score. Upon realizing it, he just stood there for a few seconds, utterly surprised by the new situation.

"Fortify your position!" Despite having more points left at the moment, Gwen was far from safe. Buneary was still heavily injured so she had be careful not to lose it. A knockout could change everything. She could consider herself lucky that Ash was still a bit perplexed and therefore missed the opportunity to take advantage of Buneary having to recover from the hyper beam.

"Sorry, it was my fault," Ash finally said, recalling Scyther. "Meganium, use leaf storm to clear the stage! Then power up a solar beam!" Countless leaves began to circle her in an increasing radius to cut the plant and the ice to pieces. As they got closer to Gwen's pokémon, they retreated a bit until they couldn't get any further.

"I want a distraction," Gwen said quietly enough for Ash not to hear. "Use bounce!" Having understood, Buneary used double team to let a copy jump over the wall of leaves while the real one was using protect to shield both itself and its ally from the leaves, which blocked the view on them.

"Now!" For a moment, Ash was enthusiastic about the chance and seized it quickly but when the target simply disappeared upon getting hit, he knew that he had been tricked. In the end, the strength of his own move was his doom. Gwen's pokémon emerged unscathed by his final attack and while he was trying to think of a way to turn this around, the end of the battle was marked by a signal. Unsurprisingly, the last attack had only increased the difference in their scores, leaving Gwen the winner.

"And Gwen has won this battle, making her the second finalist. Now there's only one match left and it'll decide this year's winner. I hope to see you all again after a short break." The audience were applauding both participants for a while until most of them left the hall to get some fresh air before the finals.

"Thank you. I enjoyed this battle very much." Gwen left without another word, but with her pokémon following closely behind.

Ash needed some time to process everything. There was no doubt in his mind that it was his fault, but he was still unsure what exactly he did wrong. Somehow, she'd managed to defeat him with force, which he had considered his greatest strength in this match, instead of combinations. Basically she had done what he had only tried, a fact that made him angry at himself. It was probably his arrogance, which had broken through again and made him lose a match he should've had under control.

 _Once things were going my way, I didn't expect so much resistance from here, at least not this kind of resistance. I should have known that she would find the weak spot sooner or later but using it like that to blast Scyther with four times the normal damage? Drew warned us but I still underestimated her. Well, at least this won't happen against the Elite Four, I know what they're capable of, at least it shouldn't happen._ He sighed when he remembered another matter. _Poor Crawdaunt and Leavanny, they won't get their battle now and it's my fault. And Dawn will probably scold me for being arrogant again. Great, so much to look forward to, so much explaining to do._

"Don't feel bad. You did great," Ash said to Meganium, who was already looking at him with an expression of worry before recalling her.

A bit later, he was already in front of his room. Still pondering about the things he could have done better, Ash didn't notice that someone was approaching him from behind stealthily. Suddenly, he felt something on his right shoulder but when he looked, nothing was there. The same happened with his right shoulder and it made him realize what was going on.

"Not this again," he groaned. Pikachu jumped on his shoulders, then Dawn's arms wrapped around his neck.

"My poor Ash. Do you at least know what you did wrong?" she whispered into his ear.

"Yeah, yeah, I should have paid more attention," he admitted.

"Well, I should punish you but since you have realized your mistake, I won't do it, at least not right now. I'm sure you're already suffering enough," she said, kissing his neck.

"Well, I'm not sad about losing but about my pokémon not getting their final battle," he told her with a sigh. "Poor guys are paying for my mistakes."

"Aw, no need to worry. Things like that happen." She pulled back a little and stared blankly for a moment. "It's a bit weird that my old combinations helped her against you, though. Anyway, what's going on between May and Drew?"

He could feel her gaze on the back of his head. This was the question he really didn't want to answer, at least not without May's or Drew's approval. But then again, Serena would probably tell her without a second thought so he might as well be the first one to do it. First, he decided to play dumb, though.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to sound as clueless as possible. "What's supposed to be going on between them?"

"Come on, Ash. The way she looked at him left no doubts that something had happened. And since you looked a bit distressed during your battle against Ursula, you should know something about it." There was no point in denying it so he tried something else.

"I really think May or Drew should tell, it's a personal matter, after all. Why don't you wait until after the finals? I'm sure they'll tell you," He tried to reason with her but she was too impatient.

"And then I won't be able to truly enjoy the battle. What's the harm in telling me? Besides-" She used one of her hands to play with her hair, a mischievous expression on her face. "- you really shouldn't disappoint the one cooking your dinner."

Although he was sure that she would never make him starve, it was a scary amount of power she had over him that way. He was already close to giving in when someone else appeared nearby, surprising them both.

"I can tell you if you wish. Might as well, he won't be able to resist much longer anyway." It was Drew, coming from the same direction Ash had come from.

"What are you doing here?" Dawn thought that they had been alone the whole time and was hoping that his presence was just a coincidence.

"Just walking around. Nothing better to do for me right now." The way he was talking gave away his gloomy mood. "So you want to hear it or now?"

He proceeded to tell her the whole truth, which she found pretty disgusting but she let him finish his story without interruption. She was glad that May had been able to gain strength from this, as a revelation like this was like poison for confidence. Now if she managed to beat Gwen, she would prove that she didn't need presents like Drew's. Although Dawn could also understand that he had only tried to help her, she wouldn't talk to him for the rest of the evening, at least not until she heard the story from May's point of view. It wasn't like Drew was in the mood for talking anyway so it wasn't a big deal.

Meanwhile, May was on her way to Wallace, when she realized that she didn't have a clue where to find this office, making her wonder where she was going in the first place. One of the security guards described the way so that she was able to make it there in three minutes. In front of the closed door, Miranda was already standing and upon noticing each other, they just glared, fearing the possible consequences of another fight. Wallace appeared soon after, unlocking the door before telling them to enter and take a seat. The office was different from the rest if the building, it didn't look nearly as modern but had lots of wooden furniture and old-looking devices. Still, it looked cozy enough so they would enjoy it if it wasn't for the reason of their visit. On the desk in the center was a cask of glass containing what they all desired, four big and four small blue gems shaped like raindrops, connected at the center to form a star, the Ocean Ribbon

Wallace looked exhausted, which was no surprise, given the last few days and their battle. There was also a hint of disappointment in his eyes, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

"I must say, I expected more from two experienced coordinators like you. You may not like each other but that's no reason to attack like that, let alone on the stage. First, Shira threatens us and then you damage our reputation with your assault." He shook his head. "What were you thinking? Actually, it's none of my business, there is nothing that can justify this sort of behavior."

Having listen to an idol like Wallace telling them things like that, was a painful, slow process, especially since the worst part was yet to come. He still had to tell them about the punishment, something May in particular feared. In the worst case, she would be simply disqualified.

"As you can probably imagine, I can't let such an offense go unpunished. Therefore, you shall be banned from the Wallace Cup for three years -" He paused for a moment, making May's heart almost stop. "- starting next year."

She wasn't sure why he had paused like that. One possibility would be to shock her for a moment so that she would never do it again or he could have done it as a kind of little revenge for all the trouble they had caused. It wasn't important, she was glad that she would get a chance to win the Ocean Ribbon.

"Disqualifying you now would only punish the audience and the coordinators you have beaten on your way so it wasn't a viable option. However, I must warn you. Should you ever let your rage get out of control like this, I'll be forced to ban you forever." He received nervous nods from them. "Very well. I trust you don't cause any more trouble. You're dismissed."

The coordinators quickly stood up and tried to leave the room. Before May was able to do that, she could hear Wallace clear his throat behind him.

"Another thing. Good luck," he said with a smile.

"Thank you," she replied sheepishly.

Closing the door behind her, she noticed that Miranda was standing next to her with an angry expression. May, on the other hand, still had something she was regretting.

"Listen. The things I said about your family ... I didn't mean them." She took a deep breath. "I've gone too far and I wish to apologize." As much as she despised this person, she didn't want to get others involved. Now that her head was cleared, she realized this.

"Fuck those pathetic excuses!" Miranda retorted, just quiet enough for her to be sure that Wallace didn't hear it. "You've gone too far. Should I ever hear you insulting my family again ... well, you will certainly regret it. And that's all I've got to say to you."

With a raised head, she walked away. Although her apology hadn't been accepted, May had at least tried so there was nothing more to do in that regard. Unbeknownst to her, Miranda's violent reaction wasn't because of the things May had said about her father but due to the remark about her mother. Only few people knew that this woman from Hoenn had a weak heart that had prevented her from following her dream of becoming a coordinator. As a result, she had much more time to spend with her daughter until even that became too exhausting for her. She was the reason Miranda wanted to become the best coordinator in the world, not her father as a lot of people assumed. Naturally, when May had mentioned the weak heart, Miranda had gone completely out of control.

"Don't mind that bitch. Whatever you did to her, she deserved it." May turned to see a young , bald man leaning on a wall. "I hope you still get to battle in the finals."

"Don't worry about that. But what exactly do you dislike her?" she asked, feigning cluelessness.

"Are you kidding me? I thought you knew how she mistreats her pokémon and humiliates her opponents. One of my friends observed her while she was practicing her appeal, obviously not aware of his presence. What he told me was disgusting but others didn't believe me. Now that you have revealed her true colors to the world, things will be different. For that, I'm grateful. Maybe with more people paying attention, she will have to treat them better." Of course, May had never seen Miranda in that situation so she couldn't exactly verify those claims but judging from the way she had battled, they weren't unrealistic. "People like that deserve no pity. I hope someone writes an article about her methods, which will get her banned from contests forever."

It was hard to believe but this guy loathed Miranda almost as much as May did. At least that meant that not everyone was fooled by her, especially now after the fight.

"That sure would be better for her pokémon. But now I have to prepare for the finals," she told him.

"Good luck. I hope you make it." He left May to her thoughts.

Although she still wasn't too happy about the way she'd done it, she was glad to have been the one to knock Miranda out of the tournament. It was the kind of revenge that woman deserved for trying to tear her and Drew apart, no matter whether her words were true or not. If he showed the will to repair their relationship just like during their battle, she wouldn't mind starting anew. One day, it would be same again, she was sure of it, at least as long as he never did something bad like letting her win in an official contest again.

For now, she made her way back to the stage even though it would still take some time until the start. Since she needed to clear her head a bit more and focus, meeting and talking to her friends, especially Drew, was a bad idea, which would only make matters worse. In her mind there was nothing but May, her opponent, their pokémon, and the Ocean Ribbon right now. Because of her ban, it had to happen on this day, no matter how . Where others might have been discouraged, she only became more determined.

From the corridor leading to the stage, she was watching the people returning to their places, which included Dawn, but not the pokémon, who had stayed behind as there was more room for them there. Although she had insisted on watching it on the screen together with him, Ash argued that she had paid a lot for this seat and that she had to use it or Misty and Zoey would be disappointed. They noticed the slight disappointment in her eyes.

"What's the matter? Aren't we good enough as your company?" Misty asked, feigning being hurt.

"What?" Dawn waved her hands in front of herself. "No, no, no, that's not it."

"Don't mind her. We know you'd rather be with him," Zoey remarked. "By the way, when is he going to propose?"

"Propose? Don't you think we're a bit young?" she asked, a bit perplexed by the sudden question.

"You've been together for years, haven't you? It should happen soon." Dawn shook her head. "Something wrong?"

"No, I don't think it will happen anytime soon. With the battles against the Elite Four approaching, something like planning a marriage would only distract us. After that, who knows," she added, shrugging.

"He could already ask you, there's no need for planning already," Misty pointed out. "You wouldn't say no, would you?"

"Of course I would say yes," Dawn replied as if anything else was unthinkable.

"Then how about you ask him? It doesn't always have to be the guy, you know?" the redhead asked with a sly grin. "After all, Ash is so dense, maybe he doesn't even know that it's expected of him."

"I ... don't know. Maybe later. I mean, we're happy right now and there's no need to change anything just for the sake of changing something," she reasoned.

"Alright, it's your decision. We won't bother you any longer with it," Zoey said with a side glance at Misty. "Besides, it's about to start."

The MC was already walking towards her usual spot to announce the beginning of the final battle.

* * *

 **Surprised about the outcome? The defeat was mostly due to one reason: Ash never expected to be beaten by knockout in a contest, he didn't even consider the possibility, focusing entirely on preventing a defeat by points. The fact that he didn't bother getting information on Gwen while she knew almost everything about him and his Pokémon only added to it. But that's contest life. Since there's only one battle, every mistake can be punished brutally. Elite Four battles are different because there's more room for mistakes andthey can be turned around more easily, even when things look bad.**


	46. The Ocean Ribbon

**The final chapter of the Wallace Cup.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 46 The Ocean Ribbon

Finally, it was time for the final battle and the end of the Wallace Cup. Only five more minutes were left until the victor would get her very own Ocean Ribbon, the most prestigious ribbon in the contest world. The other coordinator would go back home with nothing but a bitter experience. Needless to say, May was extremely motivated to the point of hardly being able to just stand there during the MC's speech, which was even longer than usual as she was telling more about the participants. The tension was almost unbearable, at least for May. Gwen, on the other hand, looked completely calm and had a smile on her face, as if she didn't care about the outcome at all. When the MC was done, she was the first to call out her pokémon, though.

Without a word, she called out a golduck and a female meowstic. Compared to her other pokémon, these were rather common among coordinators^, but May wasn't sure whether it was a good or bad sign. It didn't matter, she had to defeat them anyway.

"Glaceon, Dragonite, take the stage!" The pokémon appeared inside an orb, which resembled a large dragon pulse. Ice spikes kept shooting out of the ground around it until the orb exploded, both revealing the pokémon and shattering the ice.

"Battle, begin!" the MC shouted, followed by the cheering of the entire audience. This was supposed to be the battle between the two most powerful contenders so they were expecting this to be the best part of the tournament, apart from the opening battle maybe.

"Start with the ice storm!" May shouted. Dragonite flew up high before flapping its wings rapidly to create two twisters, each going for one of Gwen's pokémon. Glaceon used blizzard at those tornados, which absorbed the power to become even stronger, mixed with shards of ice.

"Whirlpool shield!" Gwen's pokémon got close so that the whirlpool would protect both of them. Although it was big, the ice storm was powerful enough to freeze it entirely within a few seconds, yet the ice also did a great job at shielding them. "Now disable the twister and shatter the ice and charge it." Golduck jumped on it before using disable on Dragonite. Even though twister wasn't an awfully powerful move, it was essential for a lot of combinations so it was a prime target for the disable. Golduck could still disable another move later.

For a moment, Dragonite was surrounded by a blue aura, then the tornados disappeared. Without the twister, the blizzard didn't reach its target so Glaceon stopped using it. Meanwhile, the ice was shattered by Meowstic's psychic move and while Golduck was keeping the pieces in the air with its own psychic move, Meowstic was charging them with thunderbolt. What followed was a rain of ice shards right on May's pokémon.

"Use the fire wave combination!" Dragonite landed in front of its ally and used protect. The move wasn't used for its original, defensive purpose but the dragon-type used fire punch with tremendous strength on the inside of the shield, making its power spread from there like a wave. When the shards passed through it, they melted before they could even reach the shield. "Now attack. Ice beam and dragon rush!"

Dragonite launched itself into the air to attack from above whereas Glaceon jumped from platform to platform, shooting ice beams every now and then. Meowstic countered those with psychic by making them miss and Golduck was keeping an eye on Dragonite, awaiting the charge.

"Waterwall!" By using multiple waterfall multiple times, it created a wall of water in front of it, which got in Dragonite's way.

"Freeze it and complete the attack!" Glaceon turned it into a wall of ice, which got hit by the dragon charge. Instead of shattering entirely, only the lower part was broken, making the rest fall onto Gwen's pokémon.

"Use scald!" With the boiling water, Golduck made a gap in the ice wall, which was a perfect fit for itself and its ally but also offered a great opportunity for May. Sensing this, Gwen decided not to take any risks. "Ice shield, then double dragon!" The sides were already protected by the remains of the ice wall but they could still be attacked from above, which got now covered by a dome of ice, also blocking the view on them.

"Use ice and fire stomp!" Glaceon shot an ice shard towards the dome. As soon as it was right above it, Dragonite used dragon rush to smash it into the dome, causing an icy explosion with ice spikes appearing nearby, before hitting the ice beneath with fire punch. This melted the ice nearby but there was no sign of Gwen's pokémon. They had created a tunnel with scald to escape and soon a stream of hot water shot out of the ice between Dragonite and Glaceon. Another one, which was shaped like a Salamence's head and controlled by Golduck's psychic, followed and headed right towards the ice-type. Similarly, a dragon head controlled by Meowstic made of cold water mixed with ice shards shot at Dragonite.

"Glaceon, mirror coat! Dragonite, shield charge!" Since the ice-type had taken no damage so far, May thought this was a good tradeoff for her. Golduck received even more damage and the visual effect on Glaceon's body reduced Gwen's points a little. Dragonite used a tricky combination of protect and dragon rush to get through the cold water unscathed. However, Meowstic paid attention and as soon as the shield was gone, she used psychic to make the dragon-type fly past her. It landed on a platform near Glaceon, awaiting further orders.

So far, the battle was even with the two coordinators having nearly the same amount of points left. Now it was time to try a few more advanced moves. May was the first one to do that.

"Rain of ice!" Glaceon closed it eyes and got surrounded by a light blue aura while huge icicles were appearing on the ceiling. One by one, they fell down to crush anything beneath them, which included Glaceon itself, so Dragonite not only had to protect its ally from Gwen's pokémon but also from its own move. Soon it was going to become even more difficult.

"Use psychic to control the icicles!" Gwen had noticed that Glaceon's control over them was limited and therefore they could be used for her purposes. Now instead of striking randomly, the icicles went right for May's pokémon. Upon noticing her points dropping, May quickly canceled the attack.

"Stop it for now. Dragonite, dragon rush!" Gwen's pokémon were still paying attention to the ceiling so it caught them off-guard, allowing the dragon-type a clean hit on Golduck. It was quick to retaliate, though, punching Dragonite's face with a water pulse in its hand. As soon as the water covered its head, a tiny ice beam froze it before it shattered shortly after, stunning the pokémon for a moment. It would have given the others a perfect opportunity to strike if it hadn't been for Glaceon, who had let two more icicles drop on them. They dodged just in time, gaining a bit of distance to Dragonite. The rain of ice was still a threat as it could hit anytime, it just wasn't a constant rain anymore.

"Get rid of the ice! Then use ocean's grip and force blast!" Meowstic's ears began to vibrate, emitting waves of psychic power, which stunned May's pokémon for a few moments and pulverized every bit of ice on and above the stage. Like powder snow, the remains fell onto the stage, making it look like it was snowing inside and reducing May's score quite a bit.

Several small tentacles made of water emerged from the pool and got a hold on Glaceon's feet. Despite their weak appearance, they were surprisingly strong, making it impossible for the ice-type to free itself. Meowstic created a transparent orb, which looked like it was made of compressed air and shot it at Glaceon.

"Send it back with fire punch! Glaceon, free yourself with icebeam!" Since the orb was moving slowly, getting in the way in time was no problem, but the fire punch didn't work the way May wanted. The fire simply made its way around the orb and the force of the punch didn't seem to have any effect. In the end, it was Dragonite, who got pushed back. Fortunately, the water tentacles were much easier to get rid of once they were frozen so Glaceon was able to escape and it was just in time. Upon making contact with the platform, the orb exploded, making cracks spread all over the platform and the ice around it. Now that May knew what this move was capable of, she was determined not to let Meowstic use it again. "Fiery dragon rush!" It used fire blast and dragon rush right through to gain a fiery aura as opposed to the red aura of a normal dragon rush.

"Use force blast as a wall! Golduck, use blizzard!" An impenetrable wall appeared in front of Meowstic, stopping Dragonite in its tracks. From the side, Golduck tried to hit it with a powerful blizzard.

"Get in the way and use mirror coat!" It arrived a bit too late to take all the damage but it still managed to protect its ally from most of it. "Get back and use earthshaker!" May's pokémon retreated to the edge of the pool, where Dragonite punched the ground with turquoise glowing fists. For a few moments, the ground in front of them glowed in the same color before a gigantic, glowing pillar of energy rose, engulfing the whole area.

The move was a result of May's time as a regular trainer and simply dealt a lot of damage in a huge area. This time, the effect was limited as Meowstic was sill protected by its force field and Golduck was close enough to the edge of the affected area to get pushed out of it quickly. A drawback was the huge amount of energy required, leaving Dragonite rather exhausted for now. At least the force field also seemed to have drained Meowstic quite a lot so the next step was up to the others.

"Use blizzard, full power!" May commanded, trying to prevent another attack until the dragon-type was ready agan.

"Ocean's grip and whirlpool!" A tentacle grabbed Glaceon's tail from behind, pulling it into the pool, where a maelstrom formed a moment later, which entrapped it. Furthermore, other tentacles grabbed Dragonite's tail, legs, arms, wings, and the neck to pull it into the maelstrom as well. However, it was physically strong enough to resist the pull so it got simply immobilized instead.

"Use ice beam on the tentacles!" It was actually a difficult task as Glaceon was aiming was difficult inside the maelstrom and it had to be careful not to hit the maelstrom instead or it might make everything worse. While the ice-type was trying, Meowstic jumped on Dragonite's head, preparing a powerful thunderbolt and Golduck went in front of the dragon-type for a few punches. Upon realizing that a thunderbolt was going to strike the whirlpool, which would result in a lot of damage, it shot a quick ice beam. Although it didn't hit the tentacles, it froze Meowstic, making it fall down like a statue so instead of attacking Dragonite, Golduck had to free its ally first. The ice move had been risky, given how close the psychic type was to its ally, and a direct hit would hurt Dragonite more than Meowstic. It gave the ice-type enough time to focus and hit the tentacles just enough so that the maelstrom itself wasn't frozen. Then it followed up with other weak ice beams to freeze the tentacles grabbing its ally.

"Get Glaceon out of there with dragon rush! Then use ice beam on their feet!" May's score was lower and time was running out with only one minute left so she needed a powerful combination.

"Stop it! Ice beam and psychic!" Of course, Gwen tried to prevent that, but Dragonite was already charging at the maelstrom with such speed that stopping wasn't possible anymore. With great precision, it grabbed its ally while diving into the water, escaping the pull from the maelstrom. A bit further away, it shot out of the water again and Glaceon, still carried by the dragon-type, shot an ice beam to freeze Golduck's feet to the ground before Gwen's pokémon was able to react.

"Now blizzard rush and combine it with earthshaker!" After dropping Glaceon on one of the platforms, Dragonite charged straight at Golduck. Unable to get out of its icy prison, it tried to counter by attacking.

"Ice dragon!" A blizzard by the duck pokémon got shaped like a salamence's head by Meowstic's psychic.

"Use protect!" Using its shield rush combination, Dragonite easily got through the attack. From behind, Glaceon's own blizzard merged with the dragon charge, turning the aura blue and adding a sparkling effect to it. It wasn't just for show, though, as with enormous force, it sent Golduck flying.

"Force shield!" Meowstic didn't get the shield up in time so she suffered quite a lot of damage when Dragonite crashed into her as well. Then it flew up high only to come down again with even greater force. "Protect! Force shield!" This time, they activated the moves in time, thus succeeding in evading the damage from the move but the real damage was done to Gwen's score. When Dragonite crashed into the platform, it sprayed water in every direction, freezing it in midair. putting May ahead of her.

This success came at a price, though. Without the shield from the protect move, Dragonite suffered heavy damage due to its ally's blizzard. It was a painful combination and May didn't like using it but it was the only one with enough power to turn the tide. As soon as the smoke from the explosion was gone, Gwen noticed that Dragonite was almost done and tried to finish it off.

"Thunderbolt and ice beam!" Too exhausted to dodge, the moves hit it almost at the same time. It was already too late for Glaceon to jump in with mirror coat so May would've had to think of something else if it hadn't been for a signal marking the end of the battle.

Gwen's pokémon immediately ceased their attacks, after which Dragonite sank to its knees. It took one glance at the screen before smiling and finally collapsing. May not only had just a few more points left but if the battle had lasted a bit longer, she would have lost due to Dragonite's knockout. Fortunately, it was tough and had lasted long enough to ensure her victory.

May was just standing there, still unable to comprehend the event while the audience was cheering and the MC shouting stuff she didn't care about. Slowly, she was starting to understand that she had won the Ocean Ribbon, that she had achieved the impossible. After a long break, she had won the advanced Wallace Cup, the most prestigious tournament a coordinator could win. Sure, a lot of powerful coordinators hadn't entered it and, apart from Drew and Gwen, her opponents hadn't been too challenging but it was still quite the achievement. It was Gwen, who brought her back to reality.

"Thank you, even though it was more physical than anticipated. Maybe we'll battle again one day." Not waiting for an answer, she turned around and left with her pokémon following her. They were both limping slightly, having obviously been hurt badly in battle.

"Thank you, Dragonite, you saved me today," she said recalling her defeated pokémon. Only Glaceon, was left and jumped next to her, licking her face. Even though May appreciated the show of affection, the tongue was remarkably cold so that she had to stop the ice-type soon. "Ah, stop, that's too much. Yes, I'm also happy and incredibly proud of you. That's our victory today." Her hopes of evading that tongue were quickly destroyed as Glaceon replied with even more enthusiasm. She didn't get saved until two security guards approached her.

"Please stay here, Wallace will arrive shortly," they told her.

"Alright, enough for now, Glaceon." She lifted her pokémon up. "We want to look presentable, don't we?" The ice-type nodded, eager to see her receive the ribbon she wanted so much.

"An awesome battle. I'm glad I came here," Misty shouted because of the noise.

"Meh, it was much better last year," Zoey replied, not trying to hide her disappointment. "I'm glad I didn't enter. A victory here wouldn't have been nearly as satisfying as last year. Damn Shira kept so many good coordinators away."

"Oh, come on. May was really good, don't you agree?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, I was quite surprised to see her this strong already. I guess coordinating is really something you never truly forget," she admitted. "But still ... without Robert, Solidad, and you it's just not the same, at least for me. And Gwen clearly isn't in her prime anymore."

"It was still enough to beat Ash and make to the finals, though," Misty pointed out.

"Her opponents weren't that good and Ash definitely should have won that. He was better but he doesn't seem to take it as seriously as his pokémon. Dawn, you really should talk some sense into him. And please enter again next year," Zoey added. "I want revenge by beating you in the finals."

"We both know I would never let that happen," Dawn replied, laughing. "As for Ash's attitude ... he takes it seriously, he just gets overconfident and reckless at times but there's nothing I can do about that. Believe me, I've tried often enough."

"I guess it doesn't work because you're just as bad?" Misty remarked with a side glance. "Not too believable, I'm afraid."

Dawn puffed her cheeks and got red a little but she also knew that Misty was right. Instead of replying she decided to just watch the rest of the Wallace Cup. The rest of audience didn't seem to share Zoey's opinion as they were cheering loudly all the time, making a normal conversation difficult for everyone. Only when Wallace finally appeared with his milotic, the whole contest hall fell silent without the need to tell anyone. A lot of coordinators followed him, including Ash, Drew, Serena, and Ursula, and moved to the edge of the stage. He pulled a small cask out of his pocket and opened it to reveal the Ocean Ribbon. Then the MC handed him a microphone.

"I won't deny that I was worried when Shira threatened to attack. I was worried about this contest, my life's work, but even more about your safety. By watching it, participating in it, you showed that nothing and no one can break the spirit of contests. It was message to anyone trying to tell us otherwise and I'm proud to be a part of all this." The audience cheered until he raised his hand, making the hall go silent again. "Over the course of six days, we have seen talented newcomers and experienced veterans battling for two of the most prestigious ribbons in the world. We have seen beautiful and imaginative appeals, majestic battles of terrifying power and the passion that makes coordinators stand out so much. Please a big applause for all of them."

Once again, the audience cheered wildly. Dawn was also clapping crazily when her vision turned grey. All of sudden, the people around her had wounds all over their bodies, many of which were decaying. In some cases, bones were showing beneath the wounds so it was a horrible view. Furthermore, their eye-sockets were empty, even Ash's, at least as far as she was able to see. A quick look at her own body revealed a knife in her belly although she didn't feel any pain. By shaking her head, everything returned to normal, only the shock remained. These visions were getting worse so they had to do something about it. Tomorrow, they'd return to Fullmoon Island, following Alakazam's suggestion, which gave her some hope despite not knowing what the psychic-type was hoping to find there. For now, Dawn could only hope that Ash's problems weren't too bad. As soon as the audience was calm again, Wallace spoke up.

"They all have done their part to turn this into a success. However, this is the time of one particular coordinator. She has defeated powerful opponents to get this far and achieved something only three others had managed so far. Please a big applause for the winner of this year's Ocean Ribbon, May!" The previous applause was nothing compared to this one and took a long while to die down. "Now it is time for you to receive your prize."

He held up the ribbon, which got engulfed by a small water pulse from Milotic, which then slowly moved towards May. Handing it over like this was almost a tradition already. When May reached out for it, the water disappeared and the ribbon fell onto the palm of her right hand. It took all of her restraint not to go crazy right now but she somehow managed it. In her mind, she had already gained too much unwanted attention after the battle against Miranda.

"It is well-deserved. Don't forget that it counts as a ribbon towards any grand festival although I'm quite aware of the fact that it's almost never used that way nowadays," he added, earning laughter from the audience. It was true, for most people, it was just a trophy, albeit one worth more than any ribbon cup. "I'm afraid everything must come to an end and this tournament is no different. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and I hope you will be with me again next year when it's time for the most promising to fight for the Aqua Ribbon, and the best of the best to battle for the Ocean Ribbon. Until then, take care."

It was a chaotic situation when everybody tried to get out or down onto the stage to get a closer look at Wallace or the coordinators, who had other problems right now as they were being overwhelmed by journalists. Needless to say, most of them were gathering around May, who had to answer the questions. A lot of them were about her fight with Miranda, asking about the reasons, the exact words uttered during their 'conversation', and the consequences. She refused to answer them as there was surely going to be an announcement regarding that. Besides, it was a topic that pained her greatly so she didn't want to talk about it, neither with journalists nor with her friends, especially now, after this victory.

From the distance, Dawn was watching the scene with pity clear in her eyes.

"Poor girl, that's the worst part of winning here." She could still remember how much time it took to get through there until she could finally celebrate the victory. "I guess it'll take some time until she's ready."

"You think that's bad? If it goes on like this, she'll be out of here first. Just look at all the people;" Misty groaned. "For such a modern building, leaving is awfully difficult."

She was wrong as they were out of there long before the others, who had to answer so many questions first. May also had to change back into her normal outfit after that so she was the last on to arrive outside. Even there, she wasn't safe from random people congratulating her, asking for autographs, but at least it wasn't a whole crowd.

Despite the hearty hugs and the congratulations, the atmosphere among the friends was tense, in particular between Drew and Serena, and May and Zoey. Originally, Drew had planned to do it in the evening after the Wallace Cup, but since the mood wasn't the best and it was already getting late, he didn't say anything.

For now, it was time to bid farewell. May and Drew went towards the pokémon center without Serena since she'd decided to continue her journey through Kanto without them. It was necessary as things between her and Drew were worse than ever. Once they were in their room and thus had a bit of privacy, May asked something that had been bothering her.

"Are you mad at me? After all, I've won what you've been trying to win for years now," she asked.

He responded by moving in front of her, leaning in slowly and giving her a kiss on her forehead. It was a bit risky, considering the current status of their relationship. Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind, maybe because she was still euphoric because of the victory.

"I may have lost the tournament but I've been given a second chance. That's more important than any ribbon." He was trying to be awfully romantic but she just had a feeling that he would whine about his defeat soon enough. "Don't bother thinking about things like that. It's your day and proud of your achievement."

"Well, at least if the ribbon goes missing, I know where to look for," she replied, half-jokingly. It wouldn't actually surprise her to find him hugging the ribbon one day. Maybe she shouldn't let him clean it.

"Come on, I'm not that desperate. Not yet," he added, making her laugh.

"I just hope things will return to normal soon. You know, I want to trust you but I'm not sure whether it's wise to do that," she whispered. All of sudden, she was in a gloomy mood.

She sighed and went to a window, starting to stare off into the distance. It was true, she wanted to be back with him because deep inside, she thought that his actions hadn't been that bad. However, she also didn't want to forgive him too easily or he might think that he would get away with everything and she might even lose her friends' respect. No, she had to be steadfast, for both of their sakes but it still left a bad feeling. Indeed, sometimes life was so difficult. Drew was wondering just what he should say. In her state, a harmless remark could cause great harm so he had to tread with extreme caution.

"Don't worry about that. You won't regret it. Besides, a life without me would be horribly dull." The moment he said it, he already regretted his words. Boasting wasn't going to tip the scales in his favor or at least he thought so. Much to his surprise, she showed a weak smile. "Come on, brighten up. Oh, I know. You're just hungry, aren't you? Let's get something to eat."

As soon as he suggested it, she was already gone and with a sigh, he followed her. At least in that regard things were back to normal. On the other hand, maybe it wasn't about returning to the same, old state but to create something even better.

Ash was reading different newspapers while Dawn was preparing a much-needed supper for them and their pokémon. The event concerning Shira was still mysterious so he was hoping to find more information on that. He was curious about the effect on the sky but there was hardly anything useful about that, mostly speculations and wild theories. There was a similar problem with the other weird effects.

Only one article provided entirely new information. It was about Sharon and Giovanni, who had been found dead along with Shira and the grunts. This probably meant that Shira had been the one to free them from the prison in order to use their knowledge and skills for her own purposes. When Ash and Dawn read about his demise, they were surprised, but not sad. They'd both been a ruthless men, willing to use any means to achieve their goals, which had never been good. Without a doubt, the world was better off without them and with Shira gone as well, there was nobody left who'd try to kill them for their actions, at least nobody powerful. They knew all too well, that a simple grunt could cause a lot of trouble, though.

Once Dawn was back in the kitchen, Ash could hear her talking about an unpleasant topic.

"I'm happy for May and your performance was also great but you shouldn't have been so reckless again." She didn't sound angry but serious enough for him to listen carefully. "You used Sylveon although she isn't strong enough for these battles. Granted, it worked out in the end but it was close."

"I knew what I was doing, that coordinator was just a little stronger than expected," he explained. "Besides, haven't we already talked about this often enough?"

"Technically yes, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. Soon after that experience, you carelessly kept attacking Gwen's pokémon although it wasn't necessary. You would have won otherwise." Slowly, this topic was getting on his nerves but since she was just trying to help, he kept listening. "I hope you won't make the same mistake against the Elite Four."

"Come on, I know what they're capable of so I will use everything I have against them," he protested.

It was true that he had never done anything overly reckless against them. Sure, there were a few risky combinations but it was usually in dangerous situations, when he needed them. Still, she was worried that it would backfire in the moment of his triumph. For her, that was the most bitter defeat as the pokémon don't do anything wrong but still pay the price for the trainer's arrogance or stupidity. Since she had lost like that before, she knew how unpleasant it was in a really meaningful battle like at a grand festival or at the Wallace Cup. Therefore, she wanted to prevent something like that from happening to him just when he was so close to achieving his dream.

"Alright, but I'll remind you again before the battles. This isn't something to be taken lightly." Much to his relief, she decided to change the topic. "Have you found anything about that sky effect?"

"Yes ... but nothing that makes sense in any way," he replied, throwing away one of the newspapers.

"Thanks for getting my hopes up," she groaned, sounding annoyed. "Anyway, supper is ready."

With considerable speed, he made it to the kitchen, only to find that only the pokémon's food was ready. His food was still being prepared. Dawn was looking at him with a cheeky smile.

"Touché," he muttered, acknowledging her win this time. "But I'm starving? How much longer?"

"Five minutes at most," she told him cheerfully.

Instead of returning to the living room, he just stayed in kitchen. Once their bellies were full, they proceeded looking for information together until it was already late. Unsurprisingly, the tournament had left him pretty tired so, unlike Dawn, he wasn't in the mood for more once they were in the bed. Frustrated, she made him promise that they'd do more the next day but given his current state, it was unlikely that he would even remember it. She knocked on the wall behind her bed, which was the signal for Alakazam and Gallade to appear. It was time for them to do their job. By now, it was pretty much routine for them so she didn't waste much time and teleported above their heads, where she kept levitating with her hands near their heads, trying to detect any external influence on their minds but as usual, there was nothing. Meanwhile, Gallade was leaning against a wall, waiting for his shift to begin.

Due to all the recent events, the current situation seemed almost unreal. The Wallace Cup was over, Shira, Giovanni and Charon were dead, and the Storm Raiders were gone for good. It seemed like Ash and Dawn could finally focus on the preparations for the Elite Four battles. However, there was still the nightmare problem, which was the reason Dawn had so much trouble falling asleep. Ash was also worried but he was still exhausted from the Wallace Cup so he didn't have the same trouble. Gallade was watching them with a concerned look, something that didn't go unnoticed by Alakazam. Even though it was dark, she could sense that he was troubled.

"Is something bothering you?" she asked him telepathically so that neither their trainers nor the other pokémon would hear them.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked in return.

"I have no doubts that it is absolutely essential. Simply fighting the symptoms won't help, we have to find the source of the trouble. My plan may be slightly risky but it will work without flaw if we do our part. Luca has assured me that we weren't alone the last time we visited Fullmoon Island and I have no reason to doubt his words." Luca was a nickname for Dawn's Lucario. "Believe me, if there was another realistic option I would tell you about it."

"It still feels like a cruel thing to do," he replied, still having doubts. "It will be painful for them. And why don't we tell the others about it?"

"That's because the nature of the trouble is still obscure. For all we know, someone or something might use their memories somehow as they don't have psychic powers and thus aren't able to defend against attacks of that sort. Therefore we can't tell them anything or this knowledge might be used against us. Of course, I could tell Espeon or Reuniclus but I prefer not to initiate too many others into my plan, which means you shouldn't tell the others. Since you're not too communicative, this shouldn't be a problem for you." Actually, this as the main reason she'd chosen Gallade as her assistant. "As for your other concern, I'm quite aware that they will have to suffer from nightmares for a short time. However, it is our only chance and if it doesn't work this time, we won't get another one so be sure to remember your part."

"Don't worry about it. Just ... try to make it as quick as possible." He still looked worried and she could understand it.

"You know I don't want them to suffer but there's simply no other viable option." She sighed. "I'm not a friend of violence but I wouldn't mind giving the source of this trouble a good beating. I just hope it will reveal itself or be forced to do so."

They spent the rest of the night in silence, waiting for the inevitable to happen.


	47. From the Darkness

**The final chapter of the 2nd arc, which will resolve the nightmare issue as well as give a taste of future enemies. The next part will be darker and more intense, especially the next chapters, which will have an event so significant to the story that it makes everything so far pale in comparison.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 47 From the Darkness

Ash and Dawn woke up greatly refreshed and they needed the extra energy for the search. Although they didn't know why Alakazam insisted so much on going back to Fullmoon Island, they could understand that she was tired of staying up during the night and sleeping during the day so they had agreed rather quickly. Besides, with the Wallace Cup over, they really had to do something and since there were no alternatives at the moment, it was the most logical approach even though the hopes of finding something useful were small. By now, they were already used to the voice and the visions so they did it mostly for their psychic types.

After the usual morning routine, they went to the lab to change their teams. Even though Ash and Dawn were confident enough to go without an aura shield, Dawn's Lucarion insisted on coming with them. The fighting-type had become suspicious when Alakazam had asked him three times whether there really was someone else on Fullmoon Island during their last visits, which was highly suspicious.

Usually, Alakazam asked only once as she was able to distinguish between lies, the truth or merely doubts. As she never forgot anything, she didn't need to be told anything twice so that left only one possibility. It had to be something important enough for her to need so much confirmation and considering her recent complaints about her nightly task, it had to be a plan to end it. Lucario knew that she was intelligent and cunning so the plan couldn't be too bad. However, she also tended to ignore details leading to consequences, which were only trivial for her. Therefore, both for her and the trainers' sakes, he wanted to come along to prevent any possible disaster.

Dawn's other pokémon were Milotic for the coastline, Gengar and Froslass for searching caves, and Piplup and Alakazam as a bodyguard, just in case they ran into wild pokémon. Ash's team was specialized in fast, flying scouts with keen eyes like Staraptor, Swellow, Talonflame and Noctowl. Gallade was also there as he was a fast, teleporting walker and Alakazam had requested his presence for some reason. Of course, the last pokémon was Pikachu.

Without further waiting, Alakazam teleported them to the island, where they were immediately greeted by a cold wind. Unlike at home, where it wasn't sunny, but not cold either, it was clear that the summer was over in Sinnoh. The temperatures and the wind from the sea made them glad to have taken their coats with them. Instinctively, Ash put his arms around Dawn when she shivered a bit, but not even he could deny the eat the cold was getting to him. Actually, it felt almost like winter but then again, Sinnoh was pretty far north. In the end, it didn't really matter as they simply had to deal with it.

Not wasting much time, they sent out their pokémon to find something useful like a lunar wing or maybe even a cresslia. Despite the wind, which was eventually joined by a short rain, they also tried to do their part. Unfortunately, the source of their trouble apparently noticed their efforts and increased its activity. Ash was almost constantly taunted, threatened, and mocked by the voice in his head whereas Dawn was haunted by permanently shifting visions. Nevertheless, they lasted for two hours until they were physically and emotionally exhausted and had to take a break.

"I'm sorry, it's ... a little too much." Dawn was holding her head in pain. "I need to rest ... just a bit."

"Yeah, we should all take a break." The constant voice had caused a headache. "We can finish this later, I hope."

"You look exhausted, I recommend a short nap." It turned out easier than Alakazam had anticipated.

She quickly told Gallade telepathically to begin with the plan. Unseen by the others, he used a weak hypnosis move to make the trainers sleepy. Just as expected, it made them more inclined to follow Alakazam's suggestion.

"Maybe you're right. I do ..." Ash yawned. "I do feel tired. And the rain's also gone. Yes, it's a good moment for that."

"We'll continue searching in the meantime," Gallade told them, preparing their backpacks as pillows.

"You really should rest as well. You deserve..." Dawn didn't even get to finish the sentence as she fell asleep the moment her head touched the backpack. The same thing happened to Ash only a few moments later.

Right now, Alakazam wished they had brought a blanket with them but that would have raised suspicions. She told the present pokémon to continue their search. Those expected her and Gallade to watch over Ash and Dawn but as soon as they were gone, the psychic-types left as well. While Alakazam pretended to continue her search, Gallade stayed nearby but hid so that nobody could see him. They remained in contact via telepathy.

"I feel like a traitor. Not only leaving them like this but even putting them in this vulnerable state," he told her telepathically with an angry voice. "We might as well let Gengar use nightmare on them, it would save us time."

"That would entirely ruin the plan and make another try pointless so don't even think about it. No, it's of uttermost importance that the nightmares are induced the same way as before, by the same culprit so that she can find the source," she told him. "If we interfere now, it will be much more cautious in the future, making another try next to impossible. Therefore it is ..."

"It's beginning." Alakazam lowered her head upon hearing this. It was going to be extremely unpleasant for the trainers now.

Gallade watched their peaceful expression into something horrified and painful. They started moving in their sleep, as if they were falling and trying to hold onto something. This lasted only a few seconds, then they were lying on the back with their eye open but their bodies unmoving. He couldn't possibly imagine what they were seeing in their dreams.

"This is too much ... I can't bear the thought of being responsible for this. I have to stop it." He was about to wake them up but stopped when he heard Alakazam screaming in his mind.

"Are you crazy? You won't do that! I forbid it! You can't ... it will ruin everything. Please. I beg you." It was rare to hear her talking like this, especially begging for something. "Please, this is important. Do you think I'm a heartless monster? I assure you that it's not easy for me and I wouldn't do it unless it was absolutely necessary."

"You can't see them. You can't understand how cruel this is," Gallade protested but didn't do anything.

"It's my fault and only my fault. Tell them all about it afterwards, accuse me of everything but please don't act, at least for a few minutes. Please," she begged him.

"Fine," he replied after a short pause. This wasn't an easy decision for him but she sounded so desperate that he couldn't deny her the favor. "But she better hurry."

"Don't worry, I can assure you ... oh , there's Luca. Please wait a bit longer," she repeated.

The psychic-type quickly regained her composure so that Lucario wouldn't get suspicious. It was doomed from the start as he already was. In fact, he wasn't surprised to find her all alone.

"Shouldn't you be with Dawn and Ash?" he asked, trying to sound clueless.

"Don't insult my intelligence by pretending you're here by accident as I know you've been looking for me," she replied coldly. "As for your question, Gallade is taking care of this matter."

"Oh, is that so?" It was clear that the fighting-type didn't believe her. "Then I'm sure you don't mind having a look. Since you've sent Piplup and Pikachu away for the search, Gallade is all alone and it can be pretty rough like this."

"I see no reason. We have to continue the search as it's the purpose of this visit, after all." She turned to leave but got stopped by his hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, let's drop the act. I know you're using them as a bait. It's disgusting." He shook his head. "And Gallade is probably helping you. Very disappointing."

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Alakazam was angry but she was hiding it well. "It's my duty to protect them and sometimes sacrifices are unavoidable. What are a few minutes of agony compared to a lifetime of slow torture? I'm doing this for their own good as you have neither the brains nor the will to go this far. It has to be done and someone has to do it. If it helps them in the long run, I'll gladly accept the responsibility."

"Then how about you use yourself as a bait? Or is your life too important for that?" he asked, growling.

"Don't be a fool, nobody will die. Now I highly advice you to continue the search and stay out of matters you don't understand or I will have to make you." They were glaring at each other, waiting for the first move.

Alakazam was even willing to fight Lucario just to prevent him from thwarting her plan. The fighting-type, on the other hand, wanted to drag her back to them so that she could apologize to them. Neither of them wanted to back off now but in the end, it wasn't necessary as the message she had been hoping for the entire time finally arrived.

"It's working!" Gallade told her telepathically.

A wide grin appeared on her face, she visibly relaxed and extended an arm.

"Come with me so that you can see the results of my work," she told Lucario.

"I'd prefer to walk." He didn't trust her entirely and expected her to try to get him out of the way by teleporting him somewhere else.

"As you wish," Alakazam replied, teleporting next to Gallade.

This was an event she didn't want to miss and she hoped that the others would also see it. It proved that she was right and even though she didn't think she needed the acknowledgement, it would be fun to watch their reactions. For now, she just wanted to watch this beautiful scene.

Soon after falling asleep, Ash and Dawn experienced the same dream, only with reversed roles. At first, they were falling in an empty space with only darkness surrounding them. They tried to grab anything nearby but there was nothing and then there were those whispers coming from every direction, getting louder every second. It was a language they didn't know, one that sounded extremely weird to them.

Then everything stopped and it was like they were completely paralyzed and blind. The only things they could hear were their bodily functions like the heartbeat and even the blood flowing through their veins. This made the whole experience even more unsettling than it already was. They would've been glad when their eyes finally opened if it hadn't been for some unknown force to do it for them. They were lying on a bed in a dark room, which was only illuminated by a few small candles. When they tried to stand up, they realized that they were still unable to move, only their eyes were under their control again. Looking up, they saw only darkness instead of a ceiling and, even worse, bodies were hanging on ropes descending from it. For some reason, they just had the feeling that those were their friends even though they couldn't possibly check it. From somewhere nearby, they could now hear a bell ringing.

In Ash's dream, he could see Dawn sleeping peacefully on a nearby bed but given the circumstances, he wasn't glad about that at all. Something bad was about to happen, he just knew it. Sure enough, something dark crawled up her bed only a few moments later. It was like a huge centipede, that looked like it was made of tar with black, crystalline legs and a strange, black liquid was dripping from the sides. Slowly, it was climbing over Dawn's body.

Ash tried to warn her, to wake her up, even to fight that monster, but his body just wouldn't move. No, he wasn't even able to say anything, he could only watch the creature make its way towards Dawn's head. He was desperate and his heart was beating like crazy when the monster turned its head so that he could look into its single, big eye. If he had to describe it, it was like gazing at a night sky, only that the stars were moving appearing and disappearing every few seconds. It opened its mouth to let out a hissing sound, revealing a round mouth with countless tiny teeth inside in the process. Then it turned back to Dawn, opening her mouth with its legs before looking at Ash again.

He could guess that something bad was about to happen but there was nothing he could do as his body was still paralyzed, no matter how hard he tried to scream or stand up. Instead, he had to watch some kind of black hose coming out of its mouth and going into Dawn's. With a disgusting, gurgling sound, it made its way down her throat. Apparently, it was enough to wake her up as the eyes shot open. Unfortunately, those were the only working parts of her body as she couldn't move either.

The pleading look she gave him, the expression of absolute desperation and hopelessness, was heartbreaking for him. She was begging him for help and he could only watch those sparkling getting duller and duller until they closed with only a few tears escaping. Ash thought this was horrible it was still harmless compared to what was yet to come. That monster started pumping something through the hose into her body and as if that hose wasn't enough, countless little tentacles emerged from the side of its body, penetrating her skin to do the same. Wherever the liquid entered her body, the color of her skin turned sickly green and that part started to swell, soon giving her a disfigured look. At the same time, the creature was shrinking, making it look like it was pumping its own bowels into her.

Ash was truly helpless. There was nothing he could do but to watch the monster transform the love of his life into something disgusting or at least he thought so. As soon as the last bit was inside her, the swellings disappeared and the green color of her skin turned gray. Apart from that, she looked completely normal again until she opened her eyes, which glowed green for a moment. Ash's hopes of her being back to normal were cut short when she stood up, revealing her eyes , which looked just like that monster's eye, to him. She grabbed one of the candles, allowing him to see her pitch-black fingernails, which looked like they were made out of the same material as the creature's legs. Once she was standing in front of him, she flashed a smile and by now, he wasn't surprised to see the sharp teeth being made of that material as well. She put a finger on his lips as if she didn't know that he wasn't able to talk anyway.

"Don't worry, Ash." The voice was still Dawn's. "We'll be together again soon."

She let out a laugh that he would have never expected out of her mouth. In fact he didn't even believe she was capable of it. Apparently, it was his turn now, as the same kind of hose emerged from her mouth. With her fingernails, she gently parted his lips and opened his mouth, allowing the hose to slowly lower into it. With a quick movement, that caused infernal pain, it moved straight to his stomach. Just like before, thin tentacles penetrated his skin, spreading that liquid in his body, causing even more agony. He was surprised that he stayed conscious, let alone keep his eyes open during the procedure, which got worse every second. He could feel the corruption spread in his body as more and more liquid took effect.

Suddenly, there was a strange effect, which reminded him of a malfunctioning TV. Everything turned gray, his vision cracked slightly, and her actions slowed down until they came to a halt entirely. Ash would have believed that time had frozen if it hadn't been for his ability to still move his eyes. The pain, however, was replaced by a pleasant warmth, which he couldn't explain, just like the crack in Dawn's face. It soon turned out to be much more than that as it started spreading all over her and even the room. When it was all over his vision, it shattered like a mirror, leaving him in an empty, white space. This time, however, he didn't feel threatened by it at all, especially when the true Dawn appeared next to him. Like before, she placed a finger on his lips.

"It was just a bad dream." She turned towards an orb of light, that was approaching from the distance. "It's time to wake up and end it once and for all."

She gave him one last reassuring smile before he was blinded by the light and lost consciousness again or at least he thought so. Actually, he was regaining it as he woke up at the same time as Dawn, who had experienced the same nightmare. Light was coming from above, but the source was clearly visible this time. It was a pokémon, one he hadn't seen in years. Levitating far above them, a cresselia was looking at them, waiting for them to stand up.

"As long as I am here, nothing shall ruin the sleep of any creature on my mother's island. Reveal yourself!" It was the voice of a female in their head, which could only be Cresselia.

They stood up slowly, looking in awe at the legendary pokémon. They were sure that she wasn't the same cresselia they had met and saved so many years ago as this one was much smaller. She also mentioned her mother, making them think that she had been one of those eggs they had also saved in the process. Whatever the case, they were grateful for the end of this nightmare, but they still didn't know what caused them in the first place. Most of their pokémon were appearing one by one, drawn by the light Cresselia was emitting.

The psychic-type shot two pink light beams at the trainers. Since they had a feeling that these wouldn't hurt them, they didn't bother getting out of the way. The beams hit their chests, making them feel warm but not from the inside, as it was the case before. No, when Ash pulled out his aura stone from beneath the shirt, he noticed that was getting hotter and hotter until he couldn't hold it any longer. They dropped them as quickly possible and watched some kind of smoke leaving them. Suddenly, two shadowy figures shot out of the amulets with a terrifying scream, getting between Ash and Dawn, and Cresselia.

Although they looked like gengar, there was something strange about them. For one, they weren't smiling, which was highly unusual for those pokémon. The next question was how they'd been able to remain undetected the whole time as their lucarios were able to detect the aura of pokémon, even ghost-types without a problem. Finally, the reasons remained unknown. Of course, gengar were known to be mischievous, but the nightmares were worse, so they had to be malicious to create something like that. It was unlikely that wild pokémon would do that so they probably had been sent by an enemy. Right now, it mattered little as the ghost-types didn't look like they were going to surrender. Instead, they shot shadow balls at the trainers. Lucario rushed to their in order to protect them but it wasn't necessary as the other pokémon easily destroyed the balls.

"Why are you doing this?" Ash asked them. "We don't have to fight."

"Yes, we do!" They looked at Lucario, who had told them this.

"What?" Dawn was too surprised to notice the following shadow balls, which got blocked by the aura bubble, though.

"Destroy them! Those things aren't pokémon. They aren't even living beings. They have no aura!" he replied.

Of course, they knew that living beings without an aura were impossible and even though it would explain how they had managed to remain undetected this whole time, their real identity remained a mystery. All Ash and Dawn knew that these creatures had caused the worst nightmares they had ever suffered and now they were even attacking them without provocation so there was no real option but to fight back.

Cresselia was the first one to retaliate, though. She shot two energy blades at the gengar, who easily dodged them before hitting her with two shadow balls. They followed up with two shadow punches, which were strong enough to make her fall but Ash and Dawn weren't going to let them finish her off. Talonflame was the most obvious choice for intercepting them because he was already close to the scene.

"Stop them with flare blitz!" The flying-type smashed his body into one of them, causing them both to ignore Cresselia and go for him instead.

"Dark spear!" It wasn't a combination she would use in a normal battle but these things seemed strange enough for her to try. Lucario created a bone rush staff with one pointy end and imbued it with a dark pulse, giving it a shadowy aura. Then he threw it at the gengar that hadn't been hit by Talonflame. Although it noticed it in time, it was unable to move out of the way because Alakazam was controlling it with psychc. The spear pierced its body, but to Dawn's surprise, it continued o fight. Even with the spear still stuck in its body, it showed no sign of being in pain, only the slower movement gave away the damage done to it.

"Take it out with aerial ace!" Talonflame, Swellow, Noctowl, and Staraptor attacked at the same time from different directions, making it impossible for the other gengar to evade the moves. Due to the sheer number of hits, the damage was huge but once again, the creature didn't show any signs of being affected. Ash was already preparing the next attack, when it suddenly burst into green flames with a scream, turning to ashes, which got carried away by the wind. They weren't sure about it, but they thought that they could hear a sigh of relief one moment later. Seeing that one of the gengar was defeated, they ceased their attacks on the other one for now. Whatever it was, they wouldn't find out by destroying it so they tried to reason with it instead.

"Your ally is gone and you're as good as defeated." Dawn pointed at the spear in its body. "Surrender now and we won't destroy you."

The gengar just grinned before preparing another shadow ball. Ash and Dawn got ready for the attack, but much to their shock, it attacked itself. Just like the other one, it vanished in a green flame, leaving perplexed trainers and pokémon.

"Why? It destroyed itself to prevent getting captured? What was this thing?" Dawn asked, upset about this turn of events. "Anyway, we better have a look at Cresselia."

The psychic-type was lying on the ground a bit farther away but at least her condition wasn't critical as, with a bit of care, she would be back to normal soon. Ash pulled a potion out of his bag and used it to heal her. She reacted by turning around and nudging him with her head affectionately.

"I thought I would deal with this quickly and emerge as a shining hero but they crushed me. How embarrassing," she told them telepathically.

"Don't worry about it, those things were pretty strong," Ash said, waving it off. "Your mother lives on this island?"

"Yes, she's much more powerful than I am. Same goes for my sisters. I'm staying here because I'm the youngest and smallest. It's safe as long as I don't leave my hiding spot." She had a closer look at the trainers. "You ... your names don't happen to be Dawn and Ash?"

"Yes, we know your mother," Dawn replied. "So you were one of those eggs."

"You saved her and therefore also my sisters and me a few years ago. Mother told me about you and your heroic deeds. I've always wanted to meet you one day, I even learned telepathy just for this occasion." She tilted her head. "She doesn't really trust humans, especially after her capture back then so she doesn't want me to talk them but I'm sure she'll make an exception with you." With her health being back to normal, she started levitating again. "By the way, what are you doing here? And what kind of gengar were those? Certainly not normal ones."

"I only know that they have caused a lot of trouble with nightmares and other tricks and that's the reason we are here. A lunar wing was our original goal but I guess this is better," Ash replied with a grin.

Dawn went to the aura stones, which were still lying on the ground, picked them up and returned to the others.

"So they were in there all along. Although I don't know how they got in there, it explains quite a bit. And now that annoying coldness is also gone." It was well-known that gengar absorbed the warmth around them so the amulets hadn't been malfunctioning after all.

"This is all thanks to you," Ash told Cresslia. "It wouldn't have been possible without you."

"It's nothing compared to what you've done for me," she answered, blushing lightly. "So where are we going now?"

"We?" Ash and Dawn exclaimed at the same time before Ash continued. "You want to come with us? Isn't this your home?"

"You seem awesome so I'd rather be with you. Please let me join you," she begged. Then she even tried to look for empty pokéballs in Ash's backpack.

Ash, Dawn, and their pokémon just looked at each other for a while, making Cresselia worry slightly. A short discussion followed before Ash finally talked to her.

"We'll gladly accept you but there's one thing we must know. Do you want to join Dawn or me as a partner?" he asked.

"In other words, do you prefer regular or contest battles?" Dawn clarified.

Cresselia gazed at the sky, lost in thoughts. For a few minutes, they were waiting for her reply but they could also understand that she needed time or this important decision. After all, it would affect her near future tremendously so a rash decision had to be avoided. Of course, she wouldn't be the only one affected by this, one of the trainers would get another pokémon, who, although she was still young and weak, would become a worthy addition to their teams. They were already sure that she had a lot of potential, the question was who would get to unleash it.

Finally, she turned back towards them with a meaningful look. It was time for the answer that would change all of their lives.

"What's a contest battle?" she asked.

Behind them, someone fell on the ground. It was Piplup who had returned with Milotic unnoticed in the meantime but he still knew what was going on. The others resisted the urge to do the same and just tried to answer the question.

"Well, it's a lot like a regular battle but with an alternative way of winning. You can impress judges with beautiful, cuter, powerful or even terrifying combinations and moves in order to lower the opponent's score," Dawn explained.

"I'm sure you'd make a great contest pokémon even with a normal battle style," Ash added with a sly grin.

"That sounds awesome, I want to be one," Cresselia immediately replied.

Dawn sighed as she doubted that the pokémon had put a lot of thoughts in this. But then again, she was pretty much still a child and in this case, they could still revert the decision later. Apart from that, she was really excited as cresselia were considered among the most beautiful pokémon and she especially liked the style. Besides, it was always interesting training and bringing up a young pokémon, a joy that had been rekindled by Shaymin recently.

"I want to battle you first, though. If you can defeat me, you will become my trainer." The way her eyes shifted from Ash to Dawn and back again told them that she had no idea who was going to be her trainer. Moreover, she obviously didn't know that their pokémon were way too strong for her but Dawn wasn't going to let her down.

"Alright, Lucario, let's do this." Ash got out of the way, allowing Lucario to position himself between Dawn and Cresselia. The pokémon got ready for battle. "Please don't be too rough," Dawn whispered before shouting the first and final command. "Use dark pulse!"

The move easily overpowered the psycho cut Cresselia used and defeated her with one hit. Of course, she had taken a lot of damage against the gengar but it still showed that she was still nowhere near the level of Ash's and Dawn's pokémon, including Shaymin. Dawn threw a pokéball at Cresslia, who was caught after a short struggle. She didn't get to celebrate her catch properly as the pokéball was transferred to the Oak lab before she was able to get her hands on it.

"The professor will be delighted to see your new pokémon," Ash said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I think this calls for a celebration. The legendary count is finally even, took you quite a long time."

Dawm wasn't really listening, she was already picturing herself on the stage with Cresselia. Her rivals would be so jealous, at least once the psychic-type had received some hard training. The possible individual move were especially thrilling as she might finally be able to use a few ideas she had for an attrition fighter, a style that fit Cresselia perfectly due to her powerful defenses. When Ash cleared his throat, she finally noticed him. Slightly embarrassed, she wanted to ask him to repeat his words but didn't need to as he already knew what she was about to say.

"I said the legendary count is even. You want more of them?" he asked with a grin.

"I won't actively search for them if that's what you mean. And you better don't turn this into a competition," she warned him. "Besides, you know you wouldn't win."

"Neither would you. But no, it was just a remark," he assured her. "By the way, she has quite an interesting personality."

"True. I didn't expect that from a cresselia but I guess she will grow up eventually. At least I hope so." She shrugged. "For now, there is another important matter."

He nodded, understanding what she meant. Together, they approached Alakazam, who didn't look too excited about what was about to happen.

"Now -" Ash's eyes narrowed. "- we would like a few answers."

With her hands behind her back, Alakazam was awaiting the first questions. Much to her relief, Ash and Dawn didn't look angry, unlike a few of their pokémon, but curious and bit disappointed. She hoped that they would see her point after the conversation and maybe reward her since her plan had obviously worked and gotten rid of their problem. In fact, she couldn't understand how someone could be mad, a few minutes of agony for getting rid of the problem permanently was a good deal in her mind.

"You knew she was here, didn't you? Everything about this was part of your plan," Dawn said.

"You didn't want to find a lunar wing, you just intended to use us as a bait," Ash added. "You probably put us to sleep in order for it to work."

Gallade stepped forward when he heard this. As much as he regretted his involvement, he wasn't going to let Alakazam pay for his actions.

"I'm afraid while it was her plan, that was my doing," he admitted. "I didn't think it would be so bad but that's no excuse. I'm not proud of my actions."

"I see. But now I'd like to hear the full story from her," Ash replied.

"It's remarkably simple. My friend Lucario here-" She pointed towards the aura pokémon. "- assured me that a legendary pokémon was hiding on this island. Given the history of the island, the option of any legendary pokémon but a cresselia living here was highly unlikely as she would never allow it. Your story about the rescue and the eggs suggested that it was indeed one of her daughters, which turned out to be correct in the end. Anyway, being the counterpart of Darkrai, cresselia are experts on everything concerning dreams. Their knowledge on that topic easily surpasses mine, I might add. It was only logical that they would also be adept at finding sources of nightmares, even the young ones. Since we obviously weren't capable of that, I arranged another search to lure her out of hiding."

"Next time you better tell us," Dawn remarked but the psychic-type shook her head.

"I'm afraid that would have ruined the whole plan. You see, I needed the culprits to feel safe and as they were able to manipulate your dreams, they could have also read your thoughts. Of course, if they had known that it was a trap, they would've never even considered taking action on this island." She pointed at Gallade this time. "He was the only one I told about my plan and even though he was skeptical, he did his job without flaw. I didn't inform the others as the chance of them telling you, thus ruining the plan, was too high. Gallade used a weak hypnosis move to make you sleepy. After that, it was only a matter of time until these gengar creatures would make their final mistake."

"In that case, you might have as well made Dawn's gengar use nightmare on us, it also would have lured Cresselia out," Ash pointed out.

"Didn't you listen?" Lucario asked him with a frown. "Apart from luring out Cresselia, she also had to make sure that our new friend would find the source so they had to do it."

"But why were you so sure that Cresselia would reveal herself? What if she had just stayed hidden?" Dawn asked.

Somehow, Alakazam wasn't too surprised about this question. After all, she couldn't expect her amount of knowledge and insight from mere humans.

"It's more than obvious that your knowledge of her is limited or you would know that ignoring someone suffering from unnatural nightmares goes against her very instincts. Indeed, she had little choice in this matter." Alakazam chuckled slightly. "I was more worried about her being able to find the culprits, but my assumptions were correct and my plan worked without flaw."

With the results backing her position, Alakazam was confident that Ash and Dawn wouldn't punish her. Lucario, on the other hand, was hoping for drastic measures despite having to acknowledge that it had turned out great. Ash and Dawn still weren't entirely sure how to react as the enthusiasm about the end of their problem was still there, not to mention Dawn's new pokémon. They were discussing the matter for a few minutes, then they made their decision.

"Although you used us, your intentions were good and you achieved something nobody else was capable of," Ash started.

"Therefore, we want you to do only one thing." Dawn put one of the aura stones around Alakazam's neck. "Teleport to Snowpoint City or somewhere else, just far away. We want to see whether the warmth effect works again."

At first, she was a bit surprised about the unusual request but nodded and did as she was told. As soon as she was gone, the remaining, blue aura stone started glowing. This time, however, Dawn could also feel a gentle warmth, just as expected. Without a word, she put it in Ash's hand and closed the palm, letting him feel it as well.

"This makes them even better. I guess it was the gengar's fault." He shook his head. "At least that's over even though we still have no idea."

"More of them might appear in the future." Dawn's expression was gloomy, yet also somewhat confident. "Now that we have Cresselia, they have to think of something else."

"No matter, what they throw at us, they will never succeed, right?" He held an arm up high and Dawn wasn't the one to disappoint him.

"Never!" She gave him a high five. "As long as we're together, there's nothing that can break us."

Although they sounded confident, there were still doubts. This new enemy was impossible to detect, unless they caused nightmares and even then they needed Cresselia to find them. If this wasn't the case, Ash and Dawn only had the missing aura as a clue, something that was difficult to use. Unfortunately, those creatures were likely to be able to cause trouble in different ways so every unexplainable event could be regarded as their doing. This could easily lead to paranoia and a frightful atmosphere similar to the first days of the Wallace Cup. This was something that had to be avoided at all costs but they weren't sure how. On the other hand, maybe those two were the only ones of their kind.

Alakazam returned soon after and as a final task, she had to teleport everyone back to the Oak lab, where they continued their training without hesitation. Of course, the other pokémon got to know about the event at Fullmoon Island, including Alakazam's plan. Not everyone was as forgiving as the trainers, some even claimed that the psychic-type only did it because she didn't want to stay up during the night anymore. She preferred not to answer those questions, only making them more suspicious that way. At least, she could always come to Dawn if they started misbehaving towards her and the coordinator would put an end to it. It wouldn't be the first time she broke up a fight as it was common occurrence whenever Typhlosion and Piplup were training together.

They could only hope that the matter wouldn't put too much of a strain on the training, which was very important to all of them, now that the battles against the Elite Four were approaching quickly. Only two and a half months were left until Ash's try, then one more until Dawn's attempt. Compared to that, this year's Wallace Cup seemed almost insignificant. Dawn's birthday was also in five weeks but they weren't planning anything, not only because Ash's had already been pretty big, but also because of financial reasons. In fact, they didn't even want to invite anyone as they thought that too much distraction wasn't good in this situation and a day just with the two of them also had its charms. First, they had a few weeks without any special events, though.

* * *

Thomas was rushing through the security checks. He had to get to his boss as quickly as possible as he had information of uttermost importance. In fact, it was so vital that it had to be brought to him personally as nobody else was supposed to hear it. When he entered the office, Max looked up and sighed.

"Good thing you're here," he muttered before returning to the files on his desk. "A bit faster than expected. I have a mission for you."

"You called for me? Nobody told me." Max looked up again, now wondering why Thomas was here if not for the mission. "Our men found something important near Lavender Town, the discarded uniform of a male Storm Raider grunt. Apparently, it has been thrown away only hours ago."

"There's no doubt about that?" Max inquired.

"No doubt," he confirmed. "It's also certain that the uniform is real."

"I see. Then either that was a grunt who hadn't partaken in their last operation or he had fled. In any case, we need him and we need him alive. Nobody else knows about this, right?" Max asked.

"Only the men who found the uniform and did the tests. I was with them and immediately returned her as soon as we were certain," Thomas replied. "Shall I start the search?"

"No." Max stood up, taking a few papers and handing them to his underling. "I'll take care of it personally. You have something else to do. Looker reported that Team Plasma has gone into hiding after stealing pokémon from the dragon-gym in Unova. It's impossible to say what those maniacs are planning but there's one thing we know now. In an intercepted message, we discovered the name of their leader. It's Sorlan."

"Sorlan?" Thomas had heard that name before. "It can't possibly be Nathan Sorlan, I've met him personally at the Wallace Cup and he didn't make that kind of impression."

"No, it's not Nathan, it's his little brother, Elijah. Few people know him and even our knowledge on him is limited so I want you to find out more by talking to Nathan about this matter." He pointed at the papers. "Read those if you need more information. And don't tell him that his brother is the leader unless you really have to."

"Yes, sir." He saluted before rushing off again with his new mission.

Max also got ready for real work. Finding this grunt was essential as they needed the information he could provide but for that, he needed to be alive. If Shira's master really existed, he was likely to find out about this eventually and then he would try to have the grunt silenced forever. At least now the international police had a clue.

* * *

Getting to the top level of the Sorlan Corporations building was fast and easy compared to the headquarters of the international police. Thomas entered the president's office without much trouble ad found Nathan sitting casually in his chair. Upon noticing his visitor, he stood up to shake hands.

"Good to see you again. It's a shame Max didn't want to come personally but I'm still happy to welcome you. Please, have a seat." He pointed at a chair in front of his desk and both of them sat down. "Now, what is it you wish to discuss?"

"It's about your brother, Elijah," Thomas, trying not to reveal everything at once and watch Nathan's reaction first.

"What about him?" He raised an eyebrow. "What did he do this time?"

"Sounds like you had trouble with him in the past," Thomas remarked.

Nathan nodded vigorously before sighing. It was clear that their relationship wasn't the best.

"You can't imagine. He's always been one to get manipulated easily by others since he lacks confidence. But who can blame him for that?" He shrugged. "The only one who ever showed faith with him was mother but when she died, there was nobody left. And father was much less forgiving."

"They didn't like each other?" Thomas inquired.

"Nobody really liked Elijah. I don't believe there's anything about him that could make anyone respect him. And father would often humiliate him in front of others, always making him fall short. Of course, he wasn't much better to me, but at least he acknowledged my talents. After all, he needed someone to inherit the family business and Elijah obviously wasn't a good choice." He could hear some bitterness in the voice. "Come to think of it, he didn't really trust humans after mother's death. Only in the presence of his pokémon did he feel truly comfortable. Oh yes, he loved them more than his family."

"And what is Elijah doing right now?" He raised an eyebrow.

"He inherited a lot of money and simply disappeared. I'd guess he's wasting it on whores and drinks. Or maybe something worse since you're here."He leaned forward a little. "You know what he's doing, don't you?"

"Yes, we do." It was time to reveal part of their knowledge. "He joined the rebuilt Team Plasma recently."

It was impossible to tell what Nathan was thinking. He stood up and slowly walked towards a wind with his hands behind his back. For a while, he was just staring at the horizon.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised," he finally spoke up. "With his lack of confidence, his need for a goal and recognition, he was bound to end up in a cult."

"It's not a cult, it's a dangerous criminal organization," Thomas corrected him.

"Call it what you want, it doesn't make a difference. They probably only accepted him because of money, but it's enough to cause quite a bit of trouble" He returned to his seat. "What do you wish to know about him?"

"So you haven't contacted him lately?" Thomas was taking notes all the time. He was just so inconspicuous that Nathan didn't seem to notice.

"As I said, he disappeared after father's death and I haven't heard from him ever since that fateful moment. I'm afraid I can't help you a lot this time. As far as I know, he could be anywhere," he apologized.

"No, you've already helped us quite a lot. This information should prove useful in our search for him. If you don't mind we'll contact you again, should we need more answers." He stood up but then he remembered something else. "I almost forgot, given his current status I can't guarantee that he'll survive if he puts up resistance."

"Do as you wish. We've never been close and our father would insist on you killing him for ruining the family's name even though barely anyone knows about his actions." Nathan turned towards the window again. "I wonder, if mother hadn't died so early, maybe he would've turned into someone decent. Well, who knows?"

"Impossible to say. For now, we'll have to find him. Thank you for your cooperation." They shook and went to the exit of the office.

"Not a problem. Should you have other questions, feel free to visit me again." Nathan opened the door for his visitor. "And please send Mr. Wright my regards."

Thomas left, not knowing much more than before. He wouldn't admit it but there was little information he could actually use so all in all the trip was a disappointment. However, there was nobody else they could ask as Nathan was Elijah's only living relative and there weren't any friends the international police or anyone else knew. It was also unknown how or why Elijah had rebuilt this old organization although Nathan's words implied a few things. Since he was always looking for recognition and a purpose, it was likely that Elijah did it for his own self-esteem. It was also possible that he was suffering from delusions and actually believed Team Plasma's ideas.

Whatever the case, he needed to be stopped, but for that, he had to be found first. So far, he was most likely to have reactivated one of Team Plasma's old bases, though those were well hidden and the international police suspected many of them to have never been found after the defeat years ago. Unfortunately, Looker's team didn't have the manpower for a thorough search and even if they did, the entire region had been searched at some point without success.

Another issue was that the organization was showing barely any activity right now, it was like they were hiding after the raid on the gym. Just to be on the safe side, the international police was keeping an eye on the pokémon black market. A bunch of powerful dragon-type wouldn't go unnoticed and if they were smart, they would wait a while before offering them. On the other hand, maybe Team Plasma was actually trying to liberate them, but then the pokémon were likely to return to the gym unless they were somehow brainwashed. It was a gruesome thought, yet also an option they couldn't simply ignore.

Thomas returned to his boss, who sent the new information to Looker. For Thomas, he had a new assignment, something involving suspicious smuggler activities. These were important because rare and valuable materials were transported in unusually large quantities. A few of them were essential for the production of the SCO-2 poison but the rest didn't make any sense so they weren't completely sure whether this was really dangerous. Only further investigation would reveal this.

This proved just as hard as expected, though, and Iris was getting impatient because she suspected the international police weren't telling her everything they knew. Unhappy with the turn of events, she tried to investigate with Cilan's help, but without knowing where to start, their efforts were futile. No matter how often others told her to be patient, she didn't want to wait as her pokémon were at stake here. Without the smallest clue, every effort was doomed from the start, though, so even with more help, she wouldn't stand a chance. Indeed, there was nothing she could do but wait and it broke her heart.

Instead of getting lazy after her victory, May competed in even more contests with more energy than ever, getting her missing ribbons in record time. In fact, she was so fast that she now had to wait for a while until the beginning of the next grand festival, which happened to be in three months. It gave her a lot of time to travel through Kanto even longer without having to push herself because of contests. For Drew, it was also fortunate as it gave him plenty of opportunity to make up for his mistakes by inviting her to romantic locations all over the region. Apart from that, he was already to training for the next Wallace Cup, determined to finally win the Ocean Ribbon.

Serena traveled to Johto instead of completing her journey through Kanto. The reasons remained a secret although it was speculated that she didn't want to battle May at the grand festival as that would mean certain defeat. On the other, maybe she simply didn't want to meet Drew again, as things between them were worse than ever so it was probably for the best. He made jokes about her being afraid of facing May and retreating to a region that was known for having the easiest contests apart from Unova. Of course, he tended to forget that his first victory at a grand festival was in Johto, but he had other ribbon cups to prove his prowess.

The others returned to their daily routine, much like Ash and Dawn. Without having to worry about nightmares, strange voices, or visions, the next weeks felt much better than the previous ones. She was especially enthusiastic because training young pokémon gave her a feeling she had been missing for a long time. Shaymin was making good progress and despite a rough start, Cresselia's outgoing and curious nature allowed her to make friends quickly, especially with Latios. Those two were often seen together but as far as the others knew, there were no romantic feelings involved, they were simply getting along well. With his help, she became a bit more patient and sensible although she was still far from being a normal cresselia. As far as training was concerned, the progress was lackluster, though. It was clear that she couldn't be used against the Elite Four so Dawn focused on the others for now.

By now, they could do little more than staying on this level so creating new moves and strategies seemed like the more sensible approach. Pikachu's attempt to learn extremespeed simply didn't work so Ash tried something else by creating something entirely new for him or altering the volt charge. They could only hope that they'd be done by the end of their preparations. As one of Ash's oldest and most trusted pokémon, Charizard was chosen to be his first pokémon to receive a second individual move. His first one was an improved seismic toss, which enveloped the target in flames during the flight and created a massive explosion on impact, thus giving it the name meteor toss. Since this was a powerful attack move, Ash thought about something defensive, something to regenerate his health during the battle so that there was no need for roost and maybe to overcome his weakness to water. First tests were promising but it would take a while until it was ready.

Dawn was already a bit closer in that regard simply because she had less pokémon and could focus on a few. Although Espeon's individual move, aura of light, was an extremely versatile move, increasing her defense quite a bit, and also granting regeneration, speed boost, and damage reflection, though those were pretty weak compared to the first effect. The visual effect was exactly how it sounded, and as a bonus, the effects were increased by sunny day, although Espeon couldn't use that move.

The problem was that Espeon's type coverage was poor since she was only able to use psychic-, normal-, ghost-, and grass-type moves and the last two consisted of only one move each. Therefore, Dawn regretted not having created the first individual move to compensate for that. After a lot of work, the second one was nearing completion. Her first thought had been a chaos move but considered the loss of base power too much so she tried to find an alternative. The new searing light move shot homing orbs of light, which, unlike the real chaos moves, could only take three types, depending on the greatest weakness, but always hitting with the power of a psybeam move. Psychic, fire, and fairy were those three types and with this move, she would finally be able to deal with steel-types effectively. At least that was the plan. So far the base power was still lacking and the fire-type component wasn't working just yet but, she was positive that it would be working soon.

Dawn's birthday was uneventful, at least compared to Ash's. Since they didn't have the money for anything fancy and also no patience for a party, they just spent the day together. It started with Ash making breakfast or rather Brock having made it for him and the trainer just taking it back home via teleport. Some people claimed that teleporting destroyed the flavor of any meal, but they didn't notice a difference, it was delicious as ever. The second part of the day included playing with their pokémon and answering a lot of phone calls. Although Dawn appreciated them, the constant interruptions were getting annoying quickly. The evening was spent in their special cave, where they met the lapras again. This time, it was more relaxed around them and tolerated their presence until the sun set. Then it was time to return and they even decided to have a closer look at the book Lyra had given to Ash.

Their friends knew that they needed to focus on the training so they didn't distract them. Only Marcus disturbed them on a regular basis by challenging Ash again and again. Even though he'd improved a bit since the fight against the Storm Raiders, he was still not too challenging. Nevertheless, Ash never backed down as he believed it to be a nice change from time to time. Cat and Eileen also visited them, often apologizing for their brother's behavior. These were basically Ash's and Dawn's only real opportunities for interaction with other humans apart from their family, but they didn't mind at this point.

Fortunately, the gengar creatures didn't reappear so they assumed that the two they had been the only ones. Maybe it was foolish to think that they were safe now but it was a thought they needed after everything. It allowed them to let it all behind and finally find some peace.

* * *

During these weeks, Divine decided to investigate a matter brought up by his new pets. Under the supervision of Victoria, whom he considered his most loyal lackey, he allowed one of his Okcha to possess him, albeit only for a short time. According to them, this would open his mind for their kind, at least under special circumstances. Then he went to sleep, hoping something special would contact him.

Sure enough, he seemingly woke up in pure darkness with an overwhelming, malevolent presence nearby. It spoke in different voices, though they were so perfectly synchronized that it sounded like only one.

"Not wasting any time, are we? As soon as they told you about me, you wanted to meet me. How very risky. And brave. It won't help you." It laughed loudly- "Now, what is your purpose here? What is so important to you that you dare letting me into your world?"

"Oh, nothing important. I just wanted to get to know you," he said casually, hands in his pockets.

"Oh, is that all? I guess it's only fair since I already know everything about you." The darkness closed in on him. "But then again, you use my kind as slaves. What makes you think I would share any information with the likes of you?"

"Because I'm curious?" It was ridiculous how little respect he showed to menacing creature around him. Apparently, it already had enough.

"Then listen to me, tiny, insignificant creature. You are a part of this world I despise. An inconsequential part. Fleeting. Mortal. To you, I am like a god. You would be well-advised to show me proper respect." Dark tentacles emerged from the darkness, entangling Divine's feet. "You should leave now."

"Leave? Aren't you the one who approached me?" He walked forward, causing the tentacles to simply disperse like smoke. Walking on the empty space casually, he decided to provoke a little further. "Besides, tell me one, only one good reason why I should be afraid of you. The way I see it, you're the one stuck in an empty plane behind great dimensional barriers. But ... it doesn't have to stay that way."

Judging from the sudden silence, his words had quite the impact on the creature. The darkness suddenly seemed far less threatening, and the feeling of hostility was gone. Instead, there was now a curiousness mixed with suspicion.

"Are you finally listening? Good." Divine decided to get straight to the point. "I know you're gathering power and I could hasten the process."

"Why would you do that?" The sound of its voice made it rather clear that it didn't believe him.

"If I can't get my world, then there's no need keeping this one. It might as well just die," he replied in an aggressive manner. "The Okcha told me about your history. Tragic, so very, very tragic. Wouldn't it be convenient if you were given a chance to have your vengeance?"

"I don't believe one word until I see actions." The darkness started to withdraw, which was the signal that the conversation was over.

"You'll know what to do when the time comes. Then you will serve me. One way or another." Divine started laughing and didn't even stop when the darkness was long gone.

Although the meeting might have seemed pointless to others, he was content with the result, having delivered his message. Now he only had to find a way to make everything happen. The old plans were already gone for good, and everything had to be reconsidered, simply because of this creature alone. The following days were going to be long.


	48. A Warning

**A bit more information on the enemies on this one, though it's only a sliver and there will be much more later.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 48 A Warning

Walking through the corridors of the new base wasn't giving Victoria a good feeling. With every step, a trap could end her life or she might get lost in this huge underground maze. She wouldn't be the first one. This kind of accidents, as they were called, had happened before to several hapless guards.

The size of this underground base was gigantic, to say the least, and it wasn't even finished yet. After several months of construction it already surpassed all the others and now, with those new working slaves Divine was calling Okcha, it was growing rapidly. With her silver ring, she could even control some of them as long as her orders didn't conflict with Divine's but apart from that, she didn't know anything about them. Above the ground, there was a diamond mine, which hid the base by keeping unwanted visitors out as the entrance was in an abandoned tunnel, which happened to be inhabited by dangerous 'wild' pokémon and also looked like a dead end due to illusions made by a new device. Of course, the transport of materials needed for the construction would have made the police suspicious so they got taken there via modern stealth submarines and an underwater cave, whose entrance looked like a wall because of another illusion.

The defenses consisted of everything that was technically possible. Both thick walls of darksteel and several teleport blockers prevented anyone from teleporting inside but as Divine knew already, those weren't enough to stop everyone so he also had machines, which created walls of energy called aura barriers. Although ghost-types could pass through those, they were immune to dark-type moves, thus eliminating one special weakness. However, since the barriers required life force to operate, they usually weren't up permanently. Instead, lucario were trying to sense intruders, only activating them if necessary. Needless to say, the defenses also included countless traps, sentry guns, and guards, who were often acting strange lately. If Victoria didn't know better, she would say that they were zombies. Whatever the case, they were willing to give their lives for the base and their master, especially a new elite unit called the Inner Guardians.

The architecture itself was also an enemy of every intruder. It was Divine's wish that the base itself was like an organism, changing permanently to make it unpredictable. An efficient system of doors that looked like walls served this purpose by opening and closing randomly every hour. This was pretty much the nightmare of every patrol as they never knew which door was open so they had to memorize the maps as the boss didn't allow them to carry any or intruders might actually find something to guide them in this maze. They could only imagine how much more difficult it would be once the base was finished.

Of course, the doors could also be opened and closed manually, allowing the boss to play cruel games with intruders and guards alike and as far as she knew, he had already abused that power a few times. Victoria wasn't one to judge, though. In her mind, he was like a saint and it was his right to punish unruly servants. To make matters worse for those, most of the light sources weren't finished just yet, making the long steel corridors dark and unwelcoming. The rooms weren't much better in that regard, even the living quarters, with Divine's personal quarters being the only exception. That was pure speculation on her part as nobody knew what was going on down there, only Okcha slaves were allowed to be there.

She was invited to a meeting with her boss and the other chosen. Due to her inability to find and eliminate the Storm Raider survivor, she was fearing punishment for her failure. On the other hand, there would be no need for the others to be present in this case so there was hope that he wouldn't do that.

The meeting room was just as dark as the others with only a large table at the center and five chairs around it. Two of them were already taken by Wraith and Seth. Hoping that Boris wouldn't take the seat next to her, she took the one next to Wraith, who was still the most tolerable of the bunch. Boris arrived a few minutes later and, much to her disdain, sat down next to her. At least the following silence was interrupted by Divine arriving only moments later, taking the last chair and moving it so that he was facing all of his underlings. The first matter was exactly what Victoria feared the most.

"It's come to my attention that you haven't been able to take care of our little problem, Viccy. That is most ...unfortunate. But maybe it was simply not the right mission for you. Wraith will take care of it instead and you receive a task more fit for your talents." She was both relieved and worried, wondering what this new task might be. "All of you will play a big part in this. If you do your job well, you will be rewarded. If not, well, you can probably guess what will await you. This is of uttermost importance so I expect everyone to do their best."

"And what exactly are we going to do?" Boris asked, sounding bored. "There hasn't been an unimportant mission for quite a while."

"I'm pretty sure you'll love this one. It involves destruction, panic, and even more destruction. But allow me tell you a bit more about the situation." He cleared his throat. "The scientists have discovered a way to make the Okcha last way longer, but for that, we need purer materials. As vicious and traitorous those fools from Team Rocket were, they got the job done, unlike those new guys. Their very first larger shipment was intercepted by the international police and has been taken to Saffron City for examination. Although I doubt they know what we need it for, getting it back is an urgent matter. Unfortunately, the building, where it is kept, is heavily fortified and well-guarded."

"So we are to break the defenses and get the shipment out of there?" Seth guessed. He wasn't too keen on this much violence.

"No, the Inner Guardians will do that. For you, I have another task. You will create a diversion by attacking the cities of Kanto and the Okcha will help you. Be creative. The more chaos your create, the more men they will send, and thus the less resistance the guardians will have to break," he told them.

Boris was delighted and already picturing everything in his head. He had always wanted to set fire to a whole city and this was his opportunity. The others were less enthusiastic, especially Seth, but they didn't complain. However, all of them felt that there was something else he wanted them to do.

"I've heard that our two friends got rid of their little guardian angels." They immediately knew who was meant by that. "It is time to intensify our efforts. It is time for them to know what it feels like to lose somebody close to them forever. I already have a plan, which involves this."

Divine presented a green pokéball, which looked no different from the others but there was no doubt that it contained something important. He handed it to Seth, who immediately gave him a questioning look.

"This contains one of our strongest Okcha, a result of Wraith's work. It already has its orders, you just need to give it to one of their friends and convince him to use it in a battle against them. And after that ..." He laughed. "Well, I'll tell you later. I can assure it'll be a lot of fun. Until then, your new toys should be ready. Forget about your current orders for now and think of ways to keep the international police busy during the attack. We have a lot of preparations to make."

With the exception of Boris, they saluted half-heartedly and attempted to leave when Divine spoke up again.

"Wraith, you stay here." She neither sat down nor turned to him but just waited for the others to leave. "Unlike the others, you won't abandon your mission for now. Finding the fugitive isn't as important as before since we're going to reveal ourselves during the attack anyway but if he was to be caught by the international police before that, they might strengthen their defenses, thus making it more difficult for us. I'm sure you understand this in not in our interest."

"Yes, sir," she replied with her usual, calm voice.

"Furthermore, your inability to find the pokémon I needed is forgiven. It turned out that I've been overestimating the powers I want to wield. We don't need legendary pokémon for this, a few more common ones are enough to unlock the power of light and darkness and you -" He pointed her. "- will receive the honor of wielding one of them. But back to the fugitive, whatever you do, don't let your target fall into the hands of the international police. Our attack must succeed at all costs, our very future depends on it."

"I understand." She showed no emotions or sign of real understanding whatsoever but he knew he could rely on her.

"Good. Tell Victoria I want to talk to her again. Knowing her, she can't have gotten very far," he added.

As soon as she was outside, she noticed that he was right. The woman was leaning against a wall and from the looks of it, she was deep in thoughts. Without a doubt, the news would give her even more to think and worry about, maybe she would even panic. It didn't really matter for Wraith, she was just the messenger in this case and Victoria's fate was irrelevant to her. Just as expected, the message was a shock to her, causing her eyes to widen and her body to shake no matter how much she tried to look strong. Without answering, she slowly walked to the entrance and opened the door but the room behind it was empty for some reason. If it hadn't been Wraith who had told her about this, she would have thought that this was just a cruel joke. That girl, however, never made jokes, not even tiny ones.

When she entered the room, the lights went out immediately and two hands grabbed her shoulder from behind. Instead of resisting, she froze in fear and just awaited the end, which didn't come. Only when she heard Divine's laughter from behind, she turned around to see him barely able to control himself.

"You ... you really need to relax a bit, woman," he said between the laughter. "You thought I was going to kill you? For your failure? Don't be ridiculous, you still have a part to play in my grand scheme."

At first, she was a bit relieved but then the fear returned even stronger than before. He said that she still had a part to play but once it was done, there would be no reason for him to keep her around. It was too much for her and she would've fainted if it wasn't for him putting his hands on her shoulder, this time reassuringly.

"Let me erase your doubts." He gently took her left hand and lifted it so that it was directly in front of her face. "What do you see?"

"Uh, fingers? And that ring," she replied nervously.

"Yes, that ring. Isn't it pretty? Made of silver with a sapphire in the center. And it even has an inscription." His finger ran over the strange letters. "Do you know the meaning?"

She shook her head. Actually, she hadn't even thought about it so far but now her curiosity was back and she was eager to hear about it.

"The ring was forged a few thousand years ago by an ancient, but short-lived empire called Abylassagonar. There are six of the original twelve left and they're in my possession. I don't know how they accomplished it, but everyone wearing one of them has a certain power over the Okcha. Don't you think that since you have one of them, I put a great deal of trust into you?" he asked.

For once, she was completely without fear. The fact, that he had entrusted her with such an ancient and powerful relic was more than enough for her to regain her confidence.

"I'm not going to disappoint you. It's a great honor serving you." She saluted, still shaking a bit but her voice was strong.

Backing down or failing wasn't an option. This was by far the greatest gift she had ever received and she was going to repay his kindness with even greater loyalty.

"The rings I have once belonged to the priests, the spiritual leaders of the Abylassagonarians. The inscriptions are their greatest ideals, attributes, and goals." He pointed at the markings on her ring. "This word is revalossek, which can be translated to devotion. Funny guys, these Abylassagonarians, so fond of long names. Even Okcha is just short for Okcharillit, which means outcast. For some reason, they didn't think the Okcha were worthy of a long name. But I digress, you will have the opportunity to prove worthy of this gift soon enough. Now go and prepare."

"Yes, sir!" she replied with a lot of enthusiasm and left the office.

Divine kneeled to pet the invisible absol a bit. Ensuring Victoria's loyalty was so easy but sooner or later she would have to make room for someone more competent. Sure, she was entertaining but the more important her tasks became the more her lack of self-confidence outweighed it, turning her into a risk for his plans, especially when they changed again and she couldn't keep up. Ash and Dawn would be great replacements for her and Shira in his mind. They were confident, resourceful, and powerful trainers. Most importantly, unlike many others, they were also able to adapt quickly to new and unexpected situations by trusting their instincts. Getting them to join proved more difficult than expected although that also wasn't too bad, he liked challenges. And even if they didn't join, they could still serve him in other ways.

After he returned to his personal quarters, Divine opened a passage, which led to an elevator. It took him a levels down, where the most important part of the base was located. Apart from him, only Okcha bound directly to his will were allowed, others didn't even know about this section. This was where the future was forged, as he liked to say to his pokémon, but for that, he needed the materials stolen by the international police.

Compared to the other rooms, this one was incredibly clean, albeit also quite empty. Only a gigantic glass tub in the middle with the corresponding machinery were visibly. Just like the others of its type, it was used to create Okcha slaves, only this one was way bigger and used purer materials, allowing for more durable bodies. As soon as the materials were back in his possession, production could finally start. Unfortunately, they were so rare and hard to get that ordering more wasn't an option.

Divine went to the glass tube and gently touched it. Only the counterpart in base Alpha-3 could rival it, albeit only in size. Soon he would finally see it working for the first time.

* * *

"Alright, time for a break," Ash announced.

Most of the pokémon were happy about a rest, no matter how short. It was a beautiful day for training, one they simply had to use to the fullest since there had been only few of those lately and it was unlikely to get better anytime soon. The last few days had been hard on them with a lot of small problems in their preparations and at first, this day had been no different. Now that the day was nearing its end, they had to admit that things were going much more smoothly although they couldn't explain the sudden improvement. Their first guess would be that it was due to Eileen's presence. Despite her young age, her mind was full of ideas and she had an eye for details. Although most of her suggestions weren't valid because of her lack of experience, she gave them a few ideas indirectly and her mere presence made the pokémon train harder.

"So tired already," Dawn said, letting herself fall on the grass next to a tree. Because of the unexpected success, she'd trainer a bit harder.

"Come on, you haven't done that much," Ash replied, sinking down next to her. As tough as he acted, he was just as exhausted and she knew it.

"Neither have you, big boy." She watched Eileen chase Pachirisu with Pikachu on her head and Buneary following close behind. "The energy of the youth, how I envy them."

"Really? You can say that once you're a grandma but not with 20 years," he remarked. "You still have so much to do, no way I can let you turn into a frail, old woman."

"You know it'll happen eventually," she whispered with a weak smile. "But as long as you're with me, I don't mind." For a moment, he wasn't sure whether she was serious as he thought it was a bit too early for such things. Then she laughed nervously and waved it off. "Sorry, I'm a bit too tired. But I'm always happy to have Eileen around. The pokémon love playing with her."

"Yeah, they get along really well, they even play after all that training. I'm sure she'd make a great trainer," Ash added.

"Her journey will begin next year and frankly, she already shows more promise than her brother." They watched her a little longer until Dawn spoke up again. "You know, I wouldn't mind having a daughter like her. What do you think?"

It was hard to describe what was going on in Ash's head right now. On the one hand, she just asked him about their future child, on the other hand, he took it as a good sign that she seemed to take him being the father for granted or at least he got the impression that she did. Still, it was awkward talking about something like that since they weren't even married yet. He chose his words carefully.

"Well, she certainly has the abilities but you have to admit she doesn't look like it," he said.

"True," she agreed. "Just imagine our child. Black hair, blue eyes,.."

"And an incredible bed head every morning ," he added, making her laugh.

"Wouldn't want to miss that. I've often wondered what being a mother would feel like." He didn't really know what to think. Especially the last remark was already troubling him.

 _Often? Just how long has this been going on already? Is she expecting me to propose? Now? Soon?_ He looked at her but she didn't look like she was expecting anything. _I guess she's just a little curious. Maybe it's time for a joke._

He turned to face her, pinned her arms t the ground and spoke up with the manliest voice he could muster.

"Well, let's get to work, shall we?" For a moment, he was worried that he had gone too far. Then she started laughing uncontrollably, which made him do the same.

"Good one, Ash," she said once it was over, wiping tears from her eyes. "But seriously, we should talk about this after the champion battles."

She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. Just when he was about to retaliate, there was a voice from behind, which interrupted them.

"Aw, how cute." They turned around to see Eileen lying on her belly with her hands supporting her head and a dreamy look on her face. Pikachu, Piplup, Buneary, and Pachirisu were sitting next to her. "I wish Cat and her friend were like you but he's boring and they only argue when I'm nearby. There's nothing they can really do for each other but they refuse to let go. Poor Cat, she deserves some help more than anyone else."

They knew that she often tried to get her brother to help Cat but she was rarely successful and it seemed her boyfriend wasn't much better in that regard. However, it also made Ash and Dawn truly appreciate each other as they realized that their supportive nature obviously shouldn't be taken for granted. They looked at each other once Eileen and the pokémon were gone, obviously having the same thoughts.

"Shall we continue?" Ash asked with a smile, offering his hand.

"I'm still exhausted but I'll make do," Dawn replied, pulling herself up.

Just when they wanted to announce the end of the break, something happened, that was familiar for Ash but new to Dawn.

"The master sends them a message." It sounded just like the voice that had been torturing Ash until some time ago. Both of them were hearing it at the same time. "You think you're safe. You think you're living in peace but I know better. Your fate is to serve me and you won't be able to escape, no matter how much you struggle. Tomorrow, you will witness my power firsthand. Hopefully, you will realize that resisting will only make everything worse. Do yourself a favor and stop fighting your destiny. Not only will you be given the chance to stay together forever but you will also receive the power to protect each other against everything and everyone. And finally, you will have peace and safety, the things you desire so much. The time will come when you have to make the right choice. Soon."

There was no need to ask what it was all about, the expressions of pure horror said everything. Shaking slightly, Dawn sat down on the grass again, where Ash joined her. Both of them were pale and sweating but it took them a while to fully comprehend the situation.

"Tomorrow ..." Ash finally whispered.

"So it's not over. Why? Why do they have to do this to us?" she asked.

"It's alright." He hugged her tightly to calm her down a bit and also to calm his own nerves. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"As long as we're together, there's nothing I fear. I don't care how many of those things this master throws at us, we'll stand our ground, right?" He replied by giving her a long and passionate kiss.

"He underestimates us and he won't succeed, don't worry about that," he whispered.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" They jumped up in shock when they heard Eileen's voice from behind again. "Hey, you look weird."

Ash and Dawn knew that telling the truth would be the worst thing they could do right now. Although Eileen was sincerely concerned and always helpful, this was not a matter she could help them with. In fact, this knowledge would only put her in danger so they decided to lie to her almost simultaneously.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit sleepy," Dawn said, stretching and yawning.

"Let's continue." Ash got up quickly, rushing to the other pokémon with the others following.

Since the day had already been hard on them, they decided to make a few easier exercises at the end. Of course, easy was relative in this case and other trainers would've been horrified at the intensity. One of them included pairs of pokémon dodging moves from different sides while retaining a back to back position. It required a lot of coordination but strengthened their teamwork, which was especially useful for double battles. Ash and Dawn loved it for that reason and often also participated. This time, they used it to discuss the appearance of the voice as Eileen had interrupted the last occasion. Of course, it wasn't easy dodging thunderbolts like that but they trusted each other's abilities enough to risk it.

"Anything planned for tomorrow? Left!" Dawn said, evading a thunderbolt.

"Nothing special. I won't let anyone ruin my day with their threats. Duck!" They dodged another one that almost hit their heads. "Lucario will stay at home this night, though."

"Same with Cresselia, just in case they try that nightmare crap again." With a swift movement, she evaded a thunderbolt aimed at her without hindering Ash in the slightest. "But don't you think we should get at least some help? Maybe the international police?"

"You really think they would believe us? We've nothing to prove that those weird Gengar things even exist. Jump!" Another electric attack hit the ground below them. "Besides, they're already busy with the aftermath of that Storm Raider event. And I doubt our friends would be able to help. Our enemy might just strike when they're gone. And hiding isn't an option for me."

"But what if they try to hurt us by hurting those close to us?" For a moment, Ash was shocked and almost got hit. "What about our mothers?"

"We could let Luca patrol between their houses. He'd contact us as soon as he notices something strange. Jump!" One more thunderbolt hit the ground. "But there's no way we can protect our friends."

"Most of them are more than capable of protecting themselves and so is Mom. And Delia still has Mr. Mime, doesn't she?" They spun in order to dodge two attacks at once.

"Yeah, he isn't too much of a fighter, though. Luca should focus on her house because of that," Ash told her.

"Don't you think it's too much for them?" Dawn asked, a bit worried about the aura pokémon's well-being.

"I'm afraid they're the only pokémon who can do this." He dodged another thunderbolt. "But you're right. We should do something about it. Maybe I can also learn it."

"I'm sure they would appreciate it and so far, you've shown far more talent for these kinds of abilities," Dawn admitted. "Anyway, we should at least call our friends and tell them to be careful."

"Alright, just five more minutes," Ash agreed.

Of course, he meant the current exercise by that, a few others followed until the training was finally over. First, they changed their teams for the night before taking Eileen back home. With her gone , they were finally able to inform their pokémon. Then it was time to return to their own house, where they immediately took the time to warn their friends. Needles to say, most of them thought it was weird, but agreed to be careful nonetheless. Whether they were serious about it remained to be seen, though.

Once it was over, the rest of the evening was pretty average, despite the threat. The days before had been enough to never let them get intimidated like that ever again. Still, both they and their pokémon were worried, mostly because they had no idea what to expect from the new enemies. Surely, they were capable of things far worse than just nightmares, but neither was too keen on experiencing it firsthand.

When it was time to go to bed, Ash decided to stay in the living room a bit longer. He explained that he wanted to think of ways to be more safe in the future and since she was already tired, Dawn didn't notice that he had a different intention. Yes, he wanted to think about something but not about those gengar creatures and their threats. It was about something he had almost forgotten about because of them. It was the prospect of being a father.

 _Oh, Dawn, just why did you mention it? I know didn't have bad intentions but the result is the same._ He sighed, shaking his head _. For you, there's no reason to worry about it. You have a great mother, who can give you advice, who can help you with children, should you need it. Yes, there's no reason not to believe that you will be a wonderful mother one day and there's no person in the world I would rather have a family with. The real question is whether I would make a good father. You grew up without one so I wouldn't be surprised about a bit of mistrust._

He got up from the couch and walked to a window in the dark. The sky was clear, allowing him to have a look at the starry sky. He also looked for the moon but couldn't see it from his position.

 _I wonder where you are right now ... dad. Have you achieved your dream? Or have you failed? Are you too ashamed to return? Do you even remember I exist? You know what? I don't care. When you decided to leave mom, you died. Yes, you're dead and I hope you won't return. I'll never be like you. Never._ He had an urge to spit on the ground but restrained himself, especially since he was at home. Right now, he hated his father with a burning passion for abandoning him and Delia like that. _I will show you. I will show you that I can be a pokémon master and a good father at the same time._

His confidence shrunk when he realized that he had no idea how. He went back to the couch and sat down, covering his face with his hands.

 _Damn it! How can I do it if I don't know anything about it? Even worse, I have the blood of that traitor. In the worst case, I might ruin everything. What would I do then? Would I run away as well? Would I abandon them because it's too much responsibility for me? No, Ash, you can't think like that! You're always so confident, why not now?_ He shook his head, imagining Dawn's disappointed expression. It was enough for him to loathe the very thought. _I would never do that. She knows it. I know it. So why am I even fearing it? Why am I even thinking about children although I'm not even married yet? And the solution is so simple. I'll have to wait until after the battles against the Elite Four. Once we are champions, we can think about it._

Ash was about to leave for the bedroom when he realized what was happening.

 _I'm just postponing my decisions again and again. But this time it's the most sensible thing to do, right? We don't need distractions, regardless of how much I want to be with her. After all, we've been together and happy for quite some time without marriage and without children._ He let out a sigh. _It's never good to reflect on these matters this late at night. I guess it's time to go now._

Even then, it took quite some time until he actually moved. With small and slow steps, he made his way upstairs, wondering whether Dawn was already asleep. His question was answered when the door to the bedroom opened right on front of him with her standing there. Although he could only see her shape in the darkness, he had a feeling that she was close to falling asleep.

"I was just about to ... is everything alright?" Apart from the worry, he could also hear tiredness in her voice. "You rarely ... take this long."

"No need to worry." She gave a him a weak smile at the mention of her catchphrase. "Now let's go to sleep. We need to be well-rested tomorrow."

Only a few seconds after sinking into the bed, Dawn was already asleep, showing that only her worry had kept her awake for so long. Ash covered her with the blanket and gave her a kiss on the forehead. With Cresselia nearby, they were bound to have a pleasant dream, which they felt was deserved after all those nightmares and worries.


	49. Confrontation part 1

**The following event is basically split in two confrontations. This is the beginning of the first and less intense one.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 49 Confrontation Part 1

It was early in the morning when Divine's chose were to gather in the same room they had the day before. This time, their boss wasn't alone but accompanied by his secretary and two members of a new special unit, which had already gained a bad reputation. Boris didn't like them, mostly because of their full white uniform with silver markings, which resembled vines, on upper part. A white mask covered their faces, making it impossible to determine their emotions but even if it was possible, Boris doubted that they would show any. The final, and most important part of their equipment was a black glove with a communication device and a transparent gem on the palm. As far as loyalty was concerned, they simply couldn't be outmatched. If Divine pulled a knife told them that one of them should use it to kill himself, they would kill each other just to be that one. It was so extreme that Boris even doubted that they were human.

However, apart from following orders, there was little those guys were actually able to do. Their minds didn't seem to be capable of independent thoughts or making decisions on their own so they always needed to be observed by others like the chosen. It was probably the only reason Divine still needed them, for missions that required thinking and creativity.

Boris was sporting black boots and the pants of the grey uniform but not the upper part. Instead, he was wearing a simple, white shirt. Wraith was wearing the full uniform, which now had symbol on the chest part. it was a white circle with five triangles around it, making it look like a star. Victoria's outfit was the same but also included the mask for her illusions. Seth was also wearing that uniform but it was mostly covered by a long, white mantle. Victoria noticed that all of them were wearing one of the silver rings Divine had mentioned so only two were somewhere else. Maybe his original intention had been to give one of them to Shira but that wasn't possible anymore for obvious reasons.

Divine threw two items on his desk, a belt and a glove. The belt was made of leather with a silver buckle and a black gem attached to it. Similarly, the golden glove had red gem on it.

"The belt is for you, Wraith," Divine told them. "It was made with the essence of a ghastly. And the glove was made with the help of a flareon. Boris, I'm sure you will find it much more effective than the last one."

The two chose grabbed their new toys and, after a few moments of just looking at them, put them on. Those would prove useful in the following battle.

"I hope you're well prepared. I can't stress enough how vital succeeding today is so don't even bother coming back if you fail." Victoria got a bit nervous but tried not to show it. "Your mission is simple, inflict as much pain, both physically and psychically, as possible. Ash and Dawn must suffer but not die. Same goes for Pikachu and Piplup.. That doesn't mean you should ignore those four, you can still do other things to them, like something spectacular I thought of. Yes, I hope her Buneary will be there as well." He approached Victoria to whisper orders into her ear. Judging from her perplexed expression, she didn't understand the importance. "Just do it, will you? Or else I'll have someone else do it, someone who appreciates my ideas."

"I appreciate them, I appreciate them," she assured him quickly. "It's just ... it's likely to strengthen them in the long run."

"I knew you wouldn't understand." He sighed. "Anyway, do you have any questions?"

The following silence told him that it wasn't the case so he sat down again and folded his arms.

"Very well, you have your orders." Divine raised his voice. "Unleash the chaos!"

* * *

Ash and Dawn woke up remarkably refreshed this morning, which was probably the result of Cresselia's presence. Nevertheless, they were already on high alert because of the announcement the day before. Those creatures could attack anywhere at any time. In fact, Ash got up earlier than usual so that Dawn wouldn't be alone in case of an early attack. Despite the threat, they at least tried to make everything seem normal, unlike their pokémon, who did everything with haste. There were still a few signs that showed the trainers' nervousness like the unusually large breakfast.

When they were done, they got ready for the usual morning exercises but their preparations got interrupted by a video phone call. Since a call at this time of the day was unusual so they were suspicious. Their worries seemed pointless, though, as it was only Marcus.

"Good, you're awake," he said, not bothering with a proper greeting. "Move your ass to the battle park in Viridian City immediately."

"Oh, really?" Ash raised an eyebrow, not too happy about the way Marcus was talking to him. "We're busy, why should we even consider it?"

"Because I have a new pokémon that will kick your sorry ass with ease. Or are you afraid of losing?" he asked with a grin.

"You've never even come close, what makes you think it'll be different this time?"Ash replied, sounding bored.

"Because this pokémon is different. It will burn even your strongest pokémon to crisps." There was so much confidence in his voice that it picked Ash's interest. "So do you accept or chicken out?"

Ash was about to answer when something pulled him back. It was Dawn, who had a serious, even a bit dark expression on her face. She turned to the video phone.

"Excuse us for a moment," she muttered before dragging Ash to the living room.

Once they were out of hearing range, Dawn folded her arms and looked around nervously as if looking for something. It was clear that she had a bad feeling about this. Pikachu and Piplup, who had followed them, felt pretty much the same way. But then again, they weren't too keen on normal battles with him either as they didn't really regard it as a challenge.

"Something is wrong. First, that voice and now Marcus wants to battle you? It's so weird," she told him.

"You don't think I should go?" he asked.

"Most certainly not, it's either we or none of us," she clarified. "This is so much different from his usual approach. Remember, he's never hesitated to come here uninvited and now he called you because he wants you to come instead? Besides, didn't he sound awfully confident for someone who has never managed to come even close to defeating you?"

"You're right, something's not right here?" He got an idea. "Wait, do you think it could be that illusionist at my birthday?"

"What?" She seemed shocked but after some serious thinking she nodded. "Interesting idea and as much as I hate the thought, it's entirely possible. You think it's a trap?"

"Maybe. The real Marcus might be in danger. Do we have any possibility to find out whether he's real beforehand?" Ash asked.

"I'm not sure. If it's really an illusionist, Metagross's or Alakazam's miracle eye will see through it," Dawn suggested.

"Alright, so shall we go? Of course, we'd need to change our teams. A counter to fire-types would be nice, assuming he told us the truth, of course," he added.

"Kabutops should be enough." Ash nodded as he had experienced more than once that any pokémon weak to rock-type moves was brutally countered by the shellfish pokémon, especially fire-types. "Let's tell him that we'll arrive soon. Then we'll watch him from the distance."

They returned to the videophone but Marcus's face was gone. Only after they made clear that they were back, he showed up again. He still had that smug look on his face, which made him highly suspicious. Nevertheless, they tried not to show their distrust so that he would be surprised if it really was a trap. However, it looked like he was already taking their little conversation as a sign of nervousness so perhaps it was already too late.

"How cute," he commented on Pikachu's and Piplup's expressions. "So do you have the guts?"

"We'll meet you there shortly," Ash replied coldly. "No matter which new pokémon you have or believe to have, you'll lose all the same."

"I'm looking forward to it." The look on his face was so unnerving, Ash was already looking forward to the end of this conversation. "Prepare to be barbequed."

He laughed and ended the call right before Piplup shot a few bubbles at the screen out of frustration. Usually, Dawn would scold but this time, she could understand him all too well and let him get away with it. Ash was already way too worried to care anyway. They had a quick drink in the kitchen before going to the Oak lab where they changed their teams for this occasion. As the counter to the mentioned fire-type, Kabutops one of the most important members on this day. Apart from him, Metagross also accompanied them because of its physical power but mostly due to the miracle eye move. Without it, Dawn probably would have taken Mamoswine instead. Espeon was also there because she was more durable than Alakazam and great when in a team with Leafeon, whose individual move was incredibly useful in larger battles. The ability to heal himself quickly was also an important aspect. Of course, Piplup had to be part of this team, only the last pokémon was a bit harder to determine. The most difficult decision was whether to take Carbink or Togekiss. During the battle against Shira, Carbink's support abilities had proved invaluable as without the healing, Charizard could have died from his heavy wound. Togekiss's healing wasn't as strong, at least her individual move, which slowly regenerated every ally within a large area, but in ongoing battles with lots of affected pokémon, it can heal for respectable amounts for little cost and, most importantly, reliably as it was impossible to remove. Since she also had wish for a stronger heal and could also carry the trainers on her back if necessary, Dawn decided to take her in the end.

Ash's decisions weren't much easier. Pikachu was a given as well as Lucario since they simply needed the aura shield but the rest was a bit harder to choose. Just like Dawn, he wanted to have a pokémon to counter a potential fire-type, a purpose for which Feraligatr was chosen. His brute strength would serve them well. Durant was the fourth pokémon of his choice as her strength and many resistances made her a durable fighter. Her greatest advantage were her jaws, though. Due to a special training, she was able to turn them around, thus pushing things apart instead of crushing them. This was especially useful for opening doors when others failed to do so. It's original purpose was to counter bite-moves like Feraligatr's crunch by pushing his own jaws apart. Even Gyarados's jaws were no match for hers in that situation. Trevenant's absorbing and healing moves were important but so was his wisdom and his levelheadedness even in the heat of battle. Finally, Pidgeot was his last pokémon as he felt that Togekiss's carrying capabilities might not be enough, depending on the situation. He also made sure to take the regeneration ball from Mr. Sorlan so that they could finally find out just how useful it really was.

After a quick explanation for their pokémon, Espeon teleported them to Viridan City but not to the battle park directly. First, Ash sent out Pidgeot in order to locate his opponent and sure enough, the flying-type returned soon after with the news. Then it was time for Metagross's miracle eye. The steel-type approached him as stealthily as it was able to do, which wasn't much, given its heavy body, and watched him from afar. With its usual precision and speed, it accomplished its mission before returning.

"I wasn't able to detect anything suspicious," it told them. "He's likely to be the real one."

Dawn simply nodded. Asking Metagross whether it was sure would be a waste of time as it was never wrong in these matters and never lied as it had no reason to due to its lacking sense of humor. Although they knew that it was probably the real Marcus, the danger was far from over.

"Why does this keep happening to us?" Dawn asked with an expression of tiredness. "Is asking for a little peace so bad?"

"I don't know. Maybe we're just too damn good for his world. But there's one thing I know." He put an arm around her reassuringly and gave her a hug. "Whoever challenged us and for whatever reason, he will find out why it was a very bad idea because as long as we're together, nothing can stop us. Or are you doubting my abilities all of sudden?"

"Absolutely not!" That was the last thing she wanted him to think. "We still have to be cautious, though. There's no telling what we're up against so letting our guard down would be a horrible mistake."

"I didn't tell you to be reckless," he defended himself. "Now let's do this so we can return to the lab, where we have more allies nearby."

"Agreed." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "This show-off will see what a true trainer battles like. Again."

They recalled all of their pokémon except for Pikachu, Piplup, Lucario, and Espeon. Of all the things, they certainly didn't want Marcus to get suspicious so approaching the normal way was necessary. In the case of an ambush, they still had Espeon to teleport them to a safe location, Lucario for the aura bubble, and their hands were always close to the pokéballs so that they had quick access to their respective teams. On the way, they noticed that the beautiful weather of the previous day had been replaced by a bunch of clouds covering the whole sky. Surprisingly enough, it was even warmer but not the pleasant kind of warmth. Instead, it made them sweat easily, even after the slightest movement. With more and more dark clouds gathering, a storm was getting more likely. As a result, most trainers preferred to stay at home this day, which obviously didn't include Marcus, making him only more suspicious. Then again, it was probably better without other people around.

Marcus grinned when he saw his rival approaching at a slow pace. It was the same, smug look he had shown on the videophone, an expression Ash was itching to swipe off his face. Trying to keep a straight face, he stopped in front of Marcus.

"You took your sweet time but that's alright. Gave me a little more time testing my new pokémon's strength. You'll be surprised, i can guarantee that," he promised.

"Actions speak louder than words so show me that you're not bluffing," Ash replied, getting to one side of the field.

Dawn would have sat down on a bench but given the circumstances, she preferred staying close to Ash so she kept standing behind him. Marcus was a little surprised at just how nervous they seemed as he didn't know anything about the gengar creatures or the voices. As result, he simply thought that they were taking his words absolutely seriously and he was proud of that.

"A three-on-three enough for you?" he asked, his confidence growing with every second.

"Good enough," Ash confirmed.

Since he was used to calling out the first pokémon and Marcus calling out a counter, Ash was surprised to see Marcus making the first move for once by calling out his hitmonlee without another word. This time, it was Ash's turn to make use of type advantages.

"Pidgeot, i choose you!" Knowing about the situation, the flying-type eyed his opponent carefully but couldn't find anything special about it. Surely, it wasn't the pokémon Marcus had mentioned, especially since it didn't have anything to do with fire.

"Start with blaze kick and stone edge!" Much to Ash's surprise, the fighting-type used the kick on the rocks to imbue them and shoot them with increased at Pidgeot.

"Was that a combination? From you? Dodge it!" It was so basic that he had no trouble evading it, but Ash still regarded it as a major improvement. However, it wasn't nearly enough to justify Marcus's confidence. "You'll need more to beat me. Use sky charge!"

Under those circumstances, Ash wasn't in the mood for playing and started with his strongest move. Sky charge was a major improvement to sky attack as the channeled energy was used to protect Pidgeot while charging up. Once he was ready, he would shoot it in the direction he was flying and it would take his shape, making it also quite viable in contests. Despite the looks, it was actually a physical move, which dealt a respectable amount of damage. Either Marcus didn't know about this move or he was incredibly reckless by now as he ordered his pokémon to attack.

"Use blaze kick and stone edge again!" Pidgeot didn't even bother dodging this time as the shield easily repelled the rocks, then he charged right at Hitmonlee. "Focus and high jump kick!" After gathering its strength for a moment, it jumped up high to intercept and defeat Pidgot in midair. He simply shot up, letting the sky charge bird do the work for him. Despite the type-disadvantage, it still managed to resist a lot of damage with its own attack. The landing on the other hand was a disaster as it crashed badly and received quite a bit of damage. For some reason, Marcus didn't seem worried in the slightest. "Use rock slide with blaze kick!"

Huge rocks appeared above Pidgeot and fell down but with his quick reactions, he was able to evade all of them. The falling rocks were kicked back up by Hitmonlee and now had a fiery aura but once more, Pidgeot dodged them easily.

"Why the sudden change? I've never seen you battle like this," Ash remarked. "Use hurricane to shield yourself!"

Flapping his wings rapidly, Pidgeot created a zone of strong winds above him, which deflected the burning rocks coming back from above, letting them fall to the ground next to the battle field. All in all, this wasn't bad at all, making Ash almost think that this guy wasn't as resistant to learning as he had thought.

"In the Storm Raider base I had a close look at that battle and learned a lot, I daresay. And after that, we trained hard to master our new techniques." He raised a fist. "This, along with my new pokémon will help me surpass you eventually."

"In your dreams. Twister blade combination!" He let a few energy blades dance around him before shooting them directly at Htmonlee with a twister. The fighting-type, whose legs were already hurt quite a bit because of the previous kicks, reacted too slowly to escape. While the twister was hitting the whole body, the blades hit the legs, weakening Hitmonlee even further.

Dawn noticed strong winds, which definitely weren't the result of the battle. No, the weather was getting more unpleasant and a short glance at the sky only confirmed it. The dark clouds and lightning inside told her that the start of a powerful storm was only a matter of time.

"Enough! I'm growing tired of this." He recalled Hitmonlee much to Ash's annoyance. Especially Marcus's attitude was getting on his nerves. "Very well, let's get to the good part. Let's see whether you can handle this." Despite the improvements, he still had no chance but it didn't seem to have lowered his confidence in the slightest. On the contrary, he looked more excited than ever, it was like he was putting all of his faith into a single pokémon, which was inside a weird, green pokéball. It was when he shouted out its name that they finally knew why. "How would you say? I just can't seem to remember. Ah, yes, now I know. Ho-Oh, I choose you!"

The few trainers nearby thought they had misheard and didn't believe it until the rainbow pokémon materialized in front of its trainer. It let out a shriek that shook the field and spread its wings to show off its massive size. Ash, Dawn, and their pokémon immediately took a few steps back. They had expected a lot but a legendary pokémon like Ho-Oh wasn't among it. This was more than just a surprise, it was a huge shock and explained why Marcus was so confident. Other questions remained, though, for example how he, of all the trainers in the world, managed to accomplish this nearly impossible feat. Marcus appeared amused by their reactions.

"I know you're wondering how I caught this pokémon but I won't tell you. Can't give away all my secrets now, can I?" he mocked them.

Ash was wondering how he was supposed to fight this powerful opponent. Even with the type-advantage Feraligatr would have a hard time. but at least Kabutops was there in case Marcus lost control of Ho-Oh, which didn't seem unlikely at this point. In hindsight, the rock-type was even more effective than anticipated as his best combination included water and rock moves, often knocking out those with double-weakness in one hit. For Ho-Oh he would probably need two or three at most but first, Ash wanted to see whether this was going a normal battle and was therefore trying to imagine valid strategies. In fact, he was so focused on the task at hand that he didn't notice Lucario's voice in his head or his hands pulling the shirt.

"It's one of them!" Dawn exclaimed, finally interrupting Ash's thoughts. There was something in her voice that made Ash really wonder what she meant.

"What are you talking about?" he asked both her and Lucario who was saying the same thing via aura link.

"Espeon told me that Lucario told her that this -" She pointed at Ho-Oh. "- is one of those gengar creature. I mean not a gengar, but one of those things without an aura."

"What?" He looked at Lucario who just nodded.

"Kabutops, we need you!" She called him out in order to destroy the creature as quickly as possible.

Even Marcus was starting to think that something was wrong as Ash, who was usually quick to accept a challenge, was hesitating and his girlfriend even called out a pokémon as if she was doubting his ability to control Ho-Oh. Shortly after the call, he had spent the time to get familiar with Ho-Oh's abilities in battle and it never disobeyed an order.

"Get away from it!" Ash suddenly shouted. "That's no pokémon!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" he retorted. "It's a Ho-Oh, everybody can see it. Or are you blind now?"

Without his order, Ho-Oh suddenly flew up high and looked at the city below. The it shot several golden fireballs at the larger buildings, which suffered heavy damage. This triggered a massive attack consisting of dozens gengar and talonflame, probably also creatures without aura, who set the city on fire. Ash and Dawn were clearly horrified by this turn of events and considered interfering when Ho-Oh's sacred fire brought them back to reality. A massive burst of fire came dangerously close to breaking the aura bubble that Lucario had created hastily.

"What are you doing, you idiot!" Marcus screamed. "I didn't tell you to attack them or the city! Stop this right now!"

"Don't you realize it doesn't obey you? Get to safety!" Ash commanded.

If he was smart, he would do exactly as he was told as Ash had no time to babysit this brat. Ho-Oh was completely out of control and trying to break the aura bubble, which was somewhat stable now but they weren't too keen on finding out just how long it would last. One important thing they noticed was that the attacks were aimed directly at Ash and Dawn, not at their pokémon, not at Marcus. This thing was trying to kill them at all costs and the mere thought was highly disturbing. As long as Ho-Oh was attacking them, they couldn't move freely so it also prevented them to help counter the attack on the city. If they were to help, the creature had to be eliminated and fortunately, they had just the pokémon for this task.

"Kabutops, get ready for the stone jet! Start with swords dance!" Dawn shouted.

In order to fight, he had to leave the safety of the aura shield. The following spin, which made his arms glow white, didn't go unnoticed as the following sacred fire as shot at him. Because of his resistance and powerful physical defenses, he didn't even bother dodging and used the time to prepare his attack. Just as expected, even Ho-Oh's sacred fire couldn't do any considerable damage to him, Dawn was more worried about the possible burn effect, which didn't take place, though. Blade-like rocks appeared all around Kabutops and even gained auras of water, similar to the one a pokémon gains during aqua jet. Actually, it was a simple but powerful combination of stone edge and aqua jet, one only kabuto and kabutops could use with its full potential. The water component added to the power and speed of the move but the most important aspect was that it provided Kabutops with a certain control over them. Therefore it was next to impossible to evade them for a very long time as he could simply let them approach from different sides and even change directions if the defense proved too strong at the moment. Due to this move, pokémon with double weakness to rock-type moves had no chance at all and if Dawn was right, Ho-Oh would be no exception to this rule.

Realizing that Kabutops wasn't impressed by fire, Ho-Oh shot down to attack him with brave bird but by now, the stone jet combination was ready. Apart from the rocks, a hydro pump by Feraligatr, who had also left the bubble, was moving towards the fire-type, who canceled the brave bird and attempted to counter with sacred fire again but it was futile. The rocks easily got through the flames like they were nothing at all and hit Ho-Oh directly. Some rocks just did heavy damage, others penetrated the skin and got stuck, and a few even pierced its body. One in particular flew right into its mouth and pierced the back of its head, which was quite a gruesome sight. Fatally wounded, the creature fell to the ground.

Even though were fully aware of the fact that this wasn't a pokémon, that it probably didn't even feel pain, and that it had tried to kill them, they couldn't help but feel pity for it. With its heavy injuries, it wasn't able to move or attack anymore but it certainly looked like it was trying. Especially the death rattle was unnerving. Marcus tried approaching it carefully as he didn't consider it a danger anymore.

"My poor Ho-Oh," he muttered.

"Are you crazy?" Dawn screamed. "Get away from it!"

He didn't believe her at first, only when green flames started scorching its feather did he fall back. That could only mean that it was finished for good and the flames quickly spread all over its body, turning it to ashes. Marcus ran his fingers through them as if trying to look for anything that could let him understand what was going on. All he knew was that it wasn't a Ho-Oh, probably not even a pokémon. Judging from its obviously vicious nature, he wasn't sure whether he even wanted to know the details. His thoughts were interrupted by Ash's hand grabbing his arms with force.

"We'll go to the city to help fighting back the attack. And on the way, you better give us a few answers," he hissed.

That proved a bit harder than expected since all of his confidence, motivation, and even a lot of physical strength was gone so that he wouldn't even be able to keep up if he wanted, thus forcing Ash to have Durant carry him.

Just as expected, it started raining and it wasn't weak at all. Although they got soaked within seconds, they considered it a blessing because it would help them fight the flames.

"First of all, where did you get that thing? Come on, we need to know," Ash added when Marcus hesitated.

"A man gave it to me," he finally told them.

"What did he look like? Do you still have the pokéball? Don't make us ask for every single detail," Dawn said.

"He was tall, bald, and dressed in white. I can't remember much more except for his voice. It was ... magical. When he gave me the pokéball -" He held up the green pokéball, making Dawn gasp. "- I didn't expect it to end like this. I mean I thought he was trustworthy, I can't explain why."

"That sounds exactly like the psychic at Ash's birthday," Dawn exclaimed and grabbed the ball. "I'll take this. Maybe one of the professors or the international police may find out more about it. But first, tell us what he said, his exact words."

"He ... told me to use it against my rivals and enemies. he said it would bring about my victory. Victory at long last ... I didn't doubt his words. But I can't remember the rest," he told them. "I'm ... sorry. I was a fool to get manipulated so easily."

"Damn right you are," Ash replied angrily. "Come on, there must be something else you can tell us."

"No, Ash. I believe him," Dawn said to both his and Marcus's surprise. "I was also like that. Besides, we have more important things to do right now."

It was clear what she meant with all the burning buildings around them. The strange creatures seemed to evade them as the trainers could only see them in the distance, setting fires or picking up people from the ground just to drop them from a higher altitude. A few of those were lying around nearby and it wasn't a pretty sight. Several buildings were already close to collapsing due to all the damage but at least there didn't seem to be people inside. Unfortunately, because of the creatures' speed, there was little Ash and Dawn could do directly. Even Pidgeot was unlikely to be able to keep up with the talonflame and gengar. Nevertheless, they stopped to make a plan, one that would help them make the most of the situation. Before they could do it, though, someone teleported right in front of them, causing Lucario to use aura bubble instantly.

"Why, hello there." Dawn and Marcus immediately recognized Seth although they still didn't know his name.

"That's the guy who gave me pokéball!" Marcus exclaimed.

"That's the guy who tortured me in the forest!" Dawn yelled at the same time.

"So you're the one who hurt Dawn? Prepare to pay for your crimes!" Ash was furious even Dawn had trouble recognizing him right now.

"Calm down. Can't we discuss this like civilized human beings?" Once again, his voice made Dawn's head hurt.

"Don't listen to him. His voice is a weapon. Don't believe one word he says," she muttered, holding her head.

Ash didn't need to be told twice, his first goal was to render Seth unable to fight, then he would give them the answers they needed. After all, he had given Marcus the pokéball so he was bound to know something about these creature. If they were lucky, they would even be able to force him to cancel the attack on the city. Somehow, Ash doubted it. Fate was rarely this considerate nowadays so he expected it to be much more difficult. His suspicions were confirmed when Seth received reinforcements in form of a young woman with her mega gardevoir teleporting nearby. The pokémon used a move that made Ash, Dawn, and Marcus feel uncomfortable but didn't have any other obvious effect. They didn't know it was an electric attack to disable any electric device on them, mostly bugging devices secretly used by the international police.

"There you are," she shouted. "I was afraid I'd be too late but Wraith and Boris haven't even arrived yet."

"Who the hell are you? Are you one of his allies?" Ash asked.

"Oh, you don't recognize me? Even after all our meetings?" she asked, pretending to be hurt.

"What are you talking about?" Dawn asked, fearing the answer already.

"Let me put it this way. I -" Within the blink of an eye, she changed so that she looked like Ash. "- have -" Similarly, she changed her appearance to Dawn's. "- many -" Now she looked like Lucy, the little girl who led them to the Team Rocket base. No, unless they knew the real Lucy, they had to assume that Lucy didn't even exist. " - faces." Her looks were back to normal.

Now it was clear that she was the deceiver who had tried to break them apart and almost led them to their death. On her mask, they noticed a large gem that looked similar to the one on Shira's boots. Maybe there was a connection between those two they weren't aware of just yet. by now, they certainly wouldn't be surprised.

"By the way, I'm Victoria." She pointed at her ally. "And that's Seth. You better remember our names because we're important."

"Damn it, girl. You just don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?" Seth complained. "Names shouldn't be given away so easily."

"Relax, they're just names and our friends were bound to find them out anyway so who cares?" She shrugged. "Anyway, we're going to have a lot of fun in the near future."

All of sudden, the ground nearby was emitting black smoke and a girl in a crouched stance was rising from there along with a banette and a froslass. They didn't know how she did that, but she had several small throwing-knives in her hand when she stood up. Despite her obviously young age, she looked dangerous and that wasn't just because of the knives. Something about her stance, her expression told them that they shouldn't trifle with her.

"So you're Wraith? Boris doesn't seem like an appropriate name for you," Marcus remarked.

Wraith looked directly at Victoria, knowing exactly who was guilty in this case but didn't say anything. Instead, she turned to Seth to deliver a message from their fourth and last member.

"Boris called. Needs more time." She turned back to their targets. "We should start without him."

"Very well." Victoria clapped her hands in excitement. "Let's start."

It was clear that they were about to attack so Ash, Dawn, and Marcus got ready. Although they doubted that those three were going to be much of a challenge, their new enemies had to be taken seriously with all the other creatures still around. Those created an impenetrable wall, preventing anyone from coming to the trainers' aid, which explained why there was nobody else around even though they were in the middle of the city. It meant they were unlikely to receive reinforcements but their enemies could always call for help from their creatures. Indeed, it was going to be a difficult battle.


	50. Confrontation part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 50 Confrontation part 2

Ash, Dawn, and their pokémon were surrounded by hostile forces inside a burning city and their only backup was Marcus, a fact they didn't find too encouraging, given his last performance at the Storm Raider base. Nevertheless, he was better than nothing and in their situation, they needed all the help they could get. Their pokémon called out their pokémon, except for Seth, who didn't seem to have any. Wraith had a gengar and a ferrothorn, her other pokémon appeared to act as her bodyguards. Victoria's current team consisted of a swoobat and a lipard.

"I'll take on Wraith. Dawn, you fight Victoria and Marcus will fight Set, alright?" Ash asked.

Although Marcus didn't like battling the only guy without pokémon, he agreed. If it proved too easy, he could still help out the others.

"Trevenant, Durant, i choose you!" Ash shouted, calling out the ghost-type.

"Kabutops, Togekiss, time to battle!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Hitmonlee, Tangrowth, let's take care of this freak," Marcus said, sounding like he wasn't taking his opponent seriously.

"Start with phantom force! Durant, use x-scissor!" Ash commanded. Trevenant disappeared, preparing a powerful attack on Wraith's pokémon. "You're young. Why are you doing this?"

"Shadow spikes." The way she said it made it sound more like a statement than an order and she didn't react to his words at all. Ferrothorn started spinning, releasing dozens of small spikes, which got caught by equally tiny shadow balls . This combination turned them invisible, Ash could only hear several of them landing on the ground nearby. Durant also stepped on a few, receiving a bit of damage every time, before finally reaching her opponent and grabbing its main body with her jaws. This prevented it from creating more spikes and also put it into a situation it couldn't escape on its own, it could only attack with its appendages, which weren't too effective due to Durant's steel armor. "Protect." This was for Gengar, who was levitating above the battle field and blocked the following phantom force attack. Wraith knew that it was the target since a physical attack on Ferrothorn wouldn't have been nearly as effective. Ash noticed that the ground was glowing slightly and that could only mean that Dawn had activated Togekiss's individual move, light of mercy. His pokémon would certainly appreciate the extra healing.

"Now will-o-wisp!" While falling, Trevenant shot an orange orb of fire at the grass-type, making it burn. Because of this, Durant received less damage from the constant power whip attacks. "Come on, I don't know why you're serving your master. Is he blackmailing you? Maybe we can help you."

"Gyro ball and hypnosis." Ferrothorn started spinning rapidly but even then Durant didn't let go until Gengar tried to use hypnosis on it. Taking a few steps back, she tried to take a defensive stance, only for one of her feet to get hit by an ice shard, which was shot at her by Wraith's froslass. The hypnosis move got deflected at her by the spinning grass-type but despite her foot being frozen to the ground, she managed to dodge it. The following throwing-knife hit her right in the left eye, however, making her cry out in pain.

"No, Durant! What the hell are you doing, girl?" Ash yelled angrily, trying to get to his injured only to get stopped by Lucario. His previous attempts to talk to her were already forgotten, now he simply wanted to teach her a lesson she'd never forget. "Trevenant, shadow roots!"

It was his individual move, which was a combination of Bellossom's root move and giga drain, making it absorb some health but also easier to destroy. In this case, he simply wanted them to stop Ferrothorn so that Durant wouldn't get hit by the gyro ball as well.

"This is not a game," she replied calmly. "Your durant is massive so it required massive attacks."

Although it was true that Durant was incredibly big for her species, making Ash even call her the red gyarados among the durant, a direct attack with real weapons was unforgivable. She pulled it out and was so mad that she dodged Ash's attempts at recalling her.

"You want to continue? Even with only one working eye?" he asked, to which she reacted by nodding furiously and glaring at Wraith. "Alright, just be careful. And you -" He turned to his opponent. "- will pay for what you did to her! I'll make sure of that."

Of course, Durant always looked a bit angry, but Ash was sure that she was extremely mad this time and with good reason. Despite that, she managed to control herself and waited for further orders instead of attacking blindly. It was the kind of discipline Ash appreciated so much, especially in a situation like this.

"Gyro ball. Gengar, surprise shadow ball." By now, Trevenant's roots were gone, allowing Ferrothorn to spin again. It was impossible to approach the grass-type like this but Ash was more worried about Gengar, who seemingly hit itself with a shadow ball, only to become invisible. Unfortunately, his pokémon lacked the area attacks necessary to hit it now so he tried to focus on Ferrothorn for now.

"Durant, use locust jaws, then jump! Trevent, bulldoze!" he commanded.

Locust jaws was her individual move, a ranged, physical attack in form of a boomerang, which looked similar to her jaws. Despite dealing physical damage, it was able to pass through solid object and drain health with every hit. Since it always returned to Durant, it sometimes hit twice and therefore drained health twice, which was then transferred to the bug-type. The similarity to Scizor's locust bite wasn't a coincidence as the two moves were created at the same time. Whereas locust jaws restored health based on the damage dealt, locusts bite provided Scizor with a constant stream of healing. They both had their ups and downs in different situations so none of them was better than the other.

The boomerang passed right through Ferrothorn, who didn't show any sign of being hurt and just kept spinning towards her, using one of his appendages as a leg. By jumping, Durant evaded the small shockwave on the ground, which was damaged and even cracked right below Ferrothorn, making it fall into the hole, thus stopping the spin.

"Now will-o-wisp on the jaws!" By letting her jaws absorb the power of the fire move, Durant's bite gained a fiery boost, which was enormous in this case due to her opponent's typing. Since it was still stunned, hitting it was no problem at all and she just kept biting its main body, ignoring the appendages, which were still weak because of the burn status. However, Ash knew that Gengar was still around here somewhere and he also knew that Durant was vulnerable to moves like shadow ball even without a type-disadvantage. "Trevenant, use shadow roots to shield them!"

Although he knew that Gengar could still get through the roots, which were now growing around them to take the shape of a dome, it would receive a lot of damage by doing just that. He was more worried about a ranged ghost-type attack, against which the roots wouldn't help one bit. Unfortunately, it was likely to happen but there was nothing he could do with his current pokémon. He wasn't surprised when Gengar reappeared right above the roots with a massive shadow ball in its hands. From this distance, Durant had barely any time to react and got hit in the back critically. Noticing that his ally needed to retreat for now, Trevenant removed most the roots to make way for her and the rest went for Gengar, preventing it from finishing her off until she was in the clear. Of course, she had to walk through the shadow spikes, which weakened her further but she made it in the end. Ash quickly made sure that she wasn't hurt too badly before trying to find Gengar again but it was invisible again.

"Get ready for volt charge," he whispered to Pikachu, who went outside the shield. He wasn't fond of playing dirty like this but his opponent made it necessary. "Trevenant, phantom force!" He wasn't too worried about Ferrothorn since it was already crippled by all the damage it had taken.

Gengar reappeared above Durant again with another shadow ball but this time, Ash's pokémon were ready. Pikachu smashed his body into the ghost-type, shortly followed by Trevenant. Being attack from two sides was too much so it tried to escape but Pikachu and Trevenant weren't going to allow that. When a shadow root got hold of its feet, it realized that it was over and quickly turned around to look for the next pokémon nearby. Durant and Pikachu were out of question, Trevenant was immune to its next move so it pointed at one of Marcus's pokémon, who was still fighting Seth. If it hadn't been for the rain drowning everything around him out, Ash would have heard one of Marcus's pokémon cry out it pain as it was hit by a pain split. The following scream of fury on the other hand was impossible to miss and not only because Marcus was standing right next to him. That wasn't his problem, though, and Ash decided to ignore it. Even with part of its health restored, Gengar was still trapped and eventually fell to Pikachu's melee attacks. Wraith didn't say a word or showed any sign of remorse when she recalled it.

"Well done, all of you," Ash praised his pokémon but also noticed that Durant was barely able to stand now. "Get into the shield. You're safe there and will slowly regenerate."

He was about to say the same to Pikachu when he noticed that Wraith's banette was gone. Fearing the worst, he tried to warn his pokémon but then Pikachu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. Benette was only revealed after the attack. For some reason, it had also taken quite a bit of damage and fled quickly with Forslass and Wraith herself covering its retreat. It wasn't even necessary as Ash was too worried about his pokémon to retaliate. A dark aura was surrounding the electric-type with red sparks escaping his body from time to time, which could only mean that Pikachu was suffering from the effect of a curse move. To be exact, it was a variation Wraith called dark path, which was more reliable since Banette always surprised her victim and it also dealt regular damage. However, it also suffered from the same drawback, which explained why Banette was also injured.

When Ash realized what this was about, he tried to grab Pikachu's pokéball quickly as a recall usually removed the effect. Pikachu's cries of pain made him hurry even more but also made him sloppy. They even caught Dawn's attention and it took all of her resolve to focus on her own battle. Before Ash was able to do it, Pikachu succumbed to the curse and fainted. Much to Ash's relief, the effect vanished. He had feared that this variation would allow it to continue but maybe this Wraith wasn't as cruel as he had thought after her attack although he certainly didn't forgive her. Now he remembered that he had the regeneration ball, which was supposed to be able to heal unconscious pokémon and once he was back, other moves could help him return to full health.

"You're going to pay for this. Feraligatr, I choose you!" He saw that Wraith had already called out a mawile and a mismagius. The next round was about to start.

Dawn eyed Victoria's pokémon carefully but couldn't notice anything powerful about them. Unlike the mega gardevoir, Swoobat and Liepard shouldn't prove much of a challenge but she was still determined not to let her guard down.

"Be careful, she might have some aces up her sleeve," she whispered to her partners before turning to her opponent. "What have we done to make you target us? What do you seek?"

"Seriously? You've done so much, you were bound to make powerful enemies. Anyway, let's get started," Victoria just said.

"Very well. Kabutops, use smack down with aqua jet. Togekiss, -" She heard a lot of small metal objects falling to the ground without being able to see them. Since Ash and Marcus were also fighting and the effect radius of Togekiss's individual move was enormous, it was only logical to use it right at the beginning. "Use light of mercy!"

The effect was instant but sometimes a bit hard to detect. Whenever an affected ally stepped on the ground, that part glowed up for a moment. Of course, the darker it was, the easier it was to notice and in this weather, the effect was quite pretty. Kabutop's combination was similar to the stone jet, only with the smack down orb to force flying and levitating pokémon to the ground, in this case Swoobat.

"Counter with future sight and psychic on the attack! Liepard, use sucker punch!" Swoobat shot lightning into the clouds and tried to control the smack down orb but failed to do so and got hit directly for massive damage. Liepard's performed its attack with considerable speed, hitting Kabutops before he used smack down without doing much damage, though. It was not only the result of his powerful physical defenses but also its own lacking strength.

"Kabutops, don't attack! Togekiss, use light screen and get in the way to block the future sight! Then a sky attack with dazzling gleam!" Fearing that a slash would be too powerful for Liepard, Dawn wanted Togekiss to finish it off. First, the fairy-type flew above them and with the shield, she reduced the effect of the lightning from the sky considerably. Then she powered up a sky attack and combined it with dazzling gleam to gain a pink aura in front of herself, which made the attack extremely effective against anyone weak to fairy-type moves.

"Watch out!" The warning came too late for Liepard. When Togekiss approached from behind, Kabutops ducked so that she hit the dark-type, knocking it out with one hit.

"Now air slash!" A single energy blade was shot at Swoobat, who was unable to dodge it for it was still unable to fly. As a result, it was knocked out and Victoria quickly recalled them before calling out the next duo, a spoink and a skuntank. Neither of them looked too impressive to Dawn.

However, there was something about Victoria that made her feel uncomfortable. There was no way to see through that mask, no way to see what she was thinking. For that reason alone, she was an annoying opponent but Dawn had a feeling that there was more about her than met the eye.

"You know, I've been looking forward to this," she muttered instead of attacking. "I'll wipe that annoying smile off your face."

Dawn was shocked at the aggressiveness in Victoria's voice but quickly regained her composure. Despite the tone, she was still convinced that she could reason with this woman.

"What do you have against me?" she asked. "We've never met."

"Didn't you listen? We've met a few times although you've never seen my true face." She pointed at Dawn. "Truth is, I hate you. I've always hated you. And now you're going to pay in ways you can't even imagine."

Now Dawn was taken aback by the statement but it also made her think. No matter how much she tried to remember something, she just couldn't think of anything she had done to provoke such a reaction. She was even starting to believe that this woman was maybe mistaking her for a different person.

"Why? What have I done to deserve this?" she asked, dying to know the answer.

"You want to know? Fine, I'll tell you. It isn't just something you did. It's what you are. Everything about you. Your very existence is an insult." She raised the mask for just a moment and spit on the ground. Then her tone changed from menacing to sad. "You might not believe it but I was a coordinator once, just like you. Although I didn't have a famous coordinator as my mother to inspire me, I decided to become a coordinator at a young age. I don't claim that I was the best but I certainly wasn't as bad as some people thought. The judges in particular disliked me. They didn't pay attention during my appeals, they reduced my points by ridiculous amounts for even the lousiest combination whereas the opponent's score barely changed when I did the same. I thought I could overcome it through hard work and dedication. I was a fool. If anything, their attitude got even worse until I finally quit."

Although Dawn was saddened by the story, she still couldn't understand how it could lead to Victoria joining a criminal organization. Besides, she had never seen anyone getting really treated unfairly by the judges so it might have been just the impression Victoria had gotten. As if she was able to read Dawn's mind, she continued.

"I know you were treated differently. Your path was easy. You had someone to guide you, someone to show you the basics, someone to support you unconditionally." Dawn knew exactly who she was talking about and she agreed that having met him was the best thing that had ever happened to her. It was hard to imagine where she would be right now without him but without a doubt, she wouldn't be nearly as successful. Then Victoria's tone got more furious and frustrated. "You have any idea just how lucky you are? Why do you have it so easy and I have it so difficult?"

"You think I have it easy?" Now it was Dawn's turn to become furious. "People see us and always assume we're living in some kind of dream world where everything we want just comes magically to us. Now try to imagine, it's not like that at all. Everything we have is the result of hard work, even our relationship. Or do you think we could maintain it by doing nothing? Just like training it requires work, dedication and sometimes going out of your way to help out each other. For Ash, I'd do those things gladly and the results are worth it. Maybe your problem is just that you take things for granted."

"Don't you dare lecture me! I won't allow it," she cried before calming down again. "After another lost contest, my boss future boss approached me. He was nice to me, nicer than everyone before. He told me that I had potential to be much more than an ordinary coordinator. I believed him and I still do. I can be so much more." She raised her voice. "And I can tell you one thing. I'll kill myself before I watch someone like you take my place!"

Her tone was so aggressive that not only Dawn was expecting her to attack as her pokémon got ready, yet nothing happened.

"If you really knew me you'd know that there's no way I'd ever serve him," Dawn replied coldly.

For some reason, Victoria started laughing uncontrollably, even falling on her knees. Dawn was about to interrupt her when she looked up, still laughing softly. A vicious smile was on her face while she was getting up again. It told Dawn that she wouldn't like what Victoria was about to tell her.

"You might think so but you'd be wrong. You've helped him already. More than I did in fact. Without your help, all of this -" She spread her arms, making Dawn look at the burning city behind her. "- wouldn't have been possible. This is all your doing."

 _My doing? Impossible! I've never ever done anything to help him and I certainly don't have the power to destroy an entire city. So much destruction, so much death. My doing?_ Dawn shook her head. _The mere though is ridiculous. She's lying, trying to scare me. It won't work._

"If that's the case, why don't you tell me how?" she asked calmly.

"Your shadow diver move. With so many videos of your zoroark using it, we tried to teach ours the move and one of them quickly perfected a variation." Victoria was delighted to see the shocked expression on Dawn's face. "It allowed us to bypass the usual defenses. We were able to free Charon and use his secrets. It also gave us the perfect opportunity to permanently remove Giovanni, who was also in prison thanks to your help. Yes, we lured you into his base and disabled the defenses so that you could confront him. It was merely a test."

"A test? A TEST? You made us fight one of the most wanted criminal masterminds and call is a test?" She was fuming by now. "And you use my creations for your own sick goals? That's disgusting. Those were made for battles, a sign of my dedication. Even worse, you accuse me of being responsible for this?"

"That's like designing a weapon and then wondering why it's used to kill people," Victoria remarked. "Face it. You've done and it can't be undone."

"No, it can't," Dawn admitted. "But I can prevent you from causing any more damage. Kabutops, aqua jet! Togekiss, dazzling gleam!"

Skuntank avoided the pink energy beam although its movement looked weird, which Dawn would have noticed if she hadn't been so furious. Once it was a bit closer to Togekiss, it looked like an invisible claw grabbed her. Meanwhile, Spoink shot something that looked like a psyshock orb at Kabutops but for some reason, it dealt massive damage despite the fact that it wasn't even super-effective. Since spoink weren't exactly known for superior attack power and Kabutops was supposed to be strong against this kind of moves, it made Dawn suspicious. The attack was powerful enough to push back the rock-type a bit.

"So hot-headed. So easy to provoke. You let your guard down, my friend," Victoria exclaimed with an annoying grin.

Her two pokémon changed in front of Dawn's eyes. Skuntank increased in size massively and showed that it was a drapion who indeed had a tight grip on togekiss. Spoink was revealed to be a exeggutor, which explained how it had been able to deal so much damage to Kabutops as the psyshock had been a energy ball. Now it was trying to use giga drain to finish him off.

"Get to safety! Togekiss, use safeguard and dazzling gleam!" Battling a grass-type with Kabutops was a horrible idea so Dawn wanted to change pokémon. Fortunately, he made it just in time so that the rest of the giga drain was blocked by the shield. "Searing light on both of them," Dawn told Espeon telepathically, hoping that it would come as a surprise to Victoria.

First, the safeguard prevented Togekiss from getting poisoned as Drapion was using poison jab with one arm while holding her with other and preparing its tail for another attack. Before it could be executed, Togekiss released a blast of pink light in its face and several orbs of light hit it in the stomach with another one hitting Exeggutor. It made the dark-type cry out in pain and release Togekiss, who also retreated to safety.

Dawn heard something behind her and saw that Pikachu was in big trouble but she trusted that Ash would be able to deal with it. Besides, she had to chose the next team or Victoria might get the idea to attack the shield instead.

"Sylveon, I need you. Espeon, you too." Those two made a good team and she had no doubt that they would be up to the challenge.

Victoria on the other hand wasn't impressed. She still had her mask to hide her pokémon's true identity, a fact that Dawn feared quite a bit. However, destroying the gem on the mask required a lot of power, that could easily kill the bearer and Dawn simply wasn't willing to go that far. Only when Ash or their pokémon were in grave danger, she would even consider thinking about it. For now, she simply had to battle her the normal way.

Marcus was facing Seth, who didn't look too impressed. Since the psychic didn't have any pokémon, he was sure of his victory and called out Hitmonlee and Tangrowth, believing them to be more than up to this task despite Hitmonlee's injuries.

"You'll pay for tricking me. And once I'm done with you, you'll tell me everything you know about this creature and your reasons for giving it to me," he said in a collected manner. "And believe me, you will tell me, no matter what those other two think about my methods."

"How primitive. Why don't you show me that you can do more than just talk." Seth started levitating and folded his arms. "I'm waiting."

"Struggling will only make this worse. Tangrowth, get him down with vine whip!" Marcus commanded.

Seth remained calm and simply pulled the injured and weak Hitmonlee in front of himself to us it as a meat shield. It took the hits for him until Tangrowth canceled its attack and he finished it off with a psyshock before dropping it like a piece of trash.

"Damn it! Fine, let's do it slowly and painfully." He recalled Tangrowth and Hitmonlee to call out a houndoom. "Let's see how your psychic powers deal with a dark-type."

The answer was simple, Seth didn't attack at all. Instead he focused on evading all of Houndoom's attacks. Especially the teleports made actually hitting him a real challenge, especially since he was keeping his distance the whole time. His intention was to wait until Marcus called out more pokémon, whose attacks he could used against them. Of course, it was risky as it would also mean having to dodge more attacks but he was confident that his skills were good enough to make it without a problem.

The minutes flew by without anything happening and Marcus proved far more persistent than expected. Nevertheless, Seth remained patient and waited until the end when his opponent finally had enough.

"Face your end with some dignity instead of running away like a pussy all the time!" he yelled.

"Why don't you face me in person instead of hiding behind your pokémon? It makes me wonder who's the 'pussy' here," Seth countered.

"Now you've done it. Golem, Electrode, come on out and get rid of this stuck-up bitch for me!" Marcus yelled.

As long as he kept his distance, Seth didn't have too much trouble dodging the attacks. Actually using them against Marcus's pokémon was a bit harder, though. There wasn't any proper opportunity until a pain split move from somewhere else hit Electrode, stunning it for a moment. Since it wasn't able to shoot its usual thunderbolt at him, he was able to use Golem's stone edge on the electric-type. Although it wasn't finished just yet, Marcus cried out in frustration and anger and recalled it before Seth could finish what he had started.

"Damn you. You just got lucky. Staraptor, help us out!" Calling out a melee fighter was risky but he simply wanted to end it quickly.

The respective battles went on, even the heavy rain wasn't bothering them anymore. Then something happened nobody expected. Someone had managed to get past the creatures around them and was approaching them quickly while screaming. Judging from the surprised looks on Victoria's face, it wasn't part of their plan, but the rain made identifying this person difficult. Fortunately, the surprise also prevented their opponents from attacking the intruder. The screams told them that it was either a girl or a boy with an extremely girly scream. The voice already sounded familiar but it wasn't until she was close to the shield that they recognized Eileen. Espeon was the first one to react by pulling her to safety with psychic, where she was immediately surrounded by the others. Even their enemies stopped fighting as they were just as curious about her sudden appearance as they were.

"Eileen , what the hell are you doing here?" Marcus shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders. "This is no place for you."

She had to be calmed down first as she was hysterical to say the least. Something horrible had happened, her eyes were bloodshot, her hands shaking, and she was barely able to speak in whole sentence, only stammering words like 'kidnapped' and 'destruction'.

"Calm down, girl," Seth said, using his voice to make her feel a bit better. "You shouldn't be here. How did you get past the guards?"

"Don't you dare talk to my sister!" Marcus retorted. "Eileen, what happened? Why aren't you at home?"

"Let her catch her breath first," Dawn told him, earning a glare from him.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. Please, we need to know what happened," he said with a softer voice.

"He ... took ... burned ... it all ... burning city," she stammered between the sobs.

"Yes, I know the city's on fire. But what happened at home?" he inquired.

When Eileen didn't answer, he shook her a bit, which immediately caused Ash to pull him away from her. What followed was a short but intense argument between those two on how a brother was supposed to treat his little sister. Dawn, seeing that it only worsened Eileen's condition, tried to calm them down but with little success as the argument led to chaos. Victoria was clearly amused by this turn whereas Seth was irritated and Wraith showed no reaction whatsoever, just as usual.

"He followed me ..." Eileen muttered, making everyone turn towards her.

"Who followed you?" Marcus asked.

Suddenly, a seemingly endless stream of fire from above hit the aura bubble. It looked more impressive than it actually was, though, so it didn't even come close to breaking the barrier but it still took a while to die down. Once the smoke was gone as well, they looked up to see a tall man standing on a large noivern's back, his right arm extended towards them. His hand or rather the gloves, which had a red gem with a weak glow on it, was still emitting smoke, indicating that it was the source of the fire. Even from that distance, Ash and Dawn could see that his hair and uniform were soaked but his most prominent feature was the cruel smile gracing his lips. Two talonflame were accompanying him.

"I did," the man answered Marcus's question. "I'm Boris, pleased to meet you."


	51. Confrontation part 3

**Last chapter of the first confronation, this time with a surprise visit.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 51 Confrontation part 3

Ash and Dawn met their fourth opponent and there was something really disturbing about this one. His voice, his appearance, and not to mention Eileen's condition told them that he was going to be trouble for them. It was Marcus who confronted him about Eileen's situation.

"You did this to her, didn't you?" he yelled.

"I'm afraid not," Boris explained. "She was my original target but I couldn't find her at first so I took your other sister instead. What was her name again ... Catherine?"

"What?" Ash, Dawn , and Marcus exclaimed.

"Give Catelyn back." Despite his rather obvious fury, Marcus's voice was remarkably calm. "I won't ask again. Tell me where she is and give her back."

Boris obviously wasn't impressed and merely laughed. He knew Marcus's strength in battle and saw no reason to fear him at all. In fact, it was rather amusing watching a weakling trying to act all tough and strong. Only rage gave him the courage to talk to Boris like this but even that would go away eventually and Marcus's confidence would fall apart again. He also knew that desperation could turn them into a real danger, both for their friends and allies and he was already looking forward to finding out how this one would react. Boris knew these kind of people all too well, they were all the same to him but amusing nonetheless.

Ash and Dawn on the other hand were a force to be reckoned with, especially together. Their battle against Giovanni had showed him just how powerful they could be. Of course, he'd helped them back then by disabling the traps and opening the doors for them. However, most people wouldn't have had to courage to face the notorious Team Rocket leader even in that position but they not only had the courage but also the skills to defeat him without a lot of problems. Nevertheless, he wasn't too worried with all of his allies around and his new toy in his hand. Further trying it out on them was surely going to be fun.

"I'm sorry, she's already in our base. Actually, I'm not sorry. She's annoying and deserves her fate although the other one deserves it even more. Her attitude made me sick." He pretended to throw up for a moment. "Anyway, the boss still wants her so come here, my darling. It isn't going to hurt at all."

Ash got in front of Eileen and spread his arms in a protective manner.

"You lay one finger on her and I'll beat you to a pulp," Ash warned him. "You were at Team Rocket's base, weren't you? I recognize your voice."

"I'm glad I made such a lasting impression. You can't imagine how happy I am." He giggled like a little girl before his expression of pure bliss was replaced by something far more sinister. "I hope you also remember the present I left you. Who knows? You might find something similar during your search for Catherine."

"It's Catelyn!" Marcus corrected in an aggressive manner. "And what do you mean by present?"

"You don't want to know," Dawn told him, remembering the sight she had tried to ban from her thoughts. "All I can say is that it wasn't pretty."

"Aw, I really believed you'd love it." Boris shook his head. "Anyway, we should get started."

"No, not yet." Everyone looked at the source of the voice behind Victoria, an old man accompanied by two gardevoir. He didn't look dangerous at all with his grey pants and yellow sweater, his short, grey hair, which was mostly on the sides of his head, and grandfatherly smile. Yet everyone, including the pokémon felt that he was trouble. Victoria quickly made way for him, averting her eyes, while Boris simply rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Let's have a chat, shall we, friends?"

"And who the hell are you?" Marcus retorted.

"Well, I'm the employer of this merry bunch," he exclaimed, pointing at his subordinates. "My name is Divine. Of course it's just a codename and I know what you're thinking. This guy sure if full of himself. And you know what? You're right. And I have reason for that. Look at the destruction my creation has wrought."

He raised an arm, which made the creatures nearby spread out, giving everyone a better view of the city. Buildings were burning, people were running around in panic, and there was no one to stop the hordes of creatures. Fortunately, they didn't seem to attack the humans, ignoring them altogether and in one case, a gengar even saved a child from falling debris.

"This a mere display of power. I can do much more than primitive destruction. It was I who sent those that caused your nightmares so that you could taste what happens to those opposing me. This world will burn, and from its ashes, a new one shall rise." Not his words were the most disturbing part, but how he said them. It was like casual chatter to him, completely devoid of remorse, and that smile in particular unnerved everyone."Now I've come here to offer you a place in this new world. Join me, and won't have to make all those nasty experiences ever again."

Divine made it sound like he was giving candy to a child instead of offering a job in a criminal organization bent on destruction. Naturally, neither Ash nor Dawn even considered agreeing to it.

"You can't be serious?" Dawn said in an aggressive tone.

"After all you've done, you expect us to join you? Just like that?" Ash spat on the ground. "Never! If you knew anything about us, you wouldn't even ask, evil bastard."

Much to his annoyance, the old man let out a merry laugh.

"Oh please, I know more about you than you can imagine. All your accomplishments, all your goals. And how close you are. Would be a shame if all of this was destroyed. But frankly, I didn't expect you to show reason just yet. It looks like pain has some teaching to do." He turned around as if he wanted to leave, but then addressed them again. "Oh, and one more thing. Evil is a simple concept for primitive minds to offer a basic explanation. They can't understand that other people have different interests, that there is not one single truth. Nobody gets up in the morning and decided to do evil deeds. Everybody has their own goals, and fools call them evil to make themselves feel superior. Good and evil. Right and wrong. Light and darkness. Hollow concepts to an educated mind. But I guess it's easier to demonize someone as evil than actually try to understand his motives, isn't it? Anyway, I only wanted to meet you this time. We'll talk again. Now do your job."

Divine slowly walked away, flanked by his gardevoir, like was taking a stroll in the park. His underlings got ready, glad that the conversation, which had been more of a monologue, was finally over. Boris was the first to speak up.

"At last. Now where were we? Ah yes. There's one thing you should know. I always get what I want. This girl will come with me any anyone who gets in my way -" He raised his right arm, which made the talonflame next to him use weak flamethrowers on it. The glow of the gem on the glove intensified considerably, then he lowered the arm again and pointed at his enemies. "- must die."

An impressive stream of fire shot out of gloves his glove straight at them. Once again, the shield was strong enough to endure the attack but apparently, it was the signal for the others to attack.

"Don't even think about teleporting away, we'd find you eventually and the city would pay for your foolishness," Seth warned them.

They hadn't left for that reason before so they were unlikely to do it now. The sudden start of the battle was chaotic at first but they soon returned to the situation before Boris's arrival, only that he was now flying above the battle field, occasionally trying to incinerate the pokémon below him. Unfortunately, the noivern carrying him was extremely fast to destroying the gem wasn't an option and since his attacks didn't seem that much stronger than a normal flamethrower, they didn't see much need to change that.

Shortly after the beginning, a strange darkness spread over the area, making it impossible to see very far, thus making Boris's attacks more unpredictable. The battles weren't affected by it too much so Ash and Dawn didn't bother trying to find the source, which was Wraith's mismagius. The purpose was making sure that nobody, especially no policeman, would interfere with their operation although the creatures guarding them were probably enough in most cases.

Ash was about to give first orders, when something weird happened behind him. Something was emitting black smoke, an effect he had seen before and sure enough, Wraith herself emerged from it like a ghost-type. Ash reacted quickly but she was even faster and got a hold of his neck with one arm. The other one stabbed his stomach with a knife, making him cry out in pain. Somehow, he still managed to free himself by hitting her in the stomach with his elbow and by pulling away her feet with his own, he managed to knock her down. He let himself fall on her, effectively pinning her down while clutching his wound.

"Give up, you can't escape now," he muttered, pressing her down with his whole weight.

"I wouldn't get in a situation like this if I didn't have any means of escape," she replied nonchalantly.

The gem on her belt glowed briefly before her body turned into a gaseous state or at least that's how it felt to Ash. It slipped into the ground, out of his reach and reemerged on the other side of their battle field, ready to command her pokémon once more. Ash was about to do the same when he felt gentle hands near his wound. The attack hadn't gone unnoticed by Dawn, who was really worried as the wound brought back unpleasant memories.

"Are you alright? Let me have a look," she whispered, trying to gain access but he didn't let her.

"It's fine." He showed her the knife, which was just a small throwing-knife. "Togekiss's move should heal it soon. You have to pay attention to your battle."

"Espeon's taking care of it for now. Please let me clean the wound." As much as she trusted Togekiss's move, she didn't want to take any risks.

"I'm really find, no need to worry." He moved a bit in order to prove that didn't need any help an even he was surprised that it worked. Apparently, the effect was stronger on humans than he could have hoped.

"Alright. But please be careful," she begged him.

Leaving him like this wasn't easy for her but he was right. Without her, the battle against Victoria wouldn't go as smoothly and he really looked like he didn't need her help right now. No matter what he said, she was still going to keep an eye out for him in case of more attacks.

Ash turned his attention back to the battle field and saw Mawile running towards his pokémon. There was no sign of Mismagius and her other pokémon could always interfere as they had demonstrated before so he had to be extremely careful. His first guess was that Mismagius was waiting in the darkness, trying to find a weakness while Mawile was distracting his pokémon.

"Trevenant, shadow roots. Feraligatr, combine hydro pump with ice beam, then earthquake!" When Mawile got close enough, it turned around so that its fake head was facing its opponents and jumped for an attack. Its feet were entangled by the roots, pulling it back to the ground. Feraligatr shot a stream of water right into the fake mouth before freezing it, making spikes shoot out, thus damaging it further. Then a shockwave followed, which Mawile couldn't jump over since it was still forced to the ground. Apart from the usual damage, it also shattered the ice, causing the shards to hurt it even more. The downside was that the roots were also destroyed but Ash had something else to worry about.

Mismagius's first action was a phantom force attack on Trevenant while Feraligatr was busy with Mawile. The physical wasn't much of a problem, Ash was more worried about the follow-up, which consisted of a powerful shadow ball. His ghost-type didn't need an order for that, he destroyed the ball with a shadow claw. Before he was able to attack, it retreated back into the darkness.

"Use ingrain and shadow roots on Mawile!" Together with Togekiss's individual move, Trevenant completely healed the damage by the phantom force in no time and also set up a decent amount of regeneration for the future.

"Iron defense, magical leaf." Mawile's body glowed white for a moment, preparing itself for the coming attacks whereas Mismagius shot several leaves from the darkness to cut the roots entangling its ally. Mawile jumped at Feraligatr, who grabbed the jaws with his hands, preventing them from closing them.

"Use scald! Trevenant, will-o-wisp!" The water-type shot the streams of boiling straight into the fake head, which couldn't close the mouth as he was still trying to pry it apart. Trevenant, however, couldn't use his attack as he got distracted by a huge amount of shadow balls coming towards them from different places at the same time. It didn't took a long time for him to realize that most of them weren't real and jut hallucinations fabricated by Mismagius. Distinguishing between them was a problem, though, so Trevenant's current task was to destroy any shadow ball getting too close to his ally. Canceling the ingrain, he moved next to Feraligatr to destroy the balls with shadow claw repeatedly.

Soon enough, it seemed like there wasn't a single real shadow ball coming at them but Ash wasn't going to take any risks in this situation. In fact, he had a plan to find out which ones were real.

"Create a wall with shadow roots!" It was extremely tiring and took a while, during which he was vulnerable but just as expected, Mismagius was doing something else and it wasn't exactly reassuring for Ash. Once it was up, the fake ones would simply move through it whereas the real attacks had to damage it on the way. For now, it seemed to be completely unharmed.

"Thunder." A powerful blast of electric energy was shot at Feraligatr from above Ash's position. This time, Trevenant was too slow to shield his ally but due to the contact, Mawile was hit as well. Unlike Feraligatr, it was knocked out soon as it had already been close to fainting before. Judging from the power of that move, Mismagius had powered it up with several nasty plots while Trevenant had been busy creating the wall.

"Needs more training," Wraith muttered, recalling Mawile.

Ash was relieved to see Feraligatr endure the move and thought about a quick retaliation attack but Mismagius was already gone again. Feraligatr felt so proud of his achievement that he did a little dance, unaware of what was about to come. After all, Mismagius wasn't the only opponent left.

A huge fireball from above engulfed him. Despite the rain and his resistance to fire, it still dealt major damage as when the flames disappeared, his skin was shown to be badly burnt and he was breathing heavily. Boris's mad laughter could be heard for a moment before he moved on to his next target. Once more, Ash tried to go to his pokémon only to get held back by Lucario gain. At least Feraligatr still had the strength to get back to safety without any help except for Trevenant covering the retreat.

As soon as he was close enough, Ash realized the true extent of the attack. The skin was so damaged that it was almost black and he doubted that there was anything that could restore it completely. It was far more likely that he'd be scarred for life. Since he didn't regard himself as a beauty, it wouldn't even matter that much if the damaged skin wasn't likely to make him more vulnerable in battle. The best they could hope for was that it would merely make him feel more pain, which was already a big deal, considering how much he had to take during an average battle.

"Do you think that's funny? Do you?" Ash yelled in a random direction since there was no way to tell where Boris was at this moment. "Come here and face me like a man instead of running away over and over like the pussy you are. Come on, I'm waiting."

Instead of answering, Boris just shot a fireball at the shield, accompanied by his laughter, which sounded like it was coming from all directions. The longer Ash had to listen to it, the more he thought that he wasn't facing a man but a demon here. The laughter on its own was the stuff of nightmares and he was sure that he wouldn't forget it in the near future. Unfortunately, Boris refused to show himself so he could do nothing but try to prevent a similar event from happening again somehow. The means were still unknown to him as there was little he could do to counter a sneak attack with that darkness around. Before he could even try to think about how to remove it, he noticed that Wraith was ready for another attack.

"Stay here and heal. Don't worry, I'll make him pay for this, my friend," he said to Feraligatr, careful not to touch the pokémon because there was no way to tell just how painful even the slightest touch might be. Togekiss's move wasn't made for injuries like that but it was still better than his pokéball, which would do nothing to help and Pikachu was still occupying the regeneration ball.

Dawn and Victoria weren't battling just yet, the brunette wanted to provoke her target a bit more before playing with her. With Boris around, Dawn was bound to be nervous so the words might have a bigger effect than previously.

"That Boris. He's a real darling, isn't he?" she remarked. "Still, his contribution to our cause is nothing compared to yours."

The good part about this was that Victoria didn't seem to attack so her pokémon could conserve her energy and she could use the time to think of a strategy to end it quickly. She was sill rather annoyed at the comments, though.

"This again?" Dawn groaned. "I don't care what you say, I don't support you and I never will."

"But you just did it again. Eileen went to you for protection and by doing that, she made a time-consuming search unnecessary," Victoria explained. "So on behalf of our organization, I thank you."

"Think what you want. It won't save you." She got read to send Espon and Leafeon into battle but Victoria wasn't finished yet and her following words had quite the effect on the coordinator.

"It's a shame you can't see the city because frankly, it's quite a beautiful sight with all those lights. By the end of the day, nothing but dust will be left of the city." In Dawn's mind, only the most despicable kind of person could call this kind of destruction beautiful.

 _How can a mind be so twisted, so corrupted that it can consider this beautiful? So much death, so much destruction._ Dawn shook her head, even imagining it was painful. _That's sick. That's utterly disgusting._

"And to think that it's merely the beginning. All the things you've seen here, they're also happening in other cities. While we're speaking, every major city in Kanto is being turned to dust," Victoria told her.

 _Every major city? Oh no!_ Every single person they had met during their travels came to mind. _Our friends, not all of them can defend themselves. This is bad. Damn this woman and her organization, the world would be better off without them._

Her rage was growing steadily and Victoria wasn't going to stop until Dawn completely lost control. That was a dangerous game, though. There were a few reliable ways of angering Dawn like mistreating any pokémon and it often led to her making foolish mistakes in battle but if someone managed to make her really angry, which was considerably more difficult, she entered a stage of complete focus. Ursula had been the very first to push her this far at the Hoenn Grand Festival and the outcome was a bitter defeat. Victoria was coming dangerously close to making the same mistake.

"You know what's really funny? Everything about this is merely a little distraction. You'll find out about our true goal eventually. For now, you can think about your own involvement in this. Because we both know what it makes you." The following was drawn out and just loud enough for Dawn to head. "Murderer."

It was enough to push her over the edge. Her eyes narrowed, her breathing got louder and slower, her furious expression was replaced by one of grim determination and her pokémon felt that things were about to change. Her commands now arrived per telepathy with even Leafeon following, probably because Espeon was sending the commands to him. Only Victoria was still clueless, thinking that Dawn's pokémon were attacking on their own initiative. She knew that it was about to start when Leafon summoned leaves to whirl around him as a kind of shield. He could also increase the radius to make them cover a large area, not only preventing anyone inside from escaping but also protecting them from attacks from outside. Dawn wasn't ashamed to admit that this was inspired by Zoey's volcarona's hurricane trap as the move was simply amazing but Leafeon had proved the only one capable to learn anything close to it. Espeon's individual move was next and even though the aura of light was less effective than normal due to the darkness, it still looked impressive and inspired the other pokémon.

"Attack Drapion. Get ready to use grass knot on its arms and the tail. Try to dodge with swords dance." Leafeon and Espeon charged towards it with the same expression as Dawn's, often switching positions, which made Victoria wonder how they managed to do it without getting hurt by the leaves.

"Drapion, grab them! Exeggutor, slow them down with psychic!" Drapion had a type-advantage against both pokémon, making it a bit too confident for its own good. The first thing Victoria noticed was that they seemed barely affected by the psychic, even Leafeon, who wasn't supposed to be resistant to the move at all. When the dark-type tried to get hold of Dawn's pokémon, its arms got pinned down by two vines each, the same happened to its tail.

"Walk up the arms, searing light on the eyes, Exeggutor and on leafeon for an x-scissor on the back. Then another searing light at the wound." Each pokémon walked up one of its long arms and Leafeon even damaged it on the way with the leaves.

"Use toxic! Exeggutor, get close and try psychic again!" Once more, the attempts to control Dawn's pokémon failed as shown when the purple liquid Drapion spit at them was dodged easily, in Leafon's case with a swords dance spin. Espeon released several searing light orbs and controlled them with psychic to hit different targets. Drapion's eyes were hit by one each, blinding it for some time. Three more tried to do the same to Exeggutor but the pokémon managed to stop them with psychic just in time. The last one hit the leaf on Leafeon's head, making it glow and powering up the following x-scissor. He jumped over Drapion's back and cut its back with impressive power and Espeon followed up with another searing light straight into the wound, causing burning pain to Victoria's pokémon.

"Espeon, make sure Exeggutor doesn't move one bit. Leafeon, hit it with full power but the flat side," Dawn commanded.

She was fully aware that the previous attack was rather brutal but in her current state, she didn't care. She still made sure that the pokémon didn't suffer permanent, let alone lethal damage, though. As a result of the fast and effective attack, Victoria was shocked to say the least and unable to come up with a counter.

"Use eggbomb, psyshock, barrage, I don't care. Just stop them!" Without clear instructions, Exeggutor used a mix of those moves, which wasn't effective at all, as they did little more than destroy a few leaves circling Leafeon, who jumped at its fellow grass-type for the attack. "Dodge it!" That was impossible as Espeon held a firm grip on its movement and didn't allow any, which was good in this case as a miss on the following could do more harm than good. At this state, an x-scissor attack could potentially slice it in half and that was the reason Dawn wanted him to use it as a blunt weapon. With all the buffs and the type-advantage, it was likely to knock Exeggutor out in one hit

The attack was flawless and Exeggutor fell on its back before Victoria realized what was going on. One of her pokémon was down, the other one was unable to free itself from the vines and now Dawn's pokémon were looking at her.

"Zoroark, Gardevoir, protect me!" she screamed.

Her pokémon got ready while she was trying to recall Drapion and Exeggutor. Despite her fury still burning, Dawn was proud of her pokémon, who made this risky attack actually look easy. The psychological effect wasn't to be underestimated as Victoria's confidence was shattered.

Before Dawn was able to take advantage of the situation, Ash's shouting along with Boris's laughter broke her focus. She turned around and saw the water-type with badly burned skin, which made her anger vanish. Instead, she was worried now and almost approached Ash when she heard something else from her own battle field. There was another attack by Boris, albeit a bit weaker since his weapon was running out of energy. Leafeon was lucky to have retreated a bit as his original position was hit by the attack, which also almost incinerated Exeguttor. The assailant was gone again before she could punish him.

"Can't stop me, bitches!" he yelled before laughing again.

It was clear that he was capable of anything so they had to find a way to stop him. Right now, it seemed impossible with so many distractions around and their other opponents were just as dangerous.

Marcus's battle against Seth continued the same way with Seth keeping his distance to evade the attacks and waiting for a proper opportunity. Marcus also had to watch out for Boris, who created a flame wall near his position for a few seconds, almost burning his pokémon in the process. Apart from that, he didn't do anything, mostly because he thought Ash and Dawn were much more interesting. His main purpose in the battle between Seth and Marcus was to be a threat, which forced Marcus to be extremely cautious. As a result, the battle was extremely boring compared to the others. It also meant that he couldn't support the others despite having the least dangerous opponent, but given his last performance, they feared that he would be more of a hindrance than a help so maybe it wasn't too bad.

Seth's real goal was not to defeat Marcus but to correct a mistake he'd made earlier. Eileen was still well-protected between his three opponents and as long as she was inside the aura bubble, there was no way for him to get her. He had to find a way to lure her out and since telepathy was still working, he got an idea. The things he knew about her would help him convince her. The darkness around them made Eileen almost freak out completely-

"Poor girl. Trapped between enemies and darkness. You must be scared, especially since your sister is at our mercy. No, don't say anything, don't show that I'm talking to you or we might be forced to hurt her. That's not what you want, is it?" Either she was too scared to react or she was more sensible than she looked as she just looked at him for a moment, then at the ground. "Good girl. You know, you're our real target, not your sister. She doesn't need to die. But if you don't help us, we'll have to. Don't resist, walk out outside the shield and I guarantee that she won't be hurt. Be careful, though, or your brother might stop you. Just rush out of there when I tell you and everything will be fine. I hope for Catelyn's sake that you make the right decision."

Now he could only hope that the girl would follow his instructions as there was no way he could know whether she understood the importance of the decision. When Marcus appeared distracted, she could hear his voice in her mind again.

"Do it now!" he told her, using all the power he had for this one order.

Much to his relief, she obeyed and was outside the aura bubble before the others knew what was going on. Seth immediately used his psychic powers to pull her towards him and held her in front of himself like a shield.

"Why? Why did you do that?" Marcus screamed.

"He threatened to kill Cat. I had to do it," she replied, desperation clear in her voice.

"Now they'll kill both of you!" Ash shouted angrily.

"But ... he promised not to kill Cat if I go with him," Eileen protested.

"They can't be trusted. They'll break any promise if it serves their purposes," Dawn told him desperately. "It was a trap."

"What? But he sounded so sincere." She turned towards him. "You won't kill her, right? Right?"

The others could almost see her heart break when Seth closed his eyes and turned his head in what could be viewed as shame. Her body lost all of its strength and she felt like she was about to faint. Before she could even say anything else, Boris appeared next to Seth and grabbed the prisoner roughly, placing her in front of him on his noivern.

"Well done, almost makes up for you missing her earlier. I'll take care of her from now on," he said with a big grin. "Don't worry, little girl. I won't hurt you just yet."

Her expression said everything, this girl was devastated. With her last bit of strength, she reached out towards her brother and although it was useless, the gesture strengthened his resolve. Boris retreated into the darkness before he was able to think of a plan, though, so she was out of reach for now. Eventually, Boris was flying above the trainers and spoke to them. It sounded like his voice was coming from everywhere, which was a secondary effect of the darkness move to further confuse the opponents.

"I must admit, you're fighting valiantly despite being surrounded in a burning city, cut off from any help by creatures you don't know and a darkness you don't understand." He clapped but they weren't quite sure whether it was meant sarcastically. "But I'm sure you'll agree that your current situation is kind of shitty."

Wraith noticed that the communication device in one of her pockets was vibrating and answered it. Boris didn't seem to have notice as he simply continued.

"I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve by resisting. Why don't you join us instead? We have power, we have knowledge, we have everything you desire. Most importantly, we always have a place for capable individuals like you. Don't you want to feel safe again, to be at peace? It's within your grasp." They weren't sure how he expected them to accept such an offer right after he'd almost killed two of their pokémon. "If you wish to have us as enemies on the other hand we'll gladly oblige and squash you like a bug. Your pain will be ..."

"Shut up for a moment." It was Wraith's voice, which was uncharacteristically loud. Boris was obviously angry but also curious since she wouldn't speak like this if it wasn't important. "Seth and I are needed at the primary location. The rest is to proceed as planned."

At first, Victoria thought that she was joking but then she remembered that Wraith never made jokes. The enthusiasm about working with only Boris was limited to say the least but saying it out loud would only serve his amusement so she kept her mouth shut for now and got closer to Gardevoir.

"I'll see you at the base," she said to him.

Gardvoir teleported her there as her presence wasn't needed for the second phase. Wraith called out her gothitelle, who took her and her other pokémon to another location with Seth following. With Mismagius gone, the darkness quickly vanished, finally revealing Boris, who was holding a hand in front of Eileen's mouth in order to keep her silent.

"Just try to catch me, suckers, but be careful or I might drop my guest here," he shouted and flew away with his noivern.

Now that they could see the city around them again, they noticed that the creatures were retreating. However, it was already too late for most of the large building and a large part of the smaller ones as they had left them as smoking ruins. The rain, which was getting a bit weaker now, was doing its part to reduce the damage but it wasn't nearly enough. The real tragedy was the loss of human life as some trainers had fought back, which seemed to have marked them as targets. Only a thorough investigation would allow the police to estimate the damage done.

Since the creatures were fleeing, it appeared that the city was safe for now, which allowed Ash and Dawn to focus on the matter at hand. Some of them even got literally torn to pieces by an unknown force, probably psychic moves, or disintegrated when hit by future sight lightning. The distance was too large to see the source, though, only six red lights could be seen. However, there was a more pressing matter at hand.

Eileen and Catelyn were in their enemy's hands and had to be freed at all costs. Both of them knew this. They recalled their larger pokémon and jumped on the backs of their respective flying-types. When they were already in the air, they noticed that Marcus was following them on the back of his staraptor. Apparently, he noticed their looks and tried to explain his actions.

"What? You thought I would just leave my sisters in the hands of a murderous psycho?" he asked.

He had a point. Unlike at the Storm Raiders base, where he was just for revenge, he had a good reason to go with them this time and they didn't dare deny him the chance to save his last remaining family members. Fortunately, their pokémon were fast enough to keep up with Boris's noivern and he didn't seem to have the pokémon for teleportation or he would've used them already. Therefore it was only a matter of time until they would catch up with him.


	52. Forced Power

**Sometimes damage can be done in unexpected ways. The nexz chapters will be nasty.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 52 Forced Power

Wraith and Seth appeared near their target location, a base of the international police in Saffron City. They couldn't get there directly because of a pure black shield blocking access to it. The shield was maintained by a few inner guardians by using one of their newest weapon, which was said to grant them the power to control darkness. Most of the other inner guardians were using its counterpart, the glove of light and those were responsible for the attack. However, the international police was much better prepared than anticipated, resulting in a lot of casualties and now Divine told them not to advance until Wraith and Seth were there as backup since he couldn't go there personally. Once they were there, they could take command and make a plan to break the defense, something the inner guardians were unable to do on their own.

The two chosen waited for a short moment, in which the shield was removed briefly. It was just long enough to allow them to teleport inside. The international police on the other hand didn't expect it and were unable to do it as well so they could just keep attacking the barrier. Inside, Wraith and Seth learned that the shield would last at least one more hour, even if heavy weaponry was used against it. They needed the time as although most of the automated defenses were down, the remaining guards were holding out in front of the storage room. Because they were heavily armed and desperate, a direct attack would result in heavy losses, something Divine didn't want to accept so he needed the others to make a more refined plan.

The solution proved rather simple. Instead of trying to get through the only door to the room with the guards, they would blast the walls, allowing more of them to attack at the same time. The first one would try to blind the defenders with a burst of light, basically sacrificing himself for the others but at last this would greatly reduce further losses or at least they hoped so. Once the materials were in their hands, escaping would be easy. Without a doubt, the international police would try to prevent them from teleporting in the area by creating dark fields, maybe with a teleport blocker. However, the abilities provided by the gloves of light were the natural counter to those and thus could easily neutralize any of those measures. The inner guardians had enough psychic-types to transport a huge amount of materials so that wasn't a problem either. The only matter that could give them trouble was the attack.

The first problem concerning their plan was the thickness of the walls. Although there was no doubt that they would get through in time, it would take too long and not even Wraith's excadrill was able to build a proper tunnel. That only left a direct attack, which was extremely dangerous as all the attackers had to go through the door one by one, making them vulnerable to enemy fire during the process.

In the end, they decided to send two of them first. The first one used his glove of darkness to shoot some kind of black orb at the other side of the room before getting gunned down. Upon making contact with the wall, it turned into a vortex, which pulled the defenders towards it and even disarmed several of them by sucking their weapons into its core, where they got twisted and crushed by massive forces until they were little more than a tiny, compressed ball. It was enough of a distraction to allow the next one to release a burst of light, which blinded the guards. He was killed as well but now there was only chaos among the defenders, who lost orientation and were just shooting around wildly. Nevertheless, there were still many of them and it didn't make the weapons any less deadly. The inner guardians were slaughtered in large numbers but killed even more with crushing dark bolts and burning light beams. It was a massacre, to say the least, with no clear victor.

Finally, the last defenders surrendered, only to get locked up in a small room with a single guardian watching them. The others had enough time to pick up the gloves of every fallen guardian, a task that was of uttermost importance as Divine didn't want his enemies to analyze his most treasured weapons. The next step was to shrink the shield surrounding the base to make it consume less energy. Ten guardians were enough to make it last about thirty more minutes while Wraith and Seth were coordinating the psychic-types.

As soon as everything was prepared, the shield was dropped and one of them used the gloves of light to allow teleportation. Within a second, the base was empty with only the fallen ones remaining as signs of the battle that had occurred.

Divine wasn't done just yet, though. The fleeing Okcha had left machines that he used to speak to the whole city as they amplified his voice. Another one in his base twisted his voice by all known means to make restoring and thus recognizing his voice impossible. Talking to the population like that made him feel like a god and he didn't bother hiding it.

"Hear me, citizens, and despair. You have just witnessed a fraction of my power. The creatures under my command are almost endless and those killed today will be replaced quickly so there's no hope of defeating me, even the most stubborn fool will realize this soon. I must admit that the international police surprised me today. Mr. Wright, it seems like you care more about the materials hidden in your base than the lives of the people living nearby. Your men fought valiantly and it's a shame they had to die. If only they had shown more willingness to protect the civilians, who knows how many more would have survived. As you can see, I can strike anywhere, at any time, with forces you can't handle. And those pitiful soldiers I sent today are just the beginning. Which region will be next? Johto? Sinnoh? Unova? All of them? You will know when your agents send you the damage reports." He let out a laugh that sounded unnatural and demonic due to the twisted voice. "Why don't you just resign from your position? Then you can at least claim that it's not your fault while your cities are being turned to dust and your people slaughtered. As for all of you nice people out there. I'm not accepting new recruits right now but if I want your assistance, I will contact you. You better pray it'll happen soon."

The international police stormed their own base in order to drive off any intruder, but they quickly discovered that everyone was gone already. To their surprise, they found the prisoner all in one room, tied up and gagged, yet completely unguarded. For some reason, they seemed highly nervous and tried to tell their rescuers something, but they didn't know until it was too late. Between the prisoners, blocked from view, a glove of darkness with a damaged power gem was lying. Sparks were already coming from the crack, which meant that it had become too unstable to contain the energy. This usually resulted in a massive explosion specific to the gem and this case was no different. At first, everyone in the room was pushed away only to get pulled into a newly formed vortex of darkness. Everyone who couldn't resist it, got smashed by the forces in the center and there only few who were far away enough to accomplish this.

When it was finally over, only a small red ball remained, which consisted of the belongings, flesh, bones, and blood of the victims. The others immediately tried to leave the room, both out of disgust and fear. To them, this ball looked unstable and a burst would make this even more disgusting by turning the whole room and everyone inside into a huge mess. It sparked a burning hatred for those responsible for this horrible deed but there was nothing they could do about it. Right now, they could only pity those who would have to clean the room.

* * *

Ash, Dawn, and Marcus were still following Boris, whose noivern was flying westwards, towards Mt. Silver. Dawn's flying-type was definitely the weak link of the group, given her mediocre speed. She tried to compensate it by trying harder than anyone else and it seemed to work as Boris didn't gain more distance. Unbeknownst to them, escaping never was Boris's goal, he only wanted to lure his enemies into the base. They wouldn't see the trap until it was too late, he was sure of it.

When he entered a cave, they didn't hesitate to follow him. Although navigating inside wasn't easy, it was still doable as it was rather big and there was no wind or rain. When they finally had him trapped in a dead end, he simply flew through the wall, which was merely an illusion hiding the entrance to an old base. Without hesitation, they followed him and found themselves inside a long and wide corridor with walls of steel and quadratic pressure plates all over the ground. Behind them, the gate promptly closed, trapping them inside. However, they didn't want to leave just yet as Eileen and maybe even Catelyn were here. In front of them, Boris, who was still holding Eileen, waved at them before the ground below him glowed briefly and he disappeared, having obviously been teleported somewhere else.

"Be careful or you might be teleported as well," Dawn warned.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious. I would've never guessed," Marcus replied. "Well, might as well take the shortcut."

Before Ash and Dawn could react, he took a step forward with his staraptor and immediately got teleported to an unknown location.

"Let's go together!" Ash said to her and they took the step forward with their pokémon, but nothing happened. "Damn it, now he's gone."

"We have to stay together or we'll get separated as well," Dawn made clear. Since the pressure plates were pretty small, they had to recall the larger pokémon so that only Lucario, Piplup, and Espeon were outside their pokéballs. It was time to check on Pikachu, who was called out from the regeneration ball almost fully healed. Apparently, his ball was quite powerful.

They slowly advanced until they reached the end of the corridor, where they had to choose between two path. Whether it was out of curiosity or stupidity, Piplup tried to scout ahead a bit, only to get teleported the very moment he stepped on the next square. He always tried to impress his friends but in cases like these, he gravely overestimated his abilities.

"Piplup, no!" Dawn screamed.

Her first reaction was to follow him but Ash held her back. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to hold back Pikachu, who tried to help his best friend and got teleported as well, albeit to a different location.

"Damn it! I hope they'll be alright," Ash muttered.

Despite the loss, they kept a clear head and refused to help their enemies even more by acting with unnecessary haste. The events so far were highly amusing to Boris as they could hear him speaking to them.

"How delightful. You made it so much easier than expected," he told them, breaking out in mad laughter. "I mean, seriously? How stupid can you get? Your two pokémon will be the first to feel our power."

He let out a laugh that gave the trainers chills. He was currently in the central room, which was mostly empty, except for two hug glass tubes in the center. The machinery belonging to them was below the ground or above the ceiling so they looked slightly out of place. Those things were used to create special Okcha soldiers, whose bodies were too big for the normal tubes although it was already outdated with other, more modern machines having replaced them. One of the tubes was for the pokémon, whose body was supposed to be copied and the other one was to contain the copy. Walls of glass were separating the room from a small chamber, which contained the Okcha production controls, teleport controls and everything else concerning the safety of the base.

From there, he and Victoria could connect any two squares in the labyrinth at the beginning. That way, they could make it seem much bigger than it actually was and confuse intruders. In fact, unless they had anti-teleportation measures, they could be prevented from reaching the end indefinitely. Of course, the base also had a teleport blocker, which had to be turned off every time for just a moment. It was a weakness that could b exploited but only by those whose pokémon knew the location.

"They're separated from their little darlings. It's for you to play your game," Boris said, pushing Victoria away from the controls as he wanted to be the only messing with them. "Leave this to me. You don't have enough imagination for this kind of work anyway."

"Fine." She didn't want to argue with him with nobody else around as potential backup. "Just remember the orders. They aren't to be killed."

"Yeah, I know." He pointed at Eileen and Catelyn, who were gagged and chained to a nearby wall. "He didn't say anything about those, though."

Not eager to find out about his plans, Vicoria and Gardevoir stepped on the only teleport square in the central room and gave him a signal that she was ready and he sent them near her first victim.

Pikachu found himself alone in a dead end and a long corridor in front of himself. Since there was no other route to take, he followed it but soon realized that he wasn't making any progress. Whenever he stepped on one of the squares, he was teleported back to the beginning. Not even jumping over that square helped as then the next one would teleport him instead and since he couldn't fly, he was basically trapped.

Nevertheless, he just kept trying until he heard steps in the distance. Someone was approaching and he got ready for battle. Fortunately, it turned out to be Ash and Lucario so Pikachu quickly tried to reunite with them and for some reason, he wasn't teleported this time. This, along with the fact that Ash wasn't with Dawn, made him slightly suspicious. After all, one of their enemies was an illusionist so he had to b careful.

"Pikapi!" he exclaimed.

"Pikachu! So good to see you." Pikachu expected him to spread his arms so that the electric-type could jump there but he just took a small stone out of a pocket. "We're in big trouble and need all the strength we can muster. Here, use this."

Pikachu realized Ash was holding a thunder stone and immediately backed off. He couldn't understand how Ash could ask something like that of him since he knew that his partner didn't intend to evolve anytime soon. What was even weirder was the fact that Lucario wasn't reacting at all. The aura pokémon was a good friend and also knew about the whole matter of evolution.

"Come, we can't survive without the extra power. Or do you want all of us to die horribly? It's our only chance." Ash had always believed in him in this form, even in the most dangerous situations. It didn't make any sense that he asked him to evolve now, yet he was offering the thunder stone to Pikachu right now. "Do it!"

Now Pikachu was sure that this wasn't the real Ash. His appearance was too mysterious, his request too outrageous , his tone too demanding. Therefore, he struck the hand holding the stone with his tail, making it all to the ground and the imposter hold his hand with a pained expression.

"Damn you, little creature," he screamed. "You shall pay for this!"

Any remaining doubts were erased by those words and Pikachu proceeded with a thunderbolt that shocked Ash and Lucario until the aura-pokémon used a psychic move to push him away. Since Ash's Lucario didn't know psychic-type moves, it was a dead giveaway although it wasn't even necessary anymore.

"He ... the voice modifier is damaged," Ash said with his voice changing all the time. He touched his chin and a clicking sound could be heard, then Pikachu could hear the voice, the voice of a female. It was Victoria's to be exact and she didn't even bother keeping up the illusion now. "Fine, no more need for that." She canceled the Illusion and removed the mask, whose lower part was emitting sparks. The lucario was actually Gardevoir, now back to its normal form. "You'll pay for this, little rat."

She didn't have the time to turn her threat into a reality as someone, or rather a group was coming from behind. Her eyes widened when she realized that they were Ash, Dawn, and their pokémon, except for Piplup. Obviously, they had been drawn here by the battle sounds, she was more surprised about the fact that Boris hadn't stopped them but then again, that guy was unpredictable so maybe this was one of his jokes.

"So you're finally here," she said, putting her hands on her hips in an attempt to look confident. "This is our territory and you'll soon realize that you stand no chance here. We can appear anywhere at any time and retreat whenever we find ourselves outnumbered." She gave them a smile, which froze when nothing happened. "I said, we can retreat whenever we find ourselves outnumbered. Hello?"

Boris's laughter could be heard again before she finally disappeared.

"I see you've found your pikachu. But what about your prinplup? Oops, I mean piplup. Silly me." The way he said wasn't too encouraging, especially when they noticed the thunder stone just lying on the ground. "Maybe you should hurry. Otherwise, you might not recognize it."

Ash immediately opened his arms to let Pikachu jump into them before kicking the stone away.

"They tried to make you evolve? Why? It doesn't make any sense," he muttered, hugging his pokémon a bit tighter.

"Maybe they know that he doesn't wish to evolve and want to hurt him this way?" Dawn guessed. "It doesn't matter why, we have to stop them. If that Boris was telling the truth, Piplup will be next."

There was panic in her voice, something Ash could understand all too well. After all, they didn't need to convince Piplup to use a stone, they just had to remove the everstone somehow. Moves that removed items were sometimes used in contests but Dawn was always nearby and could give him another one, which was allowed for this particular item. Her presence was necessary as since he didn't know bide anymore, they doubted that he would be able to resist it for very long. Because of that, she was already fearing the worst.

* * *

Piplup had been running around aimlessly without meeting anyone but at least there hadn't been any enemies or traps either. He was already exhausted when he reached a point where had several choices. Although neither of them looked too welcoming, he believed firmly that he had to keep moving to have a chance of meeting the others. Suddenly, several gengar or creatures posing as gengar emerged from the ground, one in each corridor, thus trapping Piplup.

Using his standard combination, the aqua drill, he tried to fight his way through one of them but then the gengar used psychic simultaneously. Despite his training, he couldn't resist so many psychic moves at the same time and stopped in midair. Then one of them snuck up from behind and used the thief move to remove the everstone.

Instantly, the water-type felt energy surging through his body, a feeling he knew all too well. The evolution was long overdue for his body and it tried to force it with all its power. By now, he couldn't even look around or cry for help and only let this feeling he loathed so much overcome him. It changed his body at an agonizingly slow pace, making it bigger, stronger but he didn't care about that. The important part that he had chosen his existence and someone else choosing it for him was an unbearable thought. He thought of Mamoswine, who had become disobedient after his evolutions. It was one of the reasons he had refused to it as well, he didn't want to become like that, he wanted to stay loyal to her, her most loyal companion. He also wondered what his best friend might think. Pikachu had also chosen not to evolve so it was questionable whether he would still respect Piplup.

These fears and thoughts made the procedure somewhat bearable and it was over before he even realized it. Looking down at his new body, it finally dawned on him and he almost fainted from the shock but then he regained his senses and rage overcame him. No matter why those creatures had done this, he wanted them to pay. Without further hesitation, he got ready to battle, only to find that they were gone with only the everstone still remaining.

With tears escaping his eyes, he clutched it and held it close to his chest. The item that had been protecting him for such a long time, it was useless now. His sadness turned into fury once more and he basically went berserk. Although his brick break move didn't look as impressive as before because the size difference wasn't as big, it was still stronger. With his new power he struck the walls around him again and again, leaving marks although they were made of steel. In his rage, he even struck the ground, which seemed to have an unintended effect as he could see sparks coming from a crack. It was possible that this square lost its teleporting effect but he didn't really care. No, he just kept striking everything within range, which happened to be just the walls and the ground. What made him even madder was the laughter he could hear.

Finally, he was too exhausted to continue and leaned against the nearest wall. Raising his head, he started crying. He was hoping that someone would find him, comfort him, assure him that everything was alright and on the other hand, he was hoping that he would be left alone forever. He couldn't stand the shame of Dawn, Ash, and Pikachu seeing him in this new, monstrous form.

The maze, however, was so small that the trainers were bound to find him eventually, drawn to him by the weeping. This time, they didn't get teleported at all since Boris wanted them to find Prinplup. Eventually, they found him leaning against a wall near a spot where four corridors met. His condition was horrible, he was in tears, trying to cover his body with his wings as if he was ashamed. His eyes were closed so he couldn't see them approaching. In his current state, he was unlikely to hear them.

"Prinplup, prinplup, prinplup,..." he kept saying over and over in a dull ton.

Dawn froze, making Ash almost go forward on his own and thus risking getting separated by teleportation. He hugged her as he felt that she needed it, but they both knew that Prinplup was the one who really needed it.

"Prinplup," Dawn muttered, clutching her mouth.

She wondering whether she should talk to him already but there was no need to as he heard her and slightly lifted his head. For just a moment, she saw his eyes, which were full of tears, before he turned away. It was so short that he mistook her worry and sympathy for disappointment, the only reaction he truly expected. It made so many different questions run through mind like whether she would still love him like this or whether his friends would still respect him. Then he remembered all the different things he'd done as a piplup, like the battles against the ariados, the adventures, and the Wallace Cup. They had been successful without the need for an evolution. She always respected his decision and he repaid her with unwavering trust and loyalty. Now it seemed so far away. No, in fact, it only hurt him more right now. If anything, he wanted to be alone for days, weeks, or maybe even months.

"Prinplup?" Dawn asked with a calm voice, careful not to startle him. "Are you alright?"

At first, he didn't turn around, he even moved away from her as he felt her approaching. But then he realized that she didn't sound disappointed, that she was just trying to help him, as usual, and he felt something else, shame. One of his reasons not to evolve was he fear of becoming disobedient and distrustful towards his trainer, something he never wanted to become, no matter what. And now that it happened, his fears became true but not because of the evolution itself but because of his own attitude. Finally realizing this, he turned around and opened his arms for her, allowing her to give him a hug that washed away his worries in that regard.

They stayed in that position for what felt like an eternity, during which his breathing got slower and his crying stopped entirely. Now that he knew that Dawn wasn't blaming him at all, it was time to face his second concern, which was mostly about Pikachu's reaction but then he noticed that the electric-type was also hugging him, he was simply more difficult to notice because of the new difference in size. Ash and the others were also were, albeit a bit more subtle. When they let go, he felt like he owed them an explanation.

"Prin prinplup," he started.

While he was telling them about the event, Lucario and Espeon were translating for Ash and Dawn respectively. When it was over, everyone fell silent again, then Dawn hugged him again as if she was trying to soak up all the disappointment and sorrow, a gesture he appreciated deeply.

"I don't care how you look. For me, you'll always be my dear partner and nothing will ever change that," she reassured him.

There was no reason for him to doubt her words but on the other hand he didn't really know how to reply and merely nodded. The whole procedure was over so quickly, he could hardly believe it. It was impossible to forget or even comprehend what had just happened but for the sake of the others, he had to focus on the task at hand as there was time to talk about in detail later. Eventually, he hoped, he would get used to his new body.

"You know, they tried to do the same to Pikachu," Ash mentioned. "Fortunately, it wasn't as easy as in your case and he prevented it."

The wording wasn't the best so Prinplup took it as an insult. When Ash realized it, he waved his wands in front of his face, trying to explain himself.

"No, I didn't imply you're weak. It's simply easier to steal an item than to make someone use an item." Provoking Prinplup in this situation was dangerous and the last thing Ash wanted to do.

If anything, the remark rekindled the hatred he was bearing towards Boris, whom he held responsible for this disaster. Raising one of his wings, he examined it briefly and lowered it again with a smile. With this, he would be able to cut through anything his enemies could throw at him.

Then Dawn noticed that the ground below Prinplup was damaged. In his fury, he had damaged machinery below the steel plate. Her first guess that it had something to do with teleportation but she didn't have more time to think about it as Ash, relieved that Prinplup didn't take his words personally, took a step back. Maybe he was expecting the others to follow him already. However, when the ground below him glowed, he knew what was going to happen.

"Damn it!" he managed to say before he disappeared.

This time, the situation was better than it looked at first glance, though. Ash's aura link with Lucario allowed them to communicate and sense each other's presence. Therefore, they would have been able to find each other quickly if it hadn't been for the random teleports. Besides, Dawn's group had to be careful not to get separated. Due to their position changing constantly, they also had to change their directions all the time, so the progress was slow at best.

Whether their enemies weren't paying attention or whether it was part of their plan, Ash, Dawn, and the pokémon finally found themselves at opposing ends of a corridor. Naturally, they all approached each other and even came quite close but then, for every step they took forward, they got teleported two steps back until they were back at their original positions.

"Any idea? You don't happen to have a pokémon with dark pulse?" he asked, albeit with little hope.

"I would have already used the dark field, don't you think so? We have to find a different solution." Then she remembered that Prinplup had smashed one of the teleport pressure plates. "Wait, we can do it with brute force. Kabutops, we need you!"

Although Prinplup had shown to be perfectly capable of doing it and with the help of the others, it wouldn't even take a long time, Kabutops had a move that could solve this problem even faster. It was his individual move, eruption, which roughened up the terrain with stone spikes, making traps like spikes far more difficult to evade. Being mostly a move for double battles, it wasn't nearly as useful in single battles.

"Use eruption to destroy all the pressure plates between us!" she commanded.

He slammed his sickles onto the ground, which caused stone spikes of Pikachu's size pierce the pressure plates from below. One by one, they were destroyed until the only ones still working were those they were standing on. Realizing this, they quickly took a few steps forward. Finally, they were in the clear although they had to be careful not to get hurt by the spikes. Once they were reunited again, they couldn't resist but react with a passionate, albeit short kiss.

"You had me scared," Dawn muttered after breaking the kiss.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about those things anymore," Ash said with side glace at the destroyed pressure plates. "Now we only have to find Marcus and the others."

With the eruption, it was only a matter of time, but they were sure that Boris had deadlier tricks up his sleeve.


	53. Okcha Prime part 1

**Now the darker part begins.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 53: Okcha Prime part 1

Boris and Victoria were watching the moments after Piplup's evolution.

"Wow, the boss sure was right about that. Who would have guessed such a small pokémon could be such a drama queen?" Boris muttered, watching the screens. "I can't wait to see the other reactions. Too bad it didn't work with Pikachu but we'll get other opportunities."

"Then you better don't forget to teleport me. You almost killed me, stupid idiot," Victoria complained. She was sitting in a chair nearby, holding her head. "This headache is getting worse. And voices ... can you hear them?"

"What the hell are you talking about, woman? There are no voices here except for mine. And that's the only voice you need," he replied, not taking his eyes off the screens.

"But ... they started in Viridian City and only got louder and louder since then. What kind of language is that?" She had an almost paranoid expression on her face. "This is scary. Close your eyes, can't you hear them?"

Instead of answering, he approached her calmly with his hands behind his back and a grim expression on his face.

"Say it again. Just once more and I'll tear out intestines and use them to make this place feel a bit more welcoming," he told her with such spite that it made her cringe.

"But they're ..." She didn't even know why she said it after his words and immediately regretted it.

He called out Garchomp, pushed her roughly to the ground, kicked her in the stomach and placed a foot on her head while she was still trying to recover. Gerdevoir wasn't able to protect her as it had to repel Garchomp's attack and when it realized that its trainer was at Boris's mercy, it surrendered. He kept pressing her head to the ground for a while but at least he didn't turn his threat into reality. As if to mock her, the voices got louder but she didn't dare mention it again.

"I don't believe I've ever worked with such a pathetic pussy. You disgust me." Despite his words, he was still remarkably calm. "Maybe Divine is also losing his mind, also hearing voices. After all, only madman would ever see something in you. I guess he's just keeping you around for amusement. It's pretty much the same problem with the others. Without his little tricks, Seth is nothing. He's almost as much of a coward as you are. And while Wraith is somewhat capable, she's way too young and also horribly boring. Maybe Shira was right?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. If it wasn't for her little predicament, she would've yelled at him for voicing such thoughts so she tried to reason with him even though she had a feeling that any attempt was doomed from the start.

"In that case you better remember how she ended up." Those words caused him to press her head to the ground with a bit more force but he didn't reply so she took it as a sign that she could continue. "You know how powerful he is. You saw what he did to the cities. Do you want someone like that as your enemy?"

"You don't think I made that decision right now, do you?" He asked, laughing. "No, my dear friend, I have an ally. Something more powerful than an entire Okcha-army. With the help of one of my Okcha slaves, I convinced one of the main scientists to give the code for something called the Okcha Prime. It was simple, really. All of those scientists are possessed by now but they only answer to the boss. One of mine replaced it and told me all the secrets."

He removed his foot and for a moment, she hoped that she would finally be able to stand up again but his garchomp took his place while he was working with the teleport controls.

"The Okcha Prime is said to be basically invincible as it can possess other bodies if the previous one was destroyed. It can even possess other Okcha's bodies and banish them in the process. Unlike them, its real body can stay in this world permanently. It's a perfect soldier, it's already transferred to this base and it soon will be bound to my ring and my ring alone. I don't know why Divine didn't use it already but that's his damage. He's probably just afraid. I'll use it to get rid of him." He took one of his pokéballs and called out a machamp. "Get into that tube! We will make a marvelous body for our new friend. There's still enough material from the previous experiments."

He burst into mad laughter and Garchomp mimicked him. He had always been crazy but now it seemed like he was completely insane. Then he called out several pokémon and walked towards Victoria again.

"I must admit, I didn't expect it to be this easy. Without Seth and Wraith around, it was almost too easy but that's alright. Now let me take this." At first, he pulled out a knife and grabbed her hand with the ring but when she screamed and tried to pull it away, he laughed and simply slipped it off her finger."You'll keep your hand for now. Unlike the ring, you'll need it. After all, you're my servant now."

"What?" She tried to get up only to get pushed back to the ground. "Never! Besides, didn't you say I'm pathetic? Why would you want my services now?"

"I mostly want to see Divine's face when he realizes that you're working for me now." He raised the arm with his glove and addressed his pokémon. "Emboar, Infernape, use flamethower. I want it at maximum power. Scrafty, free that girl over there and take her to the teleport square." He pointed at Eileen. "Let's give them something to play while the body is being made. Oh, wait just a second. Aw, what heartbreaking scene." He watched it and then seized a short opportunity when Ash was separated from the others. "Now you can do it."

Garchomp finally let go of Victoria and watched the body being formed inside one of the tubes when Machamp entered the other while flames were increasing the power of Boris's glove. First, the torso and the legs were done, which was good thing although they weren't sure whether it was intentional. The head and the arms followed but now the lack of remaining material became apparent as one of them just didn't grow properly and remained small. Now Boris was wondering whether he should have made set the size of the body a little smaller as it was already many times the size of the original. One of the arms even had a hole in it but he was still sure that the Okcha Prime would make good use of its new body.

It was almost ready to receive its host, as the water was pumped out of the real machamp's tube, allowing it to leave it again. However, the body needed to remain in this state to become stable, which was always the case for non-ghost-types. This was the reason Divine preferred those. Boris was about to teleport Eileen, who was standing on the only teleport pressure plate in this room, when a familiar face appeared on one of the screens. It was his former boss, Divine, and despite the recent events, he didn't look unhappy in the slightest.

"Well, hello there, Boris," he said with a grin. "It looks like I underestimated you. Replacing my scientist's Okcha with your own, not bad at all."

"Is that all? I'm afraid you don't understand the graveness of your situation," Boris replied calmly. "I suppose you know what this Okcha's capable of."

"Absolutely. However, as much as I've underestimated you, you've overestimated yourself. You're clever but short-sighted and your plan is already doomed." He raised two fingers. "There are two issues you either ignore or don't know and every single one by itself is enough to thwart your plans. Even though you probably won't listen, I highly advise you against using the Okcha Prime."

"Is that so? Would you mind telling me why?" Boris asked, working with the other teleport pads all the time to prevent Ash and Dawn from reuniting. Scrafty was also waiting next to the teleport pad with Eileen on it.

"Firstly, I'm sure you have noticed that my ring is made out of gold, while yours is a silver ring and the difference is more than just cosmetic. Mine is more powerful. Every Okcha called to this world is bound primarily to my ring so they can't hurt me and you won't be able make them do it, even if they're bound to your ring as well," he explained. "Of course, it doesn't mean you can't tell them to attack other Okcha, which you did. So even though I applaud your efforts, they're ultimately in vain."

"Cool story," Boris muttered before Scrafty pushed Eileen onto the platform and Boris sent her away. He wanted to keep teleporting her so that she would lead the others to different parts of the maze with her screaming. "She'll distract them until the body's ready... oh, you're done with the first reason?"

"Oh my, I can already see it's useless but maybe Victoria will learn a thing or two. You see, I'm sure you already know the Okcha Prime is special in many ways or you wouldn't do this. It can change bodies at will, it can remain in our world permanently but most importantly, it can unlock and use a body's full potential, even the talents the host isn't even aware of. Just imagine, an ability that usually takes years or even decades to master, can be used at its full potential instantly. Under its 'guidance' even a child becomes a force to be reckoned with. Just imagine a baby crushing a tank with its mind. Everyone can use psychic and aura powers to varying extents and that's what makes it so dangerous. I would have let myself get possessed by it if it wasn't for the second reason." His words had caught Boris's attention so he proceeded. "Contrary to your beliefs, it isn't the Okcha itself that's bound to our rings but the body it receives. Once they're destroyed, it's free. Of course, the normal ones can't benefit from this, given that they're instantly banished, but the Okcha Prime will be and once it is, it's almost impossible to capture again. This thing single-handedly brought down the Abylassagonarians and our world won't be able to put up much more resistance unless my plan is successful. Only experiments in a controlled area with every possible security measure allowed us to perform experiments on it without getting destroyed. I never intended to actually use it, so do you still want to try?"

"I don't give a shit about your concerns. Maybe you just made it up to scare me but my mind is set. I'll use the Okcha Prime against you," Boris exclaimed, certain of his victory.

Divine sighed. It was pointless talking to Boris about anything that required more knowledge than an elementary school could provide. Even if he understood the ramifications of his decision, he was unlikely to stop, either because he didn't truly believe or because he wanted to try anyway for the fun. Then again, a power like the Okcha Prime was unlikely to remain sealed for long, so he might as well make the best of it.

"Very well. Go ahead. I'll find a way to deal with the consequences of your actions." He addressed Victoria, who had kept quiet during the conversation. "Help him. And once he's done, drag what remains of him back to the main base."

"You've talked enough," Boris said, turning off this screen. "Viccy, you heard his orders. Get ready to activate the Okcha when I tell you. I'll keep those guys busy a bit longer."

A bit later, it was already impossible to do it. However, it wasn't even necessary anymore as the body was almost ready. Garchomp, Emboar, and Infernape stayed with her whereas Boris pulled out a gun and approached Catelyn. He had plans for her.

Marcus was getting tired of the game. He'd been wandering around for a long time now with only his golem at his side and there was still no sign of his sisters or his allies. Eventually, he realized that he would never make progress as long as he was getting teleported randomly. The frustration made him do something that was almost entirely new to him. For once, he thought before he acted.

"Let's see." He leaned against the wall to his left and scratched his chin. "There must be a way. Maybe a psychic-type can prevent teleportation?"

The idea was quickly dropped as he didn't have one with him. Instead, he tried to remember past battles, both those he had participated in and those he had only seen. In a recent battle against Ash, his starmie had tried to avoid Ash's krookodile's attacks with teleport but it didn't end well.

"How did he do that? What combination did he use? It was something simple." For some reason, he just couldn't remember. "I'm sure it was a dark-type move. Thief? Pursuit? Torment? Doesn't make any sense. Night daze? No, only a zoroark can use that. Dark pulse? I'm not sure, we should just try." He called out Houndoom, who was the obvious choice for this. "Houndoom, use dark pulse ... on the ground? I think that's how he did it."

The dark-type obliged and sent waves of dark energy through the ground. However, there was no obvious effect so he concluded that he had to move to confirm that it was working.

"Alright, try to keep it up. Let's move," he commanded.

After about a minute, he was sure that it was working as he hadn't been able to walk for such a long time without getting teleported before. For the first time in this base, he actually had something like hope and couldn't wait to tell the others about his accomplishment.

All of sudden, he could hear someone crying in the distance. It was the voice of a female but he wasn't able to recognize it until he was a bit closer. Then he realized it was Eileen's voice and it sounded like she was distressed. Without thinking, he rushed towards the source of the voice, only to hear the voice again from a different direction. At first he was confused but then he remembered that only he couldn't be teleported, his sister wasn't protected, at least until she was close enough to be affected by the dark field, which didn't seem to affect a large area.

After a few tries, he was sure that someone was playing a cruel game with him . Unbeknownst to him, Ash and Dawn were nearby. Lucario could feel his presence and showed them the way, on which they systematically destroyed any teleport pressure plate, thus greatly reducing Boris's capability to make use of this defense system. They also knew of Eileen's presence although they also had no means of saving her at this moment. Marcus and Houndoom were too focused on finding Eileen to notice the sound of the eruption move.

Marcus was the first to find her when Boris decided it wasn't necessary to distract them any longer. Needless to say, she was on her knees, shaking with fear but at least it didn't look like she was injured.

"Eileen! I'm here, you're safe now." She rushed at him and embraced him with a strength he would have never expected from her. "Hey, it's alright. Everything will be fine."

With a patience he had with nobody else, he waited for her to calm down, which took quite a long time. She was about to speak when something behind them caught their attention and made Eileen cling to him even more. There was a lot of noise although they could only see a stone spike emerging from the ground, penetrating the steel plate on the ground.

"Stay behind me. I'll protect you!" he shouted and got ready to battle.

Fortunately, he realized that it was the doing of Ash and Dawn in time. They on the other hand weren't surprised to see Marcus and his sister as Lucario had told them about their presence. It didn't diminish the joy of being reunited again, though.

"Eileen!" Dawn exclaimed happily but she didn't dare break up the reunion with her brother. It was Eileen who let go of him to hug Dawn. "So glad you're safe."

"It was horrible. They still have Catelyn," the girl told them. "But they let me go for some reason."

Ash had been staying in the background to guard them. After all, they were still far now. When she said that they had simply let her go, he turned around, though, and exchanged looks with Dawn.

"What do you mean, they let you go? That guy said you were the original target!" Marcus shouted, making his sister cringe.

"Calm down, she's gone through enough already," Dawn replied and much to her surprise, he understood.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he apologized, lowering his head. "This situation is just ... a bit too much."

"It's alright," Eileen interfered. "We have to find Catelyn first. I don't want her in that big man's clutches."

They were surprised that she was showing this much confidence and foresight. Only several minutes after her escape, not only did it look like she was already fully recovered, she was even thinking of her sister instead of trying to get to safety herself. However, they weren't too keen on endangering her by taking her to the center of their enemies' power.

"First, we should get you to safety," Ash suggested, always watching the corridor. "Marcus, can you get her out of here?"

"What? How about no? Why don't you do it instead? I won't leave until Cat's free as well," he replied, sounding offended by the idea.

When Ash thought about it a bit more, he realized that Marcus would never agree to it. As much as he resented Cat's treatment of him, she was still his sister and along with Eileen the last remaining members of his family. Ever since his father's death, he had become extremely protective of them, so much that he wasn't even completely comfortable with Ash and Dawn around them. It was clear that he would neither let them escort Eileen out of here nor entrust them with Catelyn's rescue.

"We can't leave either, you know you wouldn't be able to win on your own," Ash reasoned.

"And I won't leave Ash's side," Dawn added.

"Then I'll just have to go with you," Eileen concluded, earning shocked looks from the others.

Naturally, Marcus wasn't fond of the idea of her following him to dangerous places. On the other hand their enemies were unlikely to let any of them leave and as long as she was with him, he would be able to watch over her. Nonetheless, it took her quite a long time to fully convince him. Ash and Dawn were hesitant to take her with them but agreed to it in the end, albeit with a bad feeling. Boris had shown to be capable of anything and he still had Catelyn so they had to be careful or Eileen might try to free her.

Getting through the corridors wasn't difficult now that they had two ways of dealing with the random teleportation. Of course, Marcus's method was way more efficient although they also noticed that the area affected by the dark pulse was tiny compared to what they were used to in battles. Moreover, it made Espeon feel uncomfortable, which was the sign of a unrefined combination. Nevertheless, it was large enough to protect all of them and that was everything they could ask for at this moment. They were guided by Lucario, who could feel Catelyn's presence now, which wasn't necessarily a good sign. A barrier of some sort had blocked it before and its disappearance could mean that Boris was ready to face them directly.

As expected, it was a barrier and when they reached the entrance to the next room, Boris was already waiting there. With one hand, he activated the barrier in front of him again, which resembled a transparent, red wall while his other was in front of Catelyn's mouth, preventing her from speaking. Then he pulled out a knife and was pointing at Cat's head. This immediately made everyone stop in their tracks, for they all knew this guy had to be taken seriously.

"So glad you could make it. I have a few surprises for you. You better listen or Catherine is dead," Boris told them.

"Let he go," Marcus said in a menacing tone. "And her name is Catelyn!"

Deep inside he knew that it wouldn't work so he didn't even bother moving. Ash and Dawn were a bit more careful, only Prinplup got closer to the barrier. Boris looked delighted to see the pokémon, which annoyed the water-type to no end.

"Oh, aren't you grateful for my help? We managed to do what your incompetent trainer was unable to achieve. You're stronger, faster, better in every way that counts. What's not to like?" he asked with a grin. Then he addressed the trainers. "As for you. You should've stayed in the city. But of course you had to interfere, and be the heroes again. Can't you think for yourselves once? These people ... you owe them nothing. Just let them die, nobody will miss them anyway."

Despite Dawn trying to stop him, Prinplup threw himself against the barrier, only to get repelled. In addition, he received an electric shock, which wasn't to be underestimated and dazed him for a few moments. Boris just laughed at the reaction, letting his guard down for just a moment. Catelyn used this to bite his hand, making him cry out in pain. Out of reflex, the others immediately readied their attacks but Boris quickly grabbed her again and threatened to shoot her.

"You slut! You stay where you are or she'll pay for it," he shouted.

"Eileen? Why didn't you take her to safety?" Catelyn yelled, now that her mouth was free. "She's a child! Run! Escape while you can! He'll kill me anyway."

Victoria was watching the scene from afar and couldn't help but feel pity for them, especially the girl. She was still young so the whole event was going to leave a mark, assuming she survived all of this, of course, which was no given, considering Boris was involved. The boss had only told them not to kill Ash, Dawn, and their closest pokémon but not even they were safe not that Boris had taken matters into his own hands. He showed great amusement at how everything was unfolding and chose not to ruin it by interfering.

"We don't leave friends behind!" Ash replied.

"Never!" Dawn added.

"We'll save you, sis!" Marcus said, glaring at Boris.

"I won't let him hurt you!" Eileen promised.

"You're brave, both of you." Ash and Dawn knew that she was talking to her siblings. "Marcus, please take care of her like I took care of you. Just hope she allows it. Eileen, make sure he doesn't bother our friends too much. And please follow your own dreams. I hope you both find your place in this world."

It sounded an awful lot like the words of someone who didn't have much longer to live. Of course, it wasn't far-fetched, given her current situation but the others refused to accept it. They still believed they could save her.

"What are you saying? We'll get out of here together, we'll ... everything's going to be alright," Eileen cried. "What would we do without you? We need you!"

"Don't fool yourself," Cat told her. "I failed just like father did. I wasn't the one who held this family together, you did it. You are more talented and I'm sure you'll be successful."

She thought about asking her sister to tell her boyfriend something like her last thoughts were of him but that would have been a lie. Love had always been a bit of a disappointment for her and she was sure that he wasn't too loyal to her so he wouldn't even miss her too much. No, the people who truly cared about her were standing in front of her behind that barrier.

"No, no, no! It can't end like this! I don't allow it!" Eileen started crying, making the others also tear up.

"We won't leave you here," Marcus added, his voice already close to breaking.

She was still his sister, despite their arguments but right now, he was at a loss.

"Don't worry. Thinks will work out just fine in the end," Ash said to Eileen, putting his hands on her shoulders, both to calm her and to make sure she wouldn't run into the barrier.

"They always do. Just stay calm," Dawn tried to assure her with a calming voice.

The effect was limited, the crying only intensified. She was close to breaking apart, so much that Marcus wasn't even sure whether she or Cat needed his help more.

"Now go. There's no need for you to die as well," Cat said softly with a weak smile before addressing Boris again, her face twisted with anger. "And you stupid bastard, show me what you got. Come on, or are you just a sissy?"

She started struggling and while others would have considered this kind of behavior in this situation crazy, she had a clear intention. It was simple, as long as she was alive, they wouldn't try to escape, therefore she had to die. It wasn't really a sacrifice as she knew she was going to die anyway. Boris was a bit surprised by the sudden resistance and needed a few second to get the situation under control. In the end, even though she managed to make a few hits, she was no match for his strength. The result was her getting pistol-whipped and thrown to the ground. To make sure that she wouldn't stand up again, he kicked her in the stomach twice although she was already unconscious and placed a foot on her head. During the battle, the pokémon had attacked the barrier but only managed to weaken it a bit. As soon as Boris had the situation under control, they didn't dare continue.

"She has guts, I like that. Maybe I won't kill her, after all. But if you wish to save her, you have to do something for me." The way he looked at them made them feel uncomfortable. Without a doubt, it was something horrible. "Beg! Beg for mercy. Get on your knees and ask me to release her."

Nobody believed him, not even Eileen was gullible enough but everything seemed so hopeless that she truly believed it was worth a try. She was the first to sink to her knees and lower her head. The others were less inclined to do so. However, they followed her example, one by one. Marcus and Dawn were the first, Ash's pride made him hesitate a bit longer but when he did it, the pokémon followed, except for Prinplup. Kneeling in front of the man responsible for his evolution was a humiliation but for Catelyn's sake, he did it in the end. After all, he didn't want to be the one with her blood on his flippers.

"Very good," Boris mumbled with a peculiar smile on his face. "Now beg. Show me how much this girl means to you!"

"Please spare her. I beg you," Eileen started but he wasn't satisfied.

"Not like this, little. I want you to say it straight to my face," he said, pointing at it.

"Please spare her. I beg you," she repeated, looking into his eyes.

The others also repeated it and he took delight in the anger and desperation in their voices and expressions.

"Wonderful! Hey, Viccy, you got that on tape?" he asked, turning around. She was a bit surprised by the question and simply nodded without actually checking. "Good, I achieved something the boss has been trying for such a long time now. Who's the boss now, bitches?"

He did a little dance of joy, which annoyed his enemies to no end. However, they didn't dare stand up or interrupt him in any way as they feared her would change his mind in the unlikely case he really wanted to let Cat go.

"We did it. Now please let her go," Marcus finally said, making Boris freeze and then address him with a grin.

"Oh yes, almost forgot about that. I offered you to spare her if you begged, didn't I? My memory isn't always the best." He scratched his chin. "I think I won't."

"What? But you promised!" Eileen cried, trying to throw herself against the barrier, only to be held back by her friends.

"It's going to be alright," Marcus tried to reassure here, glaring at his enemy.

"It's going to be alright? How? How can you hope to break the barrier before I can finish her? How? With the power of love and friendship? I'll show you what I think of friendship." Without hesitation, he shot two bullets into her head. "Where is it now, huh? Where is it now, assholes? I don't see cracks in the barrier. Can it resurrect that bitch? No? How sad. Anyway, now that it's out of the way, let's get done to business. Viccy, call the Okcha!"

Ash, Dawn, Marcus, Eileen, and even the pokémon, they were all too shocked to do anything. Cat was dead, that was their only thought right now. Naturally, Marcus and Eileen were even more affected than the others. Not long after the loss of their father, their sister was also gone and now they only had each other. Eileen struggled a bit before she fainted on the spot. Marcus caught her but he wasn't even looking at her, his target was Boris. Fury was an understatement for the murderous rage in his eyes. No, only pure hatred could possibly describe his attitude. Boris had to die, there was no doubt in his mind, and he had to be the one to do it. Not even the most twisted mind could imagine a way he would consider appropriate in this case.

Ash's reaction was similar, but a bit more physical. He slammed his body into the barrier, which resulted in him getting pushed back again but he didn't care. Right now, he wanted to crush that guy in any way possible. The humiliation wasn't important anymore, Boris had killed one of his friends in cold blood, a hideous act that couldn't go unpunished. In fact, he thought that guy almost made Shira look like an angel but that was just the heat of the moment. Dawn's thoughts were similar although she didn't show her rage as openly as the others, trying hard to keep a cool head so that she wouldn't forget to protect the others as someone had to. It was hard, though, as not even Victoria had ever killed a good friend right in front of her. Thus even her rage earlier paled compared to what she was feeling now.

"Come back here!" Marcus yelled. "Face me, you worthless coward! I'll show you pain now even you can imagine!"

For a moment, he thought that his words had an effect on Boris since he turned around but instead of accepting his challenge, he just mocked Marcus.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about, boy. Besides, I gave her a quick and painless death, it was almost like she died peacefully in her sleep, don't you think so? There are fates far worse than death," he said.

"And you deserve nothing less. I swear by everything I hold dear, I will be your doom," Marcus shouted, shaking his fist in anger.

Boris thought the trainer was so angry that it looked ridiculous so he didn't pay much attention and just walked behind the glass tube, where the body was glowing as the Okcha was taking control of it.

"Destroy the barrier! Take it down!" Ash yelled.

Due to the barrier, they couldn't see what was awakening on the other side but even if they did, they wouldn't care. Right now, their only target was Boris, even Victoria's presence was forgotten. The pokémon used their strongest attacks on the barrier and although it took quite a long time, their combined efforts destroyed it. It gave them a full view on the hall and everything inside. Boris was already behind one of the glass tubes so they finally noticed the creature inside. It resembled a machamp, albeit about three times the normal size. Another difference was its lower right arm, which was tiny compared to the others. The other lower arm was normal-sized but it had large holes and was also thinner so it looked weaker than the two upper ones. The whole body was full of scars of every possible size. That wasn't a flaw in the procedure, though, that was simply how Boris's machamp looked like.

"Come on, get out of there! Smash the tube!" Boris commanded.

It let out a deafening roar, then it spread its arms in every direction and, with an incredibly quick spin, it shattered the glass, causing the water inside to flow out and shards of glass to spread all around it. Ash, Dawn, and the other barely noticed the water and the glass, they had other things to worry about, like the huge machamp that stepped out of the shattered tube, ignoring the sharp shards of glass on the ground. Only Victoria cringed when she saw it and heard that unnerving noise as it made her imagine stepping on it barefooted herself.

Before Boris could be brought to justice, that abomination had to be destroyed first.


	54. Okcha Prime part 2

**PsychicPunch: Thank you for the review. It's already gotten so long that it can't be considered a quick read by any means, so I'm not sure whether it'll improve anytime soon. But I'm happy about anyone enjoying it a little.**

 **There's one more chapter after this one about this event, and it won't end without consequences, especially now that Boris has no reason to hold back.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 54 Okcha Prime part 2

Ash, Dawn, Marcus, and their pokémon were facing a monstrosity, that looked like a machamp and was blocking the way to Boris, who was ultimately their target. After all, he had killed Cat although she'd been no threat to him whatsoever. As a result, they were filled with a burning rage that wouldn't go away easily. Apart from the huge machamp, they had several other problems. One of them was Eileen, who had fainted. Since she couldn't do anything stupid in that state, it wasn't even necessarily a bad thing in this situation. Another issue was Victoria, who was still in the small control room and could activate traps from there although barely anyone paid any attention to her. Her first action was to activate another energy barrier behind the intruders. It looked even stronger than the previous one and blocked the way back. Moreover, four gengar appeared on the other side, making any attempt to break through futile.

It didn't matter too much, fleeing or surrendering wasn't an option anyway. No, they had to stop Boris at any cost and in order to do that, they called out every single available pokémon. Pikachu, Lucario, Trevenant, Pidgeot, and Durant stood ready, Feraligatr wasn't in any condition to fight. Dawn's kabutops was still heavily injured but still able to fight, Prinplup, Espeon, Leafeon, Metagross, and Togekiss were almost at full health. Marcus's team consisted of Golem, Houndoom, Staraptor, Blastoise, and Vileplum. Although some of them didn't know what was going on, the expressions on their trainers' faces and the lifeless body of Cat were enough to make sure that they understood the seriousness of the situation. Marcus carried Eileen to their sister's body, before gently placing her on the ground and embracing Cat with tears in his eyes.

"I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry, so sorry." Then he stood up and shouted as loudly as he could. "I promise the murderer will pay for this. Crush this machamp! Tear it to pieces! But don't kill Boris, I want him alive so that I can kill him personally!"

The others didn't object to his plans. It was simple, Boris had to die. It wasn't even because of their burning hatred and fury right now, it was a logical conclusion. Due to the things Victoria had told Dawn, they thought that if he got arrested, he would be freed within a few days. They didn't know that he was a renegade yet but even without allies he was way too dangerous alive. Lucario ran next to Marcus to build his aura bubble while the other pokémon were lining up in front of it, waiting for orders.

"It's one of those creatures without aura!" he told Ash and Espeon, who sent the message to the others.

Now they were sure that this being didn't deserve mercy and that they could annihilate it without regret.

"Don't hold back! Golem, use stone edge! Staraptor, prepare yourself with agility! Vileplum, sludge bomb! Houndoom, fire blast! Blastoise, use hydro pump!" Marcus shouted, starting the attack.

"Piplup, use hydro pump! Metagross, flash cannon! Espeon, Leafeon, combine searing light with razor leaf! Kabutops, stone jet combination! Togekiss, use light of mercy, then air slash and try to use the flash cannon for that!" Dawn realized that she'd forgotten about Prinplup's evolution, but at least he didn't notice it.

"Pikachu, thunder with the hydro pump! Trevenant, use leech seed! Pidgeot, air slash! Durant, Locust's jaws!" Ash commanded.

No matter how big and strong this creature was, they firmly believed that it couldn't stand up to the might of a whole pokémon team, let alone three. It was just a minor distraction from the real threat, which they believed to be Boris. The attacks would have easily eliminated any normal pokémon but this one was neither normal nor a pokémon.

"Kill them any way you want," Boris said to his ally.

For some reason, the attackers expected such a huge monster to be slow and clumsy, yet this one closed the distance quickly while maintaining an equally large green protect shield, which took most of the damage. Most of the pokémon were smart enough to run once it was standing in front of them but not all of them were fast enough. A single punch with the thin arm knocked out Houndoom and another arm grabbed Prinplup, who tried to attack it with aqua drill, in midair. Without mercy, it smashed Dawn's pokémon into the ground, knocking him out as well. With the other strong arm, it went directly for the aura bubble. Much to Ash's disbelief, a single attack was enough to break through and Lucario was lucky to have such quick reflexes or he would have been crushed as well as the chop was strong enough for the ground to burst below him.

"This thing is fast!" Ash shouted, still shocked.

"Attack it from different sides!" Dawn commanded while recalling Prinplup. "Poor guy, we'll destroy it for this."

Now they realized that trying to control all of their pokémon at the same time was madness. This battle was already chaotic and it wasn't about to get any better. It grabbed Togekiss with one hand, trying to squash her while holding off the rest with the other two. Despite a fast rescue by Pidgeot, who hit the arm with an air slash, making it loosen the grip, she was unable to fly any longer due to her injured wing. At least she managed to escape by running to Dawn but she still had to be careful as her mobility was impaired.

"We'll need all the strength we can muster," Ash said, pointing at his mega ring.

Dawn nodded and they mega-evolved Lucario and Metagross at the same time. Usually, Ash would chose another pokémon but since the aura bubble was useless against this foe, he decided to rely on the physical strength instead, which wasn't to be underestimated. The transformation was quick, they couldn't afford to waste time. However, even without their help, the first shock was gone and the pokémon started dealing major damage to the creature.

Although Durant was huge for her species, she was still tiny compared to the machamp. With her speed and others distracting it, she managed to climb up its legs and onto its back. Feeling threatened, it tried to shake her off and even attempted to get her off with its strong arms but she proved too fast for that and it needed them against the others. As a result, it tried to accomplish it with the thin arm instead, which was a horrible idea. The arm shot right at Durant, who took a step to the side. When it was next to her. she caught it with her jaws and, using guillotine, cut off the hand. While falling to the ground, it was already engulfed in green fire but the arm was still able to fight as this monster didn't appear to feel any pain. In the end, it was the tiny arm that got hold of her and threw her against a wall with surprising strength.

Leafeon and Vileplum were engaging the enemy's legs. Marcus's pokémon had used sunny day at some point so due to their abilities, they were fast enough to evade the kicks and stomps, especially after Vileplum used stun spore to paralyze it. Their tactic was simple but effective. Leafeon used leaf blade or razor leaf to inflict wounds and Vileplum shot sludge bombs into the open wounds for extra damage. It worked fine, inflicting numerous terrible wounds and reducing the speed of the legs tremendously until something else happened. Something that resembled a burning hand fell from the sky. The green fire didn't look too healthy and since they were grass-types, they would be affected even more than the others. Machamp used the sudden distraction to kick Vileplum with full strength. It was a brutal hit, that not only sent it flying but also ripped off a few of its petals so that its trainers wasn't even sure whether it was alive anymore. Only after it moved a bit, he felt comfortable enough to recall it. Leafeon was also hit, albeit the kick wasn't as strong and his stronger physical defense made him take much less damage so that even though he was thrown against a wall, he could continue.

The upper arms were mostly busy with repelling a combined attack from the ground and from the air. Pikachu was trying to hit weak points with thunderbolt and thunder repeatedly, Espeon was doing the same with searing light and occasionally used psychic to help the other out a bit and also used reflect for protection. Blastoise was kind of a bodyguard to them as it got in the way whenever the creature was about to smash one of them and took the hit with its hard shell. Kabutops pierced Machamp's chest with stone jet repeatedly although it didn't appear to be too effective. A reason for that could be the sunny day, which reduced the strength noticeably. Trevenant started with a leech seed to drain its power, then he followed up with shadow balls as he didn't dare get any closer. Meanwhile, Staraptor and Pidgeot were flying around its head, trying to blind it by attacking its eyes. These attempts were unsuccessful, though, as a clever combination of headbutts and punches made it impossible to actually make a clean hit. On the other hand, the creature was too busy to make a proper attack.

Unfortunately, Staraptor got grabbed eventually and used to take Pikachu's thunder move before it was thrown at Pidgeot, who was trying to rescue it. They both fell to the ground but unlike his ally, Pidgeot could still continue. With its eyes safe for now, Machamp charged up a fire punch and went directly for Blastoise this time. That was just a distraction as it changed its target before making contact and took a huge step towards Trevenant. The ghost-type had seen this coming. Attacking Blastoise with a fire punch even though it had endured its previous, more effective attacks was madness and now, with Leafeon and Vileplum gone, it could move freely again. Despite being prepared, the punch was too fast to evade entirely and his left arm didn't only get hit, it got ripped off by the force of the move. For the first time, everyone could hear him screaming in agony and it wasn't something they wanted to hear ever again, the small echo in his voice only made everything worse. To finish him off and to prevent any immediate help, Machamp used earthquake, sending a shockwave in all directions. Whether it was due to the leg injuries or tiredness, it wasn't as strong as everyone expected and the other pokémon easily protected their trainers.

"Damn you! Trevnant, return. You did a good job," Ash whispered. "I promise, we won't lose to it."

Lucario and Metagross were ready to attack the creature head-on now, making fighting with the whole team unnecessary, which had only resulted in chaos and losses. With two mega-evolutions, Ash and Dawn were convinced that victory was at hand. However, there was another problem now as Boris decided to interfere personally. With Garchomp, Infernape, Emboar, and Noivern, he approached them from the side, immediately catching Ash's attention.

"I'll take care of him. Please crush that thing for me," he said to Dawn, who nodded although she also wanted to show Boris just what she thought of his recent actions.

"Alright, Kabutops, Leafeon, please stay with me, I need you for something. The others, help Ash," she told them. Marcus also moved to Ash's side since he had unfinished business with Boris.

With only Lucario, Metagross, Leafeon, and Kabutops, she had to fight a weakened abomination whereas Ash had more, albeit a bit weaker pokémon to deal with its master.

"Metagross, use magnet rise and zen headbutt! Lucario, get ready!" Metagross charged at Machamp's head with the x on its own head glowing brightly, dodging a fire punch and making contact with a normal headbutt move. When this happened, Lucario used extremespeed to cross the distance and land a powerful blow on the stomach. Even though it didn't show any reaction, the effect was obvious as Metagross overpowered it moments later, forcing it take a few steps backwards.

"So it's strength is limited, after all," Dawn muttered. "Surround it! Kabutops, keep using aqua jet and slash its arms! Leafeon, cut its legs! Metagross, iron defense, then keep it busy in the front! Lucario, attack it from behind!"

Machamp got swarmed again but this time it was different. Not only did it have to worry about a powerful physical attacker in front of it, the pokémon were working together much better than before. Attacking Kabutops and Leafeon was impossible without leaving itself vulnerable to the others and vice versa. This way, Dawn was trying to eliminate it slowly, without risking another knock-out and it seemed to be working. It took far longer than expected, however, and she was getting impatient. After all, she also wanted to defeat Boris but for that, this thing had to be destroyed first.

When they were ready, one of its leg was so full of cuts that she believed it cut be cut off entirely soon. The arms weren't much different in that regard, the injuries were so bad that the movements were slow and predictable. Finally, it sank to one knee, which was the signal for the final stage.

"Leafeon, jump on Metagross and then on its right shoulder! Kabutops, use aqua jet to get onto the left! Lucario, extreme speed and stone edge at the eyes!" He appeared in front of Machamp's face almost instantly and shot two stone spikes right into its eyes. Whether it was simply too exhausted or whether it couldn't feel any pain, it didn't even lift its arms and what was about to happen, was far worse. "Now run down the arms with leaf blade and slash!" The pokémon penetrated its skin and then ran, cutting it open along the way. Like green fire, blood was shooting out of the horrible wounds but much to Dawn's surprise, the creature didn't even flinch.

When they reached the hand, the pokémon let go and jumped onto the ground. The arms were cut open, it was disgusting to look at, so much that she needed to remind herself that this wasn't a living being. Then it lowered its head and there was only silence apart from the blood burning as soon as it touched the air. Clearly, it was finished. Now she only had to finish it and make sure that Ash was alright.

Ash and Boris were ready for battle but Boris had something to say first.

"Not bad. Hurting my friend like this. Didn't expect you to put up such a fight. Let's see how you fare against me," he said, pointing at Ash.

"Stop talking and fight, you bastard!" Ash retorted. "Pikachu, use thunderbolt!"

The attack was aimed directly at Boris but his garchomp got in the way, taking no damage from the attack. Now Ash noticed that it was in its mega form, a fact he hadn't noticed before, but then again, his attention had been focused on either Boris or his monster the whole time.

"Your pokémon won't save you," Marcus yelled.

"I don't remember asking or your opinion, motherfucker," Boris retorted, not taking him seriously in the slightest. "Now get lost or I'll slaughter your other sister as well."

Even he realized that the situation wasn't looking great for him, though. Unless the Okcha Prime defeated Dawn quickly, his own pokémon wouldn't be able to stand against Ash's. Apart from Garchomp, they were simply too weak, only against Marcus's team they might be able to win. Then he received some unexpected help in form of Victoria's pokémon, including Gardevoir, who was back in its mega-form. She herself was standing in front of the entrance to the control room.

"Don't get me wrong. I only help you because he told me so. If it was up to me, I'd leave you to your fate," she made clear.

"Durant, Pidgeot, we'll defeat Garchomp. Espeon, make sure Dawn doesn't get interrupted. The others take on the rest," Ash commanded. He was confident that with Marcus's help, they'd have no problems.

"Let's get down to business. Earthquake!" Boris shouted.

"Use protect and swords dance!" Durant walked in front of Ash, protecting him from the shockwave. Then she used swords dance to prepare her attack.

"Dragon rush!" Garchomp was the first to attack and with a red aura surrounding it, the dragon-type charged at Durant.

"Iron defense!" She opened her jaws to make the impact as painful as possible for Garchomp and used iron defense to reduce the damage done to her. Although she wasn't entirely successful, she managed to trap Garchomp's arms between her jaws by locking them. "Metal sound! Pidgeot, use air slash!"

"Outrage!" Although the metal sound didn't help Durant in the slightest, Pidgeot's air slashed benefited from it, which in turn made the dragon-type flinch, thus helping Durant keeping it in check as it was getting more furious and more difficult to contain. Finally, it broke free and tried to impale Durant with its scythe-like arms. Fortunately, the bug-type was faster and took a few steps back. "Keep evading it!"

Ash didn't want her to engage it in melee combat while it was still under the effect of outrage, especially since he knew that it was going to become confused eventually. With Pidgeot's support, Durant was keeping her distance successfully until the red aura disappeared with only the eyes retaining the red glow and Garchomp's expression of fury was replaced by one of confusion. Now it was time to attack it directly again.

"X-scissor!" The opportunity was perfect to make a few clean hits and even though it didn't last long, it was enough to deal decent damage. "Brave bird!"

"Use dragon claw and flamethrower!" Although it wasn't a combination and Garchomp wasn't a fire-type, it was still extremely dangerous due to Durant's weakness to fire so she tried to keep her distance again. Ash was surprised to see Garchomp completely repel Pidgeot's attack from behind with a well-timed dragon tail. "Very good. Now flamethrower on the ground and dragon rush!"

With Pidgeot having been sent flying, it created a wall of fire in front of itself, whose smoke blocked Ash's view on it, which made him remember Dawn's shadow fire. Boris's pokémon jumped right through it, gaining a fiery aura and smashed its body into Durant. The damage was high enough to activate her swarm ability and she immediately countered with an empowered x-scissor. The damage was enormous, albeit not high enough to knock it out.

Instead of attacking again, Ash decided to play it defensively, a style he usually didn't enjoy but a mega-garchomp's physical strength was so enormous that he just couldn't risk a more aggressive style or he might lose Pidgeot. Durant on the other hand was already heavily injured and extremely vulnerable to the fire attacks so she couldn't get too close again either. The sunny day was making things even more difficult for her but Ash didn't want to cancel it since the others seemed to benefit from it. Air slashes and locust's jaws were their main attacks during the following fight, which was slow and more of an attrition battle. Ash looked around to make sure that the others were alright and was delighted to see that the machamp was already pretty slow. This wasn't the time to get distracted by the others, though, as he had to defeat a powerful mega-pokémon.

Marcus was in a weird situation. On the one hand he wanted to hurt Boris badly, on the other hand he also had to protect Eileen and since Ash was keeping Boris and his garchomp busy, his other pokémon and Victoria were the biggest threat right now. Unfortunately, most of his pokémon were already down with only Golem and Blastoise left. Although Ash's Pikachu and Dawn's Togekiss were helping, he had no direct control over them. Unsurprisingly, Pikachu was the first to attack.

Infernape and Emboar weren't under Victoria's control and simply charged at him. Pikachu surprised them by almost instantly closing the distance with volt charge, also hitting Infernape in the process. Creating a electro ball, Pikachu spun and used brick break with his tail to hit both the ball and Infernape's face. With increased power, the ball hit Emboar and pushed it back. Then he used the counter-shield to push both of them back further and damage them even more.

"Blastoise, hydro pump!" Ash's pokémon was about to finish them off when two massive streams of water hit them, doing it for him. They were pushed in front of Victoria by the force of the move, making her raise an eyebrow.

"What a bunch of pansies. I guess he's too busy eating babies for some proper training," she muttered. "And now I have to save him. This mission is utter bullshit. I should demand a raise, I should ..."

"Shouldn't we start?" Gardevoir asked telepathically, making Victoria jump.

"You're right. Rapidash, Crawdaunt, Skarmory, Pinsir, come on out!" she shouted, slightly embarrassed.

Her favorite pokémon were dark- and psychic-types but she had pokémon of almost every type. However, since she only used them in emergencies, only few people knew about those.

"We'll do this," she said looking at her partners but it sounded like she was talking to herself.

"No, it won't."At first, she thought that it was Gardevoir again but not only did the voice sound different but it was actually a mix of voices and her pokémon didn't look like it was paying attention to anything but the battle that was about to take place. "We know its fear. We know its insecurity. This one will be betrayed and forgotten."

Now she recognized the voices, which were the same that had been whispering to her before, only this time, they were much louder and speaking in her language. As expected, they were mocking her, trying to undermine her confidence and not without success.

"S-shut up! This is not the right time," she mumbled, trying to hide this problem from her pokémon.

Of course, she didn't want them to bother at all but this moment was particularly bad. Her pokémon needed her commands to be successful as visible at this very moment. Togekiss had healed completely during her time in the background and thus could afford to use follow me to take the following attacks for the others, allowing them to focus on their own atacks.

"Blastoise, Golem, attack Rapidash with hydro pump and stone edge!" It waited a bit too long for orders and even though it managed to avoid the rocks, it walked straight into the water streams. Pikachu also used the opportunity to use volt charge on Crawdaunt before hitting it with thunder while retreating again.

Victoria had almost lost two pokémon without actually realizing it. The others just thought she was talking to herself and with time, it got worse. In the end, even Marcus just couldn't concentrate on the battle and watched her instead. By now, she was holding her head in pain and screaming at someone or something h couldn't see.

"It is marked. It will never be safe from us. It never will be. No, it will curse the day it decided to enslave our kind." The voice was so loud that she was wondering how the others couldn't hear it. "We destroyed far greater minds than this one. It has already broken."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she screamed. "I don't care who you are or where you are or why you're doing this but I'll find you and then you'll regret talking to me like this!"

She was terrified by what followed, which sounded like a mix of hundreds echoing voices laughing at her. It was too much so that she sank to her knees and clutched her head. It felt like her sanity was escaping her head and she could even feel some sort of liquid seeping out of every hole in her head although it was merely a hallucination. When Gardevoir put its hands on her shoulder and shook her, the laughter suddenly disappeared and was replaced by the whispers in another language she was already used to hearing. Right now, it was a relief to her but it turned into panic when she realized her current situation.

"Oh no, what happened? I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We can still do this. Skarmory, rain of blades! Gardevoir, mind blast! Pinsir, stone edge! Rapidash, fire blast! Crawdaunt, dark pulse!" she screamed

She simply called for the most powerful ranged attacks of her pokémon without even naming a target. In this case, it wouldn't have made any difference as Togekiss used follow me again. Skarmory released a bunch of small energy blades that usually hit everything on the battle field and Gardevoir shot a huge, pulsing, purple orb at Pikachu. These attacks, along with the others, were surrounded by a white aura and got redirected at her. With Espeon's reflect and light screen protecting her, she endured them and then used roost to heal again.

Pikachu seized the opportunity to knock out Rapidash and Crawdaunt with another thunder move, making Victoria finally realize the graveness of her situation. It seemed her pokémon were a bit faster as they got in front of her, trying to protect their trainer. Together, they took a few steps backwards.

"It's obvious you're cowardly and crazy but Boris is my target, not you. Surrender now or face your doom!" Marcus demanded.

"Crazy? You call me crazy?" There was suddenly something else in her eyes, a mix of determination and fury. For some reason, he got the feeling that she wasn't to be underestimated. "I'll show you. Gardevoir, pull that golem with psychic! Pinsir, toss it into the air! Skarmory, send it back with steel wing! gardevoir, you finish it off with energy ball!"

Her voice wasn't loud enough for Marcus and his allies to hear her so the following attack came as a surprise. Due to Golem's body shape, making it roll towards Victoria was easy for Gardevoir and it also prevented the rock-type from fighting back when it reached it her, where Pinsir was already waiting. Using seismic toss, it threw Golem towards Skarmory, who was repelling their enemies' counter-attacks. It still had time, to hit it with steel wing and while Golem was still falling, an extremely effective energy ball hit it. The combination of attacks, but mostly the grass-type-move was enough to knock out Marcus's pokémon, much to his surprise. Victoria flashed a triumphant smile, as opposed to Marcus expression of pure fury.

"Fucking bitch, I won't be defeated by the likes of you!" he yelled.

"Then you better make sure Pikachu and Togekiss don't help you or you'll remain a pathetic loser in my eyes," she said, turning her back on him and folding her arms. "I know you need those other two to hold your hand, little baby."

Her intention was to make him so angry that he would charge at her on his own but while he really got blind with rage, he didn't attack, he just insulted her.

"I know what you're trying to do but I'm too smart for you. Face it, you're just a coward and no match for me. Dumb bitch," he added casually.

Pokémon on both sides could hardly believe it. Instead of battling, the trainers just kept trading insults, completely ignoring them. Despite their pleas, they just kept going until Togekiss even tried to break up the fight. Eventually, even Boris was so annoyed that he interfered.

"Either finish your job or let me handle it," he hissed. With his garchomp almost down, he was in dire need of help.

"I can do this," she replied, still aggravated.

"You couldn't even commit suicide right, little piece of shit," Boris retorted, making her cringe. "I just need your fucking skarmory. Remember what your boss said?" He addressed it directly, not even waiting for answer. "Come here."

Since it was aware of the tension between him and its master, it was reluctant and looked at Victoria first. She was just as reluctant but with her boss's words in mind, she nodded in agreement. Skarmory flew next to its ally, who whispered his orders so that the others wouldn't hear them. When he was done, it flew straight Leafeon, who was resting briefly after cutting Machamp's arm. Of course, Espeon didn't miss that but Boris, using a gun, shot several bullets in her direction so that she had to stop them with psychic and couldn't prevent the flying-type from grabbing the unsuspecting grass-type. That didn't go unnoticed by Dawn, who decided to take care of this first as the machamp didn't look like it was going to get up anytime soon. Meanwhile Boris had called out two Talonflame, who charged up his weapon to the maximum.

"Leafeon, use leaf saw! Espeon, Metagross, save him with psychic!" The leaf saw was a simple combination. He let the leaf on his head spin, hitting Skarmory's lower body repeatedly but both due to its typing and powerful physical defense, the damage was negligible. Espeon couldn't help him due to Boris using his remaining ammunition to distract her and Metagross's psychic wasn't strong enough to stop Skarmory, especially when Gardevoir decided to counter the move.

"Garchomp, attack Durant with dragon rush!" Boris commanded.

Using the last bit of strength it had left, the dragon-type charged at Durant but didn't have enough energy to finish the attack and got stopped by her jaws, which began to cut into its arms. Boris never expected it to be successful, though, he merely wanted Durant to stand still for Skarmory, who now hit it from the side with full force. The impact was so powerful that Skarmory, Durant, and Leafeon were launched against a wall, where they kept fighting. Espeon, Pidgeot, and Metagross were already on the way to help their friends but Boris was faster. That was the chance he'd been waiting for. He extended an arm, opening the hand to reveal the glowing red gem on the palm.

"Stay just like that. I promise it won't hurt." A massive stream of fire left the gem, engulfing the trio, whose eyes widened in horror. There was no time for them to evade it and no chance for the others to save them, the fire was too hot and too bright.

"Durant! Get out of there!" Ash shouted, fearing the worst

"Leafeon! NO!" Dawn screamed before the light made her avert her eyes. "Kabutops, get them out of there with surf!"

"Skarmory ..." Victoria's voice was a mere whisper as opposed to the others. She knew the result.

"Take that! Nothing can save you now!" Boris shouted, letting out a maniacal laughter. "More, MORE! More power!" The stream of fire disappeared before Kabutops's wave washed of the place, leaving the gem powerless. "I said more! Where ..." He noticed Infernape and Emboar lying on the ground, and the Talonfalme getting tossed against the walls by a vengeful Espeon. "Oh, I see. Better call some reinforcements."He threw his gun away as the ammunition was depleted and used three pokéballs to call out a kabutops, a scyther, a skarmory, and a bisharp. He was surprised to see that the others weren't really paying much attention to him and only had eyes for his latest victims.

Kabutops grabbed his two allies carefully, trying not to cut them with his arms, before doing the same to Victoria's skarmory. Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, and Espeon approached him and had a closer look at them. Noticing this, Boris gave his scyther and kabutops a signal, making them attack. It was stopped before it could even start, though, as Metagross landed right on top of Kabutops and Pidgeot did the same to Scyther, but also had to follow up with a wing attack to finish it off.

When Ash and Dawn examined the bodies of their pokémon, they were slightly optimistic at the beginning. Then they were shocked to find that the bodies of the steel-types were mere shells, the remains of their armor and that the insides had been burned completely. Leafeon's body was the worst in that regard, it was completely black, the legs were gone so that it was hard to identify. It was too late for help, they were dead and Boris was the killer once again.


	55. Okcha Prime part 3

**Here we learn how a poor plan can backfire.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 55 Okcha Prime part 3

Ash and Dawn clutched the corpses of their fallen pokémon, Pikachu and Espeon were standing next to them with lowered heads and ears. As much as they wanted to change it, as much as they cried over this loss, nothing was going to bring them back. They lost two pokémon, two partners, two friends.

Ash remembered the time he had caught Durant. She had been a queen and even among his pokémon her attitude hadn't changed at all. Any disrespect for her had been punished instantly and she had always expected everyone to work as hard as possible but she had also always been there in case of trouble. Without her, his team wouldn't have grown as quickly, despite a few disagreements about her methods. No, she had always been an asset to his team and left a gaping hole that couldn't be replaced.

Dawn wasn't any less devastated. Leafeon had been one of the first pokémon she had caught on her first journey without Ash. He had always been shy and distant compared to the others with few friends. Indeed, he had often been too shy to talk directly to his own trainer and had asked Espeon, the only one he had ever shown to be truly comfortable with, to do it for him. Nevertheless, she knew he had loved her and the others as well, no matter how much trouble he had had showing it. And now he was gone.

For both trainers, it was an entirely new experience. Of course, they'd let pokémon go for various reasons but they had never seen one of them die, let alone in such a horrible way. Especially Leafeon had been young and his life getting cut short like this was horrible. Dawn hugged his charred corpse tightly and couldn't help but cry. Ash reacted by embracing her and pushing her head into his chest so that she didn't have to look at the remains but the image was already in her mind and wouldn't go away anytime soon. He tried to comfort her, yet he needed it just as much. In one day, they lost three friends, who were killed by a murderous psychopath. They stayed in that position for only a few seconds as the very same guy was still nearby. Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, and Espeon, got up simultaneously, wiped away their tears, and gave him an expression of pure rage, not unlike the one after Cat's death. However, there was one, significant difference. This time, there was no energy barrier between them.

"It's time to end it," Ash exclaimed, turning to the pokémon. "Are you ready?"

He didn't need to ask, all of them let out shouts of fury. Even Espeon, who was usually calm, was willing to break every single bone in Boris's body to avenge Leafeon. Boris's pokémon on the other hand looked nervous as if they knew what was going to happen.

"Get out of the way," Ash shouted coldly. "Your master will pay and there's nothing you can do about it. Run away now or face the consequences."

They didn't comply, though, the fear of their master made any threat futile. With a sigh, they got ready for battle.

"See? My friends here are far too ... loyal to betray me," Boris remarked with a grin. "They know what's good for them, unlike you. By the way, why are you so mad? Those were just pokémon."

"Just pokémon?" Now it was Dawn's turn to get loud. "They were friends but I guess someone like you would never understand. We lost three friends today because of you and there's no way we'll let it go unpunished." She pointed at him and shouted with a louder voice. "No, we'll make sure you'll never hurt anyone ever again."

"Sweet. Such confidence. Let me crush it quickly." He addressed Victoria's remaining pokémon. "You going to help me or not?"

The answer became clear when Gardevoir used a psychic move to push him back a little. Victoria was slowly walking towards the remains of her fallen pokémon, looking like she was still in shock and they couldn't really blame her, given their own, recent loss. Since they didn't perceive her as a threat, they made way for her so that she could mourn the death of her pokémon.

"See? You're alone. You've always been and you'll always will be. The time for words is over, let's end this!" Ash shouted.

"Freaking useless morons. You'll be next once I'm done with those kids!" Boris yelled at Victoria and her pokémon. "What are you waiting for? Attack! You too, big boy," he said to the bleeding giant, who somehow managed to stand up again despite the leg injuries.

"Kabutops, use rain dance," Dawn said as she was trying to get rid of the sunny day, that had added o much to Boris's flamethrower. It had been Marcus's doing but nobody was going to blame him for that. Then she and Ash walked in different directions, Dawn to Boris's left and Ash to his right in order to surround him. "Metagross, gyro drill on the big one."

This move was part of the meteor combination and in its mega-form, it was even more effective. It pressed its legs together in front of the head and slightly extended the claws before starting to spin with gyro ball to make a crude but powerful drill. Then it charged straight at Machamp, hitting its chest and, after a few moments, pierced it, leaving a gaping hole. Metagross was covered in blood and flesh, which quickly disappeared with green flames. The creature let out a gurgling sound before falling on its belly and staying like that so they assumed it was dead. And as if on a cue, the green flames appeared and soon covered the whole body but the process was slow so they turned to Boris again.

Bisharp was trying to attack Espeon and even dodged one of Togekiss's aura spheres but failed to see it return from behind, controlled by Espeon's psychic. It was hit in the back and knocked out instantly due to its massive weakness to the move. Dawn was walking slowly the whole time, not taking her eyes off Boris, as if he was the only enemy in this room. Similarly, Skarmory attacked Lucario, only to get shot down by Pikachu's thunder almost the moment it left the ground. Ash was also walking almost casually but the look on his face told everyone that they shouldn't mess with him right now. Boris on the other hand appeared to have accepted his fate and just kept staring at the flames consuming the body of his servant until he was suddenly surrounded by the three trainers and their pokémon, every single one of them with enough rage to tear him to pieces.

"Hello there. You have any complaints?" he asked, flashing his biggest grin.

"You killed my sister. You killed three pokémon. I'll make sure those were your last victims," Marcus told him, gritting his teeth.

Boris laughed, not taking it seriously in the slightest, which only enraged them even more. Despite that, they remained calm and civilized.

"Your pokémon are down. Your servant is down. It's over," Dawn said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Metagross, remove the weapons."

It used miracle eye to detect anything that could be used as a weapon and then lifted him into the air with psychic. He was shaken until all of them had fallen out of his bags and whenever that wasn't the case, the psychic move did it directly. There were five knifes and a little handgun , which were destroyed by Lucario. As soon he was completely disarmed, he was dropped and had to get up. While doing so, he decided to mock his enemies a little more.

"Really? Is that all? What else are you going to do to me? Let the police arrest me? You know as well as I do that there's no prison that can hold me so don't bother. Why don't you kill me?" He laughed again. "I don't know why but I just can't imagine it. You see, the problem is that you're basically sissies and fail to do what needs to be done. I could slaughter ..."

His speech was cut short when Ash delivered a powerful punch to the stomach, making him clutch it and sink to his knees. Before he could do something, Dawn spun around and kicked his face from the side, causing him to fall on his belly. The pain was intense and he was almost sure that his jaw was broken.

"Nice one. But if you really want to inflict pain, you've got to try another spot," Marcus told them.

Boris knew what was about to happen. A moment later, he felt an infernal pain between his legs when Marcus's foot hit his nuts with full force. For the first time, he let out a scream of pain, which made Marcus flash a cruel smile. He attempted another kick but was stopped by Lucario.

"It's enough. We won't become like him. We'll tell the international police everything we know and hope that they understand how dangerous he is." Ash sighed. Hitting the bastard had calmed him a bit so that he didn't have to be afraid of losing control and killing his enemy. "They'll understand. We'll make them understand."

"It's over," Dawn repeated.

Although they felt dirty for hitting a defenseless guy, it also felt so good at the same time. They couldn't imagine anyone who deserved it more than Boris and even without pokémon or weapons, he was still dangerous, no matter how pathetic he was looking right now. His face still twisted by the pain, he got up extremely slowly but when he had a look at the burning remains of his monster, he showed a hint of a smile.

"Idiots! My little friend is far from finished," he muttered just loud enough for them to hear.

They turned to look at the green fire and noticed that there was something else between the flames, a grey orb surrounded by black smoke. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before and since it probably had something to do with the creature they had just slain, they had to be extra careful. Before they could do something, the smoke got thicker until the orb was completely covered and spread. Then it was taking shape, getting longer and legs of black crystal shooting out of the sides of the body. The eyes looked like they the night sky.

"That's like the creature from one of my nightmares," Dawn exclaimed, getting ready to fight it.

"Prepare yourself!" Ash had also seen it in his last nightmare with only minor differences.

For once, the creature here was emitting pitch-black smoke through various holes in its body, which didn't look nearly as stable as the one in their dream. The jaws weren't as impressive either but on the other hand, it was bigger and still disgusting enough so they had to be extremely cautious. As if that little visual show of its body forming wasn't enough, it released an ethereal hiss. Without further hesitation, it charged straight at Victoria, ignoring the large group that was actually closer to it. Ash and Dawn were actually relieved when it simply turned into a smoke-like state and entered Victoria's body, as it was so much less disgusting than what had happened in their dream. Victoria didn't even notice as she was too busy mourning the death of her pokémon.

Everyone couldn't wait to see what would happen now but at first, everything seemed normal. Only when she stood up, turned around, and blinked a few times, they noticed her eyes glowing green for just a moment. She flashed a smile and examined her hands.

"Finally rid of this bag of flesh. Lousy physical strength, weak aura abilities, but at least some decent psychic powers. It will do for now," she muttered. Her voice wasn't loud enough for the others to hear so she had to speak up a little. "Finally. I'm back and this time, nobody and nothing will stop me."

"Yeah, yeah. Get rid of those pests first, will you?" Boris demanded. "You people have no idea what you're facing."

"Obviously, neither do you." Victoria extended an arm and raised it. Boris's body was surrounded by a blue aura and got lifted into the air. "The moment my old body died, I was freed of your pathetic bonds. I'm free and that's partly because of you. But you also attempted to enslave me and killed three of those creatures with one of them having been your ally. This body is quite upset about that, especially since you appear to have had a skarmory as well that you could've used. And I'm sure those two over there feel the same way."

"What the hell are doing?" Boris struggled to break free but to no avail. "Let me go! I command you! I have the ring!"

Victoria just laughed and pushed him around in the air a little. Above her hand, a small, blue hologram of him was copying his every move or maybe it was the other way around. Whatever the case, she seemed to have enough of her little game soon.

"Let's fulfill her greatest wish, shall we?" she said with a sadistic grin.

The moment she squashed the hologram with her hand, Boris let out an ear-shattering scream, which drowned the horrible cracking sounds out. He felt like every single bone in his body was broken, which wasn't actually far from the truth. Passed out from intense pain, he fell to the ground, seemingly dead. Ash and Dawn were far from relieved, despite their greatest enemy so far having fallen, mostly because the creature inside Victoria was extremely dangerous. Somehow, it had managed to turn her into a powerful combatant that was able to defeat someone like Boris with ease.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's have a look at you," she said to the trainers, who were still stunned. They felt her gaze on them before she waved it off. "Little more than children. Not worth considering."

"Don't underestimate us, evil creature!" Ash shouted angrily.

"We've destroyed several of your kind already!" Dawn added.

"He was right, you really have no idea who I am. Such a pity." She let out a sigh full of disappointment. "I won't explain everything. It's enough for you to know that I'm far more powerful than those weaklings. Eventually, everyone will realize before I wipe your puny existence from the face of this dimension!"

Now they were sure that this wasn't Victoria anymore and that the monster inside her had to be stopped at all costs. Although they doubted it could destroy humanity, they still feared the damage it could inflict.

"That's enough! Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Togekiss, use dazzling gleam!" Dawn shouted.

The Okcha Prime didn't dodge the attack because it thought it was strong enough to take them easily and by enduring them, it wanted to prove its power. It was too late when it realized that they were far stronger than anticipated. In the body of Victoria, it was pushed backwards and had a hard time getting up again. It didn't have any time to recover as Ash and Dawn didn't intend to allow it and just kept attacking it with moves that wouldn't kill Victoria, at least until her Garedvoir contacted them.

"Stop! I think she's alive!" she told them telepathically.

"I believe her. I can still sense her aura, although it's twisted, unlike anything I've felt before," Lucario confirmed.

They considered the options briefly and came to the conclusion that if it was really possible to save her, they would do it. Even though she was their enemy, she had suffered as well and the creature inside her was far more dangerous at the moment.

"Alright, we'll try to force it out of here," Dawn decided.

The Okcha Prime had enough time to get back on its feet and re-evaluate the situation.

"Connection ... still too weak. Must get ... away," it mumbled.

Losing its former, huge body had cost an incredible amount of energy, large enough that it couldn't be replaced easily at the moment as its regeneration wasn't at its full potential yet. Now its best option was to flee but there was something preventing its escape. Since it had access to Victoria's memories, it knew that a teleport blocker in the small room behind the glass walls nearby was responsible for this. Due to its effect, the device was immune to psychic powers, which made Victoria's body nearly useless. The Okcha Prime needed a new one, with either physical strength or proper aura abilities but also decent enough psychic potential to allow at least short-range teleportation. It had never seen a human with that problem before so it probably wasn't going to be a problem. It had to hurry, though. Victoria's mind was already strong and would eventually regain control, if only a short time.

"I won't be stopped by the likes of you! Darkness takes you!" it yelled before charging straight at its enemies with one of its fists glowing purple.

"Lucario, stop her ... or it ... or whatever," Ash shouted.

The aura pokémon charged at his enemy and met its fist with his own. They were evenly matched and the contact resulted in an explosion that pushed both of them back a little. It didn't waste any time and faked another punch, only to jump over Lucario instead. It was a jump that nobody would have expected from someone like Victoria, but the creature obviously was capable of it. Dawn was closest to it and it tried to attack her but Espeon prevented it by making it come to a complete halt in midair with psychic. The Okcha Prime reacted by leaving the body as some kind of black smoke and possessing the nearest body, one that its enemies might be less inclined to attack. Dawn was its target but Ash pushed her out of the way to protect her. The moment the smoke was gone again, his eyes flashed green and an aura bubble appeared, that pushed everyone nearby back.

"Great talent for aura and greater physical strength but far weaker psychic powers. Well, it's enough for the current task," it whispered, having already analyzed its potential.

There was a catch, though. Judging from Ash's memories, his pokémon had attacked him on several occasions and Pikachu still shocked him from time to time to get his attention. This made things far more difficult for the Okcha for it knew that they wouldn't hesitate to attack and a single, good hit would make controlling Ash much more difficult, which could mean the end for it in a battle. While Dawn was getting up, it readied a huge aura sphere.

"Fight it, Ash! I know you're still there! Don't give up!" she cried. "Espeon, use psychic to remove his pokéballs!"

All of them started levitating and flew towards her trainer, who caught them. Even if the pokémon inside were unconscious, she didn't want the creature to use them in any way for its vile purposes.

"You're wasting your time, girl. I don't need them anyway," it replied, shooting the aura sphere at the room with the teleport blocker. It hoped that it would both destroy the glass wall and the device itself but Togekiss got in the way and blocked the attack with her wings. Something told it that she wasn't going to let it reach its goal.

Frustrated, it tried to attack the fairy-type directly. However, a thunderbolt, that it barely dodged, made it reconsider the attack and Lucario closing in made it entirely impossible as it had to defend itself from his furious blows. After a small hit, the Okcha Prime caught both of his fists with its own, resulting in a contest of strength between the two.

"With our help, he'll make it. Ash! We believe in you!" Dawn tried to encourage him.

Both of them attempted a kick at the same time and the force pushed them apart. Without wasting time, they formed an aura spheres in each hand and, after a spin, shot them at each other, resulting in an explosion when they met in midair. The two combatants' movements looked so similar that the others couldn't help but simply stare at them. Lucario followed up with extremespeed, which was blocked but still caused it to take a few steps back. Although he quickly used aura sphere again, it wasn't fast enough and it got deflected by a punch.

"Keep it up, Lucario!" Dawn shouted. Those two seemed to be evenly matched so she saw no reason for the others to get involved. "Make sure he doesn't escape," she told the others.

"What if it changes the body again?" Marcus asked. "We can't defeat it unless we can somehow prevent that."

"You're right. Maybe we can attack it while it's trying to do that?" she suggested.

Lucario and the Okcha Prime got closer again to fight in melee range. None held back, using punches, kicks, and aura spheres without anyone gaining the upper hand for the moment. During this fight, Lucario let out a few growls that were translated by Espeon.

"Lucario can still talk to Ash by using aura although the connection isn't the best right now. He tells us that every little bit of damage to his body helps him fight it from the inside. He believes it to be much weaker than it's trying to make us think," she told everyone.

"Alright, keep it up and we'll have him back in no time," Dawn shouted, raising a fist. "Don't worry, Ash. We'll save you!"

During the battle, she did her best to talk to him. That way, she intended to give him hope and encourage him to do his best although she trusted that he would also do it without her help. After all, he was strong and wouldn't let any creature control him, at least not for long. She was also surprised how powerful he was all of sudden, being able to fight with Mega-Lucario on equal terms, and even though she knew that he had a talent for aura abilities, aura spheres and bubbles had been way too much for him so far. It couldn't be a coincidence that this creature was suddenly able to do all this, it was almost certain to have something to do with it. However, it soon became clear that Mega-Lucario was still stronger. Using all of the energy, the Okcha Prime had been able to make up for the difference in strength but now it was quickly draining its power.

It crossed the arms in front of the chest, blocking the next punch but also getting pushed Lucario threw an aura sphere at it and it dodged it only to get hit by the following extremespeed, which launched and smashed it against the wall. Lucario was hesitant to do even more damage as the sudden decrease in the Okcha Prime's power took him by surprise and he was afraid of overdoing it. The moment of hesitation was enough for it to set up its defenses, which mostly consisted of a powerful aura bubble. Lucario was about to strike again when he noticed that something weird was going on. Indeed, Ash's body was shaky, sweating, and he was blinking rapidly. Ash was fighting back.

When Ash's body got possessed, he felt like he was being sucked into a vortex of darkness. The voices of the others became distant until he couldn't hear them at all and there was only the silence of the void. He was surrounded by darkness, he could neither feel nor see his body, it was like he was in a completely different state. Although he didn't feel any pain, it was a most unpleasant feeling of being completely lost, helpless, and alone.

It didn't improve when the darkness around him was replaced by visions of past events, only with new, horrible outcomes. In the background, he could hear laughter, whispers, and other voices mocking or taunting him. They were making comments about the events, telling him how worthless he was and that his friends were better off without him. The worst aspect was that he couldn't change anything about those scenes, the words he said just escaped him, his body was beyond his control and the scenes shifted so quickly that he didn't have enough time to properly reflect on them or remember what had really happened. Only sadness remained.

The longer he remained in that dream-like state, the more desperate he became. There was no way to fight back, no way to change anything. In fact, he couldn't even remember the faces of his closest friends for some reason. His memories were slipping away quickly and something had to be done about it. However, he couldn't find a way of doing it alone.

Then something happened that made his view get blurry. The voices were gone but reappeared seconds later. This time, something was different, though.

"With our help, he'll make it. Ash! We believe in you!" It was the voice of a single person and even though it was distant, he recognized it. It belonged to Dawn.

The dizziness was gone, he tried to contact her but without control of his body, he couldn't do it. Even worse, the voices returned, a sign that the Okcha Prime regained control. However, her voice gave him hope and strength to ignore the other voices and the visions. Instead, he tried to establish contact with Lucario as the aura link was the only thing that could actually work. After many failed attempts, he finally received an answer.

"I can hear you. I'm currently fighting your body. Is there any way to help you from here?" Lucario asked.

Ash didn't hear everything as the connection was far from perfect in this situation but it was still good enough for him to understand the most important parts.

"Do whatever you did some time ago. I can't say when exactly, though," he admitted.

"It's alright," Lucario replied. "I think you mean the punch I delivered."

"If you can do it a few more times, I'll be able to fight back from here. Just a bit more damage. This thing isn't as strong as you might think," Ash told him.

Doing his best to ignore the other voices and the visions, Ash waited patiently for something to happen, for a chance to fight. When it came, it was like an earthquake that drowned the voices and shattered his vision and finally, he could see what was really going. He could hear his friends voices and feel his own body. Only controlling it was still a problem for him but at least he could try now. Apparently, he was with his back against a wall and the invader created an aura shield to prevent further damage. It wasn't able to protect it from an attack from inside, though.

Now that he could see what he was doing, Ash simply tried to move his body. Given his situation, he wasn't surprised about the difficulty of this endeavor. Whenever he tried to even move a finger, it was like something insanely strong was countering his attempt. As a result, it seemed completely futile but apparently the others could see that he was fighting and that was more than enough for him to keep it up.

"It's working," Dawn cried, torn between hope and fear. "I know you can do it, Ash!"

Hearing her voice again gave him new strength but it was still tremendously hard. The others had a hard time watching him like this, his movements reminded them of a malfunctioning robot. They were erratic, forced, and extremely crude but at least they meant that he was making progress. Once Ash was past a certain point, it was suddenly much easier and he had almost full control again, with only one exception. The Okcha Prime was still tapping into his aura abilities to maintain the shield. Nobody was paying attention to anything else going on in the chamber.

When the Okcha Prime left Victoria's body, she simply fell to the ground, unconscious. Gardevoir and Pinsir immediately rushed to her side and the psychic-type woke her up. The body was shaking, the eyes wide with fear and the breathing heavy as the experience had been extremely unpleasant. Victoria hugged Gardevoir with so much force that it had trouble to breath.

"So .. glad you're here. Please ... don't leave me. It'll come back. It'll make me go through this nightmare again!" she whispered with tears in her eyes. "It was horrible. Like thousands of nightmares at the same time. The darkness ... everywhere. It tried to swallow me. So many ... bad memories. So much humiliation. I can't face it again. I don't want to. You can't make me! Don't leave me!"

She noticed that her enemies were fighting amongst themselves, which could only mean that one of them was possessed. Instead of being happy about the distraction, she paled for it also meant that the Okcha Prime was still around. She was almost in panic, yet still sensible enough not to attract its attention.

"It's still here! I can't allow it to get me again. I don't want to go back, I can't ... Gardevoir, we must flee. Please deactivate or destroy the teleport blocker. You know how to do it, right?" The pokémon nodded but was reluctant to leave her side. "Then do it. Don't worry, Pinsir will protect me. Go ... wait a moment."

Victoria noticed the unconscious Boris lying nearby, completely forgotten by the others and not without good reason. As dangerous and nasty as he was, in his current state, he was no danger to anyone and even in perfect condition, he wasn't nearly as much of a threat as the Okcha Prime. Nevertheless, he was the reason she was so miserable, he was the killer of her pokémon. The rage grew inside her and a daring, almost crazy thought invaded her mind, one that she wouldn't have thought possible until a few seconds ago. Now, however, it seemed like the best thing she could do. She was going to save him. The reasoning was simple. Not even dying to his wounds like this, which wasn't nearly painful enough in her opinion anyway, would be able to compare to the punishment Divine could imagine. Indeed, she was going to escape with him so that he could die a much crueler death at the hands of the boss, who might even reward her for this pleasure. She smiled when she imagined becoming his favorite chosen once again.

"Take Boris with us. Don't question it, it'll be so much better this way," she said with a hint of madness in her eyes. "Oh yes, he'll adore me for the chance to punish the traitor."

Gardevoir did as it was told and snuck into the control chamber, unnoticed by their enemies. For a psychic-type, it was easy to determine the source of the dark field that was preventing teleportation and a focus blast made short work of it. Meanwhile, Victoria and Pinsir had crawled to Boris and were waiting for their ally to arrive. Before Dawn and the pokémon knew what was going on, Gardevoir teleported to Victoria and teleported her, Pinsir, and Boris to safety.

Realizing the only thing preventing its escape was gone, the Okcha Prime quickly dropped the shield and used the extra energy to temporarily regain full control of Ash's body. It would eventually backfire but it would be long gone by then. With a flash of light, it vanished.

"I can still sense his aura! He's somewhere near the entrance!" Lucario shouted in his language and Espeon translated for Dawn.

"Teleport us there immediately!" she cried, her voice full of panic.

Ignoring the others for now, Espeon took only her and Lucario near the cave entrance. It was too late, though, as when they arrived, Ash's body was already out of range.

"He's gone ..." Lucario muttered.

"No! This can't be! We have to pursue him!" Dawn muttered as soon as she heard it from Espeon. "Come on, teleport ... somewhere. We might ... get close enough for Lucario ... to feel him again, right? Right?"

"Even if we somehow manage to get in range, we wouldn't be able to catch up," Espeon told her. "We have to hope for Ash to win the fight on his own now."

It wasn't enough for Dawn, who felt that she had failed him. She was angry at herself and punched the rocks nearby until her hands hurt badly, which didn't take too long. Feeling entirely powerless, she sank to her knees. In that state, she couldn't possibly notice that the rain had almost stopped and the sun was warming the earth already. In the distance, a rainbow could be seen, which was probably the most inappropriate moment or at least she would've thought it if she had noticed it.

"We've been defeated," she whispered. "So utterly defeated."


	56. Taking Control

**The events of the previous chapters will have tremendous consequences, and Ash's disappearance is only the most obvious one.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or itc characters.**

* * *

Chapter 56 Taking Control

Dawn was still kneeling at the entrance to the cave with the secret base with Lucario and Espeon next to her. Despite the rainbow, the sunshine, and the gentle wind, they were equally down for they had suffered a major defeat. Feraligatr had been burned so badly that it would a long time before he could participate in a battle again, Trevenant had lost an arm, and Prinplup had been forced to evolve by their enemies. That seemed harmless compared to the rest, though. Viridian City had been attacked and set on fire but they had missed the fights after their departure so they had no idea how bad it really was and how many people were killed during the attack. In addition, they had lost three dear friends. Catelyn was killed for no apparent reason by Boris, Durant and Leafeon were incinerated along with Victoria's skarmory by the very same person in a vain attempt to turn the tides of their battle. Despite his defeat, he had escaped along with Victoria and his rebelling minion had done the same, albeit in Ash's body. As a result, Ash was missing now and possessed by a creature from their nightmares, that would probably make him do things worse than they could imagine. All in all, they had lost a lot and gained so little. The only matter they had solved successfully was Eileen's rescue. Needless to say, the mood could hardly be worse at this point. Realizing there was nothing he could do, Lucario returned to his normal form. Dawn noticed a strange warmth around her chest and remembered the aura stone, which was glowing brightly by now due to the distance between her and Ash.

"Let's return to that big chamber. We have to decide on what to do next," Dawn said, her voice little more than a whisper.

Her usually bright eyes were dull and the pokémon's were no different. It was a sad time indeed, yet there was so little time for mourning. Espeon teleported them back into the chamber, which was now awfully silent and full of signs of the previous battles. Most of the pokémon jumped up when they reappeared, but sat down again when they realized Ash wasn't with them. Marcus was watching over the unconscious Eileen, hoping that she wouldn't wake up too soon or she would have to see her dead sister again. The pokémon followed her while she was slowly walking up to him.

"We should go," she told him.

"Yeah, nothing left here for us to do," he muttered, his voice full of bitterness.

However, there was one thing Dawn still wanted to do.

"Metagross, could you ..." It was difficult talking about this. "Could you take Leafeon's and Durant's bodies with you? I believe we owe them a burial at a proper place."

The pokémon, who had returned to its normal form, nodded and lifted the bodies with its psychic powers. Although it looked weird with them levitating around it, there was no better way to transport them right now.

"Espeon, please take us back to Viridian City," Dawn whispered, afraid of what might await them there.

The psychic-type teleported the whole group in front of the pokémon center. Just as expected, the city wasn't looking pretty at all. At first glance, it was like there were only ruins left but they soon noticed that mostly the large buildings had been damaged. The smaller ones were often unscathed or only slightly damaged, including the pokémon center, which only had a few broken windows. There were only few people on the streets as most of them didn't dare leave their homes, at least those that were still standing, and the injured ones were already in hospitals. The pokémon center was a temporary refuge for anyone who needed just a bit of time to recover and a feeling of safety. Needless to say, a lot of pokémon had been injured as well so trainers were gathering there as well and the staff simply couldn't handle the masses.

"Tell the police about what you've seen," Dawn told Marcus.

"Are you crazy? I'd have to stay there for hours and Eileen needs me," he protested. "Besides, you'll have to do it as well sooner or later. Might as well do it now."

She had feared this response but she wasn't going to give in. After all, she still had something important to do, something that couldn't wait.

"I won't," she stated. "Ash is still out there and I need to find him before he's too far away. I can't afford to waste the entire day answering questions you can also answer."

He was about to argue but after thinking about it briefly, he realized that she had a point. Cat was dead, Eileen was safe, but Ash was still in danger and could probably be saved. Moreover, his own words could be used against him as he also couldn't avoid the questioning. As he said, he might as well do it soon. The only issue was Eileen as he didn't want her to go through the same just yet. First, she'd have to recover from the shock and given her personality, it'd take some time. Until then, he had to find a safe place for her but that was another problem as they didn't have any real friends or living family members. The only ones who would take her in were Ash and Dawn, who couldn't do it this time for obvious reasons.

He shook his head, dismissing those thoughts for now. Realizing that Dawn could misunderstand this, he spoke up to clarify the situation.

"I won't go to them just yet. Eileen needs my attention more but I won't tell them about your whereabouts either. You're free to search for him as long as you wish," he said before turning his back on her. "Good luck."

"Alright. Thank you," she replied.

Even if he wanted he wouldn't be able to stay much longer as his arms were getting tired from carrying his sister despite her being not heavy at all. In the end, he let Blastoise, who had more strength, carry her, but instead of going home, they kept walking around. The police were likely to find them at home, something he wished to prevent for now.

Dawn on the other hand entered the pokémon center in order to change her team. Togekiss wasn't large enough to carry both her, Lucario, Pikachu, and maybe Prinplup, and she also was slow compared to a lot of other flying pokémon. Crobat was much faster but not strong enough to carry them either. Of all the pokémon, Hydreigon was the most suitable for this job with Flygon closely behind so she took the dark-type for now. Considering Espeon was already tired, she'd also need Alkazam for the teleports. Metagross was already on its way back home with the bodies of the two fallen pokémon and the death of Leafeon was a matter that had to be discussed with one of the professors before she could exchange his pokéballs for another one so she only had one more pokémon to choose for this mission. She'd already decided to keep Leafeon's pokéball as a reminder of his life and death and to never use it again.

Actually changing the team proved to be a challenge due to the overcrowded pokémon center, causing her patience to run dangerously low. Even though she tried to do it as quickly as possible, it obviously wasn't fast enough for someone behind her, who kept nudging her from behind. In the end, this obnoxious person did it so frequently that Dawn was tempted to yell at him or her. However, she reminded herself that everyone in the pokémon center probably had a horrendous day and decided against it, finishing the changes instead. Pachirisu was her fourth active pokémon for this mission.

Getting out of the pokémon center was a challenge by itself. Dawn surely didn't envy anyone working there on this day but it was an important job, for which they should be well rewarded. The regeneration ball containing Prinplup was shaking on the way out but fortunately, he didn't leave it until he was outside. Despite the healing effect, he disliked even the shortest stay, only this time, he didn't get to complain about it as he had other questions. For once, he wanted to know what they were doing in Viridian City and why Ash's pokémon were with them but not Ash himself.

"Prin Prinplup! Plup Plup?" he cried.

It wasn't the best time to ask questions. Dawn's mood was already rotten, her time was running out so having to explain the situation to him was most inconvenient.

"Please not now," she kept saying but he just wouldn't shut up. Eventually, her patience ran out and she raised her voice sharply. "Will you be quiet for a moment!"

Prinplup was shocked at first but then turned around, an annoyed look on his face. Obviously, she'd offended him and she already regretted it but at that moment, she had seen no other way. She proceeded with a softer voice.

"Please, we don't have much time. We'll check the cities, then I'll explain everything to you, alright?" She seemed distressed so he assumed something terrible had happened and in that case, he would forgive her quickly, especially since Pikachu was nodding at him. With a sigh, he overcame his pride and nodded, agreeing to keep his mouth shut for now. "Thank you. Now let's hurry."

She called out Alakazam, who was even more clueless about the situation than Prinplup as she didn't even know about the attack on the city. The water-type, however, made clear that she shouldn't waste any time by asking any questions, to which she quickly agreed. Dawn gave him a look of gratitude, making him puff his chest proudly.

"Alright. Alakazam, please teleport us to Pewter City," she commanded.

The psychic-type did as she was told, taking them to Brock's home town. Unlike their previous location, there had been no attack on this city. With just a little hope in her eyes, Dawn turned to Lucario, who just shook his head. Then she checked her aura stone, which was still warm and bright. Lowering her head in disappointment, Dawn told Alakazam the next city they had to visit and there, the procedure was repeated. This went on until they had been in every major city in Kanto. During the search, they realized that a few of them had been attacked as well with Saffron City having been hit hardest by far. It was hard to imagine how anyone could have the power to launch so many attacks at the same time, causing so much destruction that a few people came to speak of an invasion even though the Okcha troops never actually occupied anything. To Dawn, it was of little consequence at the moment, she simply wanted to save Ash.

Unsurprisingly, there was no trace of him in the cities, forcing her to change plans. Now she intended to search the wilderness but given how big it was and how small the range of Lucario's senses was in comparison, even trying it was borderline madness. Nevertheless, she was determined to try anything, no matter how slim the chances were. Fortunately, they were in Pallet Town and the streets were empty when she called out Hydreigon as her mere presence could have caused panic amongst the already nervous people. The dragon-type was always happy to be chosen although she never showed it, but she also sensed that this time, something was different. Her usually bubbly master was in a gloomy mood and Ash was nowhere to be seen, unlike Pikachu and Lucario. Something had to be so very wrong and it was only about to get worse.

All of sudden, she felt something changing. The aura stone's warmth was decreasing, which could only mean three things. Either Ash was getting closer again or he was dead or he unequipped his aura stone. Naturally, she hoped for the first or at least the last possibility. The first was eliminated when she pulled it out from under her shirt and noticed that the glow was completely gone. If he was approaching, it would only slowly increase, not disappear entirely in an instant. If anything, this only made her even more nervous as she couldn't use it to find him anymore. With urgency clear in her voice, she addressed her dragon-type.

"Please allow everyone to get on your back. I'll explain everything on the way." It was no little thing to demand from Hydreigon but the look of tiredness and desperation on Dawn's face was irresistible and she allowed it by landing on the ground and lowering her wings. Dawn, Prinplup, Pikachu, and Lucario got on her back before her trainer spoke up again. "Alright, we'll search the area around Mt Silver. Go west for now and turn north after a while."

On the way she told the whole truth to the pokémon, who listened carefully. It was explanation enough for her behavior and it made them furious as well. Once she was done, Hydreigon blasted and empty area with a chaos lightning from her head and her arms out of fury and increased her speed. There was nothing that could bring back the fallen pokémon but Ash could still be saved so that had to be their top priority now. Prinplup was feeling even worse than the others. He had been devastated by his evolution but now he realized that it was nothing compared to the other's losses. He still wasn't happy about it but he would ignore his problem until the others were solved.

They kept flying for a couple of hours, making only one short break in order to warm up a bit. While traveling, Dawn made sure to check on her aura stone every few seconds so that she wouldn't miss the slightest change. Tracking someone wasn't its purpose, however, as its effects didn't change once a certain distance was reached so they had to get closer for it to show any noticeable change. This fact, combined with the Okcha Prime's ability to teleport rapidly, made a success highly unlikely. The longer this took, the more Dawn blamed herself for the outcome of this disaster.

 _He's gone and it's my fault. He protected me and paid the price. I should have been the one. Stupid, selfless Ash, why do you always have to get in so much trouble? I should've let the others fight him as well and he could've made it. But I was a coward, who was too afraid of hurting him for his own good and didn't do it in time. Even worse, I failed to pay attention to Victoria and allowed her to escape with Boris. I am the trainer, it was my responsibility and I failed miserably. And because of me, he has to suffer._ Dawn let out a long sigh before realizing that she was extremely hungry because she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and now it was already getting dark. _It's alright. I'll make do. I have to. For him and his pokémon. They'll be just as crushed when they find out. It's already bad enough with Durant and Leafeon gone. I wonder, will they blame me? I should have seen it coming. Forgive me, my friends, you lives were way too short. At least Ash's disappearance is a mistake I can correct, even if it takes an eternity. Screw the hunger, the cold, the tiredness. Ash, my love, I promise you, I'll save you, no matter the cost._

Determined not to let him down, she continued to search for him until it was too dark. Even then, the pokémon had to convince her to cancel the search for now but in the end, she agreed and Alakazam took them back to Pallet Town.

* * *

The Okcha Prime teleported extremely quickly in order to escape anyone on its tracks and didn't stop until it was far enough away. Eventually, it was almost out of energy and returned to a more dormant state, allowing Ash partial control over his body again. But before that, it destroyed or hid anything that Ash could use to contact others or allowed his friends to find him like his pokédex and the aura stone. Since it had full access to Ash's mind, it knew that the latter could even be used to confuse them so it just dug a little hole in the ground, which was still muddy due to the recent rain, and buried it. Then it teleported one more time onto a hill nearby so that Ash wouldn't recover it immediately. That's where he finally regained control.

At first, his vision was slightly clouded and his body felt heavy but he got used to it quickly and had a look around. The terrain was rocky, surrounded by mountains from most sides, with only a few trees in the area, and he was standing on one of the few grassy spots. The only side not blocked by mountains gave view to the ocean. All in all, he couldn't recognize anything about it, mostly because he had never been there before. It was far north of Cerulean City, somewhere between Kanto and Sinnoh. Without means of teleportation or a flying-type, he might as well have woken up in a maze.

Ash examined his body without finding any wounds so he assumed that nothing had happened to it in the meantime. The only problem was the thing inside. It was still there, slowing his movements, poisoning his mind with its whispers, although they were almost completely silent right now. Despite the absence of Dawn and their pokémon, he felt he could defeat the creature once and for all by regaining full control. Naturally, it refused to give up so easily and fought back.

"Getting a bit overconfident, are we? Don't fool yourself, I'm just allowing you partial control for a faster regeneration," a voice in his head told him. As if it was trying to demonstrate its power, his vision darkened and his body became paralyzed for a moment. "As you can see, resistance is futile."

"Oh yeah? I'll show you! I'm stronger than you think." Ash intensified his efforts, making black smoke appear around him. "I won't disappoint my friends! And I won't let you use my body for your evil purposes!"

"Evil?" He heard a roaring laughter. "Pathetic fool, I've defeated far more dangerous men than you!"

A fierce fight followed, one that both of them refused to lose. After all, their future depended on it. As a result, Ash was suffering from a massive headache and random spasms, which only worsened with time. His breathing got heavier and his vision darkened until he couldn't see where was going anymore, while the loud voices in his head impaired his hearing. To others, it might have looked comical but he was fully aware of the fact that this may very well be his last chance to defeat the intruder.

"Dawn, Pikachu, everyone, give me strength! It must be defeated," Ash muttered, clutching his stomach.

He could feel a burning pain spreading from there, washing over every part of his body until he felt like he was on fire. Indeed, his vision was normal again and he could see his body engulfed by green flames, the same that a the dying body of an Okcha usually emitted.

"Impossible! I won't be defeated by the likes of you!" The voice was so loud that it drowned the others. "Feel my power!"

Ash was delighted to hear a hint of panic in the voice but the battle was far from over. The flames disappeared again along with the pain, which now appeared to be solely in his head. His movements weren't just hindered, the Okcha Prime was trying to make him move the way it wanted once more, resulting in Ash's body looking like it was fighting an invisible enemy. Flailing his arms, Ash stumbled all over the hill until he tripped over a rock and rolled down, back to the location where the Okcha Prime had hidden the aura stone. He landed with his face in the mud, but got up quickly. By now, the pain had become almost unbearable, yet he refused to give up, even though he could feel the Okcha Prime's grasp tighten again.

"I have you now. A short moment of weakness allowed you to resist my power, but it's over now. I've regained some strength and without help, you can't overcome me anymore," it told him.

Nevertheless, Ash kept fighting. Every time he was tempted to just give up, to just give in to the pain and the exhaustion, he only had to remind himself that his friends were counting on him and would never give up so easily so he couldn't either. Keeping up the resistance proved getting more and more difficult, though. His vision was getting darker progressively, the pain on the other hand was decreasing, getting replaced by a feeling of numbness. He was losing, and even though this knowledge made him fight with even more desperation, his ultimate defeat was unavoidable, and deep inside, he already knew it.

The end became evident when everything around him went black and he lost control entirely, feeling like he was floating in empty space. There was something in the distance, a whole bunch of small and thin things reflecting the little light that was coming from somewhere else, apparently. They soon turned out to be dozens of legs, made of black crystal, belonging to the same creature that had taken control of him. It was approaching him unbearably slowly, slithering through the darkness until he could see its eyes. Ash had to admit, the night sky image looked beautiful, it was just the creature carrying those eyes that he disliked. For some reason, it moved right in front of his eyes or whatever he was currently using to see, he wasn't too sure what it was since he couldn't feel his body. Then it moved to the side and even though he couldn't see it, he was sure it was behind him.

"Isn't it beautiful? The endless darkness within your mind, I created it myself, for your own protection. Without it, you'd suffer from more pain than your pitiful mind can comprehend. What you felt during the fight is just a fraction of that. It would break your spirit, but I need it to use your body. Behave well, and I'll allow you to enjoy the scenery, the serenity, the depths of the darkness. You may even watch some treasured memories or imagine a better future. You fought bravely and you lack the cruelty I've seen in so many other humans so you have earned that privilege." The voice was soft and pleasant to hear. Then it reappeared from the other side, getting in front of him again, its voice becoming louder and more aggressive. "Should you decide to challenge my power, however..." Like a ghost, the creature moved right through him, causing dozens of images to appear in front him within a split second, none of them too pleasant. "Of course you'll behave. It's not like you have a choice in that matter, even now I'm already too strong to be defeated without help. Now rest."

The Okcha Prime did the same in order to regenerate a bit before it would move further north. It didn't intend to risk another fight by teleporting too soon, which had been necessary to escape quickly before. Right now, it had all the time it needed, but more importantly, it had a plan. Ash's and Victoria's knowledge combined gave it a lot of ideas, some of which it would utilize soon enough.

Ash was a prisoner of his own body once again. There was no way of fighting back for now, the only thing he could do was to hope that the Okcha Prime wouldn't do too many bad things until his friends could put an end to its machinations. Since he wasn't quite sure how long it would take, he proceeded to remember moments of past victories, which felt like they were real. They gave him hope so that he wouldn't succumb to despair. Eventually, he remembered the more common parts of his life, which others would have dismissed as boring but that was what Ash was fighting for. Returning to this good, peaceful life was one of his greatest goals right now. Unfortunately, even though he could see this life so clearly in front of him, it felt so far away at the same time.

* * *

When Victoria arrived at the base, the guards observing the entrance chamber opened the door for her, and, upon noticing her injured companion, called some medics. The former coordinator walked through the door with her pokémon following, not caring about Boris anymore. While guards were rushing past her, she was muttering words with a strange smile on her face.

"I brought him ... brought him alive. Now he must reward me. Reward me well, oh yes." She giggled like a little girl. "I'll be his favorite again, right? It wasn't my fault, oh no. It was Boris and Boris alone."

"Are you alright?" Gardevoir asked her telepathically.

"Oh, I'm fine. Never felt better. That thing is gone and everything is alright," Victoria replied.

The psychic-type stopped, shocked by the way Victoria said it because she certainly hadn't moved her mouth. The answer had been delivered telepathically, something she had never been able to do in the past. When Victoria noticed that her pokémon had stopped walking, she also stopped and turned around, addressing Garedvoir with a peaceful expression.

"Is something wrong?" she said, this time the normal way again.

"No, as you said, everything's alright," Gardevoir told her.

They continued walking although neither of them actually knew the destination. Gardevoir was still nervous because of the sudden, telepathic message. It was pretty clear that Victoria was extremely distressed as her mind had suffered a lot, not only due to the possession but also because of Boris's actions. Telling her about this might provoke a violent reaction in the worst case, but more importantly, the pokémon didn't want to frighten her master. Still, she would have to face this strange phenomena sooner or later, it simply wasn't the right time just yet.

While walking around aimlessly, they met a guard with orders directly from the boss to meet him at his office. She only reacted by changing direction, finally having a new destination. Her pokémon couldn't see it but there was a lot of worry in her eyes as, despite having brought Boris alive, she could never be entirely sure whether she hadn't done something else entirely wrong accidentally. When she reached the door to his office, the guards in front of it took a step aside, granting her entry. First, she had to recall her pokémon, though, as he didn't allow any but his own in his office.

"You were amazing today. Have a rest, my friends," she said, recalling them before clutching her head. "It hurts so much ... I hope it won't take too long."

Inside the office, Wraith and Seth, who had arrived long before, turned around to have a look at the newcomer, when she decided to enter at last. Divine had told them about Boris's betrayals but left out details like the reason or Victoria's involvement. As a result, they were curious to hear about it now, either from him or from her. Victoria took one of the chairs next to the entrance and put it in front of the desk between the others before sitting down and waiting for her boss to do something. He was currently talking to someone on the phone and somehow she had a feeling that things weren't going well despite his calm demeanor.

"Four months? Really? Are you serious? Well, I'd advise you to come up with a fast solution or I'll be forced to test one of our more exotic punishments on you," he said with a smile. "And while I'd love to see that, I'd much rather see you succeed for a change. But it's up to you."

He ended the call, then sat down, turned on a laptop and started typing something, not taking notice of the visitors. After a minute, he finally spoke up, his voice calm and soft once again.

"We retrieved the materials, but the losses were horrendous. It appears Max Wright was well-prepared, far more than anticipated. The men will be replaced so I guess you two did your job just fine." Although he wasn't looking at anyone in particular, focusing on the screen instead, it was clear that Seth and Wraith were meant. "It's a shame not all of my employees can be as competent as you."

For a moment, Victoria thought he was talking about her and even opened her mouth to protest, but he was faster and proved her wrong. Realizing that she had almost said something really stupid, she let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Those idiots creating the improved Okcha bodies take much longer than expected. This is a very bad time for that kind of failure, now that our enemies are getting desperate. They're attacking our outposts and even though they're weak, they're not to be underestimated together." He leaned back a bit. "They're not the ones I'm worried about, though. The defenses at our largest bases should be powerful enough to repel any attack. Viccy, I'm sure you know which threat is the most dangerous right now."

She was a bit surprised by this and couldn't answer until she noticed that everyone was looking at her expectantly.

"You mean the Okcha Prime?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

By now, she was wondering where all her courage had gone. About fifteen minutes ago, she had been dying to tell him about her accomplishments and now it was like her mouth was sealed. Even worse, her headache was getting worse as well as the voices. Something was definitely not right.

"Exactly, the Okcha Prime. It's the only force still capable of defeating me," he admitted. "And now it's free. A living apocalypse." Part of him was glad that it was free as it sounded like a worthy challenger that would make everything far more interesting. "Of course, your actions at the base didn't go unnoticed. A few hidden cameras allowed me to watch the beginning until they were destroyed during the fight. Another one at the entrance showed me the Okcha Prime's escape." He leaned forward again, looking directly into Victoria's eyes. "The details, however, are still obscure to me. Tell me, Viccy, what exactly happened in there? I want to hear every single detail. The whole truth."

The way he said it left no doubt that lying to him was a horrible idea just like leaving out some things, no matter how unimportant they seemed. She had to get through this.


	57. Terrible Truth

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 57 Terrible Truth

Despite, or rather because of the pressure on her, Victoria wasn't able to talk. Being pretty much surrounded, she could feel Divine's, Wraith's, and Seth's gazes on her. In her mind, she could see them opening her skull with a huge knife to drink the liquids in her head before cutting her brain into thin layers for unknown purposes. When she finally realized what she was thinking, she shook her head and banished those thoughts, wondering where they had come from. After all, she had never been a fan of brutality or gore in any form so this didn't seem natural to her.

"Is something bothering you? You're awfully hesitant," Divine remarked.

"I'm not exactly surprised, her thoughts are pretty scary," Seth revealed, shuddering slightly. Since he knew that Victoria wouldn't enjoy talking about it and their boss wouldn't drop the matter, he decided to explain. "It was a rather unpleasant image of us doing some disgusting things to her head. I'm not too keen on describing any details so we better stop here."

"Stop reading my mind, psychic!" she hissed.

"Oh, you would've preferred to say it yourself?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I was just doing you a favor but go ahead. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun."

Usually, Divine enjoyed bickering amongst his minions, especially when Boris was involved as he had a talent for finding weak spots. This time, however, he didn't have patience for this kind of game. He shut them up by smashing his fist on the table. As soon as there was silence, he leaned back and motioned for Victoria to begin with her story.

"Well, after Boris ended your conversation, he made a body for that Okcha Prime, one of a gigantic machamp. Before our enemies arrived, he killed the other hostage to enrage them further and set the monster free." She took a deep breath. "At first, it looked great. It was powerful, more powerful than I imagined. But soon, it started having trouble, there were too many of them and its injuries became worse until it could barely move. I fought the rest of them with Boris, but things weren't looking much better there. He told me to allow him to use my pokémon and I agreed since you told me to help him. Well, he made my skarmory grab Dawn's leafeon and attacked Ash's durant so that they were all in one place and then ..." Speaking was getting difficult, now that tears were forming in her eyes. However, she refused to show weakness and continued, albeit with a weak voice. "He used his fire gem to slay all of them at once. Even my poor skarmory ..."

She couldn't see it because she lowered her head in shame, but Seth and even Wraith were disgusted by the story, their fury targeted at Boris. Only the most vile villain would sacrifice an ally's partner for so little. Then they turned back towards Divine, who had listened attentively so far without showing emotions. There was no doubt in their mind, he would punish Boris harshly and death wasn't going to be harsh enough. For now, he wanted to hear the rest of the story, though, signaling for her to continue.

"He and his monster were defeated, I guess. I was a bit distracted by my pokémon's death," she explained. "I'm not sure what exactly happened after that, I felt a sharp pain in my back and then it was like I was in a nightmare world. There's just no other way to describe it. I regained some control later on, but even then I was too spooked to do anything. I just wanted to get out of there so I told Gardevoir to turn off the teleport blocker. After that, we escaped."

Her story had come to an end, but it wasn't over for her yet, judging from his reaction. His eyes narrowed and he raised one of his hands before speaking with a calm, but still clearly furious voice.

"You let it escape? You were the one responsible?" he said.

She could feel something tighten around her throat and got lifted in the air by an unknown force. Divine was moving his hand as if he was gripping something and something was glowing under his shirt. She heard of a gem that could boost the psychic powers of anyone close to it so she assumed that he was using it to choke her a bit. Right now, it mattered little, though, as she was in real trouble.

"If it's as powerful as I heard, wouldn't it have escaped even without her help eventually? It looks like she just hastened it a bit," Seth protested.

Whether he intended to help her or not, it worked as Divine finally let go of her throat, making her fall back into her chair. For the next few minutes, she just sat there, clutching her throat and taking deep breaths.

"I doubt it. As strong as the Okcha Prime is, it relies on a connection to its home world. That's from where it drains its power and that's what the normal Okcha is lacking. For studying purposes, we weakened that connection so it had to be far weaker than normal as a result. I believe they could have defeated it but now we'll never know." He leaned back again. "With time, the connection will be restored to its former strength and then the real fun will begin. On the other hand I may finally have the worthy opponent I've been longing for such a long time now. You can't imagine how dull life is without someone to match your mind."

There were a few minutes of silence. Victoria was sobbing softly, Divine was typing something again, Seth was trying to imagine all the possible consequences of the events, and Wraith was just sitting there, her thoughts as obscure as ever. Divine eventually spoke up again.

"We have a few Lucario-Okcha for other purposes but they'll be just as useful for this one. The aura of the possessed is different so they won't have trouble detecting the Okcha Prime if it tries to infiltrate our base," he told the others.

"What if it possesses the artificial body of another Okcha?" Wraith asked.

"Splendid, finally someone actually paying attention," he acknowledged. "You're right, they won't be able to help us in that case as those don't have an aura. We can only pay close attention to our little slaves and try not to send them without supervision. I've already instructed everyone to destroy any Okcha at the slightest sign of disobedience."

"That's a bit drastic, isn't it?" Seth remarked.

"Maybe it is. However, it's the only way to properly counter any attempt of disrupting my plans. As long as we're wearing the rings, neither it nor the other Okcha can possess us," he told them before blinking. "Wait a second, where's your ring, Viccy?"

At first, she didn't react and just kept staring at the desk, unaware of her surroundings until Wraith hit her with her elbow nonchalantly. She looked up in shock to see her boss raising a hand and pointing at his ring and then to her. Even then she didn't quite understand and raised her own hand in confusion until she noticed that her ring was missing.

"Oh, the ring," she exclaimed, finally realizing what he wanted. "Boris took it from me. I guess he didn't want me to use Okcha against him or something like that."

"I see. We'll recover it for you. Then you'll be safe from it in that regard. It escaped in Ash's body, right? A pity." He shook his head. "It won't leave an old host alive. He's as good as dead. And without him, I don't think I want Dawn anymore. You know what?"

He grabbed a pen and a small piece of paper from his desk and wrote two names on it before handing it to Seth. The psychic looked at it and saw two names on it: Delia Ketchum and Gergory Wood.

"The usual. We start tomorrow so I'd advise you to be finished by then," Divine told him.

Seth just nodded, but Victoria wasn't done just yet. Having been possessed already, she wasn't content with mere preemptive measures. Unlike the others, she would only feel safe if she knew that the creature was gone for good. On the other hand, she was too scared to demand anything so it resulted in a half-hearted suggestion.

"Wouldn't it be ... smarter to hunt it down before it gets too strong?" she asked timidly. "I mean, we could still prevent it from reaching its full power, right?"

Divine smirked and stood up, causing her to sink back into her chair. Smirking at her reaction, he slowly made his way around the desk and behind her chair where he stayed.

"Oh, Viccy, Viccy, Viccy," he muttered, placing his hands on her shoulder, From there, he moved them to her neck, gently touching it with his finger, making her cringe in fear of another choking attack. His voice was gentle and calming. "Don't despair. You're safe here and I promise you not to send you on another mission anytime soon. Relax. Enjoy your free time. There's nothing we can do about the Okcha Prime now, it's out of our reach. Besides, it's way too dangerous. Only an utter fool would even attempt to find it."

* * *

So far, Dawn and the pokémon had been unsuccessful to find anything related to Ash's disappearance and it was getting darker so the chances weren't exactly increasing. Somewhere north of Pewter City, she was finally convinced that continuing the search was futile, not only because of the darkness, but also because all of them were growing extremely tired and hungry. Nevertheless, it felt like she was betraying him by giving up too soon, making this an extremely hard decision. First, they went to the Oak lab to check up on the others and leave Ash's pokémon with the others. As expected, Metagross and Espeon had already told the others about Durant's and Leafeon's fate so it was no surprise to see everyone pretty down. The fact that she arrived without Ash only made things worse and her looks didn't encourage them to ask questions. Her hair was a mess from all the wind, she had large rings under her eyes and a miserable look on her face. Nobody wanted to torture her even more by asking questions. Pikachu even refused to leave her side, feeling that she needed the company more than the others so he accompanied her back home. Lucario did the same as he feared for her safety, which wasn't surprising, given the latest events.

She wouldn't get time to rest just yet, though. On the way home, she was intercepted by Delia, who looked extremely distressed.

"Dawn!" she shouted, running up to the coordinator. "I heard of the attack on the cities. What's going on? Where's Ash? The international police were here and wanted to speak to you. What ... you're a mess!"

"I know," she replied with a weak smile. "As for Ash, it's quite a long story. Please ..."

"Stop!" they turned around to see several police officers and a kadabra approaching them. One of them stopped right in front of her. "We must ask you to follow us first. We need this information now." He turned to one of his underlings. "Inform them that we wish to teleport to the headquarters."

While he was calling those at the base, Dawn looked at Delia with an apologetic expression. There was no time for details, especially since that might be dangerous knowledge. She refused to leave Deila entirely clueless, though, and told her about the results.

"I'm sorry, Delia. Ash is missing, but I promise that he'll be back," Dawn said, taking hold of Delia's hand and squeezing it a little.

"I see." Delia lowered her eyes. "Please tell me more later. And be careful. I don't want to lose you as well."

"You won't lose anybody," Dawn said, embracing Ash's mother, feeling the sorrow and worry. "Everything's going to be alright. I'll tell you everything later. I just hope my information can help the police save lives."

They hugged once more before Delia nodded and walked away, probably back home or to Johanna, who was surely just as worried. Dawn was so distracted by thoughts of worry and regret that she jumped when the officer cleared his throat behind her.

"We're ready. Kadabra will take us to our destination, then follow me," he told her.

The other officers stayed behind for unknown reasons, but she didn't really care. The prospect of spending the next few hours being interrogated was depressing enough, she didn't to worry about something else. This time, it was going to be even worse as she was not only exhausted but also extremely hungry. Nevertheless, she had to stay strong, both for herself and Ash, so complaining was not an option.

Everyone working at the base was extremely busy, which wasn't exactly surprising after the attacks on the cities, but it was still impressive seeing all of them working as hard as they could. A few security measures were removed in order to guarantee a smooth and fast process, resulting in a slightly faster journey up the building. Unlike last time, it was Max Wright himself who wanted to speak to her. The officer identified himself in front of the office, allowed Dawn to enter, and closed the door behind her. The room was just as messy and dark as before with Max sitting behind his old desk, brooding over some papers. As soon as she was standing in front of him, he looked up and sighed.

"You again. You really have a talent for getting into trouble, don't you? Fine. Let's finish this quickly. Where's your friend? Where's Ash?" he asked.

"He's ... somewhere else. It's a bit of a story," Dawn admitted, not knowing where to start.

"I need to know. But first ..." Four men stepped out of the shadows nearby, causing Prinplup and Pikachu to immediately jump between them and Dawn. "Don't worry, they're just here for security measures. I assume you have a pokémon who can teleport us to the base where you fought our enemies?"

"But ... I haven't even told you about this. How do you know?" She was sure that he had been spying on him somehow and didn't change her mind even when he provided a good explanation.

"We asked your friend Marcus Tanner," he simply stated. "Unfortunately, he didn't have a pokémon with that ability."

"I ... Espeon could do that but she's a bit distressed at the moment. You should know why if you heard the story from Marcus," she explained, hesitating to ask more of the psychic-type.

"I must insist. The things we can find there might prove invaluable for our efforts to save lives. It's entirely possible they might even help finding Ash." He knew how to convince her and didn't sound like he was going to accept no as an answer anyway so she gave in.

"Alright. But she's at the lab," she told him.

One of Max's pokémon teleported them there, resulting in Dawn having to explain the situation to her pokémon.

"I know it's not the best time but could you teleport us to that base? I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. They belong to the international police and we have no other way to find it right now," Dawn said with pleading eyes.

Espeon wasn't stupid, she understood the importance of their investigation and immediately agreed.

They were taken back to the main chamber of the base. Now that she didn't have to fight, Dawn could have a closer look at it. It was a bit smaller than she remembered, but still impressive, especially the two machines in the center. One of them was still intact whereas the other one had been destroyed when the Okcha Prime had left it by shattering the glass tube. The glass shards spread all over the floor were a direct result of that and the following battle. Other damages were also signs of that, the scorch marks at the wall where the pokémon died in particular. It brought back bad memories so Dawn averted her gaze.

One of the officers called out a kadabra and teleported somewhere else, probably to call reinforcements. now that they had a connection to this place. The others spread out to secure the area. Max on the other hand stayed with Dawn and looked around a bit before he looked down at Espeon.

"Thank you. Your helpfulness is greatly appreciated. You should rest," he said to her. "However, there's something else I need. Since this is an extremely important matter, I need one of your pokémon for interrogation. Please don't take it as an offence, but I need more confirmation and I found pokémon to be much more reliable than humans," he explained. "Also, I want to make clear that this is absolutely necessary in this case."

Dawn was too tired to argue. The questions was rather which pokémon to choose. Prinplup hadn't seen the whole battle, Espeon had already done enough, most of the others on the team hadn't even participated. Metagross was probably the most suited pokémon, being not easily shaken and capable of telepathy, therefore she chose.

"Metagross can do that, I guess. But let me explain ..." Dawn started, but was quickly interrupted.

"Just send Espeon with our men to it and your pokémon can explain," Max told her.

As if on a cue, several officers appeared nearby with one of them approaching the group. Max just pointed at the psychic-type, causing one of them to approach her. Dawn nodded at her with a weak smile, and she teleported him back to the lab. At least she could rest once she'd explained the situation to Metagross. Two more officers with notepads went close to Dawn, which could only mean that it was time for her interrogation.

"Now tell us what happened. I want to hear the whole story." He also took a pen and some paper out of his pockets to write down every little detail. It was clear that Dawn wasn't to leave out any.

It took her about an hour to tell him the whole story, mostly due to his tendency to ask a question every ten seconds, which wasn't always considerate. Other than that, he was busy writing everything down and trying to read her expression. This wasn't easy for her by any means, not only because of the tiredness and hunger, but also because she knew that it wasn't going to help her one bit at finding Ash as Max was unlikely to tell her anything useful in return, not to mention all the time wasted talking to him. In addition, the story itself was something she wasn't fond of remembering because of the pokémon's death and Ash's disappearance. When she was finally done, he looked over his notes again before he nodded.

"No conflicts with the other story. I doubt Metagross's will be different but better safe than sorry," one of the officers remarked.

"True." Max heard a growling sound coming from Dawn, who immediately clutched her stomach in embarrassment. "It sounds like you haven't eaten enough today."

For the first time, he felt something like sympathy and even respect for her. Not only had she lost a dear friend, but also one of her pokémon. Although he wasn't a trainer and therefore couldn't really understand the bond between a trainer and the pokémon, her story and especially the way she had told it, made him believe that Leafeon was like part of her family, almost like her child. Given the tragedies in his own life, he definitely could understand her sadness. So far, he'd always thought of her and Ash as spoiled children, who didn't know how rough and cruel life really was. He had been sure they wouldn't be able to handle any situation involving serious loss. This girl had proved him wrong, changing his view tremendously and allowing him to finally take them seriously. Instead of simply mourning over loss, she was actively searching for him without caring about her own well-being. Such effort and determination always made a good impression on Max, who wished that all of his men and women were like that. For some reason, he didn't even consider the possibility that Ash was different. It seemed like an absurd idea to him, probably because those two were so similar.

 _This girl ... no, woman, has suffered enough. We're too busy for the normal procedure anyway and it's unlikely she lied to me or forgot to tell me anything important._ He thought about it for a moment. _Well, we can always interrogate her again later. She looks like she needs some rest right now._

He motioned for one of the officers to come closer.

"Give me that report. Then return her to the base and give her something to eat." He looked at her again and nodded. "She's in dire need of some food."

"Is that all?" she asked in disbelief. It seemed too good to be true.

"Yes, for now. I believe I don't need to tell you that you aren't to tell anybody about this base. In fact, you shouldn't talk too much about the other things either," Max told her, staring at the broken glass tube at the center of the chamber. "But I guess you've heard that often enough. You may go, unless you have some questions."

There was indeed something that came to her mind. Obviously he didn't know where to find Ash. But in order to fight her enemies in the future, it would be helpful to know more about them since her knowledge about them was extremely limited.

"Just one thing. What do you know about those four assailants in Viridian City? And their master?" she asked.

It was a question he usually wouldn't bother answering, instead telling her to look it up on the internet. This time, however, he did her this favor.

"Very well. I can't tell you everything, but we know the following things. Seth Ballot is a convicted murderer, who used his considerable psychic powers to entertain the masses with magic tricks. He killed one of his rivals brutally, resulting in his imprisonment, but he managed to escape soon. Now he's a mercenary with his main motivation being money. Victoria Sorge is a former coordinator. We don't know anything about her motivations. but she seems to be the least dangerous of the bunch. The most vile by far is Boris Volkov. Also a mercenary. He's wanted for murder, theft, rape, and much more. Nothing special about him. Finally, there's Wraith. We don't even know her real name, only that she's ruthless and extremely dangerous. As for their master, we don't know anything yet." He looked at his watch briefly. "Anything else?"

It wasn't true that they didn't know anything about their master. He was recognized as the old Aaron Sorlan. It explained a lot, though it raised even more questions. Of course, it could've been merely an illusion, so Max had already his grave to be opened. They'd found it empty. Now they had to find out whether his sons were involved and why he'd decided to feign his own death only to reveal himself shortly after.

"Could you ... look for Ash?" Dawn asked. "Your organization is so bug, it's more likely to find him."

The officer called out another kadabra, who was supposed to take them back to the headquarters. Dawn gave Max a grateful look before she turned to leave, not expecting an answer, only to be stopped by him again.

"I don't have enough men to search for your friend actively right now, but I'll instruct my men to keep their eyes open and I'll also inform others." He put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "I'm confident we'll find him soon."

"Thank you. I don't have any more questions," she said, to which he replied with a nod.

Then it was time to leave with the help of another kadabra. She was regretting having been so focused on finding Ash that she had completely forgotten about food. Because of her, the pokémon were so hungry now that pretty much everyone nearby was looking at them devour as much as possible. Hydreigon on her own was worth watching as she didn't just eat the food but also the dishes and pretty much everything else too close to her so the others kept a respectable distance.

When someone arrived claiming that the interrogation was done they were already finished and ready to go. After thanking her host for the food, Dawn was lead to a chamber where an abra teleported her to Pallet Town. Upon being greeted by the cool evening air, she took a few deep breaths and had a look around. Continuing the search would be foolish because of the darkness, let alone the exhaustion and lack of motivation. Right now, she was looking forward to her soft bed even though she would feel lonely without Ash. Once she was close to her house, another thing came to mind. Delia was probably there, waiting for an explanation. As much as they deserved to know what was going on, Dawn wasn't in the mood for talking or worse, another interrogation. Gritting her teeth, she proceeded to approach the house until she was standing in front of the door. It wasn't surprising to see Johanna opening it for her from the inside.

There was an expression of both worry and sympathy on her face. For some reason, Dawn just couldn't resist jumping into her mother's arms, finally letting her tears flow. Understanding that she needed some time, the pokémon closed the door behind her and went to sleep. The next day wasn't going to be easier so they had to be well-rested. Meanwhile, Dawn was crying in Johanna's arms. Feeling her fingers running through her hair had a soothing effect and was something she hadn't experienced for years now, but then again, she had never lost so much in a single day so she was okay with showing weakness for once. When she was feeling a bit better, she pulled back, took a few deep breaths and even managed a weak smile, which vanished when she spotted Delia standing nearby. her expression was unreadable, but it was obvious that she was extremely worried.

"Now please tell me the truth. Where's my boy?" she asked.

Neither lying nor refusing to tell her was an option, yet it was still difficult to tell her everything. Taking another deep breath, she motioned for the women to follow her to the living room, where everyone took a seat. Dawn wasn't sure why had thought that it would be easier this way as didn't help in the slightest. Sensing this, Delia was extremely patient and waited until Dawn finally spoke up.

"Ash is ... missing. Something took control of his body and fled." The direct approach wasn't the most refined, but she couldn't explain it in any other way. "I don't know what it is, I only know that it can possess others and make them do what it wants. Maybe it's some kind of evil spirit. Anyway, I don't know where Ash is what it's going to do with him but I can assure you, I won't give up. He'll be back soon, I promise you that!"

There was a minute of silence, then Delia finally answered.

"Please don't make promises you're not sure you can fulfill. As much as I want to believe you, your voice tells me that you're unsure," she said with a monotonous voice. "My poor boy. His recklessness was bound to get him into trouble."

"No! It wasn't his fault," Dawn protested. "If anything, it was mine. He was trying to ..."

"Don't blame yourself, dear," Ash's mother interrupted her. "It's not important whose fault it was. I just want him back and it doesn't sound like you're very confident in that matter."

"It's just that I've been looking for hours so I'm exhausted. Tomorrow, things will look different again," she tried to explain. "Besides, the police promised to keep their eyes open so they might also find him."

"Is there any way we can help? Any way to increase the chances?" Johanna inquired.

"You'd need a lucario or another pokémon capable of sensing aura for an effective search. Please leave it to me. He's dangerous as long as that thing is inside him." It simply wasn't possible for her to sound more positive about all of this, no matter how much she tried. There was one point that might calm Delia a bit. "Ash is strong. If we don't find a way, he will."

There were a few minutes of silence, during which Dawn had a closer look at Delia. The poor woman was far more distressed than she was willing to admit as was evident by her shaking hands. It wasn't surprising since Ash was her only child but there was something else. Dawn lowered her eyes when Delia noticed her stare, after which she decided to tell what was bothering her.

"You know, I always thought you visited us not often enough. I never got to spend enough time with you. Now he's gone and I didn't even get to say goodbye. It's ... just too much." She started crying and this time, it was Dawn, who embraced and comforted her. "I just want to hold him again ... tell him that I love him..."

Now Dawn was feeling really bad for having focused on the training so much that she had not only neglected her friends but also her family. Now she believed it was her fault, ignoring the fact that Ash had done pretty much the same. It was too late for regret, though, and in the end, it only increased Dawn's determination to find him. It felt a bit weird to comfort the older woman, but Delia needed it and Dawn had been faster than Johanna. They didn't know how long they stayed in that position but Delia sniffed a few times and finally spoke up.

"I know you'll do your best. I couldn't hope for a better daughter-in-law. I just hope we'll come to see that day," she whispered.

Dawn immediately blushed like crazy, especially when she heard Johanna giggling. Even in a situation like this, they just couldn't resist teasing her. Although it was wonderful to hear that Delia would be okay with Ash marrying her, the current situation made it all the more awkward. When Delia leaned back, there was a sad smile on her face as she was fully aware of the impact of her words. They were both for encouragement and comfort and although they could also easily lead to regret, she was positive that Dawn was strong enough to draw strength from them. The coordinator would've told them about the other losses as well if it hadn't been for the devastating effect of the first message. They knew Cat pretty well and considered her a good friend so news of her demise would only make everything worse. Dawn had to tell them later, at an appropriate time, when Delia and Johanna were in a better state.

"We should leave now. I'm sure my Dawnie is tired and needs to gather some strength for tomorrow," Johanna said, placing a hand Delia's shoulders.

Unlike Ash's mother, who was too distressed to notice anything, she felt that there was something else but refrained from bringing it up for Delia's sake. Dawn took a step aside in order to allow the woman to stand up. Delia wiped away a few tears before saying goodbye and leaving with Johanna. As soon as they were gone, Dawn dropped on the couch in the living room, reflecting on this day's events and Delia's words. Without realizing it, she slowly drifted to sleep there instead of in the bedroom. In the end, it mattered little, as she wouldn't find much rest in either of those places.


	58. Assassinations

**Ale15: Thank you for the review, though personally I'm not so sure. I guess the only thing to do is to wait and see.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 58: Assassinations

When Dawn woke up in the morning, she was surprised for two reasons. Not only was she lying on the couch in the living room, it was also almost 9am, much later than when she usually got up. Then she remembered that she hadn't made it to the bedroom and had a look around. Prinplup, Lucario, Pikachu, and Espeon were standing nearby, talking about something. Upon noticing that she was awake, they gave her apologetic looks.

"Good morning, I hope you are well-rested," Espeon said to her.

"Not really," Dawn groaned. Clutching her head, she tried to recall the details of her dream. "I was chased in my dream by ... an angry, green hammer with a ... moustache? Oh, that sounds so weird."

The pokémon looked at each other and giggled, almost making her smile.

"I doubt it was unnatural, but maybe I should let Cresselia stay here today." She looked at the clock again. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"Sorry, we thought you needed to rest for an effective search or we would have to take a break every hour," the psychic-type reasoned.

Although it was probably the most reasonable thing to do, Dawn still felt that she let Ash down, as with every wasted moment, that thing inside him had more time to run away. It was impossible to say what it was planning and why it used Ash's body to accomplish its goals. It was of little consequence to her, she just wanted to have him back and she was convinced the pokémon felt the same way. Unwilling to waster any more time, Dawn made some food for them, went to the bathroom, and also had breakfast. Then they went to the Oak lab in order to meet up with the others.

One of Dawn's goals was to make sure that the pokémon there wouldn't neglect their training. Once Ash was back, he couldn't simply postpone the Elite Four battles, so they had to be ready. Galvantula and Gyarados were instrumental in this task, but not even necessary. Every single pokémon was aware of the importance of staying in shape for their trainer and went to great lengths to do it. Dawn was proud of their reactions, which only confirmed her belief that Ash was a great trainer. After all, nobody knew whether he'd come back although nobody dared even think about the possibility of a longer disappearance, let alone his death.

The next step was to change her team. Ash's Lucario was still the first choice for this task since he was a bit better at detecting aura and could do it form a larger distance. Ash's Pikachu was also a given, as well as Prinplup. It was a bit harder to decide on the rest. Instead of taking one of her own pokémon for teleportation, she accepted Gallade's offer, allowing her to give Espeon and Alakazam a short break. Ash's latios was the best pokémon for transportation, being able to carry everyone while still maintaining an impressive speed. Although she couldn't take Ash's pokémon with her in their pokéballs, they could accompany her the normal way, the way she needed them anyway. Apart from finding Ash, they'd also have to fight him, or rather the creature possessing him, which shouldn't be a problem, given how Mega-Lucario had been enough to defeat it back at the base. She was more worried about fighting too hard, which could easily result in serious injuries on his part. For that, she took Pachirisu and Scizor with her. Carbink was also part of her team, its purpose was to heal Ash or any injured pokémon after the battle and to support them during the fight. Dawn chose Buneary so that Pikachu could have some company, something he really needed in her opinion. Her last pokémon was Flygon, who was there as backup for Latios, just in case the eon pokémon got too tired, as well as for fighting.

The procedure was pretty much the same as before, albeit much more refined. First, she sent every single flying or teleporting pokémon apart from those in her group, all over Kanto and even to the adjacent regions. Pidgeot and Talonflame were going to Johto, while Pidgeot's flock was searching Viridan Forest and the surrounding area. Noctowl and Staraptor took care of the region north of Kanto, the rest stayed in Kanto. Their task wasn't to find Ash, although she wouldn't mind them doing that, but the aura stone, which, as unlikely as it seemed for an individual pokémon, had to be accomplished by using large numbers of pokémon. In particular, Dawn was hoping for those with keen eyes like Pidgeot and Noctowl to find it. Her own group checked the cities unsuccessfully, then it was time for the hard part. Full of determination, she climbed on Latios's back, ready to start the search.

The beginning was pretty much the same as the day before with them being unable to find any trace of Ash. It wasn't really surprising, considering how big Kanto was and it wasn't even certain that he was still in the region. As far as they knew, he could be anywhere, but searching every single corner in every region was impossible. In fact, searching Kanto was already crazy, so much that the pokémon were considering it a waste of time. However, they didn't want to discourage Dawn by telling her, especially since there was nothing else to do. Actually, they could only wait, a fact that was difficult to accept. Unlike last day, they took breaks regularly and returned home for dinner so that they could keep the search up. The lack of progress still was extremely discouraging, though.

It was almost time for supper when Dawn was somewhere between Cerulean City and Lavender Town. Due to most of the pokémon with her being hungry and discouraged, it wasn't difficult to convince them to return home for the moment. Gallade teleported them there and Dawn immediately prepared some food for them. Once they were all provided with enough to eat, she let herself drop onto a chair and just watched them with just the hint of a smile. They had worked hard and even though their attempts had been unsuccessful so far, a reward was well-deserved. Ash could consider himself lucky to have so dedicated and loyal pokémon, who may have even gotten those attributes from him. Of course, she didn't want to deny her own pokémon's dedication, they were all doing their part in this.

Eventually, she noticed that she was quite hungry as well and quickly made a quick meal, which was far from tasty but she devoured it in record time to restart the search as soon as possible. As a result, she was almost glad when the pokémon were ready as well, despite the search having been a huge waste of time so far. They started exactly where they had stopped some time ago.

After only a few minutes, Dawn noticed something about the aura stone, which started glowing and became warm once again. The only possible explanation was that someone had found Ash's aura stone. She could only hope it was one of their pokémon and not a stranger, but it might also be Ash's creature. Judging from the intensity of the glow, it had be far away so even if one of her pokémon was the finder, it would take some time until it would arrive at home so she refused to cancel the search for the mere possibility of a pokémon having found Ash's aura stone.

Relentlessly, they kept searching until it got really dark. The darkness itself wouldn't have stopped them as they relied on Lucario's aura senses, it was just the exhaustion. They needed to rest so Gallade teleported them back home, where the glow of Dawn's aura stone immediately vanished. Excited about this change, Dawn look around but didn't see anything until Noctowl landed in front of her, carrying a broken pokédex and an aura stone. Without a doubt, they belonged to Ash so the next question was whether he had found another sign of his trainer.

"Noc! Noc towl towl. Towl noc," it said excitedly.

Gallade carefully listened and then told Dawn the meaning telepathically.

"He found it north of Cerulaean City. The pokédex was just lying around and easy to spot because of the color, but the aura stone was hidden in the mud nearby with only the chain sticking out. Neither Ash nor anything hinting at his current position were there," he said, much to her disappointment.

"I see." As much as she had hoped for more useful information, she was relieved that he was still alive apparently. "Looks like he's been moving northwards. As far as we know, he might already be in Sinnoh by now."

It wasn't really encouraging, considering how much of a distance that was. Kanto on its own was already big enough, but the addition of Sinnoh and everything between the two regions made their situation look even worse. At least, they weren't completely clueless anymore and recovered the aura stone. There was nothing they could do at the moment, though, with everyone being tired.

"Good job, Noctowl. You earned a reward. I hope you understand I can't do anything right now. Of course, I'm grateful for everyone's work here. It's truly appreciated." She looked at her pokétch. "Oh dear, so late already. Please get some rest. The next day isn't going to be easier for any of us."

They all had their favorite place to rest whenever staying in the house for the night, and went there without much talking. Dawn also went to sleep, only to wake up again shortly after. Her head was hurting so much, that she wondered how she could have forgotten letting Cresselia stay there for the night. Instinctively, she reached to her right, only to remember that Ash was gone, and rubbed her eyes instead. Although she was sleepy, she didn't feel the need to fall asleep again for some reason. No, she wanted to go outside, to get some fresh air in order to clear her head. There were so many different thoughts running through her mind that she wouldn't get any rest anyway. When her eyes were used to the darkness, she noticed Pikachu and Prinplup sleeping in their spots, even though it had gotten a bit too small in Prinplup's case. Careful not to wake them, she dressed slowly before sneaking out of the bedroom and the house.

The air was cool and refreshing, the clear sky was full of stars, yet she didn't feel like watching them at all. She walked a few steps forward, enough for the lights at the entrance to turn off. Then she took a deep breath and started thinking about the current situation, her role in it, and the future. There was little time for that as she soon noticed someone approaching. The past weeks had made her careful so she retreated back to the house, where her presence activated the lights. Just when she was about to open the door, the person got close enough to be affected by the lights as well, which revealed her to be Delia. Relieved about this, Dawn slowly walked up to her.

"I was worried there for a second. What are you doing here at this hour?" she asked.

"We're just going for a walk." Not only was there something weird about her voice and the way she spoke, she also had a strange smile on her face, unlike anything Dawn had seen there before. The fact that Delia's hands were hidden behind her back wasn't helping either. "I have a message for you. The master applauds its performance, but the master is no longer interested in it."

Before Dawn could ask what she meant by that, Delia showed what she was hiding behind her back. Much to Dawn's surprise, it was a gun, one that the older woman was pointing right at her. Reacting quickly, she made the final step towards Delia and kicked it out of her hand, making it fall somewhere into the grass nearby. She thought the danger was over, but Delia started fighting with impressive speed and skill, resulting in Dawn quickly losing ground due to the shock. Her defense held, though, and her opponent got more and more reckless with time. When Delia tried to grab Dawn's throat with both hands, she also left her belly vulnerable, which Dawn used to make a decent hit.

At first, she thought she could talk to Delia now in order to get to know the reason for the attack, but Ash's mother seemed unfazed by the hit and just continued fighting. Dawn managed to hit her twice, making her fall onto the grass, but not without getting kicked in the stomach once. Delia kept lying there for some reason, allowing Dawn to catch her breath. Something wasn't right, Delia would never attack her, let alone with a gun. She didn't have time to think about it more as Delia had the very same gun in her hands again and turned on her back to use it. Unlike last time, Dawn was close enough to grab the hands in an attempt to get the gun. With it, she might finally get an explanation for everything.

She didn't like it, but she had to take more drastic measures, which included twisting Delia's arm, making her drop the gun again. Although it looked quite painful, Delia didn't even wince, neither did she show any sign of exhaustion. Hitting her in the stomach with something, she forced Dawn to back off and followed up with furious punches while the coordinator was down, even with the hurt hand. Fortunately, Dawn managed to roll to the side before she retaliated by kicking Delia's feet to make her lose balance. She followed up with a punch in the stomach and for once, Delia seemed to be affected as she started shivering. In addition, she was blinking rapidly and dropped something made of metal onto the ground.

"Do it ... again," she said with a pleading look.

Her eyes were glowing green periodically, which hinted at the kind of creature that had possessed Ash. Apparently, Delia was fighting it from inside and needed Dawn's help to finish it. This time, Dawn wasn't going to let it get away, even if it meant that the creature might possess her instead. The fact that Delia picked up the gun again with her other hand was all the more reason to do it. Closing her eyes, she punched her opponent hard in the stomach, making her sink to her knees while clutching her stomach. Obviously, she was struggling to fight the invader, but with Dawn's help, it looked like she was able to come out on top. Just to be safe, Dawn picked up the gun and gained some distance, hoping that Delia could do it without the need for more pain. It was a horrible sight. Delia looked like she was trying to scream, yet no sound escaped her mouth, and the shaking was disturbing. After about half a minute of struggle, Delia arched her back, spread her arms, and opened her mouth. A sigh could be heard, then something that resembled a cloud of black smoke left her body. Dawn aimed at it, determined to finish it off if it tried to come after her, but it simply dispersed. Once she was sure that it was gone for good, she rushed to Delia's side.

Ash's mother fell forward and then didn't move anymore. Slightly panicking, Dawn checked the pulse and let out a sigh of relief, when she found it to be stable. With time, she would recover undoubtedly. Now, that the fighting was over and she was calming down, something else became obvious, which was the pain in her stomach. One of Delia's attacks had been quite effective. In fact, Dawn would have never expected her to put up that much of a fight. She could feel something warm flowing out the wound, which meant the injury was more serious than expected. Clutching her stomach, she sank to her knees and stayed like that, causing the lights to turn off eventually so that she was left in darkness. In this situation she didn't mind, the pain was too intense for her to think about anything else.

It wasn't until she heard footsteps nearby that she lifted her head, thus turning the lights back on. A tall man was standing nearby, someone she knew as Gregory Woods. Although they were neighbors, she couldn't say she knew him very well. At some point, she'd heard that he was a former soldier, but never cared enough to get confirmation. His wife wasn't much different in that regard, they usually kept to themselves, which made his sudden appearance here at this time all the more strange. There was a puzzled expression on his face, then he spoke up.

"They have failed. We must correct their mistake." With those words, he pulled out a gun.

Obviously, he was unaware of Dawn also carrying one. It looked like he was going to shoot Delia so she had to act quickly. Since he was too far away for a melee attack and she had nothing but the gun, there was little choice. In fact, she didn't even have time to aim. The only thing she could do was to hope that she would hit the shoulders or the arm in order to injure him just enough to take him out without killing him. The shot came just before he was able to use his gun and from the looks of it, it was a hit. He halted, albeit without showing any sign of pain, then he took a step back, lowered his arms, dropped his gun, and fell backwards.

"Release ..." she could hear him saying.

A moment later, she could see another black cloud leaving his body and thankfully, it disappeared just like the last one. As if that wasn't enough, a gengar emerged from the ground and formed a shadow ball in its hands. She immediately knew that it was one of those creatures trying to kill her, finishing what the others had started. There was no time for considering the possibility of them being somehow connected.

"The mission must be completed!" She was sure it was its voice she could hear in her head.

This monster was the reason she had left the house in the first place, as it had manipulated her mind. The intent had been to isolate and leave her vulnerable to the attacks of the possessed people. Now that they were down, it had to finish it by taking matters into its own hands. Due to the gengar's levitation, Dawn had no way of fighting it so it seemed like it was over. Fortunately, the pokémon had heard the shot and were watching her from the bedroom window. Pikachu and Prinplup saw no other way than to break the window and shoot at the enemy creature. The electric-type shot a thunderbolt at it, distracting it long enough for Prinplup to pierce its body with an aqua drill. With a huge hole in its body, it slowly sank to the ground, yet even in that state, it still formed a shadow ball in its hand. Before anyone could do anything, a rainbow-colored beam of energy, which had to be an extrasensory move, hit it from behind, dissolving it immediately.

"Thank you, guys. You saved me," Dawn shouted, trying to stand up. "Who's there?" she yellead in the direction where the psychic move had originated.

"I'm not your enemy." The voice sounded like it came from a young woman, yet it had something about it that Dawn didn't think it came from a human. It was probably the subtle echo, the calming effect, and the strange feeling that she felt connected to the source in some way. SInce the source was deep in the darkness, she could only see three red lights in the distance. "Ash is still in danger, but don't despair. We're looking for him as well and we'll find him. Now tend to your wounds, I can feel the pain as well. Everything will be revealed soon."

Dawn tried to say something, but it teleported away, and then she finally realized how intense the pain of her wound truly was, falling on the ground again. Needless to say, her pokémon were worried, not only about her, but also about Delia and the body lying nearby. They almost forgot about the others, though, when they had a closer look at Dawn. Especially Prinplup was horrified and nearly dropped at the sight of the deep cut and the blood all over Dawn's shirt. Obviously, Delia had used a knife for this deep wound. Dawn herself wasn't really surprised, the pain had been so bad that it couldn't have been a small injury, but it was still a disgusting sight, especially now that her adrenaline level was falling.

"Please carry Delia and Gregory inside," she said, pointing at the two bodies with one hand while clutching her wound with the other. "And be careful, there might be more attackers around. I need to call the ambulance and take care of my wound."

They didn't waste any more time and quickly carried out her orders. As soon as everyone was inside, they locked the door and positioned guards at the windows to watch the exterior and discover any potential danger before it could surprise them. Meanwhile, Dawn was treating her wound with a bandage and even though it looked bad, she was more worried about Delia at the moment. Apart from an ambulance, she also called the police when her pokémon told her that Gregory was dead. She had made a lucky hit, which wasn't lucky at all in this case as she never wanted to kill him in the first place.

The knowledge was a horrible burden. Although it was in self-defense, unintentionally, and she saved Delia that way, she still felt extremely bad for killing someone. It was a mix of guilt, worry, and regret. She wondered whether his wife or the police would blame her. Ash would just tell her that she hadn't had a choice in that matter, just like her friends. It wasn't hard to imagine how things could've turned out if Gregory had been the first to appear. Ash's reaction would be entirely different if his mother had been killed instead. Dawn shook her head, pushing away those thoughts, the reality was already bad enough. Hopefully, the police would let her explain her actions instead of jumping to conclusions. Until they arrived, she could only try to live with the result and wonder who the mysterious helper was.

The ambulance arrived first, taking Delia to the hospital and attempting to do the same with Dawn, but she refused so they just treated the wound. It reminded her of the times when she had to disinfect Ash's wounds because he had been too reckless during training. He would wince at every little contact and she would scold him for that and for his recklessness. Maybe it was due to the size of her wound, but it was worse than normal this time, and she could relate to Ash's reaction much more than before. The police didn't take much longer and started their investigation while the medics were patching up Dawn. Once they were done, it was time for the interrogation, though, the matter she was truly dreading.

The officer in charge was rather rude and expressed a lot of unpleasant possibilities openly, which wasn't that far from accusing her of murder. He went so far that she could see the rage in her pokémon's eyes. They would've loved to shut him up, but that wasn't the reaction she needed and she did her best to calm them down. His companions also didn't seem to approve as she could see them giving her almost apologetic looks from time to time while they were searching the house for any kind of clues.

This went on for a while until something unexpected happened. More officers entered the house, but those belonged to the international police. One of them looked familiar, as he had been the one who had given Dawn the food at the headquarters and he seemed to know the officer interrogating Dawn, exchanging hateful looks with him.

"Buzz off, this is our operation now," he said, pointing at the exit.

"No way! I'm tired of you disrupting my work," the other one hissed.

"I'm not disrupting it because it's my work now." The new guy pulled out a small letter, which he handed to his colleague. "Unless you wish to be in real trouble, you better bugger off right now,"

At first, it looked like he was going to argue, but then he read the letter, stood up and walked past his rival, motioning for his men to follow him.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" The international police officer didn't turn around, he just extended an arm. Disgruntled, the other officer placed some papers on the hand, which his men repeated with their own. Obviously, they had to hand their results so far to the international police. "Very good. You may go."

Dawn couldn't say that she was sad about the officer's early departure, but she wasn't sure whether this one wasn't even worse. Apparently, he saw the worry in her face and sat down next to her in order to calm her down.

"Don't worry, he's always been the black sheep of his unit and he's mad at me for having made it to the international police. His zeal will be his undoing at some point but you'll see that I'm much more understanding." She desperately wanted to believe him, but was still afraid. It took him a while to read the report while his colleagues were searching the house. When he was done, he out it to the side and gave Dawn a reassuring smile, easing her worries a little. "Please follow me," he said, standing up and leaving the house.

She followed him outside, where they gained a little distance to her home. Then he called out an electrode without uttering a word, motioned for Dawn to stay quiet, and nodded at his pokémon, which caused it to use a move that was similar to an extremely weak thundershock, that covered a large area, though. Dawn felt barely anything and her pokémon didn't seem to be bothered either. Although they were alarmed, they didn't attack and just took fighting stances.

"I'm sorry. I had to get rid of possible bugs in your clothes," he explained.

"Bugs? What are you talking about?" she asked, slightly irritated by the sudden move.

"Bugs, tracking devices, stuff like that. You'd be surprised how small and easy to hide they are nowadays. And we don't want someone to listen to our conversation, do we?" he added with a smile. Anyway, it's safe to speak freely now. Don't worry, I believe you when you say you had no choice. There have been a lot of attacks like this almost simultaneously and I'm afraid not everyone has been as successful as you. If you wish to know more, you should watch the news tomorrow, I don't have time for it. In most cases, they were attacked by people close to them, usually one, sometimes two. If anything, I'd take it as a compliment that our enemy considered you dangerous enough to sent two assassins." He smiled at her, but she didn't consider it a good thing. "Anyway, your case is the most interesting so far because one of the assailants survived. For that, we're in your debt and we'll make sure Mrs. Ketchum won't be hurt again. She's already on her way to the hospital wing in our headquarters. Mr. Wright told me to invite you to stay with us as well since our common enemy seems to have taken an unhealthy interest in you. We can hide and protect you and your family."

Given the recent events, it was a tempting offer. As much as she was loathe to admit, the house wasn't safe in the slightest, unlike the international police bases with their constant presence of guards. Nevertheless, it would be a shame to leave their home defenseless, their own home that they had built up. Besides, hiding like that would hurt her pride, it would be like admitting that their enemies had won. Letting them kill her on the other hand would be even worse. It wasn't a decision she wanted to make without Ash, though, so she declined for now.

"I'd like to find Ash first. That's my priority right now," she explained.

"You've almost been killed and you're still only thinking of him? Very well, out offer will remain so remember it when he's back," the officer replied. "You should come with us now. We can take care of your injury and you can visit Mrs. Ketchum. I believe your mother will also be there, one of my men asked her to join."

Her mother wouldn't abandon her friend so Dawn might as well join them. Needless to say she was also quite curious about how Delia had gotten possessed in the first place, not to mention how worried she still was about her health.

"Alright, I agree. But only one night for now," she finally said. "I have to talk to Ash before I agree to more."

Her pokémon were glad about this decision as they were tired and the prospect of staying on guard the whole night wasn't too appealing. He insisted on waiting for a report, though, which arrived about ten minutes later. The officer carrying it used a kadabra to take her and the pokémon to their destination. If the bugs hadn't been destroyed by the electrode, the security measures in the teleport chambers would have done it. Those were pretty much standard for every base as, naturally, they didn't want anyone hear what's going on in there. The following security check took care of anything robust enough to survive the procedure.

One of the women working there lead Dawn and the pokémon to the hospital wing. Since they stayed on the lower levels, they arrived relatively quickly. Their first impression was a cold and unwelcoming atmosphere due to the bleak steel walls, but the rooms were a bit nicer due to the furniture, the plants, and other things that made them more cozy. Delia's room was no different in that regard. Johanna was sitting next to Ash's sleeping mother, reading the newspaper. Dawn sighed. If the officers hadn't told her mother already, she would have to explain what had happened and she was already tired. Taking a deep breath, she entered the room.


	59. Good Intentions

**The next chapter will bring progress to the situation with Ash. For now, the stress of the past days finally gets to someone.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 59 Good Intentions

When Johanna noticed that her daughter had entered Delia's room in the hospital wing of the international police base, there were no bounds to the joy she felt. With the energy of a worried mother, she closed the distance and almost crushed her with a hug before showering her with kisses while sobbing slightly. Dawn knew that there was no escape so she didn't even try to resist. Instead, she returned the hug and waited for her mother to calm down, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

"I heard Delia and Mr. Wood tried to kill you. I'm so glad you survived and didn't kill Delia," she finally said, still not letting go. "You can't imagine how worried I was."

Now Dawn was glad that Johanna couldn't see the bandage under her shirt. It would have only made her worry even more.

"I'm alright, no need to worry. And it wasn't their fault. Something was controlling them," Dawn protested. "Maybe the same kind of creature as the one that possessed Ash. Mr. Wood wasn't as lucky as Delia. I'm sorry, I ..."

"You don't need to apologize," Johanna replied, squeezing her a little harder. "I know you wouldn't kill anyone unless it was absolutely necessary."

"It was either him or Delia." Despite Johanna's words, Dawn still felt the need to explain her actions.

"Sssh, it's alright," she whispered. "I hope they find those responsible for this and make sure it'll never happen again."

"By the way, you should thank Pikachu and Prinplup for saving me." Johanna pulled back to have a look at the pokémon, who were beaming proudly. "I wouldn't be standing here without them."

Johanna raised an eyebrow, but then she walked up to them, kneeled, and petted them.

"Good job, you two. I guess I'll have to reward you somehow. But I'm a bit surprised. I thought you didn't want to evolve," she said to the water-type.

Without realizing it, she hit a soft spot. He had almost forgotten about it due the praise, but now every little detail came back into his mind. Much to Johanna's surprise, he lowered his head in shame and not even Pikachu comforting him could help now. Dawn went behind her mother and put her hands on Johanna's shoulders.

"The enemy stole his everstone and then it just happened. They also tried to make Pikachu evolve, but as you can see, they didn't succeed. I'm not sure why they did it, it's like they know how to hurt us in ways most people wouldn't even consider," she explained. "Anyway, what about Delia? Is she going to be alright?"

Her intention was to change the subject and make Prinplup forget about his problem for now and it seemed to work as he raised his head, eager to hear the answer. Johanna stood up and walked to the bed where Ash's mother was sleeping. She didn't look like she was injured, but the strange nature of the creature that had possessed her made Dawn wonder whether there were other, psychological wounds.

"They said she didn't suffer from any major injuries. They're worried a bit more about her mind. The consequences of the event are impossible to tell," Johanna told her sadly. "Hopefully, she'll wake up soon and tell us that everything's alright."

They watched Delia resting for a while in complete silence. All of them had gone through a lot and there was no end in sight. Whoever had targeted them wasn't going to give up easily so hiding with the international police wouldn't solve the problem. Eventually, they'd have to face the Elite Four and nobody, not even the most vile villain, could prevent them from doing that. Of course, they'd be vulnerable in the middle of a huge stadium, but that was a risk Dawn was willing to take. Most importantly, she wanted to do it with Ash by her side.

Since there was no way of telling when Delia was going to wake up, Dawn decided to go to her room. Someone showed her the way and locked the door as soon as Dawn was inside. Apparently, they didn't want their guests to leave the room and walk around in the base in the middle of the night, but her guide assured her that she could always call someone by pressing a button next to the door. All in all, the room was acceptable, albeit a bit small. It was clean, there wasn't anything important missing, and also had a small bathroom next to it. She recalled the pokémon except for Pikachu and Prinplup, who quickly found spots to sleep, and Dawn also went to sleep. Despite what had happened, she was still determined to look for Ash so she needed to rest for the next day, which wasn't going to be easier than the last. There was so much to worry about, yet she was so tired that she soon drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up again, she got a feeling of uneasiness that couldn't be properly described. For some reason, she was alone, but just told herself that the pokémon had just gone to have breakfast. Suddenly, the door opened and she could hear Johanna's voice without being able to see her mother.

"Delia is awake and wants to speak to you. Hurry!" she said.

Dawn got dressed quickly and left the room to find herself in the long and dark corridor. Johanna was nowhere to be found and Dawn had no idea where to find Delia's room on her own so she tried to find someone. Unfortunately, nobody was nearby and, even worse, the door to her own room was closed and locked. Since she had no other option, she just walked down the corridor to get help. However, it proved much longer than expected and she couldn't reach the end. In addition, it was dark, almost spooky, and the rows of doors at the sides were extremely monotonous. It was like she wasn't making any progress at all. In fact, she wasn't even sure how late it was as she had missed the opportunity to have a look at the clock or take her pokétch with her. For all she knew, it might as well be around midnight, which didn't even seem unlikely, given how deserted this corridor was.

Eventually, she got the feeling that she was being followed, but whenever she turned around, there was nothing. On the other hand she got the impression that the corridor was much darker behind her than it was in front of her, it was like the darkness was following her. She increased her pace although she was sure it wouldn't help. The longer she walked, the more run-down the corridor looked due to cobweb and cracks in the walls. The darkness also intensified despite the lamps emitting as much light as ever. It simply couldn't penetrate this darkness anymore and Dawn could even hear whispers and chuckling coming from behind. There was no way she could have turned around, it didn't even cross her mind until she heard something from a door to her left.

There really was nothing behind her, but there was the sound of someone crying coming from behind the door. Dawn walked in front of it and knocked, but didn't get answer. Convinced that it was locked, she turned to leave, when it suddenly opened with an unnerving sound. Carefully, she opened it all the way to reveal a dark room only lit by a half-broken lamp with its flickering light. Now that the door was open, she could hear the crying even better, it sounded familiar although she couldn't tell why.

"Hello?" Despite the situation, it was little more than a whisper. "Why are you crying?"

The moment she set foot in the room, she was overcome by emotions of shame and guilt. It would have been a good decision to leave, yet she felt like she couldn't do it and that she had to venture further. Trying to stay quiet now, she slowly walked to the source of the crying. Someone was cowering next to a wall and due to the sparse light, Dawn couldn't recognize the person. She extended an arm to touch the body in front of her, which turned around upon contact, and much to her shock, she saw herself with a hole in her forehead, from which blood was flowing. Horrified, Dawn immediately took a few steps back. Whoever it really was, she was dead, killed by a single headshot. The sudden sound of a door slamming shut made Dawn turn around again. Now she finally noticed two people stepping out of the darkness to face her, Delia and Gregory, who was carrying a gun.

"This is how it should have been," he muttered.

Without another word, he aimed and shot a bullet right at her head.

Dawn almost fell out of her bed when she woke up, breathing heavily. As soon as she realized that it had been just a dream, she calmed down slightly, only to get surprised by the pokémon, who seemed nervous for some reason. Pikachu and Prinplup were pointing at the door frantically and pulled her towards it. It was pretty clear that something was wrong so she went there without changing into her normal clothes. Once it was open, she was greeted by a gruesome sight. Body parts were lying on the ground and the walls were stained with blood. This could only mean that the base was under attack so she got ready to defend herself and followed the pokémon into the corridor. To her right, she noticed a large crowd, that consisted of members of the international police, Storm Raider grunts, and ordinary people, marching towards her. Instinctively, she wanted to run away from them, but there was something about them that made her stand still. It wasn't the marching itself, that sounded like the beat of a drum because they were so much in sync, or the green glowing eyes of the people. It wasn't even the dangerous looking group of pokémon walking in front of them, but the man leading them. She immediately recognized Boris, who seemed to have miraculously recovered from his wound and was now leading the attack. Obviously, he also recognized her as he began to laugh maniacally and commanded the others to increase the speed.

"Face me, coward! You can't run from your problems and fears forever!" he shouted.

Panic took hold of her and without wasting another second, Dawn turned to flee. Pikachu and Prinplup were already ahead of her, but she was closing the distance quickly. The problem was that their enemies weren't much different in that regard, the sound of their steps were getting closer and closer. At the same time, the frequency was increasing.

"Very well! Run! Hide! It won't help you. You can't protect everyone. They'll be mine!" Boris shouted and it sounded like he was awfully close.

Now the doors at the sides opened when Dawn passed them with each revealing one of her friends hanging from the ceiling. Trying to look away, Dawn tried to run even faster, but it didn't seem to work. The thundering sound in her ears kept getting louder until she was sure they were right behind her. The moment she feared, when they would grasp her, didn't happen, though, she could only feel it approaching and then someone's hot breath on her neck. After that, there was a bright light and a feeling of falling into the endless void.

The feeling was still there when she woke up in her bed with her eyes wide open. She took a few deep breaths and then slowly got up. There was no fight and the pokémon were still sleeping in their spots. A dream within a dream was something she had never experienced before and she wasn't too keen on experiencing it ever again. Now that her thoughts were back to normal, she got angry at herself for not realizing the truth sooner. Everything about those dreams had been so absurd that she should have noticed it immediately, yet she failed to do so and therefore had to live through everything.

"You're awake." The voice came from right next to her bed and made her jump. "What's the matter? Don't you recognize me anymore?"

She didn't dare face him at first as it seemed too good to be true. After all, there was no way he could've entered the base and her room without anyone noticing. It was like a dream and she was tempted to pinch herself, but decided to have a look at him, and it really was him. Ash was standing there with his usual smile, extending an arm.

"Ash ...?" She didn't really know what to say and let him cup her cheek.

"You're even more beautiful than I remember. Don't worry, we'll be together from now on." His hand suddenly turned black. "So scared. So weak. Both you and Ash will be mine forever."

The black color spread all over their bodies, paralyzing her body parts until she was little more than a statue. Ash retracted his hand again and turned into the creature that had possessed him. Then its solid body turned into smoke and moved right through her. Although she imagined it to be painful, she felt barely anything apart from a gentle warmth. The most obvious effect was the darkening of her vision, which soon turned utterly black.

Once again, Dawn woke up in the darkness of her room and this time, she didn't waste time and did what she should've done after waking up for the first time. The pinch was so painful that she winced, but she didn't want to take any chances after the last nightmare and even checked the clock a few times. It was almost 3am so she couldn't have been sleeping for a long time. With a sigh, she let her head drop onto the pillow again.

"Is there a freaking darkrai in the next room?" she muttered. "Or is the stress getting too much for me?"

Deep inside, she was sure that those nightmares were natural, though, an attack here seemed just too unlikely. Whatever the case, the dream didn't fail to show her how desperate her current situation was. Nevertheless, she was determined to let Cresselia stay with her the next few nights. For now, there was little she could do , though, and just went to sleep. There was little to think about as she had already forgotten most about that dream already. Besides, she was tired and needed the rest for the next day so it was a blessing when she dozed off within a few minutes.

When she woke up in the morning, she couldn't remember having dreamt again or anything about the other dream for that matter, something she certainly didn't regret. The pokémon were still sleeping, which wasn't surprising since it was still 6am. Despite the little amount of sleep she had gotten, Dawn felt somewhat rested and was ready to get up. A newspaper was already lying in front of the door so she would have something to read while waiting for the breakfast. She pressed the button the guide had shown her, causing the videophone nearby to activate. The face of a young woman appeared on the screen.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"she asked politely.

"I'd like to have some breakfast for me and my two pokémon," Dawn replied.

"I'll send different kinds of pokémon food so they can choose what they want," the woman said. "Is there anything you'd prefer?"

"No, thank you. Anything will go." She was so hungry that she would've eaten pretty much everything in an instant.

"Very well. The food will arrive shortly. Enjoy your meal." With those words, the screen went blank and Dawn turned her attention to the newspaper.

It had been some time since she had read one properly. Nowadays, she was too busy with the training and didn't have time to read a lot and if she did, she'd take one of the coordinator magazines instead. As a result, she wasn't always aware of the happenings in the world, but now was a good time to fix that. She took it and sat down on the bed, starting to read the first page. As expected, there was a huge special about the attacks she'd heard about from the officer. The targets had been mostly politicians and celebrities like the regional champions, who had managed to defeat the assailants, though. Not everyone had been strong enough to do that, however, resulting in a lot of victims and fear among others, who now feared they could be the next targets. Details could be found in later pages, but Dawn wasn't really in the mood for this. Right now, she was looking for distraction so she skipped it for the other parts, like those about sports or culture.

There was an article about the sensational discovery of an ancient tomb belonging to an ancient people called the Abylassagonarians, a name that made her do a double take. Apparently, there had been a huge dispute whether they had ever existed and now it was clear they were more than just a myth. Apart from the tomb itself and the remains of seven priests, a large stone tablet with a long text had been secured. The script used was said to be among the very first scripts developed so translating it would be extremely difficult if it wasn't for a few similar texts, which had been written by an enemy of the Abylassagonarians. The script used for those was similar as they had adopted it from them. Still, the translation would take some time. If anything, the archeologists were disappointed, claiming that one of their investors had betrayed them and plundered the tomb. Why the stone tabled had been left behind remained a secret, as well as what else could've been found there. The archeologist in charge of the excavation was someone who had never been taken seriously until his big find, which had turned him famous in an instant. There was also an article about the supposed history of the Abylassagonarians. The author rightfully remarked that it was only a summary of what they had found out due to the writings of their enemy, so it wasn't necessarily the whole truth, and the stone tablet might force them to rewrite it entirely once it was translated.

Dawn didn't have time to read all of it as there was a knock on the door. It appeared to be unlocked again, as shown when a woman opened it and entered the room with the food. Dawn helped her place it on a table despite her objections before she left again. The pokémon were still asleep and since Dawn didn't want to take their sleep away from them, she had a slow, and cozy breakfast. There was so much that she could leave most of it and focus on the food she liked while reading the newspaper. It was almost like the daily routine had returned, at least for one morning. Due to the interruption, Dawn forgot to read the rest of the history article and moved on to the sports part. Because of the current lack of news, there was an article about Ash's and her battle against the Elite Four, an article with information that she didn't expect.

When she read about Ash's disappearance and the attack on her, she almost fell out of her chair. Even worse, it mentioned that she had killed one of the assailants. As a result, the author wondered whether she or Ash would be able to participate in their respective battles because of that. His source remained unknown, it had to be either an officer of the international police or one of the other guys that had interrogated her after the attack. In any case, this was a bad thing and could cause other newspapers and magazines to go even farther, ruining her reputation. It wouldn't be the first time a young career was destroyed by the press, but then again, she had gone through much worse in the past, so she didn't think it would be a problem for her or Ash.

The remaining articles weren't too interesting, but she read them anyway to kill some time. Pikachu woke up about half an hour later, snuggling up to her before noticing the pokémon food. Dawn picked the right food for him while he was walking around impatiently. Instead of digging in once it was ready, he woke up Prinplup first, who was disgruntled at the rude awakening at first, but quickly forgave him when he saw the food. Dawn also prepared something for him and then waited for them to finish so that they could start the search again. But first, she wanted to visit Delia.

As if on a cue, Johanna entered the room with news regarding that matter. Apparently, Delia was awake right now and she was allowed to have a few visitors as long as they didn't stay too long. It was a chance they didn't want to miss and the pokémon even interrupted their breakfast to join them, resulting in the four of them entering Delia's room. She was currently lying on her bed peacefully, but turned her head to face her visitors, showing a weak smile. Her voice sounded tired.

"Good morning. I guess I have to thank you for not killing me during the attack," she said before getting distracted by the two pokémon jumping on her bed and showing affection.

"I'm glad you're still alive, but I still failed," Dawn replied, averting her eyes. "I wasn't able to save Mr. Wood."

Delia's expression turned serious and she motioned for the pokémon to stop for a moment. They also looked at Dawn with pity in their eyes.

"Don't you ever feel guilty for that," she said as if she was able to read Dawn's mind. "People kill for different reasons. For power, for love, out of fear. You killed to save yourself and another life. As paradox as it may sound, those are the two only reasons I could ever possibly accept, depending on the situation. Gregory's death is tragic, but you did what you thought was right. And I'm not saying this just because you saved me because of your decision." Her expression softened a little. "Perhaps someone had to die so there's no reason to blame yourself, one way or another. The people responsible for this are still out there and even though punishing them won't bring Gregory back, they can't be allowed to do it again. That's why you mustn't despair. You need your energy for the living, like Ash." She sighed and sank back into her pillow. "Sorry, I hope I made at least a little sense."

"You did," Johanna said, nodding frantically, along with everyone else. "But that's not the reason we came here. We wanted to make sure you're alright, so how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling a little dizzy, but otherwise, I'm fine." She had a dreamy look on her face. "It don't know how it started, but it was weird, I can't even describe it. Sometimes I lived through old memories, but most of the time, it was like I was trapped in an eternal darkness. Then I felt an earthquake or something similar and I could see you fighting me. I tried to stop it just by moving the way I would in such a situation. It worked somehow and with every hit I regained more control until it felt like my insides were torn apart. Really unpleasant. And then I blacked out. When I woke up, I had a terrible headache, but the medicine helped with that."

There was a long moment of silence, which was interrupted by a nurse entering the room. She seemed a bit angry about Pikachu's and Prinplup's presence.

"Didn't they tell you not let pokémon get close to her? It's not a physical wound, but still ..." She shook her head. "Cleaning that bed will be fun, thank you so much. Now go, the patient needs her rest."

She proceeded to shoo them out of the room and Delia gave them an apologetic look.

"Please find him," she said to them before the door closed.

Once they were sure the nurse couldn't hear them, Johanna shook her head.

"How rude. Anyway, I assume you want to search for Ash now?" she asked.

"Yes, as soon as I can," Dawn replied, nodding. She turned to leave, but her mother's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Please be careful. I don't want to lose you as well," she said with a pleading look.

"No need to worry, mom. I'm always careful," her daughter replied with a reassuring smile, whose effect was completely negated by her catchphrase.

While Dawn was regretting having said it, Johanna just shook her with a weak smile. Some things just never changed and Dawn's optimism was one of them as well as Johanna's worrying. Usually, Ash was with Dawn and even though he was just as reckless, they were at least somewhat safer together but this wasn't the case right now. Apart from her pokémon, nobody was with her and as much as she had grown up, she'd always be Johanna's little girl. She had come to regard Ash as the son she never had so his disappearance was pretty devastating, although she tried not to show it as she felt she had to stay strong for Delia's sake. Losing Dawn could easily break her in this situation, but there was little she could do in that matter. After all, her daughter was an adult, who made her own decisions.

Back in her room, Dawn was surprised by her videophone suddenly turning on while she was checking her belongings. The face of the same woman that had organized her breakfast appeared on the screen.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but there has been a call from one of your friends, the coordinator May, at home. In fact, there have been quite a few of those during the last few days, but it seems you haven't noticed. She called from a hotel in Fuchsia City," she told her.

"From a hotel? How do you know it was May? Did you answer the call?" Dawn asked.

"No, but we have ways of finding out. If you wish, I can call them with your videophone for you. Please note that our devices won't allow her to see anything from her side. You can tell her that you're allowed to stay here because of Mrs. Ketchums situation. Since the press has already published every single detail about the attack, there's no point in claiming anything else." Dawn wasn't sure but she thought that there was a hint of anger in her eyes. "So do you wish for me to establish the connection?"

For Dawn, there was no alternative. May could get scary when she felt ignored, especially when a close friend was involved, so she was likely to be really ticked off by now. The best and only solution was to face her as soon as possible to prevent an even worse reaction. Dawn also wondered why May shouldn't be able to see anything. Although the rooms belonged to the international police, there was nothing that could possibly be of any use to their enemies as the room didn't even have a window.

"Yes, please," she answered after taking a deep breath.

The screen went black a moment, which gave Dawn enough time to prepare herself for the impact. Finally, May' face appeared on the screen and she looked surprised, probably because she couldn't see anything on hers.

"Hey, May," Dawn quickly said to remove the confusion. "I'm with the international police right now so don't be surprised that you can't see anything. You tried to call me?"

"Are you kidding me?" May shouted angrily when she recognized the voice. "Can you even imagine how worried we were? We called you so often, yet you were never there or had the time to call back. Just ... where hell is Ash by the way?"

"What?" May couldn't see it, but Dawn was stunned as she thought May knew that. "He's missing. Haven't you read the newspaper?"

"What do you mean?" She turned her head, probably towards Drew, who couldn't be seen on the screen. "Try to find something about them in the newspaper." She turned to face Dawn again. "And you better explain why you haven't told us anything."

It was too late to turn back now. Although it was impossible to tell how her reaction would turn out, it could hardly be worse than whatever would happen if Dawn didn't tell her now.

"Well, a strange creature took control of Ash and left. I've been trying to find him, but without success so far," Dawn said, summing it up.

"Where did it happen? How did it happen? Where could he be? And most importantly, why do I have to ask for every single detail?" May retorted.

One thing Dawn wanted to avoid at all costs was to turn May and Drew into targets of her enemy by sharing too much knowledge. Therefore she tried to think of a somewhat believable lie, for their safety. It wasn't like she didn't believe they could repel attacks, but just like in her case, people close to them could be targeted as well and protecting all of them was simply impossible. On the other hand since May and Drew were among her friends, they might already be targets. In any case, she didn't want to put them in unnecessary danger. Fortunately, they didn't know Catelyn very well so she didn't have to explain her death.

"I don't know where it come from, what it really was or why it chose him, but it literally moved into him during training and then he was all different. He fought us for a while and then fled. He seems to be able to teleport because of it so he could be anywhere. Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, even Unova. It's impossible to tell," she explained. "I guess I was too busy searching every corner to notice a missed call."

May was about to answer when Drew summed up what he found in the newspaper.

"Dawn was among those attacked last night. One of the attackers was Delia, but she managed to repel the attack without killing her. One of her neighbors also attacked, but he wasn't so lucky and got killed." He was loud enough for Dawn to hear him as well. Then he moved next to May, who had visibly paled.

"You ... had to kill one of your neighbors? I'm so sorry to hear that. But I'm glad you could at least spare Delia." Drew nodded in agreement, then she returned to her rant. "The question remains, why didn't you ask for help? We could also search for Ash. Or we could do it together."

"It's too dangerous. I don't know why these enemies targeted us, but the more you aid us the more they'll be inclined to attack you as well. And I don't want to be responsible for the things they might do to you," Dawn told them.

"Oh, is that it?" Drew replied with the most sarcastic tone he could muster. "We're so fortunate to have you as our guardian angel. What would we do without you? It's not like we are strong enough to handle even tiniest problem."

"Seriously, you may be his girlfriend, but we're also his friends and we have a right to know what's going on," May stated, folding her arms.

"True, too many secrets aren't good for a friendship," Drew added. "People might think you don't trust them."

By now, Dawn was also angry, partly because she felt her efforts were underappreciated. Because of that, in the heat of the moment, she made a remark she soon regretted.

"Like your secret that was spoiled at the Wallace Cup?" she asked innocently.

"What the hell? Why did you have to bring that up?" he yelled.

Both he and May were glaring at her, or rather at the black screen, as they could imagine her face right now. In their mind, she had gone too far this time. Dawn also knew that, but it was too late to take it back now so she tried to calm them down in another way.

"You wouldn't have been able to help me anyway. You'd need a pokémon that can sense aura and can differentiate between Ash's aura and a slightly altered version. You don't have such a pokémon so you wouldn't have been of much use in the search anyway," Dawn reasoned.

Without another word, May left. Drew watched her walk away, then he turned back to the screen, his expression stern and angry.

"Very well. If you happen to be the next one to go missing, we won't waste time looking for you. After all, as you said, we wouldn't be of much use anyway," he said coldly.

Dawn didn't have time to reply as he immediately ended the call. Although she was aware that she could have worded it much better, she was mad at them for treating her like this and made no attempt to hide it in front of her pokémon, who looked shocked by the unusually harsh argument. Dawn was already so agitated that she didn't bother explaining their behavior and just motioned for them to follow her. They couldn't let anything distract them right now.


	60. Another unexpected Find

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 60 Unexpected Find

"Please, is it so much to ask for?" Victoria asked desperately.

She was currently in Seth's room in the main base. It was just as small as hers, but much less dirty. Everything was in perfect order as he disliked chaos in any possible way. Therefore a messy room was unacceptable for him and the sight of Victoria's could've given him a heart attack. She wasn't surprised he wouldn't let her touch anything so she had to stand near the entrance while he was sitting at the only table. They were arguing because Victoria needed his help, which he denied, though.

"I told you it's not about the effort, it's about the cause," he explained, his face showing no emotion whatsoever. "I won't lend my aid to a petty cause like revenge."

"And I told you it's not about revenge, it's about justice," she replied. Although she was doing her best to sound calm and confident, he didn't need to be a psychic to sense her despair. "That's a big difference."

"Not in your case," Seth pointed out nonchalantly. "Besides, I don't believe in hollow concepts like justice. There's no justice in this world so stop asking. I won't help you."

He pointed at the exit, which was the signal for her to leave. Realizing there was no way she could ever convince him, she complied and slammed the door shut behind her. Now she had no choice but to ask Wraith. The girl gave her the creeps although she wasn't worse than Seth in that regard. Whether she would help her was the big question as Victoria knew next to nothing about her. Nevertheless, it was worth a try, mostly because Wraith was one of the few remaining with a free will. The others would just tell the boss and that would be the end of her. Actually, there was no way of making sure that Wraith wouldn't do the same, but Viccy was desperate enough to give it a try. Their rooms were all nearby so reaching it didn't take long. After taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. The answer could be heard a few seconds later.

"Enter." The voice was louder than usual, but still just as dull.

Victoria opened the door and first had a look around. Wraith's room was just as orderly as Seth's, mostly because there was barely anything in it. There was nothing apart from a table, a bad, a chair, a cupboard, and a few books on the table. Everything was pretty much in one corner, making the rest of the room look even bleaker. It was lit by a single lamp hanging from the ceiling. All in all, Victoria thought it was as welcoming as a grave. Wraith was reading as usual, not even bothering to lift her head, let alone welcome the visitor.

"What do you want?" she asked, keeping her gaze on the book in front of her.

Now Victoria realized that she didn't have a real strategy. At first, she wanted to do it the same way as with Seth, but given the success in that case, that didn't seem like the best idea. On the other hand there was no real alternative so she decided to stick to it and start carefully.

"You have heard about the boss's plan for Boris?" she asked.

"No," Wraith replied, still not looking up.

"Well ..." She wasn't sure whether she should explain it, so she just did. "He wants to create a huge essence gem imbued with psychic power or something like that to bind Boris's spirit to it. He said it would turn him into some kind of super-psychic so he intends to place a bomb inside the gem. That way, he can blow it up if Boris gets out of control. As a punishment for his treason, boss wants him to control several large aura imbued essence gems to create barriers all around the base. That way he's supposed to be a guardian of some sort. He'll never leave the base ever again, but it's still not nearly enough."

There was no sign that Wraith was listening so Victoria was unsure on how to proceed. One wrong word could cause the girl to decline and she was pretty much Viccy's last hope.

"So what?" she finally asked.

"It seems I have to punish him for his actions without the boss's approval." Victoria watched the reaction carefully, but as far as she could see, there wasn't any. "But I can't do it alone. I have no idea how. I need ... help. And ... it seems like you're only one I can ask."

Still, there was no reaction. Wraith kept reading, making Victoria wait. The suspense was almost killing her, especially when she the girl casually turned the page, but then she finally answered.

"Forget it." The reply was a huge setback, one that she wasn't going to accept that easily.

"Please, I ... damn it." She sank to her knees and started begging. "There's no one else to help me. I need you. Please, please, help me by doing only this small favor. If not for me, then for justice."

For once, there was a reaction and although it wasn't related to her words in any way, it was still somehow encouraging. Wraith took a small piece of paper from the table, put it on the book and wrote something on it, while still holding it in front of her face as if to hide what she was doing- Victoria guessed that she was taking notes on things she'd read in the book.

"Boris has killed my pokémon. He has betrayed me by using my dear skarmory for his own purposes. He deserves to die the death of a traitor. Ask yourself this, what would you do to someone who betrayed you and your trust like that?" she asked and it seemed she had hit a weak spot as Wraith's eyes stopped moving as well as the movement of her arms.

"I'd tie him to a tree, set fire to it, and watch him burn. Slowly," the girl whispered.

Victoria wasn't sure what was more unsettling, the words themselves or how they were spoken. For someone so obviously full of fury, she showed barely any emotions, but then again, it wasn't surprising, considering it was Wraith. This gave Victoria hope, but then Wraith took one of her pokéballs and dropped it, calling out her banette. Victoria took a step back since she knew how vicious that ghost-type could be.

"I don't like people wasting my time," Wraith said, much to Viccy's shock.

While she turned her attention back to her book, Banette slowly walked up to Victoria, who backed away from it.

"Is ... is that a no?" she stammered before a hiss by the ghost-type made her retreat to the door hastily.

She opened it, but before she could leave, she could feel its claw slashing her leg. Although it wasn't deep by any means, it still did considerable damage to her pants and also caused quite a bit of pain. When the door slammed shut behind her, she was already on the ground, clutching the wound for a few minutes before she realized that nobody was going to do anything about it. There was something she could use on that wound in her room so she stood up and walked there despite the pain, not daring to have a look at it just yet. When she finally got there, the first she tried to do was to get rid of the pants and wanted check the pockets for anything important before throwing them away even though she was sure they were empty because they were new. However, she was surprised to find a small piece of paper in the pocket next to the wound.

For once in her life, she did the right thing by not taking it out. In fact, she didn't even show that there was anything in there and just threw the pants on the bed. Somehow, Wraith, or rather her banette, had managed to get a message in there and for whatever reason it had to be done like this, Victoria wasn't going to ruin it now. After, this could mean that Wraith was going to help her, but just didn't want to show it openly, maybe because she felt observed. Once the wound was treated, she took a few other pieces of paper, took out Wraith's, and mixed it with the others, trying to make it look like it's been among them from the start. Now she could finally have a look at it.

 _Leave the base at 10pm._

Hiding her happiness wasn't easy, but she somehow managed to do it. This turn of events gave her hope that she could actually do what she wanted. Of course, it was entirely possible that Wraith didn't want to help her at all, that this was a trap. However, the girl was usually direct so Victoria didn't expect a trap. Besides, it was her only hope as nobody else agreed to help her. As a result, she would have followed the instructions, no matter how suspicious they sounded, especially after the feeling she had when she thought that Wraith had refused to help her. It was horrible, a feeling of absolute helplessness, which had almost been worse than the intense pain of her wound. It was something she wanted to never experience again, no matter what.

Unbeknownst to her, Seth was on his way to the boss's office to report her attempts to gain his support. He didn't do it out of loyalty or because he cared about Boris. As a matter of fact, he would love to see something bad happen to his colleague. The reason was fear as he was sure that their boss was observing them so not reporting it could make Divine question his loyalty and he wasn't exactly known for giving second chances to traitors. After talking to the secretary, he was allowed to enter his boss's office. Apparently, Divine was preparing to leave.

"Good to see you, Seth. As you can see, I can't stay here for long because my duties require me to be somewhere else," he explained. "So out with it! Why have you come here?"

"It's about Victoria. She's trying to get help to attack Boris in some way," Seth told him.

"I know. I also know you refused and so did Wraith," Divine said before Seth could tell him about it. "But I expected nothing less from you. Without help, she won't have the guts to do anything so there's no need for consequences."

Although Seth didn't want Victoria to be punished, he was surprised that Divine passed on that. Usually, it was something he enjoyed a lot, so maybe Victoria was the reason or maybe a simple mood swing. Whatever the reason, Seth was glad about it.

"I don't blame her. Actually, I'm pleased to see that she's taking the initiative. The dead skarmory was technically mine so I must admit that I find Boris's current state rather amusing. " He sat down and turned the chair so that Seth was facing his back. "What she fails to understand is that there are worse punishments than death. Boris is a good example for that. Imprisoning him, so that he can't play his games, you can't do more to him than that. I know him. A boring life, without thrill, without the blood rush, that's what he fears the most."

He extended an arm towards one of the bags, which got surrounded by a blue aura, and was opened. A single red apple surrounded by the same aura jumped out of the bag before starting to levitate right above his hand. Then the blue aura around it intensified and it looked like the apple was being peeled and then cut into small pieces in midair. The inedible parts flew into a nearby dustbin, the rest landed on his palm. Seth despised those little demonstrations of psychic tricks. Unlike Divine, who had his amulet to boost his powers, he'd trained hard to become the psychic he was right now. Even though he didn't consider himself an envious man, watching others attain this kind of power so easily in comparison made him angry. However, he didn't dare complain in any way, however, as his boss was unpredictable when provoked.

"Too bad Victoria's plans conflict with mine. She also appears to be easily distracted as of late. Perhaps it's time to replace her, but who could do it? Ash would have been my favorite choice, but he's gone." He scratched his chin before standing up. "Anyway, that's not important right now. So unless you have something else to report, leave me."

"No, sir." Seth stood up, eager to leave the office.

The phone rang at that moment and Divine picked it up.

"Wait a moment," he said to Seth after a short time.

The conversation was short, but it involved something that pleased Divine quite a lot as he showed a big grin. In addition, it had to be important and urgent or he wouldn't have been called directly. Whatever it was, Seth was likely to receive a new assignment now. When it was over, the boss grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something on it, which he then handed to Seth.

"Capture her but don't kill the girl. She might prove useful in the future," he said before turning away again.

Seth paled upon realizing who was meant by that, but nodded nonetheless and left. Divine watched him, thinking about more ways to ensure his loyalty. As a psychic, he was perfectly capable of resisting any attempt to possess him, even by the Okcha Prime. However, he had other ways of controlling him.

Due to her status, Victoria had no trouble leaving the base through a side entrance. It led to a cave full of traps and illusions, not to mention the countless zubat that usually scared off any intruder or simply bugged them until they left voluntarily. As her boss used to say, natural defenses were usually the best, which was certainly true in this case. Victoria walked a few steps, wondering where Wraith could be hiding, when something grabbed her right arm from behind and teleported her somewhere else. The new place was also a cave, possibly even the same one, but simply another, unknown part. She turned to see a gothitelle walking towards a shadowy shape nearby. As expected, that shape was Wraith, who was sitting on a rock. She gave a signal to her rotom, which use a weak electric attack on her.

"What the hell? Where are we? What are you doing?" Victoria asked, now expecting a trap.

"Just making sure nobody else listens." Wraith recalled Rotom, then she turned to the former coordinator. "I've spent the time to attain more knowledge about those essence gems. His gigantic gem is the key to destroy him."

Victoria wasn't pleased, she had hoped for something more drastic and direct. On the other hand she remembered that this girl was the only one who was willing to help her so she feigned interest.

"What about it?" she asked.

"You must understand that there's no way of killing him outright without attracting Divine's attention. He expects you to do this so I suggest a slower, but no less deadly approach." She showed a smile, which wasn't only unusual, but also extremely creepy. "If done right, it'll look like his own doing. But you're the only one who can do it."

Suddenly, the plan was much more to Victoria's liking. If she would get away with it somehow, she was more than ready to wait a bit longer. Besides, it wasn't like she had much choice in that matter so she proceeded to listen carefully. This was her only chance to avenge her fallen pokémon.

* * *

This time, Dawn searched the areas north of Kanto due to the position where Noctowl had found the aura stone. When it was getting extremely late, she was almost in Sinnoh, but the exhaustion forced her and the pokémon to cancel the search. Since she'd been unsuccessful so far, she thought it would have been smarter to start the search in Sinnoh and work her way south back to Kanto, but it was too late now. Sinnoh would be target region of the next day.

Apart from the disappointment, her predominant feeling was regret. She'd said a few bad things during the conversation with Drew and May, things that had been haunting her during the entire search. Even though most of them were simply misunderstood, she still felt that her friends deserved an apology and that was the first thing she wanted to do once she was back home or at the base. Hopefully, they'd accept it without much arguing. In fact, she was inclined to accept their help as it was still better than nothing and they'd not feel underappreciated. They might even search for Ash together and even though it wouldn't be very efficient, Dawn and the pokémon certainly would appreciate the company.

Alakazam teleported her back to Pallet Town, where Thomas from the international police was waiting at the entrance to her house. For some reason, he was in a extremely good mood, which was obvious due to the enthusiasm in his voice.

"Good to see you. We found Ash. He's alive and well and currently in our hospital wing," he said without hesitation.

At first, Dawn and the pokémon were too surprised to react and just stared at him blankly. When they finally realized the meaning, the pokémon started cheering and dancing, and Dawn felt her knees get weak. She dropped and let out tears of joy. Thomas could have easily toyed with her emotions by not saying everything at once, but he had told her the most important parts instantly and for that, she was grateful.

"Are you alright?" He helped her up and kept supporting her since her legs still felt weak. "You really must have been stressed."

"You can't imagine." The relief was overwhelming, even the fact that she wasn't the one to find him barely mattered at all. The important part was that Ash was safe. Now they could work together to turn everything back to normal. Dawn was already imagining the future in her head, her creativity knew no bounds so even the most absurd events seemed possible. With Ash back, tough, they suddenly didn't feel that far-fetched. Of course, it would take some time, but at least there was no more need to search the entire world. "May I see him?" she asked him with a sudden enthusiasm.

"Yes, but not for long. He's been possessed for a long time so we don't know how long it'll take him to wake up. All we know is that he needs some rest." He took a pokéball out of his pockets and called out a kadabra. "Are you ready? I'll explain how we found him on the way."

She nodded eagerly and the psychic-type teleported them to the base, where they had to undergo the usual procedure first.

"There was a huge explosion on Iron Island. Someone found a huge crater and Ash lying nearby. He informed the police, who informed us, and we took him to the hospital where he's been ever since. We're not sure what happened there, but we're absolutely positive that he's no longer possessed so you don't need to worry about that," he told her. "He'll stay her for a few days as we need to make some tests. Don't be alarmed, it's nothing dangerous, it's just that there aren't many people who survived all this like Ash or his mother."

"I understand. You want to find ways to fight those creatures," She replied with a slightly sad tone. Although it would mean that she got to spend less time with him, the prospect of a proper weapon against them was tempting.

"Exactly. It may save countless lives. And both of you may stay here for your safety. If you wish, of course," he added.

She didn't reply as Ash also had something to say in that matter. They'd have to decide together after he recovered. She thought that getting to the hospital wing was taking way too long, which was mostly because of her impatience. Thomas looked like he found it rather amusing, but didn't say anything. When they finally entered it, he continued his explanation.

"Ash's important for us right now so I'm in charge of this operation. But until he wakes up, there's little I can do so I decided to give the message to you personally. Ash's currently asleep or my men would've called me by now," he said although she was barely listening by now.

She wasn't the only one. The pokémon were walking ahead and their speed made it difficult for the humans to catch up. Eventually, the pokémon had to fall back, though, simply because they had no idea where to find Ash's room. Sensing their impatience, Thomas didn't waste time and hurried there. It happened to be the room next to Delia's so finding it again wouldn't be a problem. He unlocked the door and even opened it for them, revealing a room that looked just like Delia's. A doctor was standing next to the bed, taking some notes, and didn't pay any attention to them. The most important part by far was Ash, who was lying on the bed, a peaceful smile gracing his face. Right now, Dawn was tempted to crawl under the sheets and just wait till his awakening, but it was clear that their hosts would never allow it. Instead, she carefully approached the bed.

"Don't get too close. He needs to rest," the doctor said, giving a stern look to the pokémon in particular.

They did as they were told and just looked at him. The remaining tension left their bodies, allowing them to relax fully, now that they knew that Ash was really safe. Hopefully, he could somehow feel that he wasn't alone. After only a few minutes, the doctor interfered and forced them to leave again, which they did only reluctantly. After all, they hadn't seen him for days, they had been living in constant fear for his life and now they were only allowed to see him for such a short time. Thomas noticed their distress and tried to help them.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you can visit him again in the evening," he assured them. "The same goes for Mrs. Ketchum. I guess you don't know it yet, but she already left her bed to visit him and she was rather ... energetic. Gave the doctor quite a bit of trouble because he assumed she was trying to crush Ash with her hug. Well, at least we now know that people can return to normal quickly after being possessed."

Dawn smiled and the pokémon sniggered when they pictured the scene in their heads. They'd have to visit her as well at some point.

"Then let's hope she didn't add some injuries," she said earning a few laughs, which eventually caused her to laugh as well. It felt good to be able to do it again without forcing herself.

"How about you get something to eat? You must be starving. It goes without saying that all the food is free for you as long as you're our guest," Thomas told her. "I have to leave you now, feel free to tell us if there's anything you need."

He was right, she was starving and without a doubt, the pokémon weren't much different in that regard. After saying goodbye to him, they got some food and, unlike last time, they had the time to actually enjoy it. Much to their delight, Johanna and Delia joined them soon, allowing them to talk about this important event. Dawn also noticed that Delia was much more lively than in the morning, but apart from that, she seemed pretty normal by now. Apparently, the other didn't know much more about Ash's current state, but at least everyone agreed that the worst part was over.

Still, a few questions remained. The enemies that had attacked them were still alive and could attack again anywhere, at any time. Ash's return might even make them more aggressive, although it was hard to imagine, given how they'd tried to kill her last time. She could hide in this base with Ash, but he probably wouldn't like the idea because of his pride. On the other hand they were vulnerable at home so it wasn't an easy decision. It was also questionable whether Ash should participate in his Elite Four battle. All the trouble lately had greatly disturbed his training, maybe too much. Although Ash still had a few weeks, perhaps it really was the best decision to try it again later, when everything was back to normal and his pokémon ready for such a task without other matters distracting them. Dawn battling the Hoenn Elite Four seemed much more realistic with the battle being about a month after his.

Before they could return to their everyday lives, Ash had to wake up, though. If he was allowed to leave soon, they'd have time to attend Catelyn's funeral. Then they'd have to give a proper burial to Durant and Leafeon. Dawn thought about doing it in their garden, a place that they both loved equally. Due to all the trouble, she didn't have time to pay her respect to those two and she didn't want to bury them without Ash.

"Is everything alright?" Delia asked although she could guess what was going on.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Dawn gave her a smile, then got lost in her thoughts again.

She had missed this kind of daydreaming. It reminded her of the time before all the trouble, but those were over, maybe forever, and she had to deal with it. Yes, she had to stay strong for Ash, her pokémon, and her friends. Hopefully, he'd wake up soon so that they could start those new lives together.

* * *

The test chambers in the international police main base were rarely visited by Max Wright even though he was the only one with permanent access. Apart from him, only a few selected scientists could enter them and only at certain times. Others didn't know those places existed, not even Max's most trusted officers like Thomas or Dan. It was necessary as sometimes questionable experiments were conducted, experiments some people might consider brutal or unnecessary. Max rarely used them and only when he firmly believed that it was for the greater good. In this case, there was no doubt in his mind that this experiment was essential for his further efforts. He stepped through an illusionary wall in his private storage room in the cellar of the building. It led to a short corridor with a well-hidden button, which revealed a keyboard, where he had to enter a long code to open the door to the laboratory. From there, he could control the doors of the teleportation chambers. Others always teleported there, but nobody could actually get inside without his help.

This time, he wasn't there to let someone enter it, but because one of the scientists already working in the lab had told him about an important experiment. Said scientist was already waiting for him near the entrance.

"Thank you for coming. I can assure you that I won't waste your time. My research will allow you to battle the UEC1 much more effectively," he said while leading Max to his part of the lab.

UEC1 was their name for the Okcha and was short for unidentified enemy creature. The one in the name existed just in case there were more variations of those.

"You better be right. I'm a busy man," Max replied coldly.

They went to a chamber that was completely empty, except for three talonflame, who were chained to the wall in a way that rendered them incapable of moving at all. Those weren't real pokémon, they were the three Okcha, who had been captured by the international police during the attacks on the cities. Therefore they were invaluable for tests and since they weren't technically alive, there was no need to hold back. However, they had to be contained carefully due to their tendency to kill themselves in order to avoid capture. Doctor Bannings, the scientist leading Max to them, was in charge of this top secret operation and apparently, he had discovered something important.

"I tried all kinds of moves just as you told me. Most of them didn't have any noteworthy effect, but there were a few exceptions." They reached the one in the middle and the doctor pointed at something on its neck. It looked like part of its body had turned pink. "At first glance their bodies are identical to the pokémon's, but they suffer from a degeneration process. So far, it was shown to be incredibly slow, but there are moves that can speed it up."

Doctor Bannings took a bit of the pink stuff and pulverized it with his fingers.

"In this case, it's easy to destroy, but if it's a bit more massive, it's as hard as stone. As I said, it's a natural process, caused by radiation, which makes light-based pokémon effective against them. Most of them don't do much in that regard, though. Only signal beam was shown to be better, which is interesting since the talonflame and gengar are extremely resistant to those. It's possible that their creator knew about this weakness and chose those pokémon as the bulk of his army because of it. Whatever the reason, nobody with half a brain would use signal beam against a gengar or talonflame so it's amazingly smart," he explained.

"So you think you could create a powerful weapon against them?" Max asked.

"A single, concentrated signal beam could petrify one of them. That's what I believe. I haven't tested it yet because it would mean the destruction of one of my test subjects," Bannings admitted.

Max scratched his chin while thinking about this turn of events. If the doctor was right, they found a cheap and effective way to fight those creatures. However, he wasn't going to spend money on anything without further confirmation, which consisted of a simple test in this case.

"I want to see the test. Now!" he commanded.

"Are you sure? It can't be replaced once it's destroyed," the doctor replied. The test subjects were rare, but he was also afraid of failure, which would make him look incompetent.

"I won't help you with your project without a test. If you manage to destroy this UEC1 with one signal beam, I guarantee my support." He stressed the if to make sure that Bannings understood the importance of this test. "Now do it."

At first, Doctor Bannings hesitated. He considered this to be like destroying lab equipment, but upon realizing that he didn't really have a choice in this matter, he called out a venomoth. He looked at Max before ordering his pokémon to use the most powerful signal beam it could muster on the test subject. While he didn't want to watch it, Max did it with great interest. The Okcha's body didn't simply turn to pink stone in an instant, instead it spread from the pink parts all over its body until the transformation was complete. Max touched it to ensure that it wasn't dangerous anymore. Just as the doctor had foretold, it was hard and cold to the touch.

"Interesting. Shatter it and analyze the material. Then try to find more weaknesses. Others will try to exploit this one for me." He turned his back on the scientist. "You've done well. Continue to impress me and we'll be able to rid the world of this filth soon. Now get back to work."

Max walked away while Bannings was still mourning the destruction of his favorite test subject. Even though the test confirmed his theory, it was still a terrible loss for him. As a result, he needed to be more careful with the remaining two. At least the test would prove useful in fighting those terrible creatures and he still had the material to analyze so he wouldn't get bored too soon.

For Max, this experiment wasn't a success until they had weapon to deal with the Okcha. So far, the international police hadn't been able to deal with their numbers, which was why a new weapon was desperately needed. He could only hope that the other scientists could work as efficiently and fast as Bannings.

* * *

 **That didn't really answer a lot of questions, did it? More will be revealed in time. It was no coincidence that Ash was found where he was found.**


	61. Dangerous Confidence

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 61 Dangerous Confidence

Ash was walking through the eternal darkness. There was no path, he had no sense of direction, yet he knew exactly where he had to go, simply because there was an orb of light. For some reason, he felt it was his ultimate destination, but even without this inexplicable feeling, he would try to reach it as there was nothing else to see but the endless darkness around him. The problem was that he had no idea how close he was or whether he was getting closer at all. The logical consequence was a short break, which he used to reflect on his situation. Although it looked like he was farther away from it than ever, there was nothing else he could do or at least he couldn't think of anything. Therefore he just continued his chase, no matter how futile it really was. On the way, he saw glowing letters in the dark. He didn't like what most of them were saying.

 _It should fear the light, not the darkness_

 _It is too weak_

He ignored them and just continued. From the darkness, he could hear whispers, which were impossible to understand, though. Ash wasn't bothered by them too much. As a matter of fact, he preferred those to the silence, at least for now. With time, his body got heavier and he could tell that it wasn't just the exhaustion. It was like the ground itself was pulling him down.

 _It couldn't protect itself, how can it protect others?_

 _Its journey has just begun_

When he looked back at the light, it was suddenly much closer than before. Even the his legs felt much lighter than before, so increased the pace and this time, he could actually see the progress. It was then that he realized just how big this orb of light actually was, yet everything around him was still dark.

 _Its potential is greater than it can imagine_

 _Will it be right one for this task?_

He finally reached the orb and saying that it was huge would be an understatement. It was gigantic, but it was like its glow was much weaker than anticipated, he could even stare right into it without being blinded. On the other hand, it was probably for the better since that wasn't something he wanted to happen. Still, he was clueless about what he had to do now without a goal. As if on a cue, a black spot appeared on the orb, through which something long and dark escaped and jumped in front of him. He wasn't sure how he was even able to see it as it was practically one with the darkness around it, but he recognized it as the creature that had taken control of him. Needless to say, he was less than pleased and immediately took a few steps back when it stood upright to show its full size. Fear was evident on his face when it let out a deafening shriek. Then its solid form turned into smoke that entered Ash's body, possessing him again.

It took a while to get used to his new situation, but unlike last time, he still had his normal vision. However, the control over his body was gone entirely and to his shock, Dawn was suddenly lying on her belly in front of him. Judging from the expression on her face, she was in a lot of pain, but when he took a step forward, her eyes gained a glimmer of hope.

"Ash!" Her voice was quiet and weak. "I was afraid you were gone forever. Please never leave me again like that. Please be ... stronger in the future." Her eyes went a bit lower. "Wait, what's that in your hand?"

The warm feeling he had gotten from her words vanished upon noticing her sudden fear. For some reason, his body decided to look down at the hands and Ash noticed the large, bloody knife. Things were about to get worse as the creature inside him raised it in a threatening manner, making Dawn try to crawl backwards. The panicked look on her face was bad enough but nothing compared to his feeling when his body started moving forward, quickly closing the gap. He knew its intention so he tried to fight it with all his might, but no matter how hard her tried, there was no effect whatsoever. He could only watch his arm lower with the knife, burying the blade in Dawn's stomach. She let out a scream that he would maybe never forget and then coughed up blood, that went all over her face. The wound was horrible and another image forever burnt into his mind, and it wasn't going to be the last one. The creature raised his arm to stab her again and again, hitting different parts of her body. When it was finally over, her screams had long died down, and her corpse was barely recognizable. Ash had been watching the entire, agonizing process with a mix of panic, horror, and infernal fury. Memories of their times together flooded his mind, reminding him of everything they had gone through, their bond, their friendship, their love. Without her, all of this was gone forever, and when he realized it, he only felt emptiness. In the end, he didn't even realize that he once again had full control over his body as he was little more than a corpse himself at that point.

He had done the unthinkable, he had killed his love, and now he was staring at her broken body wide-eyed. Even worse, the darkness on the ground disappeared, revealing even more mutilated bodies lying nearby, which belonged to his friends. Ash sank to his knees, feeling that he had failed them all and now he was starting to believe what he was hearing all the time. He wasn't strong enough to protect them and had to suffer the consequences.

 _There is still time_

The sentence was written on the black sky in gigantic letters. Ash wasn't sure what it meant until the sky transformed in an image of a white ceiling. It was hard to describe what happened next. All he knew was that he was suddenly awake, lying on a bed in a clean, small room with someone who looked like a doctor nearby. He took notice of Ash and went to the videophone, probably to report his awakening. He didn't look surprised, probably because Ash had been showing signs at some point. It was now that he realized just how much his head was hurting. Moreover, he was exhausted to the point that he could barely move. The biggest issue, however, was that he had no idea where he was, how had gotten here, and where the others were. As far as he knew, he might as well be in his enemies' base and the mere possibility made him cringe since he was utterly helpless right now. The doctor, who had already finished his report, sensed his distress and attempted to calm him down a bit.

"You've been found by the international police and are now in our hospital wing. Don't worry, you're safe her and your friends and family are here as well. We'll inform them of your awakening, although we won't allow them to see you just yet. First your condition needs to stabilize," the doctor explained.

Ash didn't say it, but he preferred it that way. The last thing he wanted was Dawn or the others seeing him in this state as he looked pathetic in his opinion. His pride just didn't allow it, no matter how much he wanted to see Dawn, Pikachu, and the others again.

"Do you think you're capable of answering a few questions?" the doctor asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"What? Oh, yes. Yes, I think so," Ash answered despite knowing that it wasn't the case. He was still weak and could easily fall asleep during the interrogation, but he was determined not to let it happen. "Ask your questions."

"Very well. We know that you've been possessed by an unknown being. Is it true that it had possessed someone else before doing the same to you?" he asked.

"Yes, that's right," Ash replied.

The doctor already knew that, but he still wanted confirmation. This was something, which wasn't the case with the others. Therefore this particular creature was dubbed the UEC2 as it was apparently more dangerous, being able to take control of more than one person or pokémon in row. Judging from the reports, it could do it at least thrice so it might still be out there in another body and probably impossible to spot, even with the help of all the lucario in the world. Nevertheless, it was also intriguing as it raised many questions. For once, they still didn't know why the enemy wasn't using more of the UEC2 as they were clearly superior. There were a few theories, but nothing tangible. The international police was also dying to know the difference in the victims, therefore finding Ash had been extremely important to them.

"Can you describe what you felt during the time the being was controlling you?" the doctor asked now.

"Well, I got to fight it at the beginning and even regained the control for a short time, but then it ... defeated me and I don't know what it did with me." It was hard to admit that he simply hadn't been strong enough to defeat the enemy. "It was like I was constantly dreaming. But then I felt the world shaking, just like the first time I got to fight it. I couldn't do it this time, though, but there was something else I saw. A glowing, round gem and a pulsing, green pillar of light was rising from it into the darkness. I don't know what it means or where it lead, I simply didn't have the time to investigate it. I felt incredible pain and passed out. Or my body passed out? You get what I mean, don't you?"

"I do. Interesting," the doctor answered, taking a few notes.

None of the other victims had ever reported the creature fighting back once they had regained control. Maybe this was also a unique ability of UEC2 or maybe it was merely much more powerful than the others. The most surprising part was the gem and the light, which the other victims didn't mention. As such it had to be connected to the UEC2 as well, although he didn't have the slightest clue how. It was something to be discovered later. For now, he was hesitant to ask any more questions as Ash looked like he was in a lot of pain and wasn't too reliable because of that. Now that he thought about it, the gem might also be the result of this. All in all, he saw no need to question Ash further.

"Alright, that's enough for now. We'll continue this once you're feeling a bit better," he said, much to Ash's shock. He was about to protest and tried to get up, but the doctor pushed him back. "You know you need to rest. I don't know why you don't want to see your friends just yet, but I can assure you we won't tell them until you're feeling ready to face them." He placed something that looked like a remote control on the small table next to Ash's bed. "If you need anything, press the button."

It was clear that Ash had no choice in that matter so he sank back on his pillow and closed his eyes. Strangely enough, he couldn't be sure that this man really belonged to the international police. As far as he knew, he might as well be in the enemies' base. However, his weakness wouldn't have allowed him to fight anyway. Ash was so tired that he fell asleep soon, and this time, he wasn't tortured by bad dreams.

* * *

Victoria was waiting in a the cave leading to the base. It was pretty obvious that she was nervous, almost panicked as the next minutes would decide her future. Starting the operation was tempting, but she wasn't going to risk all of the quick, yet thorough planning because of her impatience. It would mean the end for her. Still, it was extremely hard to contain her excitement, and her pokémon, Gardevoir and Zoroark, noticed it.

"There's no need to be worried, master," Gardevoir told her telepathically. "We'll take care of everything. There's nothing you need to do."

"That's one of the reasons why I'm worried. I want to help you, but I can't." She let out a drawn-out sigh. "Life has never been kind to me. Please be careful and don't get yourself killed."

"Everything will be fine. We want Boris to suffer just as much as you do. He must pay for killing our friend," the psychic-type said.

It was usually calm, but now its voice was filled with spite. It was comforting that her pokémon were feeling the same way. Their hatred ensured devotion, but it could also lead to foolish mistakes.

"Boris! Whenever I head his name, it fills me with that murderous rage!" She grabbed a rock from the ground and attempted to crush it with her hands. "He must die!" She imagined the rock as Boris, focusing her anger and hatred, and even though she couldn't harm it, something else happened. Suddenly, the bottle of beer she had brought along and placed on the ground nearby, shattered without apparent reason. Victoria immediately let go of the rock and looked at the surroundings. "Who's there?"

Gardevoir knew that nobody else was there, though, due to her powers. Instead, it had sensed a significant amount of psychic power involved. Since Zoroark couldn't have done it and Gardevoir knew it didn't do it, so there was only one possibility. Victoria had to be responsible. It made sense since it wasn't the first time she had shown signs of psychic power after the incident with the Okcha Prime. Those weird things kept happening whenever she was extremely distressed or emotionally unstable, but Victoria never realized that it was her doing. The Okcha Prime was likely to have something to do with it.

"Nobody's here," it told her.

Victoria picked up a few shards and pulled a face.

"Bottles don't just shatter, do they?" she remarked, looking around carefully. "Or did you do it again?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous," Gardevoir replied.

"We all are," she said, waving it off.

Gardevoir believed that revealing the truth would only confuse her. In a situation like this, the knowledge could easily overwhelm her and she couldn't just learn to control those powers in a heartbeat. On the other they could cause a lot of harm if she remained untrained so they had to talk about it eventually. The psychic-type had to focus on the task ahead, which was going to be difficult even without distractions. Revenge was at hand.

* * *

When Ash woke up again, there was a nurse in his room. She immediately noticed it and immediately took a few devices to make some tests. Ash tried to resist, but she was way stronger than she looked and easily overwhelmed him.

"Now be a big boy and don't move," she said.

"Hey, I'm an adult. You don't need to tell me," he protested.

"You have no idea how many big, tough guys turned out to be frightened by a simple injection." She laughed heartily. "Now open the mouth."

"I'm not -" He was interrupted by her taking his temperature. "I don't need this! I'm completely fine."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." She looked at the result, then nodded. "Now if you behave, I'll tell your friends and family how brave you were."

"Fine!" Ash replied, grumbling slightly.

He endured the last few tests and then watched the nurse make the call with a big grin. It was a mere telephone instead of a videophone so he couldn't see or hear who was on the other side. He imagined it to be either Dawn or Delia or maybe both. In any case, he was looking forward to seeing them again. Hopefully, Pikachu and the others were with them. He was ready to face them this time as he was feeling so much better. Actually, he was so full of energy, he felt like he could run all the way back home now and carry Dawn while doing it. Somehow the nurse expected him to attempt to get up and pushed him back.

"Oh no, you won't. You might feel like walking right now, but it might easily backfire. You stay here!" she said to him, raising a finger. "Besides, your friends should be here soon." Suddenly, someone was frantically knocking on the door, causing her to smirk. "See? She sounded really eager to see you again."

Before Ash could ask who was meant by that remark, the nurse opened the door to reveal Dawn, who rushed into the room, followed by Pikachu and Prinplup. She was about to embrace him when the nurse grabbed her shirt from behind and pulled her back, making the pokémon, who saw everything, stop in their tracks as well.

"Not so fast, girl. That's close enough. Nobody touches him until he's regained some strength," she said. Her tone made clear that she wasn't going to allow anyone to do it, not even his family. "That goes for humans and pokémon alike," she added, looking at Pikachu and Piplup.

"Oh, alright." Dawn didn't too thrilled, but she wasn't going to argue with the woman. She turned back to Ash and when she saw his usual grin, tears of joy formed in her eyes. "I've pictured this scene in my head at least a thousand times and I still don't really know what to say."

"How about hello?" He waved at her. "Dawn, Pikachu, Prinplup, it's so good to see you. I'd give you a warmer welcome, but I guess my nurse doesn't want me to do that." He sighed when said woman nodded. "Anyway, how long have I been gone?"

"A few days," she replied. "Everyone was worried sick about you."

"Only a few days? So I didn't need to worry about meeting you with gray hair," he replied, chuckling slightly when she raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I've been looking for you for days, searching all of Kanto and more to the point of total exhaustion. I've had nightmares because of your disappearance. I've ... it doesn't matter. But you just appear again and make a joke about gray hair?" She shook her head, but then a sly grin graced her face. "Let's see how Delia and mom react to the same comment?"

"What? No!" He paled visibly. "Anything but that! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The nursed leaned against the wall and just watched them with a smile. Reunions were always heartwarming and they were even more fun to watch if there was at last a bit of humor involved. Although those were important and serious moments, a few jokes to lighten up the atmosphere were always welcome and showed a close bond. Then two women entered the room. Judging from their appearance and reaction, they had to be their mothers. Sensing that his mother probably wouldn't be able to resist the urge to hug her son, she quickly interfered before it could happen.

"Let me make one thing clear right from the beginning. Nobody gets too close to him," she said, moving between them and Ash.

"And who are you to deny me that?" Delia asked with a challenging look.

"I watch over his health and everyone here has to respect my authority on that," the nurse replied, narrowing her eyes.

A huge argument followed, during which Ash, Dawn, and Johanna exchanged knowing looks. Seeing Delia angry like this was a rare occasion and certainly an experience they didn't enjoy. The nurse was an exception in that regard, as she seemed to enjoy having a challenger. The others didn't want to get involved and kept to themselves. Dawn even quickly kissed him when she was sure that the nurse was preoccupied, quickly stopping and looking back innocently when she got suspicious.

"I'm glad to have you back," Johanna said to Ash, giving him a warm smile. "Dawnie's worry equaled even Delia's. And they've gone through so much lately."

"What do you mean?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

"No need to worry. I'll tell you everything later," Dawn assured him. "I don't think the nurse would approve if I did it now."

Ash turned his head to the arguing duo and nodded in agreement. It was hard to determine who was winning, but in the end, it looked like the nurse had emerged victorious. Delia went next to the bed, muttering something about an 'overprotective woman' or something similar. Although she didn't look happy at first, she gave Ash the brightest and warmest smile she could muster and was about to say something when they heard someone else enter the room. Ash and Dawn already knew that person, it was Max Wright himself with his hands behind his back, followed by Dan. The nurse immediately walked up to him and Delia seized the opportunity by giving Ash a quick hug. Without a doubt, it was nothing compared to what she was going to do once the nurse was gone. As opposed to what Ash expected, the nurse didn't seem particularly impressed by the appearance of her boss and tried to shoo him away.

"The patient needs to rest. Too many visitors, way too many!" she said to him. "Those are already enough. You must leave now."

"I'm afraid this is a matter of great importance, Doris. It won't take long," he replied calmly, not looking bothered by her rudeness at all.

She thought about it for a moment, then she nodded.

"Very well. I trust you won't cause too much trouble. But make it quick," she answered.

She made way for him, allowing him to go directly next to Ash's bed. Everybody's eyes were on him when he started talking to Ash and also Dawn.

"I don't know how much you know about the recent events, but you should be aware of the danger. The others -" He pointed at Dawn, Delia, and Johanna. "- are already living her, at least for the moment. We offer you to do the same, for you own safety. We know that you want to challenge the Kanto Elite Four soon, but that's no problem since you can use our training halls for that. So what do you say?"

For Ash this decision was an easy one. Nevertheless, he tried to think about it as objectively as possible or at least look like it. Now everyone was looking at him, eager to hear the answer. Feeling that more thinking wouldn't get him anywhere, Ash decided to just tell them his decision.

"I thank you for your offer, but I must decline. Leaving our home just because of some threat is out of question," he told them calmly.

The others started whispering among themselves, except for Max, whose eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure? You want to endanger yourself and your girlfriend after an attempt on her life, which was almost successful and almost resulted in your mother's death?" he asked, making Ash jump up. "A bit reckless if you ask me."

"Stop that! He needs to rest, not more stress!" the nurse protested.

"They tried to kill you? And mom almost died?" Ash asked Dawn and Delia incredulously.

"Yes, they used her as a possessed assassin," Max replied for her. "Do you realize that this isn't a game? They've killed many people and you're lucky that those poor women aren't among them. You know your house can't offer the protection necessary for this, so why do you insist on living in mortal danger? You wouldn't be the first one to refuse my help. The Tanner boy and his sister did the same and now she's gone. Abducted by our common enemy."

"What?" both Ash and Dawn exclaimed simultaneously whereas Delia and Johanna were too shocked to say anything.

"It's true. It happened only a few hours ago. It's funny how the boy suddenly begged me to help him. However, there's little anyone can do for her. She might be anywhere by now so you shouldn't even think about starting a search," he added because of Dawn's recent activities.

"Eileen ... gone? This is terrible," Ash muttered. "But it doesn't change my decision. We're not helpless like Eileen, we're strong enough to fend off any attacker. Besides, I won't allow anyone to make me live a life of fear. We'd have to leave eventually, we might as well do it now. I also need to train at the Oak ranch for the coming battles. But tell me, what do you know about Eileen's disappearance."

"I won't tell you anything more," Max answered coldly. "I don't need you to stick your nose in my business again. As for you safety, haven't you lost pokémon during the last attack? Do you want it to happen again and again until you can't even muster a full team for your precious battles? How much more do you have to lose before you listen to reason? But it seems you won't change your mind. So answer this: How can you be sure that your girlfriend wants the same? She's been staying with us a bit and maybe doesn't want to leave."

Everybody turned to the new center of attention. Dawn was extremely nervous because she was torn between reason and love. Unlike Ash, she would prefer to stay, but on the other hand she didn't want to annoy Ash since he seemed so determined to return home. She tried a careful approach.

"Well, I must admit I feel much safer here than at home. We're vulnerable there, but we'll have to leave the base for our battles eventually so the safety isn't permanent. Still, it seems more reasonable to stay." When she saw the hurt and even a bit angry look on Ash's face, she quickly proceeded. "But if Ash believes that we'll be safe enough at home, I'll trust him and go with him, no matter what. I'm sure our pokémon feel the same way."

Ash's expression brightened up, whereas the others darkened considerably, even Delia's and Johanna's. They were still in shock due to the recent attack and had already agreed to stay. Watching their children putting themselves in danger voluntarily wasn't easy for them as they had even more to worry about now. Even worse, this danger could be easily avoided. Nevertheless, there was nothing they could do about it. Ash could be extremely stubborn and they couldn't just tell him what to do anymore. The best approach was to tell Dawn to influence him a bit, but she didn't appear to be willing to challenge his views after everything he'd endured. If anything, she was going to try anything to maintain the harmony and maybe carefully try to convince him.

"How sad for you." Max shook his head. "I see there's no way of convincing you. Very well. I expect your departure once you've recovered."

"About time. Now everyone get out, the patient needs to rest. Out with you!" the nurse shouted.

Ash was a bit sad that he was alone again, but at least the nurse promised to get him something to eat as soon as the others were gone before leaving as well and locking the door behind her. It was annoying that nobody had told him any details about the attempt on Dawn's life and without a newspaper, there was no way to change it. His nurse wouldn't tell him anything, he was sure of that, regardless of how much he was dying to know.

On the other side, Dawn, Delia, and Johanna were arguing about Dawn's decision. While she was listening to their advice, she was also hesitant to follow it as she didn't want to risk Ash's condition getting worse right now. The only thing she could do was to talk to him about it and hope for a more harmless attack, which could convince Ash of the danger. All in all, the joy over Ash's awakening was already gone and replaced by a lot of worry.

* * *

Max and Dan were on their way to the president's office. Saying that Max was angry would probably be an understatement, he was furious and only his enormous self-control prevented him from screaming at the employees unfortunate enough to address him on the way. Even Dan was too scared to say anything and just followed his superior without uttering a single word. When they reached the office and Max sat down next to his desk, he finally let out his anger and frustration by pushing everything on it away.

"Damn them!" he yelled. "They almost died, lost two pokémon and two friends, and now they refuse our protection? Are they trying to make our job more difficult on purpose? Just how stupid can you get?"

"What do you suggest?" Dan asked timidly. "It's unlikely our enemy will just leave them alone."

"I know." Max buried his head in his hands then he looked up with a determined expression. "Fine! If they won't accept our help, we'll at least help others. I want those two monitored at all times. If they get attacked, create a dark field to prevent the enemy or them from escaping. Don't interfere without backup. If they get killed, make sure that the assailant doesn't get away and if they win, make sure they don't kill him or her. We need information and a prisoner would be the best source. Same goes for that Tanner boy."

"Yes, sir. I'm on my way." Dan turned to leave, happy to finally get a chance to escape the office and his boss's bad mood.

"Just one more thing." He turned around again, awaiting further orders. "They're expendable. Don't risk your life for them."

"This might sound weird, but why don't we get them to work for us directly?" Dan asked, scratching the back of his head. "They're strong, they could be quite helpful."

"They're also stubborn, unreliable, and foolish. Not suitable," Max replied, getting up to pick up the stuff he had pushed onto the floor. "Now get it done."

Dan left the room with mixed feeling. On the one hand, he trusted his boss's judgment completely and would do anything asked of him, but on the other hand it didn't mean that he always felt comfortable doing some things like using people as bait. However, he also had to admit that Ash's behavior made him a little angry. Max only wanted the best and didn't deserve a reaction like that. Now Dan could only hope that there was a smaller attack, which would result in a prisoner and that foolish couple finally realizing that they were much safer at the base.

* * *

 **Stupid to just go home, isn't it? Ash seems to have gained an almost idiotic self-confidence, and Dawn is too worried to risk any conflict at this point, especially after the argument with May and Drew. Otherwise she wouldn't back down this easily. Where the new conficence comes from you can maybe already guess and it will have consequences.**


	62. History Lesson

**If you expect action in this chapter, then you'll be disappointed. This is almost exclusively about background information and lore. Please note that nothing about this is from the original series in any way.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 62 History Lesson

His patience was running low. When Divine had heard about the most recent capture, he became extremely excited. The girl, Eileen, was fascinating for several reasons. For once, she was a friend of Ash and Dawn, which made her an ideal tool, which he could use to mess with them. She was also related to a guy called Marcus, who had been involved in some of the most recent operations. For some reason, he was still alive, which made him interesting by default. Finally, Eileen was interesting by herself as her personality was most unique, at least among his usual followers. With an Okcha in her body, she would prove completely obedient. Now he was sitting in his office at the main base, waiting for a call. It was still unknown how an Okcha could affect such a young body, so the procedure wasn't without danger and losing her would be a terrible disappointment for him. After all, she was supposed to replace Victoria in the long run. Indeed, he had plans for her and watching her friends' faces when they faced her in battle would be priceless.

Instead of a call, he received the message by his secretary, who entered the office after knocking on the door.

"They have successfully turned her into a loyal servant. She'll be here soon," she said, bowing deeply.

"Very good. I can't wait to see the result," he replied with a smirk. "The trick with the ring worked?"

"Yes, there were no problems.," she told him.

Divine dismissed her with a wave of his hand. The matter that had worried him the most was the ring. It protected the wearer from being possessed, but it seemed that once someone was possessed, there was nothing the ring could do to help against it. This simple trick allowed him to have loyal servants that could still command their own little army of Okcha by using the ring. The mere thought was thrilling. Before he could think even more about the possibilities, he got distracted by the door opening and a young girl entering the office with a blank look on her face.

"We're awaiting its commands," she said with a monotonous voice.

He sighed, realizing that he had to go through the same old routine again.

"You'll address me directly and ... you have access to her memory, don't you? Just say things the way she would've said it and you'll be fine. I don't have to time to teach you the way we talk." He sighed again. "Now return full control to her and let her act freely until I tell you otherwise."

The change was almost instant although it didn't look like it since Eileen didn't show any reaction and just looked at Divine wearily. Her voice was just as monotonous as during the possessed state, but there was also a deep sadness both in her voice and her eyes that he noticed.

"So we meet again," she muttered. "Why? Why did you do it? Why did you kill my sister?"

"You aren't wondering where you are? Or how you got here? Or what we did to you?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're a strange girl."

"They told me," she simply stated.

Divine's eyes narrowed, then he showed a bright smile. This girl was far more interesting than he would have ever guessed and he was sure she would prove incredibly useful.

"So the Okcha told you. Amazing! They usually don't tell humans anything unless commanded." He scratched his chin. "There's something about you. Why are you different? Is it because of the ring?"

"I don't know and I don't care," she told him. "You haven't answered my question. Why did you kill Cat?"

"Very well. First, you must understand that it was Boris who killed her and he wasn't exactly under my control at that time. His mission was to test your friends Ash and Dawn, he wasn't to actually kill anyone or cause one of their pokémon to evolve. Such a vile crime, isn't it? But don't worry about him, he'll be punished soon." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know you think I'm terribly evil, but that's not true. I have a vision, a goal. I do things, which others would consider bad, to accomplish them. However, I never kill without good reason."

"You shouldn't kill at all. There are other ways to solve conflicts," she pointed out.

"I know. Let's look at Ash and Dawn for example. I knew they'd get in my way eventually so I tried to convince them to join me. But I also tested them and tried to reveal their true power." He raised a finger. "I tested their strength, their resolve. I made them face their fears and worst nightmares. I made them fight Giovanni, whom I considered my strongest rival. They probably think I had evil intentions, but that's not correct. No, I want them to become stronger, I want them to grow up. I want them to become the best they can be, even if it means that they'll be stronger enemies. Now I have a question for you. Why do you think I do all of this?"

Eileen took her time to think about the answer. Although she doubted that she'd ever like his methods, his goals, she wanted to understand him and his point of view.

"You mentioned Giovanni as your rival. Do you want them to become your new rivals?" she finally asked.

It was an answer he was pleased to hear. This girl was still so young, yet showed an understanding that many of his other underlings lacked. In fact, she might be one of the few who could truly appreciate his efforts and plans. It was just a shame she wasn't more confident.

"I see you understand. A life without rivals strong enough to challenge you is horribly dull. A keen mind needs training and nobody provides better exercise than a worthy rival. Giovanni was a disappointment in that regard. Sure, he was outnumbered, but it was still a shame that he got overwhelmed so easily. But then again, he was always uninspired with his only goals in life being money and power. I did him a favor by having him eliminated." She gave him a look that showed her disgust, but he just waved it off. "There's nothing worse than the loss of freedom. Maybe you'll understand it after a few weeks with your ... friend. Anyway, Ash and Dawn showed a lot of promise and when Shira was defeated, I just knew they were the right ones. So I turned them into a side-project. The most exciting game in the world is to build your own enemies and see how far you can go before they destroy you."

For someone like Eileen, Divine was hard to understand. He was extremely egoistic and ruthless, two traits that she truly despised. Nonetheless, she was wondering whether there was a way to help him, to turn him into a good man. Of course, he would only be amused by such thoughts. Everything she respected, everything she stood for, compassion, friendship, morals, those were weird and useless concepts to him. Despite knowing it was pointless, she still tried to show him the error of his ways.

"You only think about yourself, don't you? You never consider the feelings of others," she said calmly. "Yet there's so much to gain from helping them. Just seeing them happy is enough to warm my heart."

"How cute. But don't you also want to hurt them, destroy them, kill them? Feel the rush, the bloodlust? It's an amazing feeling, one that some people would literally kill for. Let's see how you feel about it after a few missions." He laughed when she paled visibly. "Don't worry, it'll be like a new beginning for you and your friend. At least you'll go through it together. Maybe you'll even fight your other friends, who will surely be delighted to see you again. I need them. I need a worthy opponent. Max Wright is part of my plan, but I wish he'd be a bit more aggressive. I guess Ash and Dawn are my best hope nowadays, especially since Ash somehow managed to survive his encounter with the Okcha Prime."

Upon hearing that Ash was still alive, Eileen finally showed some relief. She had feared that he was dead or captured by his enemies so hearing that he was safe really brightened her mood. It almost made her forget that she was in the enemy's hands, but when he continued, the realization hit her with tremendous force.

"You know, the Okcha Prime has a beautiful ability. It can use the full potential of any body, even those that are unknown to the original owner. In order to do that, it unlocks those talents or at least that's what we read about them." He shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea whether it's true, but the effect on Ash could be most interesting. As far as we know, he won't be able to do everything the Okcha Prime could. However, he should be able to learn a few of those abilities much faster now. The Okcha Prime itself could also prove a real challenge, but let's not talk about this right now. There are a few other things I want to show you since talking to you is so much fun. Follow me."

He turned to move towards his desk, but Eileen didn't follow him.

"Wait!" The tone was demanding, something he didn't expect in this situation. Nevertheless he turned to face her and waited for her to speak up. "Before I go with you, I want you to promise that you won't hurt my brother. He's the only family I have left."

Divine walked up to her slowly with a peculiar smile, kneeled next to her and looked straight into her eyes. It would have been enough to make almost everyone who knew him panic, yet she didn't even flinch. This was interesting, considering Eileen wasn't exactly known for her bravery. But then again, she didn't say those things because she was brave, she said them because she had nothing else to lose. He was tempted to have her brother killed just for that demand, but decided against it. After all, he was way above matters like hurt pride or revenge.

"You know, that's quite a courageous thing to do. You make demands here, in my own office, right in front of me. You know what? I won't kill him. At least I won't send anyone to harm him in any way. If he gets caught in the crossfire, I can't guarantee anything, though. If that's not good enough for you, well, you just have to deal with it." He turned around again so his back was facing her and continued with a voice that didn't allow any opposition. "Now follow me."

Eileen was hesitant to comply even though she knew exactly that she didn't have a choice in that matter. If she refused to do it, he would simply tell the Okcha inside her to do it for her. So she followed him despite being utterly depressed and apathetic. In the end, she decided to pay attention, though, since the knowledge, which he was about to give to her, could prove useful in the future. Divine took an amulet, which had been lying on the desk the whole time unnoticed by the girl. Then he pointed at the ceiling, where a well-hidden button was activated by the psychic powers the amulet gave him. A secret passage behind his desk opened as a result. He led her through it into a huge chamber, which contained a mix of huge machines and old stuff like stone plates. Eileen was so enthralled by the view that she didn't notice the secret door closing again behind her. The air was cold and full of dust, but the room was well-lit at least.

"Welcome to my little museum!" Divine exclaimed spreading his arms. "Everything you can see has been collected over the course of more than ten years. You should feel honored, only few people have seen this yet although I do consider opening an actual museum once I'm in power. It might be an inspiration to young and promising people but enough of that. Let's start our little tour."

The first station was a bunch of stone plates. When they were close enough, Eileen realized that they were full of strange symbols she'd never seen before. In fact, there were so many of them, it looked like a long story was written on them. Noticing her curiosity, Divine spoke up.

"These used to be wall fragments of the last tomb of the Abylassagorian priests. They tell the tale of their culture and history. We learned a lot from them, but it also took a long time to decipher them. Allow me to give you a quick overview." He cleared his throat before continuing. "The island, which has been renamed Abylass recently due to the historical find, is located south of Hoenn. About 6000 years ago, the first settlers arrived and chose it as their new home. The conditions were optimal, since the soil was fertile, there was a river and a lake providing them with a lot of fresh water, and fishing near the coast was profitable. In addition, they were relatively safe from other tribes. Under the natural protection of the sea surrounding them, they grew slowly. However, there were far greater towns on the mainland and they remained unimportant until they made an important discovery."

Next to the stone plates, there was a small table with a piece of cloth on it. He pulled it away, revealing golden jewelry. There were rings, amulets, and other accessories made of gold and adorned with precious gems. Although some of them were rather crude, they still looked valuable and most of them were still of excellent craftsmanship. He took an amulet and held it in front of Eileen's face so that she could see the markings on it.

"Gold. While looking for copper, they found gold instead and even back then, it was in high demand. Word of this huge deposit in the mountain spread quickly, resulting in a lot of trade and new wealth for the Abylassagonarians," he told her with a smile. "People say that wealth is both a blessing and a curse and in this case it was true. Naturally, it attracted enemies like pirates, who were already active near the coast and large towns who wanted to have all the gold for themselves. The people living on the island soon realized that the few warriors they had weren't enough to stand up to so many enemies. There were simply too few true Abylassagonarians, so they needed to find another way to fight large raiding parties. And they found it."

He led there to another table and picked up something that looked like armor made of bronze. However, it was way too small for an adult. Actually, it looked like it didn't fit any human due to its strange shape. It looked really pretty, though, with elegant markings all over the place. Chains connected it to other pieces, which looked similar.

"This armor belonged to a guard. We found it along with the rest. The interesting thing is that it's not made for humans, but for pokémon, marowak to be exact. Yes, they forged armor for pokémon. This one in particular is more of a ceremonial armor and unfit for real battles. There might be proper ones, but all we know is that the Abylassagonarians used pokémon during their wars and were among the first to do it. These extra soldiers gave them a huge advantage, especially since the pokémon could fight where ordinary warriors couldn't. For example, they had water-types destroy enemy ships from underwater. Of course, they didn't have pokéballs back then so the pokémon weren't captured in our sense. Nevertheless, they were essential for the survival of this ancient people and they were soon to become much more." He watched Eileen eye the armor a bit longer, then he continued. "Just defending their island soon wasn't enough. They wanted to get rid of the aggressors once and for all so they took the initiative and conquered them. Compared to other conquerors of that time, they were merciful since they didn't want to wipe out their enemies, they wanted to make them part of their own, new nation. And thus, an empire was born, one of the very first in that part of the world. They were still primitive in the beginning, but they learned from those they defeated, using their discoveries for their own purposes and sometimes finding even more uses for them."

Now he put the armor piece back on the table and went to one of the stone tablets. Unlike the others, this one wasn't just full of text, but there was also a picture of something that looked like a black centipede. Eileen had no idea what it was because she hadn't seen the Okcha Prime's first form.

"One of those discoveries was the Okcha. A primitive tribe living on an island to the south had called those creatures for various rituals. For example, they would let one of their shamans be possessed so that it could talk to the others through him and give them advice. One of those shamans was tortured until he revealed the secret. It's unknown how they had acquired the knowledge in the first place, the texts on the wall only mention that the shaman claimed to have received it from a divine being, which, of course, doesn't really tell us a lot. Nevertheless, the Abylassagonarian priests looked for other ways to use this knowledge and found them. An Okcha can't only possess humans or pokémon, it can also take control of dead bodies," he said casually, making Eileen shiver. The very thought was disturbing.

"You mean ... like zombies?" she asked fearfully.

Someone using an army of possessed pokémon and humans for his purposes was bad enough, but a legion of the dead under command was absolutely terrifying. The girl shivered when she imagined her father and sister trying to kill her because their bodies were possessed.

"Yes, it's an interesting though, isn't it?" he said with a grin. "An army that gets stronger with every kill. At least in theory. The bodies of the dead are too weak, slow, or injured to be used effectively, though, and thus inferior in almost every way. The far better approach is to create bodies for them since the numbers of those are only limited by the amount of resources used in the process. They mentioned that they found something like that, which had also been used for rituals, in another conquered town. Those made crude and relatively weak, but lasting bodies for the Okcha and could take the shape of any pokémon, although they couldn't use their abilities. For that, they had to use real pokémon. However, it was enough for their purposes. You see, the wealth wasn't distributed equally. A tiny part of the people owned most of it and this part consisted of the warriors and priests. The warriors could be described as the nobility among them and they held most of the political and military power. Their leader, the so-called warlord was pretty much a king although he also was dependant on the six generals, who were chosen by the warriors and in turn chose the warlord. They could also remove him from his positions so he needed their support. The priests were a bit different, a high priest was chosen by the others and remained in that position until death. He chose six priests, who carried out his orders. They also had political power, albeit not as much as the warriors, and there were often quarrels between those two groups. The rest on the other hand was often horribly poor and held no power whatsoever. There was only one place where they could truly relax and forget about their troubles. That place was the arena."

There was the model of an arena on a pedestal nearby. It didn't look impressive because of its size and architecture, which looked more primitive than she'd expected.

"Yes, it's small," he told her, sensing her disappointment. "Don't forget, it was built about 3500 years ago. We were able to reconstruct it because of descriptions written by their enemies. As far as we know, the arena battles were free to watch and contained a mix of human soldiers and pokémon. The battles involving slaves or prisoners of war usually ended with the death of a participant, whereas the professional gladiators, who had gone through a lot of training, and the pokémon rarely died in there. If they did, it was rather messy and their numbers were dwindling. When the Okcha were discovered, they replaced a lot of them, sometimes even the dead bodies were ... recycled. This change was necessary as there was also a shortage of normal soldiers. After all, there were rebels and other enemies they had to fight at all times. Therefore the Okcha served two purposes. They provided their masters with an army and helped with the shortage of fighters in the arena. Although it was a rather ... worldly matter, the priests were in charge of the arena battles just like the warriors were in charge of the war efforts. Without the arena battles a revolt would've been likely so you might say that the Okcha saved the empire at that time."

"Wait a moment. How could they control them? Why didn't the Okcha just fight back if they were so important?" Eileen asked.

"I'm glad you asked. It shows that you're paying attention," he said with a smile before telling her the answer. "The shaman they had tortured also told the Abylassagonarian's how to craft items, which would give them some control over the creatures and they forged 14 rings. Seven of them were given to the priests, the rest to the warriors. The high priest and warlord each received one made of gold, the others were made of silver to distinguish them since the golden rings were more powerful. The Okcha, or rather their bodies, were bound to either one of the gold rings or a gold and a silver ring. The orders of the gold ring bearer always had a higher priority, which turned out to be a bad idea later, but let's not talk about it just yet. The common folk probably believed that the Okcha were spirits of the dead or some other superstitious nonsense but the priests knew better. They knew that the creatures came from another world, a completely different dimension. Apart from that, there's little we know. It's certain that there are no individual Okcha, they're more like a lake, flowing, mixing, and dispersing constantly. We always summon a portion of them that act as one for the duration and when their bodies are destroyed, they return to their dimension and their usual state. To put it poetically, they are like drops in an endless ocean of darkness. We also know they're pretty intelligent so the orders have to precise or they might find a way to sabotage our efforts. It seems like their greatest goal is to return home, but the rings prevent them from attacking their bodies or their masters."

"Yes, they told me. You're treating them like slaves and I can feel their anger, their frustration, and their hopelessness. It's painful. You should release them or they'll find a way to destroy you," she warned him, sounding sad, but he just laughed.

"And throw away everything I've worked for? No, my friend. This is not an option. Anyway, back to the priests. They were by far the most educated among the Abylassgonarians. The most interesting part about their religion was the absence of a deity, which was extremely unusual at that time. Most religions had a wide variety of gods or revered nature itself, but the Abylassagonarians believed that every single human possessed a divine spark and could achieve immortality in the afterlife by becoming an embodiment of their ideals. Those ideals are written on the rings. Devotion, humility, compassion, faith, mercy, and knowledge on the priests' silver rings and wisdom on the gold ring." He showed her his ring, which bore an interesting inscription. The fact that he showed her this could only mean that it was the high priest's ring and that he was using it to control the Okcha. "The ring of faith has been destroyed when Shira was killed. Victoria carries the ring of devotion, Seth the ring of mercy, Wraith the ring of compassion, and the ring of knowledge is currently not used by anyone. It was formerly Boris's, but I'm going to give him the ring of humility instead. I love irony. Anyway, the warrior's ideals were courage, passion, determination, loyalty, patience, and pride. The gold ring mentions strength, both physical and mental, as their greatest ideal. Of course, it impossible to live up to all of them, but from it seems like they have never really tried. Most of the common folk followed their old beliefs anyway, since the Abylassagonarians never forced them to convert. It would've only let to more revolts."

"Why would anyone convert if not even the priests followed their own religion?" Eileen asked with a sigh.

"I see you understand. However, there was one ideal they followed and that was knowledge. As I mentioned, the priests were by far the most educated people back then, using almost scientific approaches to everything. Without gods, they believed that everything in nature could be understood and eventually manipulated by mankind. They were not only among the few who could read and write, but there were also accomplished mathematicians, astronomers, and architects, to name just a few of their talents. Unfortunately, most of their knowledge was lost when they died. You can probably imagine that this great civilization had to end at some point and the end was pretty quick. You see, the Abylassagonarians made a lot of mistakes. Mistakes, that would be their undoing."

They walked in walked in a circle to have a look at every stone tablet. As interesting as the history lesson was, Eileen didn't enjoy it too much. As far as she knew, there was no point to it so far and she was away more curious about the machines in the center of the room. Nevertheless, she was going to sit through this and try to remember as much as possible.

"No doubt the biggest mistake was the Okcha Prime, their own creation. The bodies created by the Okcha themselves for this world are highly unstable and will usually dissolve within a second, resulting in them getting banished to their own world again. Therefore we have to create stable bodies for them or at least something like a temporary container. We created those a few weeks ago. They look like black crystals, can contain an Okcha, and releases it if you press the crystal against something. It was a bit challenging to make the crystal itself not serve as a body or we would have lost control of the Okcha. Anyway, the Okcha Prime is different. It can stay in this world permanently and switch bodies as often as it wishes. That's because of something the priests simply called the power source. Somehow, they managed to create a permanent link to the Okcha's home world within a gem, which was in turn connected to an Okcha. It allowed the creature to draw power directly from its world. At first, the link was weak, but it got stronger with time, turning the Okcha Prime into a perfect and almost invincible soldier. However, they failed to realize that their control over it depended on its original body. Boris made the same mistake, but they paid much more dearly." He laughed creepily. "When it was free, it found the power source and absorbed it into its body so that it couldn't be used against it. You can probably imagine what it meant for the world. A living apocalypse was on the loose. But that wasn't the only problem the Abylassagonarians had."

They went to a stone plate with a strange symbol above the usual text. It looked like the sun with a spear through the center.

"This was the warrior's emblem. Their last leader, the warlord Erestopiglat, remained in that position for a very long time, much longer than most of the others. He was said to be charismatic and wise, beloved by the common folk and even had the respect of the priests, which was highly unusual according to those texts. With time, he grew ... weirder, but the generals didn't want to replace him because of his popularity. They were cowards and their fear eventually brought doom upon their nation. For when they finally decided to act, the warlord was already a lunatic, who was clinging to his position. However, he still had enough sense to prepare for this event and killed all of them with the Okcha, who followed only his orders, and destroyed their rings so nobody could use them against him. When the priests and the other warriors found out, they mobilized their troops to stop him, but he had already gathered most of the Okcha bound to him and fought back with all his might. The result was a terrible war in the city on the island. It was Erestopiglat with the warriors' Okcha against the priests' Okcha and the regular army. Even though the warriors had a lot more Okcha than the priests, he was still outnumbered and would have lost quickly if it wasn't for two reasons. As you can imagine, the priests and warriors didn't really trust each other, even when facing a common enemy. However, the bigger reason was the Okcha Prime, who manipulated the conflict from the shadows, helping the warlord whenever it could." He shook his head. "We can only guess its reasons. It could have thought that the other Okcha would simply destroy their bodies instead of helping it in the case of the warlord's death. As long as he lived, they were forced to fight the humans. That way, it managed to turn the tide until most of the priests' defenders were dead. Then it killed Erestopiglat and destroyed his ring. The remaining Okcha were driven into a frenzy and started killing any human and pokémon they could find. Not only that, they also razed the buildings to the ground."

Eileen was shocked, to say the least. Although she could understand the frustration and rage of the Okcha, who had been called to this strange world to serve cruel masters, annihilating an entire island was just too much. After all, most of the people hadn't done anything wrong and shouldn't have been targeted. They had been the true victims of this horrible war.

"Once the priests were aware of the hopelessness of their situation, they stealthily retreated into a hidden chamber built into a mountain with a servant and a few remaining Okcha and sealed the entrance forever. It was to become the last tomb, a place that remained as a proof of their former glory. That's where they wrote down their history, their ideals, their goals, and their doom while the Okcha were busy destroying the city. They had brought a lot of supplies so they had enough time for everything. They died there eventually, but not before telling the Okcha to destroy themselves. As far as we know, the island remained impossible to reach, probably due to remaining Okcha, until there was nothing left. The first humans who arrived found absolutely no trace of the old civilization. You can say what you want about the Okcha, but they were ... thorough. We don't know what happened to the Okcha Prime, though. Nobody ever mentioned it again, so it must have been defeated at some point. The empire was done after the destruction of their capitol, resulting in a lot of new, old nations." He spread his arms and spun. "All that remained of that civilization can be seen here. Of course, there were Abylassagonarians in other places at that time, but they got quickly assimilated by the others, who were quick to forget about their oppressors. Only one of those nations could write down the things they knew and those were hard to believe. An army of soulless beasts? A city that disappeared entirely? Indeed, the others actually wanted to forget about it, so the empire became a legend. Eventually, barely anyone believed that they had ever existed, the story seemed just too ridiculous. There was one archeologist who was utterly obsessed with this ancient empire, though."

She followed Divine to a table near the entrance, on which several newspaper articles were lying. He pointed at one in the center, whose headline read 'Existence of old Abylassagon confirmed'. It described a sensational find on an island, which was recently renamed Abylassagon due to the discovery.

"When I was young, I was already fascinated by that old culture even though it seemed unlikely that it was real. When I heard that a desperate archeologists was looking for someone to fund his excavation on an island he believed to be the original home island of Abylassagon, I decided to give it a try and take the risk. His reasons were believable, but barely anyone listened to him. Of course, I never showed myself to him and my conditions were unfavorable for him, yet he was desperate enough to accept them almost immediately. As I said, there was no trace of the city itself and the war, but the tomb was still there, it was only covered by a landslide. After months, they finally found the entrance and opened it for the first time in thousands of years. I acted swiftly and imprisoned my 'partner' and his men." He laughed when she gave him a disapproving look. "Come on, you didn't really think I was going to share this discovery just yet? I didn't even kill any of them, I just took everything valuable and modified their memories just a little. Now they just know that they've been tricked. No stone plates or rings for them. There's only one thing we left and that was the final stone plate."

Near the entrance, he showed her a small book. It contained everything written on the stone tablets and also a translation. He opened it to reveal the last part, which wasn't on any stone tablet in this room.

"It was a prophecy. According to the priests, a descendant of the Abylassagonarians would eventually show himself and use their old weapons to reestablish their empire and conquer the world once more," he told Eileen.

"Do you believe that? They were just priests, weren't they?" she asked, not believing even one word of it.

"They were also powerful aura users, but they couldn't predict the future. It was simply a final act of defiance, a sign of their unwillingness to accept their end. I guess the thought of vanishing entirely was unbearable to those proud men. That's why they revealed all their secrets on these tablets. They didn't want them to be forgotten forever. There's only one secret they only mentioned and that was how they created the Okcha Prime and the rings, but apart from that, their whole knowledge is at my disposal. " He laughed when he thought about it a bit more. "Who knows? Maybe I'm one of their descendants. In that case, the prophecy would actually be true. A most fascinating thought, isn't it? Of course, the Okcha they used back then wouldn't stand a chance against modern weapons. I needed much stronger soldiers and for that, I needed better technology."

He finally went to the machines in the center and stopped in front of one of the smaller ones. The lower part was massive, probably containing a lot of machinery below the steel walls, although it was still small compared to the others. There was an opening on top of it, which was large enough for a smaller pokémon to fit through it and that was exactly what it was for. Apart from that, she couldn't see anything special about it.

"Not one of my prettiest machines, I admit," he said with a sigh. "However, it was a grand breakthrough. This is the first prototype of what we call Soul Ripper or Essence Ripper. It was made to fulfill an old dream of mankind, the dream to attain a pokémon's power."

He remained silent because he wanted to give her some time to think about the possibilities. Having the psychic powers of an alkazam or the aura powers of a lucario was only the beginning, there was so much more to explore. Walking through solid walls like a ghost-type or transforming like a ditto was the next step. The possibilities were almost endless so for once she was actually curious about how it worked or how he managed to create it.

"I started developing this technology many years ago with a lot of partners. It was difficult to work together with so many people, but the size of this project demanded it. When it became clear that the pokémon, whose essence we wished to collect, had to die in the machine, many of them believed it was not worth it and abandoned us. Fortunately, it was almost finished at that point and we continued to work on it in secret." Now Eileen was disgusted. Those people were definitely right in her opinion as no power in the world could justify sacrificing a pokémon. "I see you don't approve. Believe me, I also would have preferred a less fatal method, but I couldn't let all the work go to waste. And soon we had to deal with another problem. The essence was too unstable to be of any use. We had to find something that could contain it permanently. Therefore we started a lot of experiments, first with materials, then with pokémon. We noticed that the essence of a pokémon could be contained by those of the same type and that a ditto could contain all of them. The next goal was simple, we had to replicate a ditto's body. At first, we expected it to take several years, but much to our surprise, we were done after only half a year. The result was a slimy material, which could contain the essence, but didn't allow us to use it as we needed something a bit more solid for that. We solved this matter via a crystallization process, which turned it into an extremely durable crystal and still left the essence inside. Those are the same crystals we use nowadays. Upon receiving damage, they show a reaction specific to the essence inside. All of them are extremely volatile, though, and even the tiniest crack is enough to render the crystal incapable of further containing the essence. So we had a suitable container, but now there was another problem, we couldn't use the crystal because of its structure."

Eileen had no idea what it meant nor was she interested in the technical details. However, she had to get through that in order to get to the interesting part.

"We knew that the Okcha had the ability to unlock potential, which was the reason they could be so strong in different bodies. They could also be used as a link between the crystal and the human, allowing him to use its power. This could be achieved by either placing it in the crystal or the human with each option having its advantages. You can probably imagine that it's not exactly in my interests to allow one of them to possess me." He sniggered before continuing. "Anyway, the material in its original form proved suitable to create bodies for the Okcha. With the essence of a ditto, it could be stimulated to take a certain shape."

He pointed at two identical machines nearby, which consisted of two large glass tubes and metal parts at the lower and upper section. Strange hoses and cables were lying on the ground inside. Considering that, she was sure that the tube usually contained water.

"One of the machines was to be filled with the infused material and a lot of water, the other one was to contain the body, whose shape it had to take. With the cables attached to them, it usually took only a few seconds and created a perfect copy. The Okcha was sent in there right after. These bodies worked just as well as the original and even lacked an aura, which made detection much more difficult. The only real disadvantage is a relatively fast, natural degeneration process, depending on the quality of the material used in its creation. Light-based moves like solar beam or signal beam can make it even worse, so we tried to discourage the use of those moves by using mostly pokémon who are highly resistant to those moves. Apart from that, we also had to consider the material requirements. Large and heavy bodies are extremely expensive so ghost- and flying-types are usually the most efficient." He finally went to the last machine, which was a bit smaller and cylindrical, but not covered by large metal armor, allowing them to see all the technology inside. Although Eileen wasn't obsessed with things like that, she still found it fascinating and took her time to look where every cable went. "This is used to call the Okcha. I must admit this first prototype was extremely inefficient as it needed extraordinary amounts of energy for only one Okcha. I don't know how the Abylassagonarians did it, but we couldn't afford to call more than a few dozen at first. Thanks to Shira's efforts, we eventually found a way to reduce the energy requirement by 95%. Too bad this operation also involved her death."

Eileen knew about Shira's demise, but she had always thought that it was the result of something having gone terribly wrong. Now she realized that it hadn't been an accident. Of course, since she was working for him now, this didn't bode well for her. She didn't have the opportunity to think about it just yet since the tour was over and she had to follow him back to his office. Although it was much easier to breath there she would have preferred to have a closer look at the last machine.

"We're done here, my friend. Now it's time for your first mission," Divine said to her.

"Wait, there's something I want to know first. Why did you show me all of this?" she asked.

"That's a good question." He sat down and folded his arms. "All that knowledge isn't dangerous so even if you get captured by the enemy, you won't be of any use to them. But I guess that's not enough. Do you realize how frustrating it is to create so much without anyone appreciating or even realizing it? It drove me mad. Who could possibly be the one? Victoria? She doesn't have the brains to understand. Boris? He's no idiot, but lacks foresight. Wraith? She's just a pawn. Seth? I don't trust people, whose thoughts I can't read with my pretty amulet. Shira was as close as anyone could get, but her ambition got in her way. You know, she was like a daughter at times, but every daughter needs to know her limits. But let's not talk about her anymore. I see great potential in you. We'll see whether you'll live up to my expectations."

He couldn't help but feel something like regret, not because he'd killed Shira, but because he had chosen her in the first place. He'd wanted her to become his right hand, a perfect commander, but now he had to admit that she was a failure, his greatest disappointment. But maybe not everything was lost as now had someone else to turn into his new favorite project. This one was so different from him that breaking her would mean that he could break pretty much everyone.

"Okcha, retake control." Although there was no way of telling whether Eileen was possessed again, he wasn't worried about it. After all, the Okcha had to obey. "Go to Wraith's room. If you don't know where it is, just ask a guard. Support her in any way you can. I believe she's still trying to get rid of a particularly slippery grunt. But before you go ..."

He waved his hand, causing a silver ring with a blue aura and a black glove with a clear gem appear in front of him. He motioned for her to extend her hand and the Okcha complied, allowing him to place them on her hand with his amulet. The inscription on the ring was similar to the texts on the stone tablets in the museum chamber. When he nodded, the Okcha took it as a sign to put them on and obeyed without hesitation. Although the power of the gem on the glove surged through Eileen's body immediately, it would take a while for the Okcha to master its new abilities.

"The inscription means knowledge. Regard it as a sign of trust. With time, you'll get to command some Okcha, but first you've got to complete Wraith's mission. Now go." The Okcha understood and attempted to leave. When it reached the door, he cleared his throat. "One more thing. I grant you permission to let her see everything after this conversation, even the most awful deeds. Influence her. Give her a slight push when she hesitates, but don't assume full control unless it's absolutely necessary. I want her to believe that everything she does is her own doing, even if it's not."

It nodded and since it looked like it was the last order, the Okcha left to ask a nearby guard for directions. Divine watched its departure with a smug look. He could have told Eileen so much more, but then he would have to be much more careful and that was something he absolutely loathed. His absol became visible next to his chair, allowing him to pet it.

"You know, this waiting is literally killing me, but the girl could make the extra wait worthwhile. I love a good challenge. I wonder whether she can be turned into a loyal servant without that beast inside." He scratched his chin with the one hand while Absol was rubbing its head against the other. "We'll see, we'll see."

He could already imagine what would be her final task. Asking her to kill her brother would be a suitable way of testing her loyalty.

Finding Wraith's room was no problem with the help of the guards. The Okcha knocked on the door, which was opened a few seconds later. Wraith was blocking entry with a tired expression since she'd just returned from her latest attempt. Eileen, who could see everything due to Divine's orders, would've thought that Wraith had been caught during the sleep if she hadn't been fully clothed. When the older girl recognized Eileen, her expression changed from tired to curious, yet still a bit bored.

"We're here to help with a mission," the Okcha said, making Wraith raise an eyebrow.

"We? I see, another Okcha." She shook her head. "Boss should have told you to speak properly."

"We ... I must know what the mission is about. The master didn't tell me any details," it told her.

"And why does he think I need any help from little girls?" she asked.

"Look who's talking." Wraith didn't expect a remark like that and took a step back before she noticed the ring on Eileen's finger. "Tell me about the mission. Now!"

"A ring. He must be desperate to turn you into one of his chosen." She looked the Okcha straight in the eyes, narrowing hers. "I don't care who you are. You can try to complete the mission before I do, but you'll fail. The target is a fugitive grunt, who's probably hiding somewhere around Lavender Town."

The Okcha gave her a long, pondering look, wondering whether she was trying to fool it by giving wrong information or not telling everything, but everything seemed to be in order. Without another word, it turned on the spot and left. Wraith closed the door violently and tried to get a bit of rest before her next try. Without support from Divine, this mission was almost impossible to complete, but the Okcha wasn't the kind of support she wanted. It was more of an insult to her and she was going to work even harder to prove her worth. For some reason, she couldn't stand the girl even though she didn't even know her, only the creature inside her.

* * *

 **He was dying to tell someone. Now I have to warn you. The next chapter will contain heavy topics like suicide.**


	63. Ultimate Punishment

**Once again the warning. This chapter contains heavy themes like suicide. Read at your own risk.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 63 Ultimate Punishment

It was a most unusual morning at Pallet Town. Professor Oak had allowed all of Ash's and Dawn's pokémon to leave the lab for a few hours. The occasion was unique and none of them wanted to miss it for whatever reason. The weather was perfect for the season with sun shining brightly and warming the cold air a little and the few clouds in the sky couldn't stop it for a long time. Everyone gathered in the garden behind the house although it was way too small for all of them. The large pokémon allowed the smaller ones to see everything by standing further behind and watched a few pokémon and their trainers dig two holes in the ground. It was Durant's and Leafeon's funeral and they were going to bury them in the garden they loved so much and plant a tree on each grave. Apart from the wind, the sound of she shovels, and Milotic's sad and echoing song, which had a calming effect on everyone present, it was silent. Most of them tried to appear strong, but there were also a few who were crying silently and had trouble resisting the urge to run away and others had to find comfort in their friends' arms. Despite the fact that many pokémon hadn't known the two as well as they wished now, they were just as sad as the others. After all, this was an entirely new experience for them. Two of their friends were dead, fallen in battle. As soon as the holes were deep enough, Ash and opened two boxes next to them and took out the remains of Durant and Leafeon before placing them inside the holes along with tree seeds. A few pokémon saluted during that scene, then Dawn stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Oh, this is even more difficult than imagined." Her voice was shaky and she had to take a few deep breaths before she could continue. "We've gathered here to honor the lives of two dear friends, Leafeon and Durant. Your lives ended way too early, you still had so much to see, to hear, to live through, but a merciless and cruel enemy not only put an end to your hopes and ambitions, but also left us behind in tears. We'll miss you and nobody will be able to replace you, but we won't let sadness or anger ruin our lives. We know you wouldn't want that. Our lives will go and we won't give up on our dreams so that you can be proud of your trainers." She wiped a tear away. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. It's a trainer's foremost duty to ensure the pokémon's safety, a duty I failed to fulfill. However, I promise you to do my best to prevent it from happening ever again. Leafeon, you were among my youngest pokémon and close to Espeon, so your death came as a particularly horrible shock. We know you weren't the most sociable pokémon, but know that you'll be dearly missed by everyone here. I ... sorry, this is so difficult even though I prepared for it. Leafeon and Durant, we'll never forget you. I hope you're at peace, wherever you are right now."

She moved a bit towards Ash, who felt that she needed him and embraced her rightly. In this position, she could finally let some tears flow while he was rubbing her back. Even Milotic had stopped her song and was just staring at the ground with a blank look, just like some other pokémon, who usually looked like nothing could get to them. This event, however, had affected all of them. Now they knew that even after all their training, they were far from invincible, and death was much closer than they wanted.

"I never thought I'd have to do something like this," Dawn said between the sobs. "There was still so much they wanted to do ... I'm ... fine. You can speak to them now."

"Are you sure?" he asked, wiping a tear off her face.

"I am. Now go before you forget your text," she replied with the biggest smile she could muster, which wasn't much, though.

Ash stepped in front of the graves and just stood there for a few moments. It was clear that he wasn't comfortable in this situation, but he was determined to do his best. It was the least he could do for the fallen pokémon.

"I must admit, I'm not too good at this." His voice was unusually quiet. "I would've never imagined that they'd leave us so soon, but it happened. Dawn shouldn't blame herself, there was nothing she could have done. If anything, it was my fault. My weakness allowed the enemy to take two dear friends from us. It was a despicable deed and it won't go unpunished. We'll find the guilty and make him pay. But we must also make sure that it'll never happen again. We must become stronger. Much stronger. Their deaths remind us that we're vulnerable, that danger is never far away. If we're not careful, anyone might be next, but if we stand together, we'll be victorious. So let's not dwell in the past, we're still here and would shame our friends if we let anything prevent us from living our lives to the fullest like they did. Many of you knew Durant as a pokémon, who could both take responsibility and do the most common tasks because she believed that any kind of experience and training could make us stronger. She was hard on herself, and on others, from whom she expected just as much. She was a queen, a partner, a friend. Just like Leafeon, she'll never be forgotten. Farewell, my friends." His voice cracked. "You ... you will be avenged, I promise you."

Then it was time to finish it by filling the graves with earth, a task that was done by the trainers and few pokémon. After that, nobody really knew what to do as they didn't want to appear rude by being the first to leave, but that's what most of them wanted since the atmosphere was depressing. Ash and Dawn felt the same way and they were just sitting next to the graves, staring at nothing in particular. Both of them understood that they needed some time on their own to think about the events. With time, more and more pokémon went into the house to escape the sun. They noticed a call on the videophone and informed their trainers, who were almost glad about the distraction from their worries. The call was from Johto and there was only one of their closer friends who was currently in that region, yet they were still surprised to see Serena's face on the screen.

"I was worried you wouldn't answer," she exclaimed. "Ash, I read you were missing and Dawn got attacked by ... I forgot that, but there a lot of people who got attacked at the same time."

"You read about it?" Dawn raised an eyebrow.

"Well, someone else read about it and told me, but that's not important," Serena corrected. "I believe you're in danger and I'll return to Kanto."

Ash and Dawn looked at each other in disbelief, wondering what had gotten into the girl. After all, there was nothing she could do, or at least nothing they couldn't do themselves. If anything, she would only harm them by putting herself in danger and providing another target to their enemies. They hadn't even dealt with Eileen's disappearance just yet, so losing another friend would make matters so much worse.

"What? No! No! Stay in Johto, we can handle everything here," Ash shouted even though he already knew it was futile.

"Don't be silly, you need all the help you can get. Besides, Johto is horribly boring. Can't wait to see you two again. Same with May, Cat, Marcus, and Eileen," Serena said, making the others pale. "Anyway, see you."

"No, wait! You ..." They tried to stop her, but the screen was blank before they could interfere.

It was impossible to say what would happen when she got to know about Cat's and Eileen's fates, but it wasn't going to be pleasant. Ash and Dawn looked at each other with worry clear in their eyes. This was a bad turn of events for them and if other decided to do the same, it would be even worse, especially since there absolutely nothing they could do about it. Dawn was beginning to think that staying with the international police would have been the smarter choice, but she didn't want to blame Ash, who was already having doubts about his decision.

"Damn it!" he yelled, punching the wall next to the videophone. "Why does everyone treat us like children? I don't need their help."

"Calm down, they mean well," Dawn told him with a miserable look. "This morning is already depressing enough."

They went to the living room, where quite a lot of pokémon were already resting. Since the motivation to train was currently low, even in Ash's case, they wished to spend the morning at home. What they would do there was a completely different, as they still didn't have a TV or PC at home again, and the pokémon weren't in the mood to play, which was understandable after the funeral. It didn't really matter to them as Ash and Dawn also didn't have the motivation to do that. They just looked for something to read or something that could distract them at least for a few minutes and sat down.

Somehow they managed to spend an entire hour that way. Only each other's and their pokémon's presence was giving them comfort, while more and more of them were returning to the Oak lab until only their current team remained. Ash's consisted of Pikachu, Lucario, Floatzel, Emboar, Unfezant, and Gallade. Prinplup, Buneary, Lucario, Alakazam, Ninetales, and Shaymin were on Dawn's team. It was unusual for both of them to have their lucario and a psychic-type with them, but it wasn't without reason. Ash had some special training in mind, for which Lucario was essential. Dawn had both Lucario and Alakazam in her team because of arguments betweenthe two pokémon . They had been at odds ever since the incident with the Okcha, but lately, they had begun to fight each other occasionally. Dawn couldn't tolerate this kind of behavior and tried to make them work together and so far, it seemed to work although it was impossible to say what they were doing while she was turning her back on them. It was almost time to make dinner when Ash and Dawn suddenly heard laughter in their heads. It was twisted and reminded Ash of the voice he had heard after the nightmares. They got up along with their pokémon, who seemed to be able to hear it as well.

"We have a message from the master for them. The one they know as Oak is in danger and they need to hurry." There was a pause, during which everyone was just looking at each other with doubt in their eyes, then the voice returned. "Our mission is complete. Let darkness take its course!"

Before they could wonder what it meant by that, a gengar moved out of a wall nearby and formed a shadow ball in its right hand. Ninetales was closer than the others and quickly shot a dark pulse at it, which did some damage and dissolved the shadow ball. The gengar reacted by moving back into the wall to prepare a sneak attack.

"Lucario, use aura bubble!" Ash shouted.

"Ninetales, create a dark field!" Dawn commanded.

The shield was strong enough to protect them from any attack by a single pokémon like gengar, so they were safe from the moment and even in the case of reinforcements arriving. Although the dark field created by a dark pulse spreading all over the ground usually couldn't prevent a ghost-type from moving through solid objects, it caused considerable pain and damage, which forced them to reveal themselves within seconds. In this case, it reappeared on the other side of the room.

"It's another one of those monsters without aura," Ash's lucario told him.

"Then there's no need to hold back. Unfezant, use razor wing!" Like so many of moves created by Ash, this one was straightforward and extremely efficient. It not only dealt a lot of damage, but also had a high chance of making a critical hit. Only the accuracy was a let-down. Using her wing like a sword, Unfezant made a single slash at gengar, who dodged it and tried to retaliate by using hypnosis. "Counter with whirling defense!" Unfezant was able to spin even while flying and reflected Gengar's move with her wings. The surprised creature got hit and fell asleep almost immediately, which allowed the flying-type to hit it with razor wing, cutting its body in half. The remains quickly turned to ashes.

It appeared that this Okcha was really on its own, a simple messenger, although a messenger usually didn't attack after the delivery.

"You heard what it said?" Dawn finally asked. "Do you think it's a trap?"

"Probably," Ash muttered, looking at the wall. "But what if it's right? We can't take that chance."

"I agree." Dawn addressed the pokémon. "Did you hear everything?"

They all nodded, so they gathered for the teleportation. Gallade and Alkazam quickly agreed that Gallade should be the one to do it, so they waited for him to do it. When nothing happened, everyone looked at the psychic-type.

"Something is wrong. Ninetales, are you still maintaining the dark field?" he told everyone telepathically.

The fire-type shook her head, making Ash scratch his chin.

"Maybe it's still active?" he suggested, but Alakazam disagreed.

"Impossible. Dark fields disperse within seconds, so Ninetales being the source is highly unlikely, if not impossible. Allow me to focus for a moment." She sat down and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, they opened again. "It's coming from the Oak lab. Although it's weak here, the range is still impressive. If the source is really at the Oak lab, the pokémon producing it must be quite powerful. We should proceed with caution."

Ash nodded and turned to everybody present.

"Alright, whatever they're doing there, it looks like they don't want anyone to interfere." He sighed- "We have to walk this time. Let's go."

Fortunately, their house was close to the lab, allowing them to reach it within a few minutes, even on foot. Now they could only hope that those few minutes wouldn't make all the difference.

Professor Oak was taking a few notes on a recent experiment inside his lab, when he heard something outside. At first, it sounded like a few pokémon were playing a bit too roughly, but he soon realized that it was a real fight. Even worse, there was the sound of glass shattering and items falling on the ground coming from the next room. He wasn't sure where to go first and didn't get the opportunity to think about it as the doors to both places opened at the same time. A young woman with long, curly, brown hair and a gun in her hand entered from outside. It looked like she was extremely nervous, even fearful. A zoroark was right behind her, breathing heavily, which could mean that it had been fighting outside. A mega garedvoir was standing behind the other door, giving him a challenging look and blocking the way. It was clear that they meant trouble.

"Zoroark, we don't need company. Create a huge dark field," Victoria commanded, and the pokémon obliged by shooting a dark pulse directly at the ground below it after entering the lab. "Now let's get this over with."

She didn't sound like she was enjoying her mission or even wanted to be here. In fact, there was something in her voice that showed great fear. The pokémon on the other hand looked confident and were probably ready to do anything. As long as Oak could talk to their master, though, there was hope for him and the lab.

"What are you doing here? What was that sound?"he asked her.

"My pokémon just knocked out every possible witness. Don't worry, they'll be fine." She looked away. "You on the other hand ..." She called out a weavile.

"What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself!" the professor demanded with all the courage he could muster.

Weavlie was walking up to him, but then she called it back for some reason. Even now, she wasn't willing to look the professor straight in the eyes and her voice was little more than a whisper. It also sounded monotonous and sad.

"We know what you're up to. You won't get to use your weapons against us," she told him, sounding like she didn't believe her own words.

"Weapons? What are you talking about?" he asked incredulously.

"You're working for the international police." It sounded like she was just repeating something she had been told. "You're developing weaponry for them."

"That's nonsense!" Oak's strong reaction made her back off a little. Obviously, she hadn't expected the old man to put up that kind of resistance. "This laboratory is dedicated to studying pokémon and their behavior, nothing else. Especially not weapons! I don't know where you got that information and I don't care, but you should return there and tell those liars not to ruin my good name with those pathetic accusations!"

He even took a few steps towards Victoria to intimidate her further, but stopped when Weavile stepped between them with its claws extended. Gardevoir was looking at its trainer expectantly while Zoroark was still maintaining the dark field. Obviously, the pokémon wouldn't harm him without a direct order, so Oak believed that he could talk to her until help arrived. After all, he couldn't possibly fight her and had to rely on others for that.

"But ... it said ... it said that you're working on a death ray of some sort," Victoria stammered.

"Are you crazy? Think about it. If I worked for the international police, do you think they'd let me work here, without any protection?" He shook his head. "No, we're doing important, but harmless research here."

Now Victoria had even more doubts than before. The whole mess had started with a possessed guard approaching her after a medical checkup on her pokémon. Usually, Divine gave her the missions personally, but this time, he'd left this task to a mere Okcha. In addition, he'd sent her on this mission on her own and asked her to leave her illusion mask behind, her most potent tool and weapon. But that wasn't the only thing that was bothering her. She had seen Eileen with a silver ring similar to her own in the base, and ever since that event, she's been afraid, afraid of getting fired, afraid of losing everything again. Somehow, it was always like this. Whenever there was a success in her life, something else brought her down again. In this case, she had successfully completed her revenge, only to receive a mission that felt like it was to be her last. She was tired, tired of all the insecurity and her own thoughts. Ever since she'd seen the new girl, her own mind had been telling her all the nasty things she didn't dare to speak out loud, all the fears that were turning her existence into a living hell. Maybe what Boris told her once was true. Maybe she really was her own worst enemy.

"Did I ... get a wrong message? Or did I just hear wrong? Did it say Birch? No, that doesn't sound anything like Oak. But it said Pallet Town, right? Right?" Oak wasn't sure whether she was talking to him or to herself and he wasn't going to interrupt her. "Or ... did the others send it to get rid of me? Does that girl wish to take my place? I ... better ask the boss."

She took a small phone-like communication device out of a pocket and activated it. She hoped that he'd give her enough time to explain as it was only meant for emergencies. It was vibrating for a few seconds, then it stopped, which meant that she could talk to him.

"Boss? Uh, I have a question." Since there was no answer, she continued. "Well, you asked me to eliminate a professor and I thought it was Oak, but now I'm not sure anymore because he said that he doesn't have anything to do with weapons, and it doesn't make sense that he's so defenseless out here. And now ... well, I'd like confirmation that he's the real target."

She expected an answer, yet she could hear only laughter. It sounded maniacal to her, it was like he was mocking her. When he was finally done, he spoke to her with a twisted voice, made unrecognizable by the technology used in his own device. Even she wouldn't have been able to tell it was him.

"My dear Victoria. Just why am I not surprised about your call?" She didn't found his amusing tone too encouraging. "Really, all the others would have killed him by now without asking any questions. Most of them wouldn't even have let him say one word. But you aren't like the others, are you? You've always been special. Not necessarily the good kind."

The words hurt her more than any weapon possibly could. There was a pain in her chest, that she knew all too well, but with a massively increased intensity. For a moment, she was even close to fainting, but managed to prevent it just in time. This wasn't how she wanted it to end, she wanted to defend herself against his accusations and was about to say something when the three doors leading to this room opened at the same time. The first one revealed a pikachu and floatzel, the second one a ninetlase and a shaymin in air forme, but the third, which lead outside, had the most shocking revelation. Dawn was standing there, breathing heavily, and with a grim look on her face. Others, including Ash, were approaching as well. There was no denying it, she was trapped.

"You stop right now!" Dawn yelled.

Since she was leaning against the door for support, Victoria concluded that she'd been running to the lab. This, combined with the simultaneous appearance of the pokémon, could only mean that they knew about this operation, and there was only one person who could have told them. It was a trap, not for Ash and Dawn, but for Victoria, who was unable to escape now. Her shock resulted in a few seconds of paralysis, during which her enemies surrounded her. When she was finally ready to act again, she heard laughter coming from her communication device.

"I can hear them. They're finally here, aren't they? Just wait a moment." There was a sudden flash of light next to Victoria. Divine was there, accompanied by two gardevoir and a bisharp. "So glad to see you again. I'm sorry about Boris's terrible deeds. He'll be punished for that. But this is not about him."

"How the hell did you get here?" Ash asked, breathing just as heavily as Dawn.

"That remains my little secret. Bisharp, please keep our dear professor in check." It got hold of him, holding his arms dangerously close to his neck. "Now we should have an easier time talking. Unless you want something to happen to him. Viccy, I'm afraid the information you received was not entirely correct. I'm sure the international police is working on new weapons, our professor here isn't involved in any way. I just needed a halfway believable reason to send you to a place, where Ash and Dawn would follow you. I knew they couldn't just let him die."

"You sick bastard!" Ash yelled angrily. "Is this just another game for you?"

He responded with a laughter that sent chills down their spine. Especially Victoria was suffering a lot from it and could barely move at all.

"Come on, life is a game. More importantly, life is chaos. Some people never get a chance. They get born in a warzone and destroyed by a grenade. Others survive, but that's pretty much everything they can achieve because their circumstances don't allow for more. Others on the other hand are born into rich families, enjoying the best possible education, and at least don't have any financial problems. However, a fortune doesn't protect them from hereditary diseases or the like. Yes, life is unfair and completely random. Or maybe that makes it fair again? I'll leave that question to philosophers." He shrugged. "Soon there'll be other random elements, but that's not important for you right now. Do you even realize how lucky you are? You have loving families with enough money so that you can pursue your ambitions. You have a lot of supportive friends and pokémon, but most importantly, you have each other. How big are the chances of meeting someone so similar to yourself in the right aspects this early in your life? Not only that, but you also have an impressive amount of skills and the passion to put them to good use. I admit, Victoria also has talents, but fear and depression prevent her from reaching her limits. At least the fear can be used. Without it she would never get anything done."

Ash and Dawn couldn't help but feel pity for Victoria, who was a real mess right now. Even though she had been their enemy and done some bad things, she didn't deserve such a treatment, nobody did. The way she was looking at nothing in particular with that hollow look was disturbing, to say the least. It was hard to say how much more she would be able to take from him. Her skin was already pale and her whole body was shaking. It was then that they decided to protect her from his verbal attacks.

"Don't talk about anyone like that!" Dawn said with an angry expression. "What kind of despicable human being would use another one's fear for his own goals? That's disgusting."

"You shouldn't let him talk to you like that," Ash added, talking to Victoria. "I don't know why you're working for him, but there's got to be another option."

They weren't sure whether Victoria was even listening as she was just clutching the device while staring at them with a blank look. Hopelessness and fear were clear in her eyes, but she didn't answer.

"Don't bother." Divine said, sounding bored. "People like Victoria are made to serve, not to make their own decisions. Tools, you might say. When I took her in, when I gave her the chance to become something else I hoped she'd use it. In a way, she did better than I expected and I'm glad about my decision. Always remember. A seemingly small kindness can go a long way. But you, you have the potential to become much more. More than mere champions. More than presidents, kings, or queens. Join me, and feel true power. Power to protect your loved ones. After all, I don't want you be separated as you're much stronger together. What do you think?"

"I'd rather die," Ash hissed.

"I guess the girl's answer is the same. A pity. Don't you want to see Eileen again?" There was a moment of silence, during which they tried to comprehend what he was trying to say. "Oh, you don't know she's with me?"

It wasn't unexpected by any means, but still a shock for them. A sweet and innocent child in the hands of someone like Divine was a gruesome situation. Marcus probably didn't know about it yet, and they certainly weren't looking forward to telling him, especially considering his actions whenever someone close to him got in trouble.

"You abducted her?" Ash's voice was calm, but he was clearly angry at the same time.

"Let her go now!" Dawn demanded with equal fury.

"Let her go? Abducted? I'm afraid you misunderstand . I didn't have her abducted. She joined me willingly. In fact, she was the one who had the idea. Such a talented, smart girl, I sure as hell won't let her go," he told them. "If you want her, you have to come as well. But let's drop the subject. You won't see her again too soon and this right now isn't about you, me, or Eileen. No, this is about Victoria. It's her test and hers alone."

Everyone looked at her again. She raised her head with a fearful expression as she knew that his tests were difficult and failure was always punished badly. In her case, it might easily be death. First, she had to listen to his instructions, though.

"I appreciate your services. I really do, even though the others usually performed better. But you know what really made me consider this? Your behavior when Boris betrayed me. Even before I gave the order, you cowered in fear even though you could've defeated him with your team." It was the first time she heard him sounding genuinely disappointed. "Anyway, you were funny to keep around, so I'll give you a final chance to redeem yourself." Victoria blocked out everything else so that she wouldn't miss a single detail. Her life depended on it. "If you succeed, you'll not only be welcomed back, but you'll also become my new favorite. If you fail on the other hand ... well, let's just say I expect you to do the right thing. Your task is simple. Defeat them, escape from the lab and return to the base. You can do whatever you want to Oak, he's not important. Just do it and everything will be fine."

"But ... that means I have to defeat Ash and Dawn at the same time. And we're at the lab so they can even call their other pokémon. That's impossible!" she complained desperately.

"I never said it was easy. But the price is high so it must be difficult, doesn't it?" he asked, chuckling. "Now let's get to the second test. Ash, Dawn, this one is for you. It's not even difficult. All you have to do is to kill Victoria."

Everyone froze, including the professor. This seemed like an odd request, and combined with the test for Victoria it felt like a competition, though one in their favor. Victoria was more devastated than ever, looking at him pleadingly.

"Why should we do that?" Ash finally asked.

"Because otherwise your dear professor will be killed instead." There had to be a catch and this one was huge. "Come on, it should be an easy decision. One enemy who's been pestering you for months now for a lifelong friend and mentor. Sounds like a good trade to me. You have five seconds."

It would be an insanely easy thing to do as even Victoria's pokémon seemed to be paralyzed. Logic dictated that they had to do it, yet they hesitated. By doing it, they'd become willing participants in Divine's murderous games.

"Wait! You can't make us do this. This is your own servant." Ash helplessly tried to bargain while Divine was counting to zero with his left hand. "Stop! This is going ..."

When the last second passed, Bisharp slit Oak's throat without hesitation, much to the others' horror. His body fell to the ground, and the blood started to spread on the floor unhindered. Dawn cried out, and had to be held back by Ash, who also had tears in his eyes.

"How could you do this? Don't you see how evil he is?" Ash shouted at Bisharp. "Attack!"

Without the hostage, there was no need to hold back. The pokémon unleashed their most powerful ranged attacks on Divine and Bisharp, yet they vanished when getting close. There was no shield to block or absorb the attacks, they simply disappeared. Divine seemed to ignore them entirely.

"Disappointing. It wasn't even a decision between two friends, yet you still couldn't do what needed to be done." Divine shook his head. "By the way, Bisharp is just like me, so if you consider me evil, you should consider it evil as well."

"There are no evil pokémon, only bad trainers," Ash retorted, glaring at him.

"That's where you're wrong. Assuming someone you consider evil does something you consider bad, and the pokémon complies, then there are two possibilities. Either it's not intelligent enough to understand the nature of its deeds, in which case it's little more than a tool, not an ally, but I'm sure you don't agree with this one. The other possibility is that it's aware of its actions, yet chooses to do it anyway. Why? Are they afraid? Or do they enjoy it? As someone famous once said, those letting bad things happen are just as bad those doing it. And the pokémon actively do it." He looked at them like a teacher having taught them a lesson. "They're intelligent beings, and they too can respond negatively to abuse, or be darker in nature. Now it's time for me to go. Goodbye."

With another flash he and his pokémon disappeared before he could be attacked. Even though Ash and Dawn had lost someone close to them, they didn't look nearly as devastated as the one they were supposed to kill. They couldn't help but pity her, even though she was technically their enemy. The woman had done bad things, but didn't deserve everything that had happened to her. Her pokémon had been killed, she had been treated like dirt and betrayed by her boss. Now she was standing in front of them, hopeless and broken, but not willing to surrender just yet.

"Things have been going downhill ... ever since you appeared." Her voice was shaking, but they couldn't see her face because her head was lowered. "The respect, the dignity, the security, my home, all gone. And then he even asked you to kill me. It's because of you. It's your fault." She raised her head, revealing tears in her eyes and an infernal rage that made even the braver pokémon in the room took a step back. Despite that, her voice was still remarkably calm, but it quickly rose. "You took it away! You're the reason for my misery! I'll crush you and then everything will go back to normal. Everything will be fine, oh yes."

The poor woman sounded completely crazy, but also ready to fight till the bitter end. Dawn tried to reason with her, believing that they could settle this without a fight.

"Please calm down," she pleaded. "There's no need to ..."

"Kill them! Slaughter them all! I want those two and their pokémon dead!" Victoria screamed with a strange, blue glow around her eyes. Her pokémon had the same glow, except for Gardevoir, who moved behind its trainer and built up powerful barrier around them. Then her trainer pulled several pokéballs out of her pockets with her now free hand and called out those inside. Ash and Dawn were facing a group consisting of Zoroark, Weavile, Exeggutor, Drapion, Crawdaunt, Mandibuzz, Medicham, and Sigilyph. "I hate you! I hate you! You must die!"

The pokémon charged at Ash and Dawn directly with an incredible fury. However, the attacks were uncoordinated and the assailants were even standing in each other's way since every single one was trying to attack in melee, blinded by rage. Nevertheless, the attack was brutal and caught them by surprise. The aura bubble created by Lucario was about to break, when his allies launched a counterattack. Due to the urgency, they didn't even wait for orders, and simply unleashed their most powerful area attacks. A combination of Floatzel's whirlpool and Ninetales' fire spin prevented Victoria's pokémon from escaping while Pikachu's thunder, Emboar's flamethrower, Buneary's blizzard, and Shaymin's seed flare were wrecking anything and anyone inside. The force of the moves was enough to shatter the shield and push everyone back to the door, but Victoria's pokémon were hit much harder as they were revealed to be unconscious when the smoke cleared. Lucario sank to his knees, just like Victoria, who finally lost the last bit of hope she had left. Only Gardevoir remained to maintain the barrier around them. To everyone's surprise, Victoria got up again and put on a smile before laughing. If it wasn't for the dire situation, it could have easily been mistaken for a merry laugh, which only made it creepier than it already was.

"Funny, isn't it? I really believed I could trust him. I guess I was wrong. As usual. But guess what? It's alright. It's not like I'm not used to disappointments. A smile can fix everything." She tilted her head. "Why the gloomy look? You've won. I'll never bother you again. Oh, and I guess you get my ring. Here, it's all yours."

She removed the ring from her finger with her mouth since she didn't want to drop the gun and let fall onto the ground. Ash and Dawn had no idea what she was talking about and just gave her sympathetic looks, which she didn't seem to notice.

"I guess it's time to leave this cold place." She raised the gun and pointed it at her own head, but hesitated to finish it.

"Wait!" Ash and Dawn protested simultaneously.

"You can't do that," Dawn exclaimed.

"There's got to be another way," Ash added.

They tried to get closer, but froze when Victoria told them to stop.

"One more step and I'll do it," she threatened them. "And no, there's no other way. I've tried everything. Everything. Nothing worked. Smile. Life is great. There's a place in the world for everyone. That's what they said, and I believed them, smiling all the time, but I haven't found mine. I guess it's not in this world. Why should it be? I'm pathetic."

"Don't say something like that about yourself. It's not true and you know it." There was no way they could break Gardevoir's barrier quickly enough, so Dawn tried to reason with her. "You may have done some bad things, but that doesn't mean it's over. I'm sure you'll be given another chance if you cooperate with the police."

"Life is a gift. Don't just throw it away like this," Ash pleaded.

This made Victoria angry. Her smile faded and got replaced by a cold look, that fit her current situation much better.

"Gift? Gift? You call this a gift? All that misery I had to get through? It's not a gift, it's a punishment, I say. Besides, I've already gone too far. There's no turning back for me," she said with a slightly sad tone.

Ash and Dawn realized that they had to be careful or they might provoke a fatal reaction. Gardevoir couldn't keep up the barrier forever so they needed to prevent Victoria from doing it until that happened and then disarm her. It wasn't going to be easy, though, as she was understandably upset.

"There must be a place for you, a place where you can return. What about your friends? Your family?" Ash asked, trying to calm her down.

"Friends? I don't have friends. I never had any. Who would want to be friends with the weird, depressed kid? And family? My parents ... always supported me." A pained expression appeared on her face. "But I can't return to them. Not like this. I couldn't stand their disappointment, their shame. I'm a disgrace and they're better off without me."

"So you think they'd rather see you dead? Come on, they can help you. We can help you," Dawn said.

"What if I don't want your help?" Victoria hissed, looking angry again. "Let me end this miserable life when I wish."

They didn't what it was like, waking up every day and forcing herself out of bed, terrified of what might happen. They didn't know that voice of doubt that told her she'd making a mistake whenever she made a decision or the same voice that whispered how pathetic she was whenever something didn't go her way again. Neither did they understand the need to prove that she had the right to be loved, the right to be respected, even the right to live, not only to others, but to herself as well. In Victoria's mind they couldn't understand all of this.

Although it didn't seem like they were making any progress as the shield wasn't getting any weaker, the very fact that Victoria was willing to listen and talk was encouraging. Hopefully, they would be able to get through to her. At least it didn't look like the suicide was imminent.

"What about your pokémon?" Ash asked. "They'd be devastated by your death."

"Maybe. But in the long run, they're better off without me." She sighed. "Why do you even bother? I'm your enemy. I even said I hate you and did horrible things to you. So why would you care what happens to me?"

"That's because we believe that life is precious," Dawn told her.

"And we believe that anyone can change if just given the chance," Ash added.

Victoria gave them a long, pondering look. They weren't sure whether she was really considering surrendering, but even if she wasn't, it still bought them some precious time.

"You're fools," she finally said. "And you're wasting your time. Besides, if you truly knew my boss, you'd also know that he'd never change. Never."

"This isn't about your boss, though. This is about you," Ash said, pointing at her. "We can help you. We will help if you just let us."

"Help me?" She let out a bitter laugh. "Tell me why I should believe you. Only one fucking reason. I also believed that Divine could help me. He approached me after a failed contest." She got a dreamy look on her face. "He was charming and funny. He comforted me, gave me new hope, new confidence, a purpose, and made me feel like I've never felt before. It was amazing. The gestures were simple, yet I was his forever. He helped me up when I was down, when I was at my lowest point, but still betrayed me in the end." She grimaced, pointing at her enemies. "Now tell me. Why should I trust you? I had nothing to give back then but today, I have a lot of knowledge that could prove useful to you. How can I be sure that you aren't just after my knowledge and will drop me after you have it?"

"You know we aren't like your boss," Ash stated.

"Yes, you aren't like Divine." Victoria shook her head. "But then again, he's quite unique, and truth to be told, I haven't found others to be more trustworthy. He gave me a chance, and I took it. Those moments of peace may have been a lie, but they were the best of my life."

It was a depressing thought that the person, who had just abandoned her, was still the most reliable and trustworthy person she knew. As a result, her remaining motivation was gone completely, especially when she received a message from Gardevoir. Apparently, it couldn't keep the barrier up for much longer, so the psychic-type urged her to hurry. Finally, she made up her mind and realized that her enemies were just trying to prevent the inevitable. Without the will to live, without a purpose, she might as well be gone forever. Whatever came after life, she was convinced it couldn't possibly be worse. The thought dominating her mind was that things were about to get better, the only thing she needed to do was to finish it. It was astounding as she had never been so sure of something in her entire life, which had been so full of doubts. Ash and Dawn were horrified to see her press the gun against her head seemingly out of the blue.

"Gardevoir, everyone, thank you and sorry. I can't see another way. I'm so tired," she said.

"No! Don't ..." Ash shouted.

It was too late, though. She pulled the trigger, causing the bullet to move into her skull with tremendous force. Although the gun wasn't the biggest, it was strong enough to cause a lot of damage from the short distance, making blood go everywhere along with remains of her brain. The disgusting sight was too much for Dawn, who averted her eyes before the body even hit the ground, and a lot of pokémon followed her example. Ash on the other hand was too shocked to do anything, and was merely staring at the result. He was probably even more affected by it since he felt that he had failed to prevent a suicide once again even though the first one was only in his dream. The memories of that nightmare returned with force, as lively as ever, making him feel guilty.

"W-why?" Dawn asked with a shaking voice.

At first, Ash was wondering why she was talking to the dead Victoria, but then he realized that Gardevoir was still there as well as the barrier. Breaking out of his daze, he addressed the pokémon with obvious anger.

"You call yourself a pokémon? How could you let your trainer do that? Any decent and loyal pokémon would have stopped her, but you even prevented us from helping her. Why? Tell us!" he yelled at it.

The answer was swift and simple. It's eyes flashed green for a second, which was enough for the trainers to understand. Nonetheless, it also contacted them telepathically.

"We were sent here for three reasons. We were to make sure that the one called Victoria didn't escape without a fight. In case she was defeated, we had to prevent a possible capture." Then it lifted the gun with its psychic powers and pointed it at its own forehead. "The third task was to eliminate her only pokémon with crucial knowledge, our host here." Ash's and Dawn's eyes widened when they finally understood the consequences. "Time to return home."

Gardevoir, or rather the Okcha inside, blew its brains out, creating another mess by splattering blood all over the place behind it. Only seconds after the shot, the door opened, and international police members entered the lab, fully armed and ready to fight, only to find three corpses and some highly disturbed trainers and pokémon. They made sure at least those were alright before securing the rest of the lab and Victoria's ring. Ash and Dawn didn't really register their presence as they were still in shock, especially Ash, who was extremely disturbed and barely noticed Dawn embracing him from the side, feeling that he was the one who needed support this time. Although he knew that he couldn't have prevented the suicide due to the Okcha in Gardevoir's body, who would've finished the job, he still felt bad. For him, it was like his nightmare had become reality, and he needed some time to process everything properly. Dawn could help him with that. Oak's death was even worse because he could've easily prevented it by not hesitating, and now both he and Victoria were dead. All the memories, even from before he started his trainer activities came back, adding to the pain. The professor would be avenged. But first, he had to put up a strong face for her and the pokémon.

Dan was among the officers, but unlike last time, he appeared distracted, almost unmotivated. He was the one to reveal that they'd been called by one of Oak's assistants, and arrived some time ago, only to get stopped by a barrier around the building. It could only mean that Gardevoir had created two barriers, probably to prevent any interruption. Whatever the reason, the inner barrier had to be weaker since it was maintaining two of them, which made Ash wonder whether they could have crushed the shield quickly enough to save Victoria. The longer he thought about it, though, the more he regretted not having done anything, and just stopped entirely as there was nothing he could do anyway. The usual interrogation followed. However, they didn't even need to go somewhere this time, they were just asked for their version of the story before getting told that they should return home.

The event left a miserable feeling among everyone involved. The last thing they needed after a funeral was even more death, even that of their enemies. Needless to say, they didn't train as much as they had wanted that day, let alone try new things. There were mostly boring but effective exercises to keep them in shape. Nobody complained, being perfectly aware that the others felt just the same way. The only good news was that the professor's assistants were unharmed. Sometimes horrible events like this just couldn't be evaded, sometimes the attempt itself only made things worse. It did little to console them, just like a call from Maria Wood, the wife of the deceased Gregory. Apparently, she'd been knocked out by her own husband when he had left his home for the last time. She knew that Dawn had saved Delia by killing him, but contacting Dawn to tell her that she wasn't blaming the coordinator for her husband's death was still a painful but necessary task. The last thing she wanted was Dawn blaming herself for the rest of her life since Maria knew that Gregory had been controlled by some creature. However, she didn't have the strength to face her in person just yet. Still, Dawn was grateful for the gesture. It made the rest of the day a tiny bit easier for her.

Ash on the other hand barely even noticed that call. He was far too busy trying to find ways to prevent disasters like that from happening ever again, yet without any success. He came to the conclusion that If the man called Divine really wanted to get them, there was no effective way to prevent it. Because of that, he had to become stronger to repel them, and he already had an idea how. Especially his dependency on Lucario was a problem he wished to solve quickly. He was determined not to get Dawn involved in his new plans because of her own plans and ambitions, that didn't need distractions like this. He was sure that he was quite capable of ensuring their safety on his own, and he felt that it was his duty to protect her and the pokémon from any possible harm. It would take some time until the training he had in mind would show first results, so he had to be patient.

* * *

Divine was almost on his way to a boring but moderately important meeting, when he received a call from one of the doctors in the lower areas of the base. This one was in charge of Boris's recovery, and he had good news. It seemed the brute had woken up, which meant that it was time for Divine to introduce him to his new position. In order to do that, he had to cancel the meeting, which he did gladly, as even seeing Boris's face would more than make up for it. There hadn't been too many good news lately. Due to the poachers being unable to meet the demands of his essence ripper, he had been forced to breed the pokémon needed. Those new breeding bases had to be maintained by new employees, though, which wasn't possible because recruitment had been slow lately. The solution was simple, his men just snagged people from the streets, usually those who wouldn't be missed, and used Okcha to turn them into loyal servants.

Accompanied by Absol, he made his way towards the area containing Boris's new quarters, but not before leaving one of his pokémon at the controllers, so that it could make the way as short as possible for them. Divine always enjoyed the sight of walls moving out the way in front of him, a sight that made him feel like a divine being. On the way, he saw a lot of workers doing their jobs all around the base, which was far from finished just yet, with only the most important parts being completed. Even like this, it took some time to get to the high security area with a doctor in front of the massive steel door leading to the central room of this area. She saluted when Divine approached her.

"He has yet to discover most of his new powers. It's still dangerous to enter, though, as even the most simple attack can be devastating," she told her boss.

"I can handle it," he replied, opening the door. "Now, prepare the supplies for him."

"Yes, sir." She saluted again and left.

She was among the first scientists who had gotten an Okcha, thus it was already used to the new world and easily mistaken for a normal human. Eventually, they would become indistinguishable from their normal selves, only much more loyal. However, it was only a temporary solution. Obedient slaves were horribly boring, and once his plan was complete, he wouldn't need them anymore. For now, he had to show Boris what was expected of him. The chamber in front of him with steel walls and two doors was circular and huge, but badly lit. Apart from the few lamps on the sides, only the large, glowing crystals provided some light. The purple one in the center was the largest with its height easily surpassing two grown men, and just as wide as one. It was kept in place by a massive foundation, which it shared with the others, who were only about half its size and blue. In total, there were twelve of those standing at the sides. Boris was levitating next to the purple crystal, looking like he'd never been injured in the first place. When he noticed Divine, his eyes glowed and he shot large, purple orb at him. When a field of black smoke appeared around Divine, it was engulfed and dissolved. Furthermore, he was surprised that his other, more subtle attack had no effect whatsoever.

"What? How?" he asked. The answer was Absol, who had been invisible the whole time, but now revealed itself to protect its master. "I see. Now you better explain to me what's going on."

"With pleasure, dear Boris. Our doctors did their best to save you, and even though you'll never be able to walk again. Or move your arms. Or almost everything else. At least not with your muscles, but I see you've already found a solution. This crystal was filled with the essence of alakazam, and then bound to your mind. Basically, it boosts your psychic powers to incredible levels," he explained.

"There must be more," Boris said, his eyes narrowing. "You wouldn't just give me that kind of power without a huge catch, especially after I ruined your little plan."

"Ruined? You didn't ruin anything. You did exactly what I expected you to do. Or do you think I'd lose the codes to something like the Okcha Prime so easily? Even without your betrayal I would've released it sooner or later. Its destructive nature will be a formidable distraction from my own activities. Now as for the crystal, it'll be both your source of power and your prison." A diabolical smile graced his face. "Your survival depends on it Without it, you can't move. If you move too far away from it, you'll also lose your new powers. I know what you're thinking." He began to imitate Boris's voice. "I can just take it with me. Sorry to disappoint you, but you can't. I don't know if you already noticed the cameras in this room. Several Okcha guards are observing you all the time, and have the authorization to blow up a little but potent bomb inside the crystal if they see you try to move it or do anything wrong after this conversation. I can't tell what will happen, should the crystal be destroyed, but I can assure you that it won't be a pleasant experience for you. In the best case, you'll simply lose your powers. You can probably imagine what'll follow. You'll be lying on the ground, powerless, helpless, unable to end your own misery. Your end will be slow and painful, when the thirst finally gets to you. Something to look forward to, isn't it? I know thinking isn't your favorite activity, but you should do it in this case, and you'll realize that there's only one logical decision here."

Boris fletched his teeth, but didn't attack. Even he was sensible enough not to anger the man who had his very existence in his hands. Although he couldn't be sure whether Divine was telling the truth, he was positive that he wouldn't lie in matters like this one.

"If you want to imprison me, why like this?" he asked, trying to remain as calm as possible. "You could have locked me in any room. Why give me this incredible power?"

"Good question." Divine walked up to the crystal and put a hand on it, feeling the energy surge through his body. It was a great feeling, but it always left him feel empty and drained afterwards. "I have a task for you. One which doesn't require you to move at all. See those other crystals? They're filled with the essence of lucario. Your new powers will allow you to connect to all of them. I know because we've tested it on a few other men. Okcha inside them aren't even necessary with your new powers. You'll get a few monitors, where you can watch large parts from the base and do ... manipulations. To be specific, you can raise what we call aura walls, some kind of energy barrier, which is almost impenetrable and even provides protection against certain dark-type-movement-abilities."

"That's it? I'm going to be a door guard?" Boris yelled.

Multiple purple orbs appeared around him, and he was about to use them, but decided against it. It was simply too risky, ever for someone like Boris.

"You're not going to be just any door guard, you're going to be the most powerful door guard in the world!" He raised his arms as if it was something amazing. "Besides, if there are intruders, you get to play with them. Sounds fun, doesn't it? It might take you a while to learn how to create the walls from this distance, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it quickly. Anything you need is in the room behind that door. The supplies are refilled every morning. Now, is there anything else? I don't think so." Divine walked back to the door, turning his back on Boris. It was a provocation, which didn't go unnoticed by Boris, who had some trouble ignoring it. As soon as he reached the door, Divine spoke up again. "The monitors will arrive soon. I hope you don't find your new task too boring, my friend."

He left and closed the door shut while laughing like a madman. Although Boris was furious and ready to destroy everything in sight, there was nothing he could do without risking his life, meaning that he was close to losing his mind. Interesting enough, it was the new connection with the crystal that allowed him to suppress those feelings, and focus on the task at hand. If he was going to create walls inside the base, he might as well use his new abilities to mess with patrols in order to combat the boredom. Given enough time, he might even find a way to contact and influence the outside world, which in turn could give him a chance to escape. It wouldn't be easy, as he was sure that the walls were made of darksteel, which rendered his new powers useless, but those other crystals could prove useful. In any case, it was going to take a long time, so he needed a lot of patience. He would have his revenge eventually.

* * *

 **One of the most difficult chapters to write, not only because of this sensitive topic, but also because of the death of a character from the original series (at least no villain). On the other hand I wouldn't be able to take those villains seriously if they weren't capable of drastic measures.**


	64. Divine Intervention

**It's time for things to calm down again. With Ash's challenge approaching, he has to focus on the training again.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 64 Divine Intervention

The man in the cell still couldn't believe his current situation. Only one day ago, he'd been the high sage of Team Plasma, the undisputed leader of the organization, and now he was rotting in his own cell, betrayed by his men. Now that he thought about, Elijah Sorlan had never been undisputed in the slightest. In fact, ensuring the loyalty of his men, who were little more than thugs, had been a struggle. Their lack of respect had always been a major annoyance for him as well as their laziness and unreliability. Now the very same people were sitting in this old base, drinking and gambling while he was a prisoner. Apparently, they had enough of his leadership and therefore had revolted. To make matters worse, they had forced him to get the rest of his inheritance before locking him up, and now the base was full of useless stuff bought with that money. Elijah wasn't sure why he was still alive, he could only guess the reasons. They probably hoped for his brother Nathan to pay for his life, but Elijah didn't believe anyone would pay just to save him, let alone his big brother. Nathan had never shown much concern for his well-being, almost less than their father, so he didn't see any reason why he should do it now. Nevertheless, as long as he was staying alive, he wasn't going to complain. He could only hope that they wouldn't try to make a point by sending a part of his body. The mere thought made him shudder. So far, they hadn't shown to be too considerate, giving him only remains of their food and dirty water.

 _Damn them!_ he thought to himself. _Why do I always have to work with idiots? Traitorous scum! They couldn't even sell those captured pokémon and now they use my money for their drugs, cigarettes, alcohol. I wish we had a mission again. Like the one given by that Wright guy. I'm sure he was just using us, but at least it kept them busy and the pay wasn't too bad either. But it looks like this is the end of Team Plasma. What a lousy end. If only I could have gone down fighting. I suppose it's too late now._

He sighed, remembering the few good times in this base. However, the more he thought about it, the more his bad decisions became apparent. Reviving Team Plasma had been a mistake, that resulted in him losing his freedom, wealth, and possibly his life. Then his thoughts drifted to his father, the heartless bastard that had treated him like a child the entire time, and his brother, who had inherited the family business simply because he was older. In Elijah's mind, it should have been his, all of it, but he felt like nobody ever listened to him.

 _Nobody sees how much of a great leader I am._ He closed his eyes and sighed. _I can be useful. It's just nobody ever gives me a chance._

"I will give you a chance." The voice sounded like it came from everywhere, yet he was sure that it was just in his head. At the same time, the whole cell suddenly lit up, appearing much brighter than before. "I know you, Elijah Sorlan, second son of Aaron and Belinda Sorlan."

Elijah stood up, looking around in the small cell. Whoever or whatever it was, it surely knew a great deal about the young man, which was enough reason to be worried. The voice was deep and slow, forceful and commanding, but not hostile, so he wasn't sure what to expect.

"There is no reason to be afraid. After all, the faithful have nothing to fear from me. And you are the most faithful of all humans. I know that is the reason you revived Team Plasma. I know you want to prove that you are just as capable as your brother. And I know that you will surpass him. For you have attracted the attention of the creator, Arceus." Elijah's eyes widened and he immediately fell to his knees. "I believe there is no better human suited for this task. You shall be my champion, my chosen one."

"Really?" he said, looking up. "I mean, It's the greatest honor I can imagine. I'll gladly do anything you ask. Anything. Words can't express my joy."

"So be it. Before the end of the day, you will be out of this cell and the leader of Team Plasma once more. Then return to your secret chamber to receive your mission. Take it seriously, for the fate of the whole world depends on it," it said with its most thunderous voice.

The light disappeared again, making the cell look dark and depressing again, but Elijah didn't care. He was sweating and shaking, yet as happy and excited as he'd never been before. Working for a human, even a powerful and influential one was one thing, but working for Arceus, the creator, the original one, was completely different, let alone as the champion. Suddenly, everything made sense, he had always felt this void inside him because he'd lacked a purpose. But now it was clear that he had to save the world. It was a pity he'd never see his father's face when he realized that the son he had always loathed was to become much more than he could have ever imagined.

The former living quarters in the Team Plasma base were currently filled with smoke, empty beer bottles, and the noises of the grunts, who were insulting each other or complaining about their bad cards. One of them was of the particularly obnoxious kind, the former chef called Harold. Unlike the others, he also had something like common sense, which is the reason why he'd gotten the position in the first place as Elijah feared his intelligence. Now he was leader of the revolt, that seemingly destroyed Team Plasma for good. He even had plans for his new prisoner, but was too lazy to do anything just yet. For now, he was content with spending all the money he'd gotten.

All the drinking eventually took its toll. He went to the toilet, telling the others that it wouldn't take long. They interrupted their game and waited for him to return, but after about ten minutes they started to get impatient. After all, the toilet wasn't even far away, he should've been back a long time ago. When he didn't appear after five more minutes, several of them decided to look whether he'd suffered from a fatal heart attack and they were already dividing his possessions amongst themselves. One of them went slightly ahead, and opened the door to reveal the charred corpse of Harold lying next to it. He immediately shut the door before the others could see it, and blocked access.

"Something burned him! It might be inside!" he screamed.

"You drank too much?" another one asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No! He's dead! It's like something incinerated him." When the others motioned for him to move to the side, he shook his head frantically. "Do I look crazy? It's still inside, I'm sure of it!"

The reply was roaring laughter, which died when it suddenly got dark. At first they thought it was a blackout, but the lights were still on. For some reason, they could only illuminate a tiny area until they also vanished, leaving the grunts in a pitch-black area. Only the grunts themselves were still clearly visible. And then there was laughter coming from all directions and echoing all the time, which made it sound even more powerful and intimidating. They formed a circle to be able to protect themselves from every direction, but they couldn't see anything.

"How pathetic." It was the same voice that Elijah had heard. "What a pitiful bunch of fools. Traitors to their organization. I know you imprisoned your former leader, Elijah Sorlan. A big mistake. But I will grant you a second chance. You will prove that you are worthy of becoming my new agents."

"Who the hell are you? What are you doing to us?" one of the grunts yelled angrily.

Another one immediately tried to shut him up by covering his mouth before whispering something into his ears.

"Are you crazy? Be more careful, at least until we know what we're dealing with here." When the first grunt nodded, he let go of him again. "Stay calm and we might get out of here alive."

"One of you actually said something sensible, I am impressed," the voice told them, having obviously heard everything. "However, I think it is only fair if you know who I am. I am Arceus, the original one. And you have been chosen to serve me."

A few grunts fell to their knees, the rest just looked at each other nervously, expecting someone to solve this puzzle. Being contacted by the pokémon god seemed unlikely, even absurd, but the possibility of pissing it off was too terrifying to ignore. Besides, even if it wasn't Arceus, it was obviously strong enough to kill Harold and put them in this kind of situation, so angering this creature or deity was obviously a bad decision.

"What is your wish, my lord?" one of those on the ground asked.

"Elijah Sorlan is to become my champion. You will free him, and make him your leader again. Then he will receive my orders." Although the choice seemed strange, almost stupid to them, they were far too intimidated to object. "Do as I say, and you shall see that I can be merciful." The darkness vanished, revealing everything around them. "However, always be aware that you are in great danger." Not only did the darkness return, but there was also a huge sword, hanging on a thin string, right above them. "Should you refuse my orders, or betray me, then you shall meet the same fate as Harold." Instead of the sword, they could see a ring of fire around them. Even worse, it was closing in. "Make sure to never disappoint me. I expect him to be free by the end of the day."

Their surroundings returned back to normal, allowing them to finally catch their breath. Saying that they were scared would be an understatement, one of them immediately got up to carry out Arceus's order. The others didn't even try to stop him, as they were actually glad that they didn't have to be the ones to let Elijah out of his cell. Undoubtedly, he would gloat the entire time, mocking their decision to change sides, and showing off because he was the chosen one.

"You really think that was Arceus?" one of the remaining grunts asked, sitting on the ground.

"Honestly, I don't care," another one replied. "But I don't want to die. If I have to serve that thing for that, then so be it."

"Agreed. That was scary as fuck;" a third grunt added.

The guy, who was on the way to the cells, had similar thoughts. Since he didn't trust the others, he was determined to free his former boss immediately, or the others might forget about it, and doom everyone. No matter how scary Arceus's threats were, turning the key to unlock the door to the cell was still difficult for him. He found Elijah standing proudly with a triumphant smile on his face.

"Well, well, well. Look who's here. I guess our lord has shown you the error of your ways?" he said, stepping out of his cell.

"Yes, boss." The grunt's voice was weak and shaking. "Harold is dead. We accept you as our new master, and we'll do anything you say."

"Almost a pity. I wished to finish him personally. Whatever, it's not important. The important part is that you'll treat me with the respect I deserve. For I am the champion, Arceus's chosen. As such, you'll address me as master. Now kneel before your master!" he commanded. Without hesitation, the grunt complied. "Good. Now kiss my shoes!"

The grunt was sure that this was merely the beginning of a whole series of degrading tasks. Nevertheless, he complied again, fearing the consequences of disobedience. Fortunately, Elijah got tired of it sooner than expected, and gave other orders.

"That's enough for now. Return to the others and tell them to clean whatever kind of mess they have made. And nobody get anywhere near the altar, you hear me?" The grunt nodded fearfully. "Very well. Go now. And I want everyone to show me proper respect from now on. You can probably imagine what'll happen otherwise."

There was no need to remind him of the consequences, so he just nodded and went to the others. As much as Elijah enjoyed bossing him around, he was sure that there would be other opportunities, and right now he wanted to hear Arceus's orders. He would have his revenge later.

For the first time in months, he felt like the altar in front of the secret entrance had a meaning. The room itself appeared to have been used as a storage room, so at least it wasn't as messy as the others. At some, he'd have to tell them to remove the remaining stuff, though, thus letting them near the altar again, unless he wanted to do it himself. He opened the entrance and sealed it from the inside, so that nobody could follow him. This was to be a meeting between the pokémon god and its champion, and the others, whom he considered lesser humans now, had no place there. As soon as he made one step into the small chamber, which looked unchanged, his surrounding turned pitch-black with countless tiny lights in the distance. It looked like the night sky with the only difference that he was in the middle of it, seemingly floating in space. Once again, he heard that voice from everywhere.

"Very good. You understand it is not advisable to keep me waiting. So let us not waste any time, for our enemies do not." Elijah nodded eagerly before Arceus continued. "You have two missions. An enemy of mine is active, mostly in Kanto right now. He has already unleashed a great evil upon this land, and I fear he could do much more. Although his identity and plans are hidden to me, I know that he must be stopped at all costs. This is something I do not expect from you. I do expect, however, that you gain information on him, so that I can plan to strike him down, before he brings utter ruin to this world. He was the one to coordinate Shira's attacks, and he was behind the attacks on the cities. Do not disappoint me. This is a most crucial task, which will decide the world's fate."

"Don't worry, my lord." Elijah bowed deeply even though he had no idea where his master was. "You can count on me. I won't disappoint you."

"It is the most important mission. The other one is not as urgent, but it is also much more straightforward. It should be simple enough even for the most intellectually challenged of your men. You need to purge the aura guardians from this world," the voice told him.

It was an unexpected order, one that he couldn't understand. As far as he knew, the modern aura guardians were few and so secretive that some people didn't even know they existed. Because of that, they may have done something to anger Arceus without anybody else noticing, but it was hard to imagine. In the stories he had heard about the aura guardians, they were always heroes, who fight for everyone's benefit.

"Are they allied with the enemy?" he asked carefully.

"They are not. Do not even attempt to understand my decisions and goals. It would only drive you mad. You only need to know that they have done something terrible," it explained. "Now prepare your men. Taking on an aura guardian is no trivial task. Even if you are able to track them down, they will be formidable foes. Return here when you are ready, and I shall give you their names. Finding them is up to you then."

Since the chamber returned to its usual look, Elijah figured that the briefing was over, and bowed before leaving it. The mission to eliminate the aura guardians still didn't seem right, given their reputation. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to disappoint his master by showing them any mercy. After all, Arceus couldn't make mistakes, at least that was his belief, and as the chosen one, he had to be a paragon for the others. Doubts and hesitation would only make him and his master look weak, and thus ultimately serve their enemies. He couldn't allow anything like that. Now that he had finally found his purpose, he wasn't going to let anyone or anything plunge the world into darkness.

* * *

Things returned to normal after the incident at the Oak lab. There was neither an attack, nor an appearance of Ash and Dawn's enemies, which was strange, considering how determined and stubborn the boss had sounded. He was possibly preparing for another, bigger attack, a possibility that wasn't too encouraging. However, Ash remained adamant, insisting on not giving up their home.

Serena arrived a bit later than expected and didn't stay for long. Instead, she left to find Marcus when she heard about his sisters' fates. Ash and Dawn weren't sure whether she would prevent him from doing something stupid or team up to do something even worse. There was little choice in that matter, except to wait and see while preparing for their own battles. After all, they didn't want to postpone them, despite the trouble lately. The training helped them regain a sense of security, and also distracted them from their troubles, especially the strange feeling of being watched all the time. The most worrying news by far were reports of people dying and returning to life all the time. It was hard to believe, they simply died without warning and without an apparent reason as their bodies showed no injuries. A few minutes later, they stood up again, unaware of what had happened to them. Sometimes, a doctor got to inspect the dead body, but nobody has found anything plausible on them so far, neither before nor after the resurrection. Interesting enough, these deaths usually occurred within a moderately sized area, hitting a few dozen people at a time. Fortunately, nobody had stayed dead so far, everyone had returned to life within ten minutes so far, but it was unknown how much longer this would stay true. The cause was still unknown, and nobody knew of any countermeasures yet.

There were also good news, though. The raids on the cities by the Okcha had stopped entirely. The international police claimed that one of their new weapons was the reason, a turret, that imitated the pokémon move signal beam, albeit covering a much larger area. It was said to turn any Okcha unfortunate enough to get too close to stone within seconds. As a result, they fell from the sky as statues, usually shattering on impact. Although Ash and Dawn weren't sure whether those stories weren't a bit exaggerated, the disappearance of the Okcha suggested that the new countermeasures were effective.

The trainers barely noticed those changes, though, as they had other problems, which weren't related to the outside world. Ash seemed distant after the incident at the Oak lab, training on his own instead of with Dawn, and even when they talked, he often changed the topic to something about strength. It was like he was utterly obsessed with it. From time to time, he disappeared entirely with Lucario for the rest of the day, returning only for supper. Even then, he was too exhausted for anything and didn't want to talk about the things he'd done, no matter how much she urged him to open up. With time, he left earlier and more often, until she found herself alone on the bed one morning. By doing that, he also neglected his other pokémon, who weren't sure what to do without his instructions. Needless to say, the timing was extremely bad with the battles against the Elite Four approaching quickly. However, whenever she brought it up, he brushed it off, claiming that they were ready for anything and that he also needed to become stronger.

The result was Dawn training both his and her own pokémon. Although she wasn't used to train so many of them, they proved cooperative enough to make it bearable. Many of them told her about the plans, which Ash had for them, so that she knew what she had to do. In the end, it also served to eliminate the largest part of communication between the trainers, as she was just as exhausted as Ash in the evening. Nevertheless, she kept doing it, believing that Ash would return to normal once he was a champion.

Little did she know, Ash was just a little east of the lab. Ever since the Okcha Prime had left his body, he had been feeling new powers inside him, that he had never noticed before. Not only did he know that those were aura powers, but he also had the undying need to master them. Even in his dreams, he was urged to become stronger to protect those he loved from any harm. His own aura abilities would also allow him to become more independent from Lucario, who often had to be in his team because the aura bubble was simply too useful in dangerous situations. Naturally, Lucario was also the best trainer for those kind of skills, but since the others couldn't benefit from the training, he chose to do it without them. At first, leaving them behind wasn't easy, but the better he got, the longer he could stay away without feeling bad about it.

Lucario wasn't sure why, but Ash's progress was extremely fast at the beginning. In fact, Ash was a faster learner than the aura pokémon himself, learning basic abilities like reading minds, the aura sphere, and basic shields within a few days. Of course they weren't nearly as strong as those of an experienced aura user, but the progress was still astounding, and the more Ash learned, the more fun he had, almost to the point of getting obsessed with them. It was almost a relief to Lucario when the progress slowed down to a more manageable level, yet Ash acted like he was already a master. Apart from Ash's behavior, he was also worried about losing his important position in Ash's team. He had always been proud of his skills and achievements, so getting replaced by his own trainer was difficult to accept. Last, but not least, he was afraid that he wouldn't be ready for the battles against the Elite Four because the one-sided training didn't help a lot to keep him in shape. Unfortunately, Ash didn't seem to listen, always changing the topic to the aura training instead.

Prinplup evolved again only a few days after the beginning of the training, finally getting rid of the body he disliked so much. Since he wasn't holding an everstone or trying to resist this time, the process was much less spectacular. His new form wasn't much better in that regard at first, but when he realized just how much more powerful he was, he changed his mind a bit. Of course, he couldn't be called cute anymore, but he had other advantages apart from the increased power, like new moves he could learn and his horns, which he soon came to love. Only Ash, Dawn, and a few smaller pokémon were allowed to touch the horns, which he called his crown. The divine aqua jet in particular gave them a golden glow, making him look truly majestic. Last but not least, Milotic was impressed as well. However, there were also problems like his individual move. The larger body rendered it almost useless, forcing Dawn to think of something new quickly. With the battles approaching, there wasn't much time left, especially with so many other pressing matters distracting her.

About a week before Ash's battles, a fight between Alakazam and Dawn's lucario escalated, resulting in a real fight. Their trainer, who was too busy with the training, came too late, resulting in some grave injuries. When she finally arrived, they took a few steps back, glaring at each other.

"Stop it right now!"she shouted in a commanding tone. "What do you think you're doing? I know you don't like each other too much, but that's not how we solve our problems."

"He spread lies about me!" Alakazam hissed in her head.

"They're not lies if they're true," Lucario replied nonchalantly via aura link.

"I don't care who started and how." Dawn gave them a scornful look. "Apologize to each other immediately."

The pokémon looked at each other, then at their trainer and the other pokémon, who had gathered in the meantime. Everyone was looking at them expectantly, which only strengthened their resolve not to apologize. Alakazam was the first to react by shaking her head before teleporting somewhere else. Then Lucario turned to walk away, leaving the others behind.

"Where are you going?" Dawn asked him, obviously shocked by the reaction.

"To Ash. I know what he's doing and maybe I can help him. I guess he needs it more since you're obviously too busy," he replied.

"Wait! Stop!" Dawn shouted, but Lucario only increased his speed.

They had done it, they had made her look incompetent and ridiculous in front of the others, who were looking at her now. She was shaking a bit, and despite the calmness of her voice, she was clearly furious and shocked at the same time.

"What are you looking at? We have work to do!" she said. When nobody moved, she raised her voice. "Come on!"

Lucario didn't even see the scene, he was already getting closer to Ash's training place. It was only slightly hidden between a few trees, and even though there wasn't a lot of space, it was more than enough for the aura training. Ash was maintaining an aura bubble when he arrived. It was much smaller than Lucario's, barely protecting him, and it shattered after one aura sphere from his lucario. They were surprised and interrupted their training, when they saw Dawn's lucario approaching since they had been distracted by the training. Of course, due to his own aura abilities, Dawn's lucario didn't have problems sensing their presence.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked. "Aren't you supposed to be training with Dawn? And what's with your injuries?"

"Just a disagreement with Alkazam. Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Sure. I'll return to the lab for different training," Ash's lucario replied, eager to leave the place.

His greatest fear was not getting chosen for a battle against the Elite Four or the champion because of being out of shape compared to the others, who at least had Dawn to help them out a bit. The appearance of her lucario gave him a chance to leave it to his friend, which in turn allowed him to get some real training. The others watched him hurry off with surprised looks.

"What's up with him?" Dawn's lucario asked.

"No idea. He hasn't been too motivated for days now." Ash shrugged. "I guess he just needed a break. But you still haven't told me why you're here."

"We had an ... argument. It seems she finds that sneaky Alakazam more trustworthy than me," Lucario replied sarcastically.

"Don't blame her, you probably need our talents to truly appreciate them," Ash told him casually. "Anyway, you wish to help me? There's still so much to learn."

"That's why I'm here," the pokémon said, nodding enthusiastically.

He was glad that his abilities were finally appreciated and got to work. Just as expected, they focused on the aura abilities themselves, ignoring physical training. He was surprised by the intensity and how much Ash was able to take, and Ash was pleased that despite Lucario's wounds, there seemed to be more progress again. Perhaps his suspicion was true, and his own lucario's lack of motivation had really been the cause of the recent slowness. Within a few minutes, they were so absorbed by their task that Ash completely forgot about his lucario's absence.

The aura pokémon found Dawn, who immediately recognized him due to his lack of injuries. Although she was surprised to see him at the lab, she quickly accepted his request to join the others. The only thing that was more astounding than his eagerness was just how quickly he was out of breath. As a result, Dawn had him take a break before he would collapse from exhaustion. At least he was joined by Pikachu, Buneary, and Empoleon, who were also tired, but mostly because they wanted to talk. They found a remote spot, where they could sit in peace and have a conversation among pokémon. Lucario was the only one, who was truly exhausted, breathing heavily.

"Wow, you're really tired after that bit?" Pikachu asked, surprised about the low endurance of his friend. "I've seen wurmple with more stamina."

"Shut up. I don't need you to remind me that I'm not exactly in shape. This stupid aura training left me soft and weak," he confessed.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad," Buneary said, trying to cheer him up. "Your aura powers have surely improved, haven't they?"

"To be honest, no. Not one bit. The training for Ash's abilities, not mine. Only he improved," Lucario replied sadly. "I'm afraid he doesn't care about anything else nowadays. Not even about us."

"You're wrong!" Pikachu immediately protested, standing up. "Ash isn't like that!"

Lucario didn't seem surprised by the strong reaction and remained calm, taking a few deep breaths before replying.

"How often have you seen him during the last few days?" he asked. "Can you truly claim knowing this Ash?"

"Nobody just changes that quickly," Pikachu answered, avoiding the question.

"Unless something big happens," Empoleon added. "Like getting possessed by a powerful spirit."

"You ... you think it's still inside him?" Buneary asked, covering her mouth with fur.

"Not necessarily. It might have left a mark, though," he replied.

There was a long moment of silence, during which everyone reflected on the possibility of Ash being somehow cursed. Only a few days ago, they would have agreed that it was plain silly, but now they weren't sure anymore. He just seemed so different nowadays without apparent reason that it wasn't entirely unrealistic.

"I still doubt it. He was fine a week ago," Pikachu finally muttered.

"That doesn't mean we don't have to do something about it. He must realize that we can't accept his behavior," Lucario made clear.

"Don't you think he just needs time? Maybe he'll return to normal once he's mastered his abilities or become a champion," Buneary suggested.

"You obviously have no idea how long it takes to master them. At least for a human," Lucario told her.

"And waiting for him to become a champion is Dawn's plan," Empoleon added. "I don't share her optimism, though. If anything, she's making everything worse. A victory will only boost his ego even more."

"You want him to lose? After everything we've gone through?" Pikachu protested. "You can't seriously think that!"

"I can and I do. Judging from the things Lucario told us, he needs to see the damage he has done. Besides, it's not like there won't be another chance in the future," Empoleon said, turning around defiantly.

"Well, I can't and won't let that happen. And neither you nor anyone else will stop me!" Pikachu shouted, having finally lost his patience.

Empoleon turned around again, and the two pokémon were glaring at each other, until Buneary jumped between them.

"Are you crazy? We already have so many problems, and you only add to it, even though you're best friends. We have to work together to achieve something here," she yelled at them.

Indeed, it was hard to imagine how anything could make the two pokémon, who had always been close friends, argue like this. They also appeared to have realized it, as they were lowering their heads in shame. Pikachu was the first to extend one of his short arms, and after a few seconds Empoleon did the same. It wasn't easy for him due to his pride, and he wasn't sure whether he would have given in so quickly if it wasn't for Pikachu. Shaking hands also felt different due to the new difference in size, a fact that was painful to remember for Empoleon, as old memories flooded his mind. They reminded him that those responsible were still out there, probably waiting for inner conflicts to weaken the trainers and their teams.

"That's damn right. I won't let some stupid argument destroy our friendship," Empoleon said.

"Same here," Pikachu replied, nodding. "But we still have to do something."

"We could try to talk to Dawn, but I doubt she'll listen," Buneary confessed. "Not on purpose, I mean. But she probably lacks the patience and energy. She's working more than she and Ash used to do combined. I fear she'll collapse sooner or later, unless her foolish idea of Ash just miraculously returning to normal keeps her going. I hope not, she's already a mess right now."

"Yeah, I know," Empoleon muttered, rolling his eyes. "The quality of the poffins shows. I never thought I'd say that I'm glad she doesn't have more time for them."

"And I thought I was the only one who thought they were a bit ... less tasty than usual," Buneary replied with a giggle. "Anyway, all the work is destroying her, and I know another reason. She's not just doing this for Ash, but also for herself. It's a distraction that allows her to forget about her troubles."

Pikachu had heard stories of troubled people drinking stuff called alcohol for the same reason, sometimes ruining their lives even more that way. Although Dawn was doing something productive at least, the result was almost the same. Instead of solving her problems, she was running away.

"I get it, we don't have any proper way to deal with this," Lucario summed it up for the others, shaking his head. "I guess we can only try to talk some sense into them. I'll talk to Ash, or at least I'll try. Empoleon, Buneary, you should try to convince Dawn to relax a little. Pikachu, maybe you can help them."

They nodded in agreement, mostly because they couldn't think of anything else. There wasn't much time left, though, with only one week until Ash's battle.

"Well, let's get back to training for now, shall we?" Pikachu suggested, earning nods from the others, except for Lucario.

"Go ahead. I need just a bit more time," he told them.

Empoleon had the urge to make a remark on how wimpy the aura pokémon had become, but since it wasn't really Lucario's fault, he remained silent and went back to training with the others. Lucario used the extra time to think about how he would approach Ash later. Humans were strange beings, and their reactions weren't always logical. He thought them to be unpredictable at times with Ash being no exception, so his words had to be chosen carefully. However, even in that case success wasn't guaranteed at all. He had to go through some hard training first, though.

* * *

 **There's one thing I want to make clear from the start. Ash is neither going to become some kind of superhero, nor is going to surpass the aura guardians that spent years or decades to hone their skills anytime soon. He has a headstart that somewhat counteracts the fact that he started training incredibly late, nothing else apart from a supreme arrogance. Even this chapter should show that the consequences of the possession are more far-reaching than expected.**  
 **And whether it was the real Arceus that gave this strange order is to be seen in the future.**


	65. Guardian's Arrival

**You know that feeling when you're finally having fun and then someone just ruins it for everyone with one sentence?**

 **DIsclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 65 Guardian's Arrival

Although the training with Dawn was extremely exhausting for Lucario, who had spent too much time with the aura training, it still felt good to him, but also made the thought of returning to the routine almost unbearable. He thought about suggesting to take turns with Dawn's lucario for a better preparation for real battles. The only question was whether Luca would agree to it, as it would also mean less physical training for him. Dawn on the other hand probably wouldn't even notice his absence due to all the other pokémon.

While Ash was still training, Dawn, her team, and Ash's team, which hadn't been changed for a few days now, returned home, where she made food the evening, and then prepared food for the next day. Even though the pokémon did their best to help out, it still took pretty long without Ash's assistance. Even when he arrived, she was still busy with the task, not even noticing his presence. He grabbed something to eat before relaxing in the living room a little. He didn't stay there for long, though, going to bed early in order to start the next day earlier than last time. When Dawn finally had some time to relax, he was already gone, and she was left with the pokémon. Empoleon, Buneary, and Espeon approached her once they felt she had reached a slightly more relaxed state. Espeon, who'd been informed by the others about their plans, served as a translator. The others left the room to give them some privacy. Dawn, who was reading a book, didn't notice anything until she heard Espeon's voice in her head.

"Pardon the intrusion, but there is something we'd like to talk about," she said.

"Can't it wait a bit? I've been working all day, and now I'm horribly exhausted," Dawn muttered weakly, not looking up.

"I'm afraid not. We don't believe there's a better opportunity anytime soon," the psychic-type explained. "It's important."

"Very well." She put the book to the side, and turned her chair so she was facing them. "What do you want to talk about?"

"About you and Ash," Buneary said.

When Dawn heard the translation by Espeon, she suddenly got nervous.

"What do you mean? There's nothing really worth talking about regarding us," she said, trying to cover it with a smile.

"That's bullshit and you know it. And don't try to tell us that every thing's okay again. We know it's not true." Empoleon wasn't going to let her get away easily. "Now tell us what you know about his training."

"Well ..." She was still hesitant to comply, but continued after a few seconds. "He recently told me that he's working on advanced aura abilities. In order to protect us all. He said that we won't need to be afraid of anything in the future, that we can take the fight to our enemies. He sounded so ... convinced, I couldn't object, or even ask for details. And I surely don't want to hold him back."

Now they knew why she was doing everything for him. Either her trust was still as strong as ever, or she was trying to make it look like that. As usual, she tried not to make anyone worry, which once more resulted in communication problems.

"Do you think he can back up his claims?" Espeon asked curiously.

"I ... I'm not sure. I've heard stories about aura guardians, but they're far from invincible. And I find it hard to believe that Ash will finish his training anytime soon," she confessed, before proceeding with a stronger voice. "But I trust he knows what he's doing."

The last sentence was a major setback for the pokémon, who had almost thought that they had gotten through to her. Now it turned out Dawn's faith in Ash was a little too strong.

"Still, he's not perfect," Buneary objected. "Even Lucario complained that Ash is thinking a bit too much about himself instead of others. Not only does he make the poor guy work solely for his own aura abilities, but he also neglects his other pokémon."

"But you know that already, don't you?" Empoleon added.

"That's why you're training them as well," Espeon told her.

There was no denying it, they knew her plans and motives all too well. She sighed before giving them a reply.

"Maybe he does. And I can't let everything he's been working for go to hell. What do you want? Do you want me to abandon him? Do you want us to break up?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and her voice got louder. "I can't believe it! You can't possibly want that. What about ..."

"Calm down!" Empoleon yelled. Dawn didn't need a translation for that, falling silent immediately. The emperor pokémon continued with a calmer voice. "That's the last thing we want. Never forget, we are there for you, no matter what, even if it means we have to point out your mistakes."

"And we believe you're making a lot of them right now," Buneary added. "It's great that you show so much devotion to Ash and his goal, but he doesn't deserve it in this case. I know it sounds drastic, but he has to learn that he can't continue to act like this. It's his responsibility, his dream, so he should face the consequences if he feels that he can neglect it for other matters. You shouldn't be the one to carry that burden. What if you can't continue one day? The fall will hit him even harder. And by doing it, you're hurting yourself."

"Just look at yourself. You're exhausted, have barely any time for things you like, and it's almost like you're neglecting us now because you have so much to do," Empoleon explained. "Of course, unlike Ash, you never chose to do it. You simply don't have the time and energy to do it. However, the reason isn't important in this case. We want you to feel better again, but all the work is destroying you."

"Please listen to them. They're not saying this for fun," Espeon made clear.

It would have been easy to dismiss their worries as silly, but Dawn knew they wouldn't complain about something trivial. She still had trouble understanding their point, though, as everything she did was for Ash, and that couldn't be a bad thing. In an attempt to understand it, she leaned back a little, closing her eyes to focus on the problem. While it was true that she was having more trouble keeping up with the work lately, she did it gladly.

"I don't think Ash is doing anything wrong," she finally said, choosing her words carefully. "It's easy to get caught up in something new, but it'll go away, and he's doing it for us, so don't judge him too harshly. Besides, he'll be done eventually, and then everything will be normal again. Until then, I'm happy to accept my responsibility."

"But it's not ..." Buneary started, only to get interrupted by Espeon, who put a paw on her head.

"It's pointless. She obviously doesn't want to accept your arguments. We should retreat for now and return tomorrow with a new strategy," she suggested.

"And give up on the progress we've made? Are you crazy?" Empoleon protested.

"You know how stubborn she is. If we give her some time to think about it, however, she might understand a bit better without the need to bother her further. As you can see, she really needs some rest," Espeon replied.

As much as he hated to admit it, the sun pokémon had a point. Dawn's stubbornness matched his own, so that an argument could drag on forever without a winner. Apart from that, there was also another reason to leave it for now, as he was also tired, and with all the battles soon and the hard training, he had to be well-rested. Slowly and reluctantly, he nodded at Espeon. Maybe time could heal the wounds.

"What are you talking about?" Dawn asked curiously.

"We need to rest now," Espeon told her. "Please think about our words. Good night."

They said goodbye to each other. Whereas the pokémon appeared to go to sleep, Dawn remained in the living room, reading a book. However, she had to reread the pages several times because her thoughts often drifted to the previous conversation. She wasn't sure whether they were right, but she knew that it couldn't go on like this for much longer or she would collapse from sheer exhaustion. Although she didn't admit it, she had her doubts about Ash returning to his usual self eventually. She knew him well enough to know that this was far from a short-lived passion, it was more of an obsession that wouldn't go away easily, as evident in the greed in his eyes when he talked about it earlier. In fact, it was strong enough to make him almost forget about his former goal and about her. At least the work distracted her from all the worries, but now her pokémon wanted her to take a break. She couldn't blame them, they probably felt neglected by now, but it only made her feel worse.

Eventually, the tiredness started to take its toll, resulting in her slowly falling asleep without her notice. It was an uneasy sleep, one that didn't provide a lot of rest, but it also made her let go of the troubles until the next morning.

When Ash entered the bedroom, he immediately noticed Lucario sitting next to the bed, looking like he wanted to talk about something. Unsurprisingly, Ash heard his voice in his head before he could even close the door.

"We have things to discuss," Lucario told him nonchalantly.

"Mind if I go to bed first?" Ash asked. "It's much more comfortable that way and I'm pretty tired."

"Go ahead," Lucario answered, although Ash was already preparing to rest, not bothering to wait for an answer. He felt it was necessary for him not to collapse.

Although the training wasn't physically hard, apart from a few special training sessions, it still had a draining effect. Ash usually felt tired and empty in the evening, sometimes even dizzy, and in rare cases he got in state similar to an inebriation. At some point, he had already wondered whether it was a sign from his body that things were going too fast, but dismissed it as necessary in the end. Another effect was a sudden boldness after the sessions, which seemed oddly displaced, since he was always way too tired to use it in any useful way. The effects on the mind were strange indeed, and he was still trying to discover all of them. As soon as he was covered by the blanket, Lucario proceeded.

"I've been training with the others a little today, and the things I've seen aren't too encouraging. Although Dawn is doing her best to give everyone the training they deserve, there are simply too many for her to handle on her own. They need you." Lucario gave him a stern look. "Your presence would increase the morale significantly, and you could train them the way you want instead of leaving it to Dawn."

Ash was difficult to read in this position, especially since he had learned to shield his mind from outer influences. Therefore Lucario could neither read his thoughts, nor his emotions anymore, but Ash was also safe from harmful effects like nightmares. He took his time for the answer, making Lucario wait a little, albeit not on purpose.

"Why would they need a morale boost? The prospect of fighting against the best of the best should be more than enough. Also I believe them to be more than capable of handling any opponent. There's no need for more training right now," Ash replied calmly. "If anything, I need to train more. I don't feel worthy of a champion title just yet."

"What do aura abilities have to do with a title for a trainer?" Lucario asked incredulously.

"Well, nothing. But whenever I have doubts, I remember Durant and Leafeon. Their faces when they got engulfed by flames, their screams, their charred remains." He opened his eyes, his relaxed expression replaced by a determined look. "I can still see and hear them. I don't want it to happen ever again. Even if it means I have to protect my pokémon myself."

Lucario, who had always been doing exactly that, took is as an insult of his abilities. After all, Ash had always trusted them completely so far, and he couldn't have possibly saved them, as he'd been way too busy. On the other it could have been the quick destruction of the aura bubble by the Okcha Prime that had damaged Ash's trust. In any case, the aura pokémon wasn't happy at all.

"You're blaming me, aren't you? I couldn't protect them, so you want to do it yourself," he said.

"I'm not blaming anyone," Ash made clear. "Two potential shields are more useful than one, don't you think? Simple mathematics. Besides, I always thought you don't get enough rest. Once I've mastered the shield, I can defend myself and others when I'm alone."

Although Lucario knew that it made perfect sense for Ash to want to be able to protect himself, he was still offended, and felt ashamed because of it. The aura pokémon had always regarded himself as someone who was above such feelings. Perhaps he was simply too proud for his own good.

"My point still stands. Your pokémon need you. You know how quickly I got exhausted during the training today? I was shocked, and so were the others. I'm completely out of shape. I'm sure the others are a bit better in that regard, yet I'm still worried." Lucario was almost begging now. "Please try to understand. You're placing a huge burden on Dawn, who's trying to fix it by doing everything for you. However, I'm not sure how much longer she can hold out."

"I never asked her to train them for me," Ash hissed, raising his voice slightly, then closing his eyes again. "I know my pokémon are fine. All the training we've done, everything we've gone through won't be for nothing. Trust me."

 _How can I? It feels like you're betraying us, and your own dreams,_ Lucario thought to himself, glad that Ash couldn't read his mind.

"I see your mind is set. Then I must ask you to take turns with Luca. I wish to be prepared for the oncoming battles, and believe the training at the lab is far more beneficial than your aura training." He looked down in shame. It sounded like he was refusing an order by trying to get out of this. "I'm sorry."

"No problem." He was surprised to hear that Ash didn't seem to mind at all. "We had a blast today. He can help me out again tomorrow."

Once again, Ash managed to offend Lucario without even trying. The pokémon felt replaced, this time not by him, but by Dawn's lucario, and he hated it. After all, it's exactly what he had wanted, yet his pride made him feel so bad about it, that he needed some time before he could reply.

"I see." He let out a drawn-out sigh. "Just a few more questions. Why are you trying to learn aura now? You had the potential all the time, so why learn it now, right before the most important battles in your life? And what do you expect from your aura powers? What's your goal?"

"You ask me why now?" Ash's voice was more lively again. "Look at the garden. Look at the places where our friends were buried and you know why. It was a bitter experience, one I don' wish to make again. I was weak and soft, but now I'm not. Ever since I woke up after getting possessed, I felt this call. A call from within, that urges me to hone my skills. They're a blessing, and with them, we'll never have to live in fear again."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing? Aura powers won't turn you into a superhero. You may be able to fight alongside us, but you won't be stronger than the others, and other abilities can be provided by us." Lucario shook his head. "Don't misunderstand me, a seventh fighter in the team is an improvement, but it is far from absolute protection. Just what makes you so sure?"

Ash was already annoyed by Lucario's doubts. Not only did the aura pokémon knew him well, he also shared many of his abilities. Surely he had to be aware of Ash's newfound strength, yet now Lucario was criticizing him.

"I think you underestimate me," he said with slight irritation in his voice. "Nothing will change my mind, I will learn it. All of it. Without your help if necessary. Because it's fun to learn and use. The feeling is just indescribable. The rush of energy, the warmth inside, it's amazing. And I won't let anyone take it away from me."

"I see. You enjoy the power and being independent from your pokémon. Tell me, have you already considered reading Dawn's mind? For fun? Or maybe to discover a few of her secrets?" he asked.

"No, I haven't," Ash said, turning to the side. He had enough of this conversation already.

"Good. I hope it stays that way." Lucario turned around before proceeding. "I must warn you. Once you start doing it, for any reason, you won't be able to stop easily. With time, it'll become more of a common thing or even a necessity. Before you know it, you can't live without total control over everything around you. Power can corrupt, and aura is no exception. For all our sakes, I hope you know what you're doing."

It sounded like he had more to say, but after a short moment of silence, he left without saying another word. Ash was slightly disturbed, but chose to ignore it for now, as he was still tired. The conversation had already cost enough of his precious time.

Lucario on the other hand was too troubled to go to sleep just yet, wandering the rooms of the house instead. When he got to the living room, he found Dawn asleep on the couch. Since it wasn't the proper place to get rest, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Ash was usually concerned when Dawn was late, but this time, he hadn't even asked and just gone to sleep. Upon placing her on the bed and pulling the blanket over her, she reached out for Lucario, probably thinking that he was Ash. He could only squeeze her hands reassuringly before leaving the bedroom again to walk a bit more.

Although he had passed several windows already, he didn't notice that it was snowing until he looked out of the kitchen window. Judging from the intensity, there was going to be a lot of snow during the next day, which usually added a bit of difficulty to the training. Sometimes, they'd even go to the mountains to simulate training under those conditions. It was hard, but also a nice change. Because he was lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Espeon approaching from behind, and thus he was surprised when she jumped on his shoulders. In addition, he was still weak and fell forward.

"Wow, you're really out of shape. And I thought they were exaggerating when they told me," Espeon said with wide eyes.

"Great that you managed to discover it for yourself. Now would you mind getting off?" he asked, groaning because her weight was pushing him to the ground.

"Are you calling me heavy?" she asked, wrapping her tail around his neck.

Everyone else would have been alarmed, but Lucario knew that she was merely playing with him. However, he also knew that she would remain in that position if he said the wrong thing.

"No, I'm sorry. Now please get off, the day has already been hard enough," he told her.

This time, she complied and even used her psychic powers to help him get up again. There was something in his voice that told her not to make jokes right now.

"No luck with Ash?" she asked sympathetically.

"I highly doubt he got the message. You know how stubborn he can be," Lucario replied with a sigh.

"Same with Dawn. I still can't believe all the trouble we're going though." Her tail was wrapped around his right leg and squeezed it slightly. "Poor Sylveon and Shaymin, they don't understand what's going on. At this rate, it's only going to get worse."

"Like them breaking up?" Lucario suggested with a grin look, earning a nod from Espeon.

"Let's hope it'll never get that far. They can't possibly do that, we'd have to be separated as well. And the others. They wouldn't allow that, would they?"they psychic-type asked fearfully.

"I'm not sure." He shrugged. "I guess they could continue living in Pallet Town so we can stay together, but that'd be bad enough. We'll have to try again until they see reason."

"I guess there's nothing else we can do." They looked at each other again, then he hugged her tightly. "Please let it work out. Everything about this is a nightmare."

They went to the living room and lied down to sleep. Even more than the others, Lucario had to be well-rested for the coming training, yet he couldn't help but ponder about different approaches to their current problem. Perhaps a bit of humor could make the trainers a bit more willing to listen. In any case, they had to wait until the morning.

When Dawn woke up, she wasn't surprised to find that Ash was already gone, yet she still was sad about it. At least it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly already, which would make the cold winter air a bit more bearable. Having already forgotten most of the discussion on the previous day, she slowly got ready for the training. Strangely enough, she didn't see a single pokémon until she entered the kitchen, which was a mess, to put it nicely. Not only was dirt everywhere, but the dishes were all over the floor, shattered no less. At first, she feared it was the doing of a burglar, but then she noticed Espeon and Pachirisu sleeping on the table peacefully. Dawn wouldn't put it past the electric-type to make such a mess by accident, but Espeon was usually much more reliable. Perhaps she had caught Pachirisu in the process and now they were waiting for Dawn to fix it. Whatever the case, it was most inconvenient. The training was already hard enough without the need to clean up after the pokémon.

The shock subsided, getting replaced by disappointment and anger. By the time she reached the table she was already fuming, and just when she was about to yell at them, she heard something from behind. Suddenly, the kitchen looked perfectly normal again, and as soon as she also realized that the noise from behind was laughter, she knew what was going on and how foolish she was looking. Even Espeon and Pachirisu were laughing at her.

"Very funny, Zoroark. You almost gave me a heart attack," she complained, shaking her head violently. "Just what were you thinking? It's not even remotely funny!"

The laughter died down, as she had raised her voice considerably. Only Pachirisu took a bit longer to realize that it wasn't the right time to mock her. Dawn turned around to give the group of pokémon, which consisted of Zoroark, Pikachu, Empoloeon, and Lucario, a nasty glare. Then she grabbed a chair, sat down, and covered her face with her hands, already ashamed of her little outburst. She spoke up again after a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled." Now her voice was little more than a whisper. The pokémon were shocked at how broken she sounded and looked. "I can't be angry this early in the morning, no matter how stressed I am. I'm sure you meant well."

She forced herself to laugh, but everyone knew she didn't mean it. Especially Zoroark looked at the others with worry clear in his eyes.

"You really think we should go with the other prank?" he whispered.

"Well, you've already started it, so there's no turning back now," Lucario replied.

Once Dawn was reassured that they weren't mad at her, she made breakfast for everyone. It wasn't the best they ever had, but it was better than they were used to lately, since she'd put more effort into it. However, they couldn't truly enjoy it, being far too nervous because of the second prank. It was a bit silly, but hopefully, it could provide at least a bit of distraction, since she obviously wasn't going to relax without help anytime soon. In the worst case, it would only make her angrier, similar to the first prank.

Lucario left before the others were finished, officially because he wanted to start his training a little earlier to make up for his previous performance. About ten minutes later, everyone was ready to go, but they let Dawn open the door, allowing her to step outside first. At first, she was just surprised that it felt like it was snowing although the sky was clear, but it was merely the beginning. A huge snowball hit her from above, covering her with snow almost entirely. Only the head was still free, and much to her surprise, the weather had changed tremendously. Instead of a clear, blue sky, there were grey clouds, there was a lot of snow, not only on the ground, but also falling down. For a few seconds, she was just standing there, wondering what was going on, while her pokémon were exchanging nervous looks. Then it hit her, and she started laughing. Unlike last time, it was genuine, and she only laughed harder when she looked up to see Lucario, who had used the snow on the roof for the massive snowball. The others quickly joined her, relieved that it finally worked.

"You really got me this time," Dawn said once she had calmed down a bit, shaking her head with a smile. "I can't believe I fell for that. Good job. But now I have to get new clothes. These aren't made for snowy conditions."

The pokémon quickly freed her, allowing her to go back to the bedroom to change. Even though it was just for a short, it was good to see her happy again, to see her enjoying herself. Since they knew that Dawn loved snow, but there wasn't as much as snow in Kanto as in Sinnoh, they figured it'd be a nice surprise. Now they had to follow up with more ideas, though, or everything could return to its former, depressing state. They couldn't allow it.

Despite the snow, the training was pretty standard. At least Alakazam, who had returned at night, couldn't fight with Dawn's lucario this time, as the fighting-type was training with Ash. Sylveon, Shaymin, and Cresselia weren't used to fighting in these conditions, so Dawn went easy on them by allowing them to take more and longer breaks. Although Ash probably would have argued that they had to get used to the harshness of the training, she welcomed this opportunity to make the work a little easier for herself, and since they wouldn't participate in the coming battles anyway, there was little to no reason for them to train as hard as the others. Nevertheless, they did their best to keep up with the others, albeit without much success. In the end, the experience and toughness of the others was too much for them.

Everyone was glad when it was almost over, as the cold temperature and all the snow were making even simple movements hard. In the end, it was Dawn, who ended it, albeit not in the traditional way. Since she still had to get back at Zoroak for the snow, she took a more aggressive approach by hitting him from behind with a snowball in the middle of a battle, when she was sure that nobody would get hurt. The dark-type was so surprised that he couldn't move at first. The others laughed at his face, as he was usually the one who played the pranks, so they didn't get many opportunities to do so. Of course, this was a mere snowball, not a real prank, but it sure felt like she fooled him. Ash's lucario was one of those who laughed, until he also got hit by one of Dawn's snowballs.

"I haven't forgotten that you threw that huge snowball!" she shouted.

The two flabbergasted pokémon regained their senses soon, and then they prepared for a counterattack. The others took it as a sign, starting the fight as well. Within a few seconds, everyone was participating with varying success. Naturally, ice-types had the advantage with Glalie being by far the most powerful fighter. Needless to say, he loved snowball fights, but there were so few opportunities that he had to use all of them to the fullest. Froslass wasn't bad either, and it was among the few times that the serious pokémon had fun openly. Although Dawn couldn't keep up with most of them, she had a lot of fun, even going as far as to wonder why she hadn't thought of this earlier. A snowball fight was not only a good way to have fun, but also trained the pokémon's reflexes, speed, agility, and precision.

A few pokémon like Snorlax were too lazy to participate, using the time to relax instead. Others took it a bit too seriously. Buneary froze Gliscor with ice beam, after the flying-type took a sneaky shot with a particularly large snowball at Pikachu. All in all, they had a lot of fun, though, especially Dawn, who had so little reason to be happy lately. There was only problem, Ash wasn't with them. However, he arrived soon without getting detected by the others. Upon realizing what they were doing, he frowned and confronted his girlfriend.

"Is that your idea of training?" he asked, startling her. She turned to see him standing there with his arms folded and her lucario next to him. Much to her dismay, he was only wearing a red jacket, which was made for autumn weather, but not for snow. "Have you been doing this the whole time?"

Everyone stopped immediately to listen to the conversation. They hoped Ash wouldn't get the wrong idea, but join their game instead.

"Of course not! We've training hard until recently. But what about you? Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?" she asked, pointing at his clothes.

"Not at all. my dear. A bit of snow has never stopped me before," he replied.

For a moment, he was tempted to read Dawn's thoughts in order to check her statement. However, he remembered the discussion with Lucario and decided against it. Despite their differences, he had a lot of respect for his pokémon, therefore he chose to follow his advice not to start things like reading minds without permission. Before Ash could say anything else, a snowball hit him in the face. The culprit was Gallade, who was pointing at his trainer.

"Why don't you join us?" he asked telepathically. "Or do you wish to back off? You've never been one to decline a challenge."

The others had no idea what was going on until Ash grabbed some snow from the ground slowly, shaping it into a ball. Without warning, he threw it at Gallade, who dodged it easily.

"Come on, you can do better than that," he teased.

The snowball fight restarted with two more participants. They had so much fun, it reminded them of the time before the trouble had begun, so they tried to make it last. More importantly, it rekindled their hope that it could be like that again in the near future. As a result, they didn't notice someone else approaching the lab until Ash's lucario pointed it out.

A tall, old man, wearing tattered, black pants, a thick, brown jacket, simple, black shoes, and a black cap, was walking towards them. He would look like a homeless if it wasn't for the medicham following him. For some reason, Ash had a feeling that it was immensely powerful. Since the man was looking down, his face couldn't be seen, yet he seemed to find his way perfectly fine. As soon as he was close to Ash, he stopped, lifting his head. His face matched his clothes. He had a full, scruffy, grey beard, a rough face with many small scars. Only the clear, green eyes suggested that there was more to him. The man just stared at Ash at first, then he spoke with a strong, loud voice.

"So you're Ash Ketchum." Ash was about to reply when he continued. "Hit me! As hard as you can."

Ash and the others weren't sure whether they had heard right. A man, who looked like a homeless, walked up to them at the lab while it was snowing heavily, and asked Ash to hit him as hard as he could. Without a doubt, this was one of the most bizarre men he'd ever encountered.

"Pardon me, what did you say?" he asked, hoping that he had misheard.

"I told you to hit me. Punch me, kick me, I don't care. Just try to hit me," the man told him, taking a fighting stance.

Ash looked at the others, unsure of what to do, but they didn't have any idea, so he did what he would usually do.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why you except this from me, but I don't hit people for no reason." Ash turned to walk in the other direction. "Now excuse me, I'm tired and in need of some rest."

"You couldn't do it anyway. I'm far too skilled for someone like you to hit me," the man replied. "I guarantee you won't be able to hurt me. Now do it!"

"Stop, Ash," Dawn said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let him provoke you."

"You stay out of this!" the man retorted. "Why are you so reluctant? I don't ask you to kill me. I only wonder whether you could hit me in a fair fight. No weapons, no pokémon. I won't even fight back. Or do you have so little faith in your own abilities?"

Ash was almost ready to do it, not only because it sounded like a challenge, but also because the man was rude to Dawn. He turned to his pokémon.

"Get ready in case something happens," he commanded.

"You can't be serious. Is it really worth it?" Dawn asked incredulously.

However, Ash wasn't listening anymore, he was about to fulfill the old man's request. Once again, Dawn was about to protest, but it was already too late. Ash charged at him, aiming at the stomach. Although the young trainer was extremely fast, the old man was even faster, dodging the punch almost effortlessly.

"Is that all you've got?" he taunted.

Enraged by this, Ash tried to attack with a flurry of punches, yet all of them were dodged easily, which only increased his anger. He felt ridiculed by an old man, who looked like he was more than 70 years old, yet moved like someone in his prime. By the time Ash started using kicks as well, the old guy put his arms behind his back, making everything look even more effortlessly than before. Ash wasn't slow by any means, but he didn't manage to make contact because his opponent was on a completely different level.

Since had trained the whole day, he got tired fast, which showed as the number and speed of his attacks got slower and slower, whereas the man didn't show any sign of weakness. Ash would have had to forfeit if his opponent hadn't called for a stop.

"I've seen enough," he said, taking a step backwards, out of Ash's reach. "Maybe he was right. You couldn't have killed Riley on your own."


	66. Past Mistakes

**AshxDawnaddicted: I don't really blame Ash in his situation. He's seen too much right in front of his doorstep to ignore it, and his new strength made him overconfident. Besides, his mind is still not clear after the possession, even if he looks healthy from the outside. Once his training slows down to a more appropriate level, when he's brought back to harsh reality, then he'll finally see clearly again. It'll be like a huge hangover. But first he'll have to battle the Elite 4 and possibly the champion.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 66 Past Mistakes

It was one thing when the old man asked Ash to hit him, it was completely different when he claimed that Ash had killed Riley. Everyone was looking at the young trainer with shocked expressions. Ash himself was unable to speak, being too surprised to do anything at all. Interesting enough, the words of the man didn't sound like an accusation, more like a simple statement. Dawn was the first to speak up.

"Riley? The same Riley who trained to become an aura guardian on Iron Island?" she asked with a shaking voice.

"The very same," the man replied. "Only that he was a full-fledged aura guardian when he died. One of our best."

"Our best? Are you trying to tell us that you're -" Ash pointed at him. "- an aura guardian?"

The others had the same thoughts, but not the courage to ask. The idea seemed a little far-fetched, given the man's appearance. Apparently, he could read their thoughts, or at least guess them, as he started laughing loudly.

"I am, boy. What did you except? A young, dynamic knight in shining armor? Not all of us are like that, especially now." He sighed. "Anyway, you can call me Halldur."

It was a lot of information to process. Not only was an aura guardian standing in front of him, he also claimed that Ash had killed one of them, but Ash had no memory of that event. It could only mean that the Okcha Prime had done it in his body. Nevertheless, Ash wanted to know more details.

"When? Where? How? What can you tell me about Riley's death?" he asked.

Halldur sat down and looked at everyone, appearing like a grandfather, who was about to tell his grandchildren a story at an open fire, only that they were outside while it was snowing. However, everyone was way too excited to even notice the cold.

"It was Riley's lucario who told me everything. Apparently, he was training at his usual location on Iron Island, when they heard someone singing nearby. They investigated cautiously since the aura of someone nearby was odd, unlike anything they've encountered before. Still, they didn't expect you to viciously ambush them or attack them with advanced aura powers. You managed to kill Riley, but whatever was controlling you left after that, fleeing instead of fighting Lucario as well. The pokémon then brought you near a pokémon center and watched over you until you were secured. After that, he found one of us, who proceeded to tell us about this tragedy. And now I'm here to ask you about things that Lucario couldn't tell us. Even though I doubt there's a lot," he added.

"So that's why I was found on Iron Island. I've wondered what kind of atrocities I could have committed, but this is worse than I expected. Being responsible for Riley's death ... that's more than just horrible," Ash muttered. "If only I could have been a little stronger..."

"If, if, if. It doesn't matter. You did it and now you have to live with your actions," Halldur told him.

There was a long moment of silence, then Dawn spoke up to make Ash feel less guilty by drawing the topic to something else.

"Wait a second, why didn't that creature just take control of Lucario?" she asked.

"We know ways of preventing mind control. It probably considered a normal fight against Lucario too risky, but that's just a guess," the old man said, shrugging. "What I want to know is how you got possessed in the first place and how that creature got loose."

So they told him what they knew, mostly about how Boris used it to fight them, how they destroyed its first body, and how it possessed Ash in the subsequent struggle. It wasn't much, and it didn't help Halldur a lot.

Something else caught had Ash's attention, which made him excited. Halldur was right, Ash couldn't change the past, but he could prevent it from happening ever again. But in order to do that, he needed more knowledge and better skills. If this man really knew how to protect the mind from those creatures, then Ash wanted to know about it.

"Would you mind teaching me about the protection you mentioned?" he asked. "I could really need it in case that thing returns."

Halldur raised an eyebrow before giving Ash a cold look.

"Even if I had the time, I wouldn't do it, boy. We choose our apprentices, mere potential won't help you with that. Especially since your motivations are this egoistic. Besides, you seem already too advanced for a teacher, so you should practice with your partner and figure it out for yourself instead. Or do you insist on someone holding your hand?"He laughed heartily. "I know you're quite a reckless chap, the kind we don't need right now. So many of us died because we underestimated the danger or thought we were invincible. Well, they learned the hard way that we're not."

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked him.

"Isn't it obvious? We're being hunted down, one by one. As far as I know, our numbers have already been reduced to five. Someone wants to eradicate us, someone with influence and power. We're strong, but even we can't face large groups of enemies with modern weapons. One of us managed to escape once, and told us that the attackers were members of Team Plasma. I don't know why they're doing this, I can only guess that this creature inside you had something to do with it. It isn't the first time, we aura guardians are confronted with this abomination," he said, talking directly to Ash. "Thousands of years ago, the early aura guardians had taken it down for trying to destroy mankind. We're not sure where it came from or why it hates humans so much, but it was extremely difficult to defeat. The story was told from generation to generation, until most of us believed it to be a mere myth. Obviously, it isn't."

Ash and Dawn weren't sure what to think anymore. They'd heard about the revival of Team Plasma, but the thought of it being under control of this monster was unsettling. After all, they had seen what kind of damage it could do while controlling one person, an entire organization under its command was horrifying. Halldur could sense that they were disturbed, yet he continued.

"We can't be the heroes this time, we're simply too few to take on a creature of such power. We were too proud, believing that we could defeat any enemy, even when severely outnumbered. A honorable fight, what's it worth if you can't win? That's how my predecessor as the senior member died. He refused to take precautions, refused to hide, refused to employ dirty techniques. And for what? Honor?" he exclaimed loudly. "He was a fool like many of us. Still, it's surprising how Team Plasma managed to find us so easily. We're not exactly well-known nowadays and often on the move. I have a guess, though. Lucario said that Riley was possessed for a few moments when he was already dying, and thus couldn't keep up his defenses. It may have had access to his memories, which include our names and locations. Another hint is that since you've known Riley, that's how it could have found him in the first place. But as I said, that's just a guess based on the old stories, and I don't know how accurate those are."

"What about those deaths and revivals? Is it responsible for those as well?" Ash asked.

"I have no idea how it could have done that, but it's our best bet. There's little we know about it, but it's definitely not from this world." He shrugged. "Anyway, as you can probably guess, I'm alive because I wasn't too proud to be a bit more sneaky and kept moving all the time. For that reason alone, I won't teach you anything."

It was a reason Ash could understand. Halldur had already lost many of his fellow aura guardians, so he was worried that they could be wiped out. Nevertheless, he was somewhat annoyed at the rudeness of the aura guardian, who appeared to think that he was better than Ash. His pride was hurt badly, but he wasn't going to back down, regarding it as a challenge instead. He was determined to become as strong as Halldur, or even surpass him, no matter the cost. The old aura guardian could sense not only Ash's emotions, but also his unbending will.

"At least you have the willpower required. It's a shame your intentions are questionable at best. Those who try to use aura to gain power usually end up destroying themselves. As much as the other aura guardians like to forget, we had members who became outcasts and had to be hunted down because they put their personal gain above our ideals." He shook his head with a grim smile. "Some people tend to think of us as knights in shining armor, and our members sometimes try to keep up the illusion. But I'm not that stuck-up, and I have no need to fool myself. We have our flaws, and we would be quickly out of members if we didn't accept them. Anyway, it's a pity you didn't have any useful information, but at least I could confirm Lucario's story. Time for me to leave."

Ash couldn't say that he'd miss Halldur anytime soon. The man was awfully honest and direct, a bit too much for Ash, since he obviously also lacked respect for the young trainer.

"Respect is earned, not given, boy," he said with a grin, having read Ash's thoughts.

"You look cold. Maybe you you'd like something warm to drink or eat?" Dawn asked.

"I appreciate your offer, but just how shabby do I look? Don't answer that, I already know," he told her, laughing. "I've never given a damn about others' opinions on me and I sure as hell won't start now." He turned to leave, but then he addressed Ash directly once more. "One last warning. Aura is a tool, nothing more. It can be used for good and bad purposes. Never let it distract you from those that deserve your love, or you might find that you've already lost what you tried to protect. Power makes you strong, but also lonely. It's up to you to decide how much you're willing to take."

Without another word, he walked away casually, followed by Medicham. A furious Ash was left behind, a trainer that didn't want to accept a hint, let alone a warning from someone who has been so rude to him. Deep inside, he knew that he had to train until he was ready to face Halldur again, there was no alternative for him.

After a long pause, during which everyone watched Halldur and his partner disappear in the distance, Ash lowered his gaze, letting out a drawn-out sigh. This guy had not only insulted him, but also wasted their precious time, and he had provided them with useless information, that was only good for scaring him and the others. Most importantly, he had disturbed a snowball fight, which was nothing minor, considering it had been one of the few relaxing events with Dawn lately. She surely was just as upset about it as he was, maybe even more. However, there was no alternative but to return to the training if Ash wanted to defeat him before the aura guardian would die of old age, no matter how late it already was. He spoke up with a calm, yet commanding voice, making clear that backtalk was not acceptable.

"Lucario, we have to train a little more before we can rest," he said, walking towards the usual location.

The aura pokémon looked at the others helplessly, but there wasn't anything they could do. Unfortunately, he was already exhausted due to all the training and the snowball fight, so he wasn't sure how long he could endure it.

"Ash, wait! It's already too dark and ... late." She reached out to him, only to lower her arm again when he didn't show any reaction whatsoever. In fact, she got the feeling that he ignored her on purpose, a thought that broke her more than anything else. "Ash! Wait ..."

When he didn't even look back, she lowered her head, turning to the opposite direction. Empoleon was the first to approach her, but when he out an arm on her shoulder, she pushed if off quickly.

"Let's go home," she said with a quiet voice.

The pokémon weren't sure what was worse, Ash's return to the training or Dawn's reaction. It seemed that all their efforts had been destroyed within a few minutes, leaving everything in a state that was even worse than before. Now the two trainers were walking in opposite directions, and it was certain they wouldn't meet until much later in the evening, or even later than that. They weren't sure who to follow at first, then those in the current teams followed Dawn, who made no attempt to wait for them, back to the house, the rest stayed at the lab, preparing to rest. During the following hours, Dawn spoke only once when she informed everyone that their food was ready. However, she wasn't present herself, hiding in the bedroom instead, where she went to sleep earlier than usual. Ash arrived late, even later than usual. Naturally, Dawn was already asleep at that point, but he didn't even notice. Not only was he frustrated because of lack of progress, he also suffered from a major headache. He swallowed something to ease the pain before going to sleep as well. After all, he didn't intend to slow down during the next days in any way. If anything, he wanted to increase the pace and intensity of his training, but he feared a lack of motivation on Lucario's part, as he had grown reluctant to assist him during the evening. On the other hand things might look different the next day, at least Ash was hoping for a change of heart during the night.

The next morning wasn't different from the others, except that Ash started his day earlier than usual. Dawn appeared to be back to normal completely, but her smile was fake, a mask to hide how desperate she truly was at the moment. The pokémon noticed that whenever she felt unobserved, she stared at random things with an empty gaze, which was always a painful view for them. Attempts to cheer her up didn't yield any success and neither did their attempts to help Ash relax a bit. With time, their attempts grew weaker, until they stopped entirely, as they no longer saw any chance of success.

* * *

The life at the Team Plasma base had become almost unbearable after Arceus's appearance, at least for the grunts. Elijah was clearly vengeful, as he humiliated them, gave them impossible objectives, and annoyed them with his newfound self-righteousness. One of them had enough soon, resulting in a hasty attempt to escape, despite the others warning him. They even tried to stop him, fearing that his escape could incur Arceus's wrath on them, but when he went to the entry hall, every single door leading to that room was locked, separating him from the others. What happened during the next few hours was reason enough for them not to start a rebellion. Although they could only hear the noises from inside the room, the screaming coming from inside told them far more than they cared to know.

"Heed this warning, lest you will suffer the same fate," Arceus told them with its thundering voice.

Once it was done with the traitor, the doors unlocked, allowing the others to enter the room, but they soon regretted it. Blood was everywhere, on the ground, on the walls, and on the remains of the poor fool, who looked like he had gotten burned, frozen, cut into pieces, pulverized, electrocuted, and stomped. Needless to say, the view was going to haunt them for the rest of their lives. They certainly didn't envy those who'd have to clean up the whole mess. However, it was a valuable lesson, one they were sure to never forget.

The result was remarkable. The grunts, who used to be loud, aggressive, and moody, turned into disciplined, obedient, and effective fighters, especially with the new weapons, which were bought with the rest of Elijah's inheritance for the hunt. A lot of supplies were needed for such a feat, and Elijah always made sure that there was no lack of those. Even so, they wouldn't put up with their boss if they weren't absolutely terrified of Arceus's revenge.

It was already late when Elijah Sorlan opened the passage to the secret chamber for his daily report. He had good news for his master in form of two heads, which belonged to hapless aura guardians. Like so many others before them, they had fallen into Team Plasma's traps, or rather they had walked willingly into them. As far as he knew, that left only three aura guardians, with one of them being an old man, and the other two having little experience compared to the others. The latter had been ignored so far for that reason, but now, since the others were out of the way, it was their turn. The old man on the other hand had been one of their primary targets from the start, yet he managed to outwit the hunter every time. Nevertheless, Elijah was convinced that Arceus would be pleased with the progress. The chamber lightened up as soon as the young man entered it, and he could hear the slow, but powerful voice of his master.

"I was expecting you. Do you have news about my enemies?" it asked.

As a reply, he held up the heads triumphantly.

"It's almost too easy, my lord. They don't hide, they don't run, it's almost like they think they can win," he told his master.

"Their pride will be their downfall. Such an arrogant bunch of fools," Arceus told him. "Do not pity them, their fate is well-deserved. I trust your weapons proved useful."

"Yes, my lord. It was a good investment, but our funds are running low. We won't be able to afford much more ammunition," Elijah confessed. "Supplies will also be a problem after a while, but it'll be enough for the last aura guardians. That Halldur has been difficult to find so far, though."

He heard something that could be interpreted as laughter. Although it didn't sound menacing, he was still nervous, for it was the first time he heard Arceus's laughter. Hopefully, it wasn't because of his inability to put down this aura guardian.

"I am not surprised. He is different from the others in many ways. Less arrogant. Unlike them, he will not hesitate to use sneaky tactics, and he will not fight you openly. You will have to meet him on his own terms, but that would mean certain defeat. Unless you manage to get him before the others, you have my permission to leave him alive. The resources needed to catch him would be enormous and could be used otherwise for much greater effect," Arceus explained, but Elijah's curiosity wasn't satisfied just yet.

"What makes him so different?" he asked. "How come a simple human can escape our grasp despite your help and instructions, my lord?"

"You are asking a lot of questions," his master said, startling him slightly. "But I will answer them. For now. Halldur's aura talents were amazing, even when he was still young. His careless attitude caused him to hurt a friend badly during the training, an event he would never forget. As a result, he started to regard aura as something that could be used for good and evil causes like any other tool, as opposed to the others, who regarded it as a gift to them. This, along with his willingness to employ tactics considered dishonorable by the others, and his lack of manners, all those things turned him into an outcast among the aura guardians, despite his outstanding abilities. There is no denying that his attitude has served him well so far. Soon he will be the last."

"If I may ask, why don't we try to make him defect?" Elijah suggested. "He could become a valuable ally."

"I am getting tired of your questions. All you need to know is that he is our enemy now. If given the chance, he must be killed immediately. Should you show more signs of doubt, I might think about someone else to do my bidding. Someone whose faith is stronger than yours." The young man took a step backwards, terror clear on his face. "But I am sure there will be no need for that. Now tell me, have you made any progress regarding your other mission?"

The thought of getting replaces in any way was already bad enough, but getting replaced as a the champion of Arceus would be utterly unbearable for him. It was his position and his alone. No matter the price, he had to secure it, but the new topic wasn't suitable, since he had nothing to report.

"I ... I'm afraid we haven't found anything so far. We focused on the aura guardians," he told his master.

"How unfortunate. I believe this enemy has something to do with the mysterious deaths all around the world. They are close, so close to reaching their goals. We must stop them, so this is urgent. Never forget your responsibility," Arceus made clear. Elijah nodded frantically, careful not to anger his master. "However, I have some information for you, that you might find useful. There are two trainers who have been the targets of our enemy repeatedly, Ash and Dawn from Pallet Town. Keep a close eye on them, and he might reveal himself during another attack. Another option would be the capture of one of his enemies, like a member of the international police. Their knowledge is limited, but it might prove useful for our cause nonetheless. Now I have some business that needs my attention. I will be back in exactly one week, then I expect to see at least two more heads and some information on the location of our enemy's base. Now go and fulfill your destiny."

Much to Elijah's disappointment, the chamber returned to its usual state. The light always gave him a feeling of being special, a warm feeling that he had been missing his entire life. He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts away for now. After all he had to hunt the remaining aura guardians, and prepare for the other mission at the same time. If the things Arceus told him were true, and he would never doubt them, the chances of catching Halldur were slim. Unfortunately, his men, as disciplined as they were right now, weren't the sneaky type, so this task might prove much more difficult than hunting the aura guardians. Having the two trainers observed seemed like a much more sensible choice, as capturing someone from the international police would undoubtedly attract their attention. Then they'd investigate Team Plasma with a much larger force than before. Elijah regarded it as an emergency option, which he'd only consider if he didn't find anything else within a week. He could only hope that it wouldn't be necessary.

* * *

Divine hurried to his office, where one of his operatives was waiting with an essential report. Even though it wasn't even remotely important for his plans, he was extremely interested in anything concerning the history of his champions, in this case Wraith. She had always been the most secretive of the bunch, and while it hadn't bothered him in the beginning, he wanted to know more about her now. He could just extract it from her mind with a powerful psychic-type, but it would destroy her loyalty, and he would have to make an Okcha take control of her. He valued her keen and independent mind, and she was also loyal, as opposed to Boris, so it wasn't a viable option. It was a shame her mind had proved highly resistant to weaker attempts, so he couldn't do it without her knowledge either.

However, he'd been called during a conference. The information was interesting, as it allowed for a different approach, assuming it was correct of course. If not, it would be the agent's last mistake. Wraith was strange enough that Divine was thrilled to learn about her past. The agent was already in his office when he entered. He saluted upon noticing the arrival of his master.

"Ready for the report, master," he exclaimed.

"Just a moment. I need to get comfortable first." He threw his items onto the desk before taking a seat. "Ah, much better. I must find a way to teleport here directly. Anyway, I want to hear your report. And don't leave out a single detail."

"Someone has been asking questions about Wraith all over Viridian City since the attack. He gave the people a detailed description of her, including her amulet. It's clear that he knows something about her, and judging from his tone, he isn't a friend of hers. He didn't go to the police even though they have to know more than the people in the city, so his intentions probably aren't the best," the agent added. "I've already gained more information on him. He's called Dominic Renaud, he's 23 years old and an engineer from Kalos. He has few friends, and little contact with his family ever since his little brother was brutally murdered three years ago. The murderer hasn't been caught so far. Two years ago he bought a few powerful dark-types and started traveling. I assume he's been looking for the murderer. He was supposed to be close to his brother."

Divine was pleasantly surprised by the initiative of the agent, or rather the Okcha inside. They had been incredibly dull at first, barely able to do anything without a clear order, but now the older ones were intelligent enough to anticipate his orders and act accordingly, probably because they had come to understand the human mind. He would be worried if it wasn't for his ring, which guaranteed their absolute loyalty. In fact, they were advanced enough that he sometimes seriously considered having Wraith getting possessed by one of them. Seth was a different matter, Divine had a safe way of ensuring his loyalty without an Okcha, which he could easily resist due to his psychic powers. Wraith on the other hand was mysterious and therefore potentially dangerous. However, he couldn't just force her to accept an Okcha, as her pokémon were fiercely loyal to her, not to Divine. Undoubtedly, they wouldn't take kindly to his attempts, maybe they'd even tell the international police about his hideout. It was a risk he wasn't willing to take during this stage, not when he was so close to reaching his goals. But he was intrigued by the prospect of getting to know something about her past, and it sounded like this Dominic had something to do with it. Especially her amulet was interesting. He knew it was made of gold and heart-shaped, which didn't seem to fit at all. Furthermore, she never took it off as far as he knew, wearing it even during the sleep. Because her pokémon never slept, Divine had never been able to get his hands on it. Perhaps this was his chance.

"You think she had something to do with the murder?" he asked casually.

"Possibly. The body was found badly burnt and with dozens of cuts across his body, even in the most painful places. The murderer must have hated him with a burning passion," the agent replied.

"Doesn't sound like Wraith at all. But then again, maybe she was different back then. Who knows?" He scratched his chin. "Maybe Dominic does. That's enough reason to have a word with him. Arrange a meeting in my office within the next few days."

It was clear that he wanted the man kidnapped and brought to him. The agent saluted and turned to leave, when Divine spoke up again.

"No, wait. I have a better idea. I think it would be much more interesting if he were to meet Wraith in private." He moved his chair so his back was facing the agent. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. "Yes, that sounds good. Keep a close eye on our dear Dominic. Don't let him escape unless you wish to suffer unimaginable pain. Now go, I have other things to do."

The agent did as he was told and left the office after a quick salute. There were a lot of things worth of Divine's attention, but he didn't care for most of them, like the deaths of the aura guardians. Although they were certainly capable, albeit misguided individuals, he didn't care about their fates at all. For some reason, he just didn't consider them worthy, perhaps because of their self-righteousness. Their arrogance almost rivaled his. There was no way he could ever convince them to work for him, and their abilities allowed them to resist Okcha control completely, so in a way it was better that they're gone. Divine was more interested in the coming battles in Kanto and Hoenn. Apparently, Ash and Dawn's relationship wasn't what it used to be, so he was thrilled to see how it'd affect their performances. It was even possible that this might be a good chance of convincing him to join him, although he'd prefer to get them both at the same time, but not before the end of the battles. They were something he didn't want to miss for any reason, so he'd actually try everything to make everything go as smoothly as possible. After all he really enjoyed competitive games, especially if interesting people were involved, and since the current activity of his organization didn't require his full attention, he could afford a few free days. A special helper could do most of the work in his absence. His army would grow steadily and other, more important fighters would soon be ready as well, and then it'd be time for the real fun.


	67. Getting Ready

**This the final chapter before Ash's challenge.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 67 Getting Ready

It was still early in the morning in Unova. When Looker heard the noise in the room in front of his temporary office in Unova, he already knew who was the visitor. Iris never made a secret of her visits, which had gotten extremely regularly as of late. Although she disrupted his work frequently, he couldn't really blame her. After all her pokémon were in the hands of criminals, and she wanted them back badly. Still, the constant interruptions were irritating, to say the least.

"Looker! Tell me you have news!" she cried as soon as she stormed into the office.

He sighed, looking up from the reports on his desk. Having to explain that there was nothing he could tell her was never easy, seeing the disappointment in her eyes, and it wasn't going to be different this time.

"I'm sorry. I have nothing new to tell you," he said with a tired voice.

"Is that all you can do? I expected more from the international police. You weren't that incompetent during the first conflict with Team Plasma," Iris told him before she realized what she was saying. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you ..."

"It's alright. I know you're under a lot of stress," he replied, waving it off. "But you must understand, so am I. As I've already told you, our numbers here are too small for a thorough search. Most of my colleagues are dedicated to the defense of the cities, and I can only hope that the recent breakthroughs will allow my boss to send some reinforcements. Until then, I'm afraid there's little I can do."

Iris grabbed a chair, put it in front of his desk and sat down, speaking to him with her arms folded and a serious expression on her face.

"So can you at least tell me when you'll have an answer from him?" It didn't sound like she expected a tangible answer.

"I fear it's not very high on his priority list. I wouldn't count on a quick answer." At first she thought it was a joke, but his grim expression told her otherwise. Besides, he never made jokes about his work. "I'm sorry. There's so little I can do to help you."

"Damn it!" Iris almost smashed the desk with her fist. "Just a few more men, is that so much to ask for? I should've called all of my friends right at the beginning."

"No! Team Plasma is too dangerous. Leave it to us," he protested.

Deep inside, she knew he was right. Rumors of them hunting aura guardians all over the world have reached her, and there were so many of them that at least a part of them had to be true. Considering all the stories about the aura guardians, it was a scary thought that the organization could kill them. If they wanted they could easily kill her as well.

"Maybe you're right," she admitted. "But I'm running out of patience. My pokémon could already be all over the world."

"I doubt it," he quickly replied without looking at her. "Dragon-types are among the most desired pokémon on the market. As such, selling them attracts a lot of attention. They couldn't have possibly sold gym pokémon without one of our agents noticing something. If they're smart, they'll wait, but I assure you, we won't let out guard down."

"Great, now I feel much better," Iris said sarcastically.

It'd take far more to calm her down, so she stood up and walked around the room aimlessly while Looker was telling her everything he was allowed to tell although she'd already heard all of it. Even he was fed up with having to repeat that he couldn't tell her more than that. In the end, it didn't help her in the slightest. They could only wait for either reinforcements arriving, or Team Plasma becoming less careful. So far, they'd been working with flawless discipline and precision. The reasons for this, as well as for the sudden change regarding their goals, remained unknown.

Their only possible lead had been a high-ranking member of the old Team Plasma, who'd been imprisoned shortly before their fall. Being a fanatic, he refused to cooperate with them, resulting in a long sentence, as opposed to the grunts, who were mostly free by now. However, shortly before the increase in Team Plasma activity, he had committed suicide in his cell by unknown means. Since the international police suspected that the new Team Plasma was using an old base for their operations, he could have told them the whereabouts if he had only been made to talk. Now it was too late, though, and interrogating the former grunts had yielded no results. Of course he wasn't authorized to tell her anything about this, which made the rest of the information seem like excuses. He hoped that he'd have the chance to take action soon.

* * *

The day before the big event was different from the previous ones. The pokémon were relieved to see him join the regular training instead of practicing his aura abilities as usual. Ash on the other hand was content with their current state, although he didn't realize Dawn's influence. Empoleon was mad at her for not taking any credit, but no matter how much he urged her, she refused to say anything despite the fact that she'd definitely deserve some praise. Under her instructions, Pikachu managed to learn a move similar to extremespeed, since he just didn't manage to learn the real move. It was similar to Gallade's teleport assault, allowing him to close the distance to a target with tremendous speed. He basically disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in front of the target before following up with a powerful strike with his tail. Although the power was vastly inferior to volt charge, it was much more difficult to predict as it was instant, and the glowing tail could blind the opponent for a short time. Because of this ability, they dubbed it blinding charge.

Ash didn't seem too impressed, but he acknowledged it nonetheless. The most exciting part was him revealing the team for the first battle. He only knew that the new member of the Elite Four preferred water-types, which already gave him a pretty good idea who it might be, but he used a mixed team. There had been a lot of trainers, who simply used a bunch of pokémon with type advantages. Those trainers never got too far, not only because their team often lacked synergy, but also because the Elite Four were used to fighting those. Despite the new member probably being weaker than the others, he wasn't going to hold back. In fact, he wanted to make a lasting impression by overcoming this new challenge with overwhelming force, so he didn't care too much about synergy. Pikachu was a given, then there was Salamence, Lucario, Bulbasaur, Greninja, and Reuniclus. Bulbasaur was still adamant about his decision not to evolve, but that didn't mean he was a pushover. He was strong enough to deserve a place in any team.

Serena arrived in the middle of the day with Marcus. When asked how she managed to take him along, she just giggled like a maniac, but refused to give a real answer. Marcus just muttered things they couldn't understand with a red face, so they decided not to investigate further, as he was clearly embarrassed about it. Just as expected he had tried to find his little sister, and Serena had helped him at some point, albeit obviously without success. Now they were taking a break, and at least Serena was determined to watch Ash's battle. Marcus was still hesitant, but to Dawn, it looked like he wouldn't be able to resist if Serena asked him nicely. Something seemed odd between those two, so Dawn asked Serena while they were playing with Shaymin and Cresselia, who were still unknown to the young trainer.

"So ..." She looked around to make sure that neither Ash nor Marcus were listening. "What's going on between you and him?"

"What do you mean?" Serena asked innocently, scratching Shaymin's back.

"For once, Marcus didn't challenge Ash the moment he saw him. He also seems a lot more relaxed. He's usually so grumpy," Dawn told her.

"He's not so grumpy once you get to know him a bit better. You'd be surprised how good he's at listening. And he helped me out so much with my pokémon. I guess you didn't know that side of him?" she asked with a smirk.

"I must admit I've only seen the grumpy, aggressive, reckless guy, who always gets us in trouble," Dawn replied, scratching the back of her head. "I guess we all have our masks. Anyway, I'm glad you have become friends with him. He really needs someone to distract him a little from his troubles."

Serena knew what Dawn was talking about. Those troubles had been like a barrier, which had prevented her from reaching him for a long time. After all she hadn't achieved everything just by walking up to him, it had been hard work. It had taken her a lot of patience, and she had only finished it because she believed it was worth it.

"Yeah, everything about his sisters is just sad. It made things so much more complicated, but I think I managed to convince him that searching Kanto mindlessly is pointless. These battles should also help him have a bit of fun. I hope." Serena sighed. "By the way, what's up with Ash? He appeared so distant. And you ... well, you weren't as close as you used to be."

Dawn lowered her eyes in embarrassment. The fact that an outsider could notice it so easily was unsettling.

"He's been ... distracted by his training lately. Not much time for me I'm afraid," she said hastily. "Once this whole deal is over, everything will be normal again."

"Hm." Serena scratched her chin, not fully convinced. Somehow, Dawn didn't sound fully convinced, but her friend abstained from asking more, at least for now. She'd have to talk about it eventually, but Dawn seemed too stressed right now, and it would only ruin the moment with Shaymin and Cresselia. "Oh, you two are so cute and beautiful."

Even though Shaymin was a bit nervous with Serena around at first, it soon got used to her presence and came to enjoy her affection. Cresselia was a bit more open, but in the end, their reactions didn't differ too much. Dawn's lack of time for them recently only made them happier about the attention. In fact, Dawn almost got a little jealous when she noticed how much they adored Serena.

Meanwhile Ash was testing Pikachu's new move with Marcus watching the scene. Marcus used to be practically radiating jealousy, but now Ash couldn't feel it anymore, even with his keener senses. Instead, there was merely curiosity. Ash ignored it, focusing on the training until he was satisfied with the tests. Then he confronted the spectator.

"You're not going to challenge me this time?" he asked.

"Nope," Marcus replied, much to Ash's surprise.

"Are you the real Marcus?" Ash narrowed his eyes. "You seem awfully different."

Marcus laughed before sighing. Apparently, he was also a bit surprised.

"Didn't think you'd notice. You seemed way too busy with the preparations. But I guess you're right. I'm different. You'd probably be even more surprised to hear that I've given up on becoming a champion," he told his former rival. "Go on, ridicule me all you want for giving up. But I believe it's the best decision."

Ash wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand he, being someone who never gave up, couldn't approve of such an attitude, on the other hand he knew all too well that Marcus wasn't cut out to be a champion. In the end, it would only bring him pain and misery, so maybe it was the most sensible decision.

"I'm disappointed. But it's your decision, not mine." He shrugged. "Do what you want. But why the sudden change?"

"Nothing special." Marcus turned to leave, as he didn't wish to discuss the matter further. But before he rushed off, he turned around to say something to Ash. "Good luck in your battles."

Ash froze in his tracks since he hadn't expected a reaction like that. Until now, he believed that Marcus despised him, but he couldn't detect a lie or any negative feelings now. He suspected that it was because of the recent tragedies in his live, especially Eileen's disappearance. The energy he had always used to train his pokémon was now used to look for his little sister. However, there was something else, something Ash couldn't really describe, but due to lack of time, he decided not to think about it anymore. The next day wouldn't be easy, and there was still a lot to do.

Little did he know, Eileen had nothing to do with his decision. His original plan was to continue once she was safe, but it was a different girl who convinced him otherwise. Although Serena never actually asked him to do it, she was the only one who ever gave him the feeling that his achievements so far were worth something. She made him feel appreciated, like nobody before her, and that way, she also made him appreciate them as well. Suddenly, there was no more need to go further, the voice of his father, which was pushing him further and further, was gone. He would be happy, if it wasn't for Cat's death and Eileen's disappearance. He'd still be searching for her relentlessly, but Serena had convinced him to take a break by convincing him of the hopelessness of this undertaking. Kanto on its own was already way too big, but the whole world was impossible to search.

Because of his change in attitude, the training also changed, and the pokémon enjoyed the new, more relaxed atmosphere. Interesting enough, even though he trained only a few times since the recent incidents, it felt like he had made so much more progress than ever. Nevertheless, he had a feeling that it would never be enough for him to become a real champion, so he thought of a different career. He was definitely good enough as a gym leader, but he'd save Eileen before thinking about it any further.

"I hope you're alright, wherever you are," he muttered.

At the end of the day, he and Serena returned to his house for the night. Just like Dawn, they had tickets for Ash's battles, so they'd meet there again to cheer him on. Ash went to bed early, being exhausted from the last tests, which had consumed more time than he had anticipated. Now he felt more ready than ever. Only Dawn remained at the lab until it was already late, training and playing with her pokémon. She felt that she had to focus on them now, since she had been training both hers and Ash's for such a long time, and the scene with Serena had opened her eyes.

* * *

Instead of searching for the Storm Raiders grunt, Wraith was called to Divine's office. He said it was urgent, so she didn't waste any time. Apparently, she was a bit too early, as she caught her boss petting his absol in the office. The dark-type shot a glare at her before turning invisible. Divine didn't seem to mind at all, though, and smiled when she approached.

"So how do you like working with Eileen?" He laughed upon seeing her expression of disgust. "Thought so. It makes your next mission all the more enjoyable for you. It has come to my attention that she suffers from certain ... fears. I firmly believe she needs to confront them."

Wraith didn't show any emotion, as she didn't completely trust him. Although it wouldn't be the first time he messed with one of his chosen, it was rare for him to get anyone else involved in his schemes. As tempting as the prospect of being part of something against Eileen was, she wasn't sure whether it was really worth it.

"What fears?" she asked calmly.

"Darkness," he simply stated. "A fear of the dark. It seems her father locked her in a cupboard one evening when they were alone in the house because she was getting on his nerves or something like that. I doubt even her siblings know about it, but she's been afraid of being alone in the dark ever since. It's an unacceptable weakness, none of my chosen can afford something like it. She has to fight it, even if it means having to experience horrifying things."

"And what's my role in this?" Wraith inquired.

"Simple. Viccy's room is empty since she's gone. When Eileen returns later in the evening, you'll lock her in that room. I'll make sure the lights won't work." A vicious smile graced his face. "Someone will find her in the morning, but until then she's on her own. It'll be a very ... valuable lesson. After that, we'll try different things. Now prepare for your mission. She'll be back within an hour."

"It'll be done," she replied.

Everything about the girl just aggravated her, so Wraith wasn't exactly sad about this new mission, no matter how small or primitive it was. If it could make the brat more useful in the future, all the better. Right now she was still too reluctant, even with the Okcha's subtle influence. After that, Divine would start with more drastic measures. As much as he hated it, time was running out, and he wanted her to be ready for a possible confrontation in the near future.

* * *

Ash and Dawn woke and stood up almost simultaneously for a change. While Dawn was preparing the most awesome breakfast she could think of for such an important day, Ash addressed his team for a motivational speech in front of the house. Although it was still freezing, the sun was shining, so the weather was perfect for an event like an Elite Four battle. Pikachu, Lucario, Salamence, Bulbasaur, Greninja, and Reuniclus were standing around him.

"Alright, the moment we've been waiting for is close. This member of the Elite Four is new, so he or she shouldn't be too strong. But that doesn't mean we'll go easy on that water-trainer. No, we'll do our best and advance! We haven't waited for such a long time just to get defeated in the first round due to arrogance. I know we're strong enough this time. I know we can win. I know we will win!" He raised his first in the air, a gesture that was repeated by the pokémon. "Our hard work will finally pay off and we'll take the place we deserve as the best of the best among trainers and pokémon. Pokémon master and master pokémon!"

Since they were right in front of the kitchen, Dawn heard everything. It reminded her of the old Ash, not the one whose pokémon she had been training for days now, and it made her smile. If she was right, he'd return after the battles, assuming he won all of them of course. He surely wasn't going to fail because of missing support, she'd made sure of that. Apart from her, Serena and Marcus were going to be there, as well as Delia and Johanna, who didn't want to miss this important event for any reason. Others, like May, Brock, Drew, and Iris had been invited to join them, but they had declined for different reasons, mostly because they were too busy. It was a shame, considering how much hope everyone else put into this attempt, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Since Ash sounded like he was almost done, Dawn quickly finished the breakfast. Sure enough, he entered the kitchen about a minute later for the final meal before the battle. He didn't talk a lot, much to her dismay, and left before she was done as well. In fact, he even forgot to tell her that he was going to prepare directly at the stadium, so she was surprised when he was gone entirely. Unfortunately, she couldn't follow him as she had promised their mothers to wait for them so they could go together. The women took their time, though, resulting in Marcus and Serena arriving first. His behavior confirmed Dawn's impression from the previous day, he was much more relaxed and outgoing, especially without Ash nearby, but he talked to Serena most of the time. It was still rather early, though they hoped to avoid other people trying to get inside.

Apparently, others had the same idea, as there were quite a lot of people in front of the stadium. Many of them were children playing in the remaining snow, others were drinking something warm while watching over them. The sun made the cold temperatures remarkably easy to endure, even for long times, so they decided against going indoors for now. It also allowed them to watch the people that arrived a bit later, including some well-known trainers like Cynthia, who had obviously taken an interest in Ash a long time ago. She was easy to spot due to the amount of fans following her, others arrived without attracting any attention like Max Wright. Obviously, he wasn't interested in the battle itself, but he was there for security reasons. Also, since the enemy had attacked Ash in the past several times, there was a surprisingly high amount of agents undercover among the crowd. In case of an attack or another emergency, they could quickly guide people to safety and deal with the problem itself at the same time. After this event, Max would have to send some of them to Unova as a response to the sudden Team Plasma aggression, now that the signal beam weapon secured the cities.

With the beginning of the battle approaching, people started to move inside. That's where Serena and Marcus, and Dawn, Delia, and Johanna had to go separate ways, as the latter had places a bit closer to the stage. Unsurprisingly, there was a big, rectangular pool in the center with small, round islands, as befitted a water-type trainer. Hopefully, Ash was prepared for the environment. Dawn wouldn't have worried at all until recently, but his thoughts had become a mystery to her. Music was entertaining the people while people gradually arrived until the stadium was full. Neither the cold nor the attacks on the cities could prevent them from watching a battle like this one.

Ash was leaning against the wall in the corridor leading to the stage, since he had nothing better to do. Training or motivating the pokémon was pointless so shortly before the match, so he used the time to think about other things a little. He had received a few calls from friends and rivals, including Gary, who was back at the lab, ready to take his grandfather's place. Despite his confidence, he was still excited. Most of his new abilities were useless in battles, with one of the exceptions being the aura link, which could be used to communicate with the pokémon without saying a word. It was a great advantage over the other trainers, as they didn't know what he was planning. However, he had already decided against using this method in the coming battles. Even though he didn't regard the method as dirty, he wished to win with his normal skills alone. Once he has proven himself by defeating Lance, he'd use it all the time in order to unlock his full potential. He licked his lips, imagining how he could utterly destroy even advanced trainers that way.

Pikachu, who was outside of his pokéballs as usual, was standing next to him. He knew that Ash would try not to use him in the first battles, so that he wouldn't suffer from any serious injuries that could ruin his performance in the others. This would also be a good test for Ash, as only the best trainers could defeat Elite Four members without using the whole team. The pokémon were just as excited as Ash. Despite Dawn being on the same level, fighting on the stage with countless people watching was still an entirely different experience, one that they all enjoyed to the fullest. Being sometimes called weak compared to the others, Pikachu was particularly thrilled. Although he didn't care what those people thought or said, he had a lot of fun proving them wrong by overcoming great challenges, but they simply wouldn't shut up. No matter what they said, he didn't need to evolve, and Ash also agreed. There was no need to discuss this matter.

Being an unevolved pokémon as well, Bulbasaur had a similar problem. However, since he wasn't Ash's main pokémon and therefore not always on his team, people didn't talk about it nearly as much. Nonetheless, Bulbasaur was just as eager to make them look like fools by outperforming those they called stronger than him. Buneary was just like that as well, same with Empoleon before the forced evolution. Pikachu wondered what people would say once they see his new form. A few them would probably spread rumors that Dawn was the one who had forced him to do it, others would claim he hadn't been able to take their criticism. In any case, Dawn, Ash, their pokémon, and true fans would love him no matter how he looked and that's what truly mattered.

Pikachu's thoughts were interrupted at exactly 10 AM, when the music stopped, and a voice could be heard.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the last elite challenge of this year! So far, many have tried, but they have failed every time. However, this challenger isn't new to all of this. No, Ash from Kanto has tried several times, getting better after each attempt, and only lost to Karen last time. Will he be able to defeat her? Will Ash come to face the champion himself? Let's give him a warm welcome!" Smiling brightly, Ash entered the arena. His clothes were casual, seemingly not suitable for the occasion, but he had never been one to worry about clothes. Pikachu was following him, waving to the crowd. "This particular battle is special, though. As most of you already know, Agatha has retired, so a new member of the Kanto Elite Four had to be selected. Be assured that it wasn't an easy decision, there were many who could have made worthy members, but only one, the most talented, ambitious, and passionate could make it. She used to be a gym leader, testing every trainer who dared challenge the renowned Cerulean gym. Now she's more than that, and this is her first battle as a representative of the Elite Four. Let's welcome Misty!"

There was a lot of applause when she appeared at the other side of the field, even more than Ash had received. Dawn suspected it was not only because this was her first battle, but also because of Misty's beautiful dress. It was white with elegant markings that looked like they were made of tiny pearls. The most distinctive feature was its length, which made it look like Misty was followed by a trail of sea foam. Although she didn't wear any jewelry, the dress on its own was a contrast to Ash's casual look.

"A water-type trainer. It could've only been Misty," Johanna exclaimed, clapping. "As far as I know, there's no other one nearly as skilled. Her biggest rivals were specialized in other types."

"She's been working so hard for this. I'm happy for her," Delia said.

Dawn knew that Misty had really increased the amount and intensity of the training after Ash's journey through Unova, but they hadn't battled ever since, so there was no telling how strong she was currently. Since she made it to the Elite Four, she couldn't be much weaker than the others, but it was unlikely that she was strong enough to beat Ash. He'd been much stronger than her back then, and considering his hard work, she couldn't have possibly surpassed him. Nonetheless, arrogance could easily lead to his doom, as it had already for so many others, so he had to be careful. Especially her gyarados had to be extraordinarily strong, albeit probably not as much as Lance's red gyarados. Ash and Misty approached each other on the side of the pool before shaking hands.

"I knew I was going to face you the moment I heard it was a water-type trainer. I hope you don't expect me to go easy on you," Ash told her with a grin.

"Don't even think about it. It would make both of us look bad," she replied nonchalantly. "Besides, you should that I'm more than capable of handling myself even against the likes of you."

"Oh yeah? What are you going to throw at me? Psyduck?" he asked, chuckling.

"You wish. Psyduck is at the gym, I made sure of that," she told him with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Although she had checked at least a dozen times, she could never be absolutely sure. The pokémon just had a nasty habit of appearing when she least expected it. In most cases, it was extremely inconvenient, and the fear of calling out Psyduck instead of Gyarados was real.

"By the way, why the fancy outfit? This isn't a contest," he pointed out. "Or is the look more important than the skills nowadays?"

"Shut up, I have to make a good impression in every way. It may sound like I'm a real member of the Elite Four, but this is merely a test phase. You have any idea how many have been rejected because their performance at the beginning wasn't satisfying? I'm still new, so I have to be careful, yet bold at the same time. Not to mention, I have to look presentable." She shot a glare at him. "But I guess you know nothing about that."

"I don't need to bother with such matters. Either I win or lose, nothing else. And in this case I'll win," he added.

"You need to." Misty was grinning now. "Unlike me, you still have to achieve your dream after all."

She hit a nerve by saying that, and his tone got more aggressive.

"Are you surprised? Your dream was smaller to begin with," he retorted.

"Smaller? Watch your tongue, Ash!" she replied.

"Yes, smaller. What's more impressive? Being the best water-type trainer of Kanto and being among the best five trainers? Or maybe being the best in Kanto? I think it's rather obvious." He turned around, signaling that the argument was over, but she wasn't going to accept it just yet.

"It doesn't matter, you had it so much easier at the beginning with me around. I had to explain everything to you, but I had nobody to show me the ropes," she replied. "So no surprise you got ahead with time."

"What? You never explained anything until after I made a mistake. So it doesn't really count," Ash told her, raising his voice.

"Oh yeah? You wouldn't have gotten past the first round at the league without my help!" Misty shouted.

"Or maybe I would've gotten even further!" he answered.

It was a bit hard to believe for the audience. The two trainers were obviously yelling at each other, and the argument was getting worse.

"I should've expected something like this," Delia muttered, covering her face in embarrassment.

It went on for a while until one of the guards had enough and went between them to end the argument.

"Enough! Save your wrath for the battle, you two. Now get to your places!" he said loudly, so that they could hear him.

They complied reluctantly, taking their positions on small towers at the opposite sides of the stage. The extra energy could prove useful in battle, even if they wouldn't participate personally. At least they hoped they wouldn't, or they might get into real trouble. Unlike Ash, Misty didn't have to win, she only had to put up a proper fight, but it wouldn't prevent her from trying, especially after his insults.

"Alright, the battle is about to start. Will Ash advance again or will Misty stop him in his tracks against all odds?" the commentator shouted. "We'll find out soon. The rules are simple. It's a full battle, a trainer if he or she manages to defeat all six pokémon of the opposing team. No berries or consumable items like potions or antidotes are allowed, switching the pokémon is allowed at any point. Let the battle begin!"

The referee made sure that they were ready one more time before officially declaring the start of the match.

"Battle, begin!" he shouted for everyone to hear.

Ash and Misty gave each other challenging looks, then they both readied their pokéballs.


	68. Watery Start

**Now that the battles are here, Ash will focus solely on them. Once it's done, he might view everything as the result of his work alone. Or he might finally realize that there are others he needs. Only time will tell how he reacts. No matter the outcome, Dawn will have an easier time because she'll only have her own team to train.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

* * *

Chapter 68 Watery Start

The trainers waited a few more seconds before finally calling out their respective pokémon.

"Lucario, I choose you!" Ash shouted, calling out the aura pokémon on one of the islands close to his position.

"Starmie, let's show him!" Misty shouted. The water-type appeared directly in the water.

There was a pause again, with both trainers waiting for the other to make the first move. Although he was at a disadvantage, Ash figured that he could end it quickly by combining extremespeed and thunder punch. That's why he was the one to take initiative.

"Use thunder punch after extremespeed," he commanded.

Lucario was fast. Before Misty could react, he was already in front of her pokémon, using the electric move on it. The fact that it was still in the water didn't help.

"Retaliate with scald!" Lucario was ready and retreated when the ends of Starmie's body pointed at him. When the boiling water was shot at him, he was already far enough away to evade it with ease. "Rapid spin and recover!" Starmie rose into the air, using recover while it was spinning to give it a little protection. It was early for a healing move, but Ash wasn't going to just let it happen.

"Use stone edge!" Fearing a trap, he didn't want Lucario to get into melee range just yet. Using thunder punch on the rocks, the aura pokémon shot them at Starmie, who interrupted the healing move to dodge the attack.

"Now hydro pump!" Misty shouted.

The streams of water from each end of its body merged to create a single, powerful attack. Ash intended to use it for one of his own attacks.

"Use swords dance with the spin and then thunder punch!" Using his own body as a drill, Lucario penetrated the water while using swords dance simultaneously. Since his body wasn't made for such a move, he still took some damage, although it was nothing compared to a direct hit. However, Lucario was slower than Ash anticipated, and Starmie had time to react.

"Push it into the water with psychic!" Starmie's gem glowed brightly during the move, and Lucario came to a halt right in front of it. Then the fighting-type got pushed back into the center of the pool. "Now whirlpool!" It was small, but powerful enough so that Lucario couldn't escape, no matter how much he struggled.

Ash wasn't happy with the battle so far. For some reason, Lucario was slow, weak, and vulnerable, struggling even against an opponent like Starmie. He could#ve used extremespeed to get close much quicker, but the move required a lot of energy, so he couldn't use it too often in a battle. Even so, he should have been fast enough with the drill, and he should be strong enough to escape from the whirlpool. Obviously, this wasn't the case, so Ash had to do something soon as waiting for the whirlpool to end wasn't an option against a pokémon like Starmie.

"Use scald!" Misty commanded.

"Get out of there with extremespeed!" Despite his anger, Ash's voice was still remarkably calm. Before the hot water hit the whirlpool, Lucario used its force combined with his own move to catapult himself out of there.

"Use reflect!" A transparent wall appeared in front of the water-type for a moment before disappearing. "Now scald again!"

"Use extremespeed and thunder punch!" The sudden attack prevented Starmie from completing its move, but it quickly regained its concentration and hit him from point blank distance, causing a terrible burn and launching him into the water.

Once again, Lucario didn't live up to Ash's expectations. Despite the reflect move, Lucario still had the power of swords dance, which should have been enough to not let Starmie fight back. Now it was clear that the damage wasn't enough, and now he was even weaker due to the burn.

"Use recover!" Misty shouted.

"Get back there with extremespeed! Then brick break and thunder punch!" The first punch shattered the reflect shield, but even without it, the others weren't enough to prevent Starmie from using recover, and he only managed to do enough damage to neutralize the effect of the healing move.

"Use the hydro pump counter!" By using a combination of hydro pump and rapid spin, it managed to shake him off. "Attack with scald and control it with psychic!"

Misty was getting bolder. Ash had to finish it soon or his pokémon, having no means of healing, would run out of energy. Although he could switch his pokémon, he was too proud to even consider it. In order to win, he had to rely on non-physical attacks due to the burn. It wasn't an easy decision, since Lucario was better at melee combat.

"Shoot an aura sphere into the air with thunder punch, then focus punch on it!" Lucario did so just before the water reached him, and followed the charged orb. The scald move, controlled by Starmie's psychic changed its direction to hit him from below. Fortunately, he charged up the focus punch while moving, so he didn't have to wait when he reached the orb. With tremendous force, he shot it at Starmie, whose psychic move was interrupted, resulting in the water falling down again. "Now extremespeed and use aura punches!"

It was a combination of punching attacks, in this case thunder punch, with aura sphere, which was accomplished by surrounding his first with the spheres, thus hitting with two moves at the same time. It was extremely powerful, but on the other hand it consumed extraordinary amount of energy, so that Ash only used it when he needed to deal a lot of damage in a short time. Unlike the punches themselves, the aura spheres weren't affected by the burn, and the charges from the thunder punches allowed them to deal significant damage despite the type-disadvantage.

"Don't let it do that! Hydro pump counter again!" It was too late, though. Lucario's fury and frustration was driving him into a frenzy, forcing him to punch his opponent. The final punch smashed Starmie into one of the islands, but Lucario, being exhausted from his attack, fell into the water and had to swim to the nearest island. "Get up! Use recover!"

The referee waited a bit, then he raised an arm, pointing at Misty's side.

"Starmie is unable to battle," he announced.

"Awesome job, Starmie. Take a rest now," Misty said, recalling her pokémon.

Ash had less reason to be happy despite the victory. Lucario's performance wasn't satisfactory at all, he'd been too slow and weak, only his attitude was admirable. His last attack came at a price, he wouldn't be able to cause serious damage to another pokémon, let alone defeat it. Ash was actually glad that he used Lucario against Misty, now he knew that he wouldn't use the aura pokémon against the other trainers. He was simply too much out of shape.

"Maybe I really focused on my aura abilities too much," he muttered. "But no, it was necessary. Well, there are others who can take your position, at least temporarily."

The difficulty of the first fight wasn't just because of Lucario's weakness, though, Ash also had to admit that Misty wasn't there for no reason. This was definitely a promising start, but he wasn't going to make it that easy for her again.

"I must admit, I didn't think she'd have put this much resistance," Johanna muttered. "Either Misty is really strong or Lucario did a really bad job there. At least considering what I'm used to see from him."

"What do you mean?" Delia asked, having no clue what she meant. "He won, didn't he?"

"No, she's right," Dawn answered for her mother. "He's slow and weak. He was much more powerful before ... some time ago."

There was a bitterness in her voice that alerted the older women. However, the battle started again, distracting them, at least for the time being.

"Alright, time for Politoed! Start with rain dance," Misty shouted. As soon as the pokémon was standing on the nearest island, it started with the weather move. Lucario prepared for an attack, but Ash didn't intend to let him fight Politoed as well. He was weak and exhausted, barely able to stand and thus unfit to fight.

"Thank you, Lucario. Leave the rest to the others." Ash made no effort of hiding the disappointment in his voice. Even though the aura pokémon was perfectly aware of his own condition, he was still shocked, as evident in his expression when he was recalled. This obviously meant that that Politoed was able to complete the rain dance, which was a price Ash was willing to pay. If it got too annoying, he could still cancel it quickly, although he doubted that Bulbasaur, his next pokémon, would have trouble with the rain, as long as he didn't try to use solar beam or synthesis. "Bulbasaur, I choose you! Use toxic seeds!"

Misty knew Bulbasaur's move all too well. Bulbasaur shot many small seeds from his back all over the field, and it looked like they did absolutely nothing. However, if anyone got too close to them, they'd grow into vines, that immobilized and poisoned the target. The duration was usually enough to allow for quite a few hits, and most importantly, the seeds remained even without Bulbasaur around, which made him a superb pokémon at the beginning of a battle. Most of the Seeds fell into the water, the others landed on the islands.

"Get them with ice beam!" They couldn't grow if they were encased by ice, but there were far too many for Politoed to hit them all, so it focused on those flying towards it. Once Bulbasaur was done, Misty tried to get rid of the seeds on the islands. "Use surf!"

Although most of the seeds would get washed off by the rain, Misty wanted to be absolutely sure. Politoed jumped into the water behind it and raised an impressive wave to clean the rest of the islands. The weather condition only made it larger, yet Politoed jumped off into the pool, evading the seeds nearby.

"Escape with vine whip and use sludge bomb!" Using his vines, Bulbasaur catapulted himself into the air, high enough to evade the wave entirely. Then he shot several globs or purple liquid at random positions on the field. They sank into the water a bit before detonating, darkening and poisoning the water around them. Naturally, the water-type didn't wish to swim in this water, and jumped out before it could get to it. "Poison whip!" While falling down, he shot another sludge bomb at Politoed, albeit without attempting to actually hit it. Instead, he drove two vines through the blob to cover them with poison, but when he tried to hit the water-type, it was recalled.

"Well done so far. Let Dewgong handle it now!" She called it out on the nearest island instead of in the poisoned water. "Use blizzard!"

The attack came a bit faster than Ash anticipated, and since Bulbasaur wasn't suitable to fight ice-types, Ash recalled him. There was no efficient way the grass-type could have countered the blizzard anyway.

"Return for now. Your opponent is Politoed. Greninja, you handle this!" He started at Bulbasaur's location once the blizzard was gone. Ash knew that the move had frozen the seeds that had been moved to that position by the wave, so they weren't dangerous unless Greninja broke the ice surrounding them by stepping on it. Fortunately, the water-type was a sneaky type and didn't have any trouble. Bulbasaur, having created the seeds, wasn't affected by them, but the rest had to watch out. "Time for blur!"

Greninja's individual move basically blurred and distorted his own image, making it almost impossible to hit him from a distance because the opponent didn't know what part of him was real. The closer an opponent, the sharper the image, and the move was almost useless in melee range. However, not every pokémon could afford getting that close, especially pokémon like Alakazam or Gengar, who couldn't take a lot of hits, had to keep their distance. Therefore he was a natural counter to that kind of pokémon. Misty didn't understand the potential of this protection at first and was completely entranced by the pokémon himself.

"Oh, a greninja. It's so cool!" She shook her head once she became aware of her current situation. "Anyway, use ice beam!" she commanded. Greninja didn't even need to move as the move went right past him, striking the energy shield that protected the audience from stray attacks. Hidden pokémon guards used to take care of those, but the shield was much more efficient, albeit expensive to maintain, so they were only used during important battles. "Try blizzard!" An area attack was a different matter, as the blur didn't offer protection against those.

"Throw the seeds on the ground and break them with water shuriken! Then feint attack!" he told his pokémon.

Greninja grabbed a few encased seeds and jumped to the side, evading the blizzard easily. Neither Misty nor Dewgong could see him throw them or the tiny water shuriken he used after that. Even so, they couldn't have expected Greninja to fight with such a precision, as he managed to break the ice around a few seeds with the shuriken just when they were close to Dewgong. As a result of their sudden freedom, they immediately grew to entangle Dewgong, injecting the poison. To make matters worse, Greninja suddenly appeared right above it, hitting it with a feint attack.

"Now smoke screen!" A cloud of black smoke engulfed the pokémon, blocking the view on them and disorientating Dewgong even more. "Water shuriken!" Ash could have used a stronger attack without having to worry about missing, but those could easily destroy the vines, and Ash wanted them to last as long as possible. The accuracy of the water shuriken, combined with the boost from the rain dance, made them an obvious choice.

"Shake them off with sheer cold!" Greninja didn't need Ash to tell him to retreat, he was fully aware of the move's power and jumped to safety before it could take effect. The blast of the move blew away the smoke, and froze the vines, which then shattered. Still, it had taken quite a bit of damage and was poisoned, but it wasn't a problem for Misty. Dewgong glowed blue for a moment, then it looked healthy again.

"I see, hydration. That's why Misty chose it," Ash muttered.

"Alright, use ice cocoon!" Dewgong got on its hind legs before starting to spin while using a move that resembled string shot, only that it shot fine snow out of its mouth. It quickly turned into an ice shield, that surrounded the pokémon. Ash wasn't sure, but he thought Dewgong was sleeping inside.

"Break it with water shuriken!" The projectiles hit the ice, but it didn't break, much to Ash's surprise. Greninja rarely had trouble breaking ice, so there had to be something special about. He suspected it was offering protection for a pokémon using a move like rest, and if it was true, Misty was more advanced than he'd expected. This could easily qualify as an individual move, so he was somewhat impressed. "Alright, try scald!" With the enhancement by the rain dance, the hot water melted the ice, although it was slower than Ash would have liked. Dewgong was still sleeping, but now it was unprotected. "Now night slash!"

Greninja used the remaining time to negate some of the healing until Dewgong woke up, immediately retaliating with sheer cold. Once again, Greninja escaped by jumping to another island.

"Use encore!" Dewgong clapped with his flippers, shooting a small, white orb at Greninja, who didn't even have to dodge it due to the blur. "Fine! Disable!"

Ash wasn't sure whether Misty wanted his pokémon to use night slash or not. In fact, he didn't think she was sure either, it sounded more like a command born from panic and frustration. Whatever the reason, one of his stronger dark-type attacks was disabled for a while. At the same time the clouds above the battle field dissolved, meaning that the water-type moves were back to their normal strength. Misty was reluctant to use the healing move again, now that Ash knew how to get rid of the ice quickly.

"Signal beam!" She hoped the attack could lure Greninja into melee range, but that wasn't the case. A combination of blur and double team made hitting him from the distance almost impossible, even with area attacks, so he just let Dewgong waste its energy while waiting for the right moment. However, this took a while, as Dewgong just didn't seem to get tired at all, but it happened eventually.

"Now! Feint attack and dark pulse!" Ash commanded. Being a fast pokémon, Greninja closed the distance quickly.

"Ice horn drill!" The horn on its head was enlarged by ice and started spinning, creating an impressive drill. Ash knew that it was already too exhausted to use it properly, though, resulting in a miss. The dark-type on the other hand made point blank hits on its belly with dark pulse repeatedly. "Safeguard! Quickly!" Dewgong became surrounded by a green aura for a moment, then Misty tried to recall her pokémon, but Greninja pushed it to the side before finishing it off with another dark pulse.

"Dewgong is unable to battle!" the referee announced once he was sure that it had fainted.

"Oh no. Sorry, I was too slow this time," Misty apologized. "Anyway, well done."

Ash was much more happy, not only with the result, but also with the fight itself. Greninja would have easily defeated Starmie and not just because of the type advantage. He was obviously in a much better state than Lucario, which also made the trainer look better in turn. Now he was wondering who was about to be his next opponent.

"Greninja didn't even get hit," Johanna pointed out. "Amazing! That's really a step up from the last fight."

"Yes, it's not uncommon for him to not get hit at all due to his speed and agility. But when he does, it doesn't look so good. His defenses aren't the best," Dawn explained.

"Quiet, I think Misty is about to call out something big," Delia said, placing a finger on her lips.

"Gyarados, your time has come!" It appeared on the ice with an intimidating roar. Ash was pleasantly surprised, having expected this pokémon a bit later, but the greatest surprise was yet to come. Misty touched one of her rings, it started to glow, and then turned into its infamous mega form. Now Ash was so astonished that he didn't even react, admiring the large pokémon instead. Of course, his own gyarados wasn't any less impressive, but a surprise like this was still remarkable. "Melt the ice with flamethrower!"

"Not bad. Didn't think you could do it," Ash shouted. Misty was indeed more advanced than he'd hoped. "Well done, Greninja. Let Salamence handle this."

Strangely enough, Ash welcomed the mega evolution with open arms. Although it increased the difficulty of this fight, it also prevented Misty from switching the pokémon unless she wanted to lose the mega evolution, making it a bit more predictable. Upon his appearance, Salamence let out a deafening roar, glaring at his opponent. Ash wasn't going to use a mega evolution, being confident that the dragon-type could do it in this form.

"Stunned by the mega evolution, aren't you? I wasn't nominated for no reason. Now let's see how you handle my strongest partner," Misty boasted.

The ice was almost gone by now, melted by Gyarados flamethrower. Because of that, it was allowed to finally get into the pool, which was still full of poison. However, the safeguard protected it from the effect for now, and Bulbasaur's seeds had been destroyed by the heat. Therefore it was a fair duel, at least for a while.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Misty asked. She was eager to start as the safeguard wouldn't last forever. "Start with dragon dance!"

"Use dragon dance, too!" Ash already knew that this fight would be over soon. The offensive capabilities of both pokémon were tremendous, especially Salamence's outrage in combination with his individual move. "Now draconic resistance!"

Not only did it render him immune to status effects, including self-inflicted ones like the confusion at the end of outrage, it also prevented the enemy from weakening him with moves that decreased his power or speed. Few pokémon could stand up to his raw strength, only those with superior speed and ranged attacks could hope to defeat him without taking a lot of damage in the process. Thus Gyarados, being mostly a melee fighter, was the perfect opponent, at least from Ash's perspective. As a result of the move, Salamence emitted a weak, red glow.

"Combine waterfall with crunch!" A pillar of poisoned water rose beaneath Gyarados until it reached an appropriate size. Then they fell towards Salamence with enormous speed and power, but Ash wasn't going to back down. The draconic resistance protected the dragon-type from the poison, and he was more than capable of fighting back with his own physical strength.

"Grab its jaws with dragon claw!" Ash underestimated Gyarados's power a little, so that Salamence got pushed back quite a bit before he could stop the water-type, preventing the jaws from biting him with his arms. "Dragon pulse!"

"Flamethrower!" Salamence's attack was far superior, and he shot the turquoise orb directly into Gyarados's mouth. Coughing heavily, Gyarados retreated into the water to recover a little before his next attack. "Aqua tail!" The attack was so fast and sudden that it hit Salamence's head before he could block it with his arms or wings. "Crunch again!" Gyarados's whole body reemerged from the water, trying to hit the dragon-type directly from above this time. Ash knew that he couldn't fight well that way, so he decided to escape for now.

"Fly!" Salamence escaped both the crunch and the following aqua tail, but quickly flew back. "Now outrage!"

Misty had seen this on TV before. Once Salamence was surrounded by the crimson aura, there was little that could stop him, yet she was confident that Gyarados could overcome him with the boost from the mega evolution and the super-effective move.

"Use outrage as well!" she commanded.

The audience was thrilled, as they got to see some raw power as opposed to the more refined techniques earlier. Whereas Salamence had the advantage of being a dragon-type and the draconic resistance, Gyarados's attack was super-effective, and it was slightly superior in terms of power. The boosts from dragon dance would only serve to shorten the fight even further. The two pokémon clashed ferociously, not wasting any thoughts on matters like defense. They merely wanted to hit each other as hard as possible. At first, it seemed like they were evenly matched, only after some time, Gyarados gained the upper hand. Its attacks pushed Salamence back with every blow, almost pushing him out of the field, yet Ash was still confident that he'd win.

"Almost time now," he muttered. Only seconds later, the outrage wore off on both sides, leaving Gyarados confused. Salamence on the other hand, while heavily injured, was still perfectly capable of obeying Ash's every command. "Now dragon rush and outrage again!"

"Finish it with crunch!" Once good hit could make all the difference, but Gyarados couldn't process the order fast enough and got surprised by Salamence smashing into it. It fell on one of the islands, disorientating it even further while the dragon-type was slashing at it. To make matters worse, the safeguard wore off, resulting in Misty's pokémon getting poisoned. "Come on, use crunch! We can't lose like this."

"Don't let it! Finish it off!" Gyarados couldn't get into a position to attack due to the confusion and Salamence's relentless attacks.

In the end, it didn't even come to recover from the confusion, the attacks combined with the damage it had already retained were too much. Salamence ceased his attacks reluctantly when his opponent rolled sideways into the water.

"Gyarados is unable to battle!" Although it had lost, the audience paid respect to the brave pokémon by clapping wildly, although it was hard to determine whether it wasn't for Salamence as well.

"Don't worry, you did an awesome job," Misty said with a sigh, recalling it. Three of her pokémon were down, whereas Ash still had all of his, even though two of them were heavily injured.

"That gyarados was good," Marcus admitted. "Must have been her main pokémon."

"But Salamence was stronger. It didn't even need to mega evolve," Serena said, looking impressed. "The rest shouldn't be a problem."

"He wouldn't come far with that attitude," Marcus replied with a grin. "Anyway, let's see what else this Misty has in store."

"Politoed, use rain dance!" The water-type was already on the field, using the weather move for its allies.

Salamence knew that his part was over and let out a roar. Politoed didn't look like a worthy opponent to him, so he gladly made way for another pokémon with the knowledge that he had taken down the powerhouse of Misty's team.

"Well done, return for now. Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Bulbasaur appeared just in time to see the start of the rain. However, he didn't get to attack, as Politoed was already recalled.

"Return! Kingdra, your turn!" Misty shouted.

Ash was annoyed by the switch to say the least, but decided against doing the same, since he firmly believed that Bulbasaur could do it. The first thing he noticed was the speed, at which Kingdra moved into the water, indicating that its ability was swift swim. Perhaps this was the horsea she used to have, albeit obviously in its evolved form. In fact, he already knew many the pokémon she'd used so far, possibly because she counted on their experience.

"Use the seeds again!" he commanded.

It may have looked like a waste to the others, considering that Kingdra was already poisoned due to the water, but he wanted it to get entangled for a few good hits. This time, however, Misty was well-prepared for the move.

"Get closer and use twister!" Kingdra closed the distance to create a tornado between the pokémon, sucking the seeds inside as well as the water from the pool. "Ice beam!" The water-type froze all of it, then it jumped onto the ice sculpture and made it fall forward towards Bulbasaur. "Dragon pulse!"

"Dodge it!" Using his vines, the grass-type launched himself onto the next island before he could get crushed by the ice, only to get knocked off by a dragon pulse.

"Now whirlpool!" A small pokémon like Bulbasaur couldn't possibly resist the strong currents, and was immediately sucked inside. "Great, now use dragon breath!" A light blue flame from its snout engulfed the struggling pokémon, paralyzing it.

"Get out of there with vine whip and keep the spores ready!" His pokémon grabbed the nearest island with the vines and pulled himself out of the whirlpool. He wasn't surprised when he was greeted by another dragon pulse, which he dodged just in time, only to get hit by Kingdra's iron head. Misty hoped it would make him flinch, but he released stun spores instead, startling Kingdra. "Now magical leaf and remove the rain with a short sunny day. Then use synthesis!" This sunny day was only to last long enough for a synthesis, so it was quickly activated, removing the effect of rain dance in the process.

"Counter with smokescreen!" Kingdra shrugged off the leaves, shooting black smoke at Bulbasaur. The smoke blocked off the light, thus minimizing the effect of the following synthesis. As a result, instead of getting almost fully healed, Bulbasaur only regained a small amount of energy. However, without the rain, Kingdra's speed was reduced, although it was still faster than Ash's pokémon. When Bulbasaur blew the smoke away, the sunny day was already over. "Use twister to surround Bulbasaur with tornados!"

Misty's plan was simple. By surrounding Bublasaur with the smaller tornados she wanted to prevent him from moving to another island. If he tried, he'd probably get launched into the water, where he was easy prey for Kingdra. A nice side-effect was that the tornados would also help against the leaves and other projectiles. While he was pinned down, Kingdra could attack him with its own ranged moves.

"Rise with waterfall and attack from there with dragon pulse!" Using the pillar of water as a guard tower, Kingdra gained a proper altitude.

"Wait for it, then jump up and defend yourself with your vines!" When he saw Kindra looking at him from above, readying a dragon pulse, he launched himself upwards, and reflected it by using his vines as a bat. It was knocked off its position, causing the pillar to collapse, so that Bulbasaur couldn't use it to pull himself somewhere else. As a consequence, he had to return to his isolated island for now.

"Use surf!" Misty was a little concerned about Bulbasaur's speed, which was still higher than she'd anticipated. Like many of others opponents, she wasn't aware of Ash's special training to combat status effects. Although it didn't render them immune, the negative effects were slightly reduced, as shown in this case. Therefore she tried to knock Bulbasaur into the water instead.

"Stand your ground with your vines!" A huge wave washed over him, threatening to push him back, but by holding onto his island, he managed to remain standing. Ash knew that Kingdra could just keep doing this until Bulbasaur was worn down by the attacks, yet somehow he knew that it couldn't afford it. The poison was taking its toll and it had to win quickly. "Prepare a leech seed!" he commanded when he saw Kingdra riding the next wave.

At first it let the wave do the job, but when it failed, the dragon-type rushed straight through its own tornados with iron head. Although it managed to hit the grass-type, pushing him into a twister, it was hit by a leech seed in return. It grew around it, entangling it and draining energy. Now Misty was in a real pinch with her pokémon losing energy to both poison and the seed. There was only one thing left to do, either defeat Bulbasaur while it still could or at least deal as much damage as possible.

"Attack! Dragon pulse!" Bulbasaur had no way of evading the attack while he was in the tornado, and he got hit hard as a result. The force of the move flung him into the water, from where he watched Kingdra preparing the next orb.

"Get the snout with vine whip!" He quickly grabbed it with a vine, which seemed to make the orb in front of it unstable, as it exploded right in front of its face.

"Enough of this! Outrage!" Misty shouted desperately.

"Leaf storm! Full power!" Ash commanded.

If Bulbasaur managed to endure the attack, he'd win for sure. Being in the water meant that he couldn't possibly dodge it. However, it wasn't going to be easy, as Kingdra looked scary with the crimson aura, and it would use all of its remaining energy for sure. Disregarding any form of defense, it charged at the grass-type, who unleashed his powerful move once it was close. The force of the two moves clashing pushed both pokémon back, smashing Bulbasaur against an island. He held onto it and prepared another attack, only to see Kindra getting knocked out by the leech seed. Exhausted, but proud of his victory, he escaped the water and sat down, waiting for Ash's next command.

"Kingdra is unable to battle!" the referee promptly shouted.

"Not again," Misty mumbled, gritting her teeth. "Good job. You almost had it."

Ash was equally proud of his pokémon, who had prevailed despite being at a disadvantage throughout the battle due to the limited mobility. Of course, he also had to acknowledge Kingdra's strength, which had surprised him a little. Then he got an idea how he could have solved the mobility problem. It was inspired by something he'd seen at the Wallace Cup, and even though it was too late for Bulbasaur, it still could prove useful for avoiding the poisoned pool. He only had to wait for Misty to call out her next pokémon.

"Alright, Politoed, it's your turn." This time, she wasn't going to recall it. There was only one more pokémon it could possibly support anyway.

"Bulbasaur, petal dance! Make them as large as possible and shoot them at the water!" Ash's pokémon shot about a dozen red petals in the air, from where they slowly fell onto the water surface. They'd make fine temporary islands, at least for small or light pokémon. "Very good. Now return, you did a great job."

Misty wasn't really surprised. Bulbasaur wasn't in the condition to fight another pokémon right now, but she also wondered who'd be his next pokémon. Pikachu was an option and so was Greninja. There was also another, unknown pokémon in his team, one that she wanted to see before the end of the battle. Much to her disappointment, he didn't chose it for this fight.

"Greninja, I choose you!" Since he had taken barely any damage during his fight, he was ready for another opponent. Due to the petals, he could just walk across the pool instead of exposing himself to the poison. Politoed benefitted from those as well, though.

The reappearance of Greninja made Misty reconsider using the last pokémon, who would be more a more appropriate choice. The only reason why she didn't do it was the rain, which boosted said pokémon and was about to run out. Although Politoed could renew it by using rain dance twice, Misty preferred not to do that, as it would give Greninja plenty of opportunity to strike it. Misty's last pokémon could also do it, but she didn't want it to waste precious time needed for its attacks. Therefore she chose to just hold out until the weather effect ended.

"Use scald!" By commanding this move, she tried to gain some time, not even hoping that it could actually hit Greninja.

"Get close and use night slash!" Ash shouted with a grin.

He could have played it safe by staying far away, wearing Politoed down with ranged attacks while it couldn't retaliate because Greninja was too hard to hit. His decision to let Greninja fight in melee gave Misty the impression that Ash was toying with her. The truth was that his patience was running low already, as the battle was taking longer than expected. He wanted to finish it and move on to the more challenging encounters.

"Fight back with brick break!" Politoed wasn't much of a melee fighter, but with a bit of luck, it could make a few hits before Misty would recall it.

It soon became clear that Greninja was vastly superior even in melee combat, mostly because of his amazing speed and agility. Politoed only managed to make a few minor hits while the pokémon were jumping from island to island. After about a minute of fighting, the rain stopped. Misty was delighted at first, only to realize that Politoed couldn't renew it with Greninja being so close to it. So they continued, waiting for a proper opportunity. Misty was the first to see it, when Politoed was standing on one of the islands, whereas Greninja was on a petal.

"Strike the petal!" Although it wasn't a brick, the petal was split nonetheless with the two parts drifting apart. Since Greninja had a foot on either of them, he was in a most inconvenient position. "Focus blast!" Misty's pokémon took advantage of the surprise, hitting its opponent while he was struggling to retain balance. The force of the move knocked him into the water, giving Politoed enough time for the weather move. "Good, now use rain dance!"

"Get out of there and use night slash!" Ash was slightly annoyed at Greninja's carelessness, especially since the water-type was poisoned now. Another problem was the limited sight inside the pool due to the darkened water. As a consequence, Greninja left it nowhere near Politoed, who was already done with the rain dance. "Use dark pulse instead!"

"Return!" Misty recalled Politoed for now, relishing the disgruntled look on Ash's face. "Seaking, it's up to you!"

The water-type was immediately greeted by a dark pulse, which it could only dodge because of the rain activating its swift swim ability. Unlike the others, Seaking had no way of avoiding the water altogether, so it had to be poisoned sooner or later. This also put Greninja in an awkward position. They were both poisoned, but he was more heavily injured, so he had to deal damage to it or he'd lose eventually. Unfortunately, the dark water prevented him from making a good hit. Seaking could just stay there, waiting for the poison to do its job for it. Ash obviously realized the predicament, recalling the water-type.

"Good job. Leave the rest to Reuniclus! Go into the water and then use levitation to rise above the stage!" Ash shouted.

The psychic-type poisoned himself on purpose, as his magic guard ability rendered him immune to the poison damage. On the other hand the poison still prevented other, more harmful major status effects like paralysis. His individual move was simple, even by Ash's standards, as it mimicked the levitate ability, giving Reuniclus proper maneuverability to counter his extremely low speed. The result was maybe not as impressive as the more flashy and complicated moves, but Ash had come to rely on it so much he couldn't imagine his pokémon without it anymore. Reuniclus moved far above the stage to relative safety before Seaking could get close to him.

"Get it with megahorn!" Seaking shot out of the water with impressive speed, only to come to a complete halt midway, surrounded by a blue aura. Before Misty could give another order, it was tossed back into the pool by Reuniclus's psychic power.

Seaking didn't stand a real chance in this encounter. In order to deal decent damage, it had to get close to Reuniclus, who obviously wouldn't allow it. The poison would drain its energy the entire time, and it wasn't exactly safe inside the pool thanks to Reuniclus's thunder move, although Misty couldn't possibly know that.

"Use future sight! Then take your time for a nice thunder," Ash commanded. His pokémon first shot a white lightning bolt further up. It stopped to take the shape of a white orb right below the ceiling, waiting for its time to strike. Misty believed Seaking was safe as long as it remained in the pool, and it was true for the future sight move. It couldn't hide anywhere in the water from an electric attack, though. Reuniclus connected his arms in front of himself, before slowly moving them apart, causing lightning to shoot from one arm to the other. Then it pushed them forward, releasing a lot of electrical energy into the pool. Unsurprisingly, Seaking jumped out of the water with impressive speed, charging at Reuniclus. As if it knew what was coming, it activated protect in order to avoid the following psychic move. "Protect!"

"Horn drill!" Even with the levitation ability, Reuniclus couldn't dodge Seaking, so he used protect as well, causing Seaking to get repelled. Its own shield dissolved on the way back down, allowing Ash's pokémon to grab it with psychic. "Break free, and get into the water!" Misty shouted nervously, as she knew perfectly well what was about to happen. Sure enough, the future sight activated, sending a white bolt at her pokémon. Since it wasn't moving, the result was a direct hit. The water-type was almost finished, one or two good attacks would be enough, and the poison was still in effect. Therefore Misty didn't consider recalling it, no matter how bad it looked.

"Thunder again!" Just like before, he took his sweet time with the move. Unlike most of Ash's other pokémon, he really enjoyed sparkly and flashy moves, yet he rarely had the opportunity to watch them, as the battles were too hectic for that.

"Try horn drill once more!" Even before Reuniclus was finished, Seaking shot out of the water, only to get repelled again.

"Finish it with psychic!" Instead of holding it in place, Ash's pokémon smashed right onto the next island. People didn't need to wait for the referee's announcement to know that it was finished.

"Seaking is unable to battle!" he shouted nonetheless.

"Don't worry, we were just too much at a disadvantage here," Misty said, recalling it.

The battle was almost over with Misty down to her last pokémon. Of course, her chances of turning the tables were almost non-existent, but she could at least try to lose with dignity by putting up a good fight with Politoed.

"No big surprise here. Misty doesn't really stand a chance," Johanna remarked.

"She put up a good fight, though," Delia said. "I mean, it was her first battle here."

"Yes, there have been worse first days. I'm sure she'll be fine," Dawn's mother replied, waving it off.

Dawn didn't say anything, she was too busy watching Ash. Her greatest fear was that Ash could become overconfident because of this easy win. Judging from a few things he'd said, he didn't regard Lorelei and Bruno as a real challenge either. Only Karen and Lance could be a real problem according to him. First he had to finish his battle against Misty, who tried to remain optimistic against all odds.

"Alright, let's do our best!" Despite the dire situation, Politoed looked as merry as ever. At least it had viable options to inflict damage from a distance. "Use water pulse with scald!" It formed a light blue orb between its hand, and shot it at Reuniclus by pushing it towards him with scald. Misty hoped that he'd use psychic on one of the attacks, resulting in the other one hitting him, but the psychic-type just dodged it.

"Use the bullet storm combination!" Ten small, purple orbs appeared next to Reuniclus, flying around him. Then, one by one, they moved in different directions until the psychic-type clapped with his hands, causing them to fly towards Politoed from all directions.

"Scald on the ground!" The force of the move pushed Politoed upwards, past the incoming orbs, but they turned to chase it. However, they were now coming from only one direction, so Misty's pokémon used scald again, only for them to disperse. Reuniclus obviously controlled them, so the next scald was aimed towards him. Even if he wanted, he couldn't have broken the control and dodged the attack in time, which was why he just kept doing it, hoping that the attack wouldn't break his concentration. As a result, both pokémon were hit, albeit Politoeds move was stronger because of the rain, but since it had been injured from the start, it was still more heavily damaged.

"Not so fast. Thunder!" Reuniclus retaliated by shooting lightning at the falling water-type. It was mostly thanks to the raindance that it didn't miss.

"Use hydro pump!" The attack was canceled when Politoed fell into the water, getting poisoned in the process.

"Time for a recover!" Ash's pokémon gladly used the opportunity to heal his wounds. His body glowed white for a few moments, then it was already done, right before Politoed resurfaced. "Thunder again!"

"Get out of there!" Misty shouted, sounding rather panicked. She could only watch it getting attacked until it finally made it onto one of the islands, which took a long time because of the shocks. By that time, it was almost down, but sheer willpower made it stand up one more time. Its trainer was proud of this reaction, as she had never seen it so determined.

"Let's get this over with. Shadow ball!" He didn't choose thunder or a psychic-type move because it didn't look like the pokémon could take much more. Surprisingly enough, it fought back with one last hydro pump, which easily overpowered the shadow ball, and hit the startled psychic-type. Enraged by the unexpected resistance, he used psychic to lift Politoed into the air before smashing it against the island.

This could be the end of the battle, so the referee watched it closely until he was absolutely sure that it couldn't fight anymore.

"Politoed is unable to battle! The victor is Ash from Pallet Town!" he shouted, pointing at Ash's side.

The applause was overwhelming, and gave Misty quite a shock. She didn't even know this from the water shows at the gym. Ash on the other hand was already used to it, and didn't even flinch, waving at them instead.

"Good job, guys. Your part is done. Now you can relax, at least for a few days," he said, recalling Reuniclus.

All in all, it was a decent start with a few minor problems, mostly concerning Lucario's weak performance. Ash was already sure that he wouldn't use him again until some hard training after the battles. For now, he had to focus on the coming battle against Lorelei and her ice-types. He was deep in thought when he noticed Misty approaching him with a smile, which was obviously forced.

"Well done, Ash. I hope you are just as efficient against the others or you make me look really bad." She flashed her most charming smile, but barely moved her lips when she spoke. "Make one snide remark and you're dead."

"Why should I? I've had worse challenges, even here. I'm sure you'll be fine," he reassured her.

"Thanks," she replied. Although his words were unexpected, she wasn't going to argue. "Well, I can only wait now. Good luck against the others. The more you trash them, the better I look in comparison."

"And so the first part of this attempt comes to an end. In the end, the new member didn't pose much of a threat to the seasoned trainer. Will the others be different? Or will he have an even easier time because he's battled them on several occasions before? We shall see soon enough. I hope you will all be present again when Ash faces the queen of ice, Lorelei," the commentator said. "Until then, I hope you a great time."

There was nothing else to do or to see in the stadium, so people started to leave. Ash and Misty went in opposite directions to their rooms in order to change their outfit, and also to escape the journalists that would soon ask for interviews. Misty would be their prime target, as it had been her first time as a member of the Elite Four. Naturally, everyone wanted to have the first interview with her. Getting one with Ash was secondary, despite him being the victor. Whereas it came to him as a relief, Misty had to suffer all the more from it, resulting in her still answering countless questions when Ash was already outside the stadium to meet up with the others. Everyone congratulated him on the success. Serena couldn't help but point out that one of his pokémon hadn't lived up to her expectation. Of course, she didn't need to elaborate, Ash knew exactly who was meant by her remark. Although he actually agreed with her, he didn't want anyone to badmouth his partner, and just said that the aura pokémon was a little out of shape.

There wasn't much else they could talk about, so they went back home soon after for dinner. Once they were done, Ash immediately went to work with his chosen team for the next round. He trusted that Pikachu, Typhlosion, Articuno, Gigalith, Scrafty, and Samurott could handle Lorelei's pokémon with ease. The setup was more balanced than the last one, which heavily relied on physical power. This time, he made sure that all of them were in perfect shape, so that he wouldn't suffer an embarrassing performance like Lucario's again.

Ash and Dawn didn't talk much during the rest of the day. She knew he needed to concentrate, and he was too focused on the task ahead to even notice her. Time flew by rapidly, and he was in bed much earlier than Dawn had anticipated. She had hoped he would have some time to talk, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It was true, she could have gone to bed as well, but she didn't want to appear needy, and by the time she decided to join him, he was already fast asleep. Tthe pokémon didn't notice it, as they were too busy preparing for the coming battles. Delia and Johanna noticed the distress, for they decided to stay at their usual places instead of staying at the international police for the duration of the challenge to offer advice when needed. Like Dawn, they decided not to interfere, so that they wouldn't distract Ash from his goals.

* * *

 **Not much of a challenge here. Things will get far more interesting starting with Karen. But you saw how much of a difference one-sided or lack of training can make, even if it's only for a relatively short time. How things would've gone without Dawn's help, I'll leave that to your imagination.**


	69. Battling the Ice Queen

**Now to the next opponent. Lorelei is already more dangerous and experienced. She might een have one or two surprises waiting for Ash.  
**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 69 Battling the Ice Queen

The day of the second battle was just like the previous one at the beginning. Ash left early for his preparations, and Dawn, Delia, Johanna, Marcus, and Serena met at their home to travel there together. There weren't as many spectators this time, for several potential reasons. Many of them probably really wanted to see the new member of the Elite Four, and weren't interested in Lorelei, who had been there for some time now. Perhaps it was due to the weather, as it rained almost the entire morning. People were more likely to be merely scared because of rumors concerning a possible attack on the stadium. Some people claimed that the chances were slim with Shira gone, and without any evidence or even hints. Others argued that there hadn't been any hints or warnings before the attacks on Kanto's cities either, and those had happened after Shira's confirmed death. Whether it was only paranoia or more, the result was the same, with a small part of the seats remaining empty during the battle. Ash couldn't care less, he had better things to do during battle than looking at the people watching it.

Lorelei arrived a bit too early, although she didn't seem to be aware of this. Anyone not knowing her might easily mistake her for a slow airhead because of how easily distracted she seemed to get. However, she was not to be underestimated in battle, as she was completely focused against any worthy challenger. Rumors said that she had been the main supporter of Misty's admission to the Elite Four, which would give the redhead even more reason to admire the ice-type trainer. It didn't stop her from attempting to surpass Lorelei eventually, though.

Compared to the battle against Misty, Ash tried to use his advantages a little more. He had already won against Lorelei in the past, and even though she'd gotten better as well since then as well, he didn't want to spend too much time in battle against her or Bruno. He was relieved when the commentator finally announced the start.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he shouted into his microphone. "Welcome to the second round of Ash Ketchum's try to become the new champion. He has already beaten Lorelei in the past, but will he be able to do it again? Both of them have gotten stronger since last time, so let's find out whether she can stop him right in his tracks or whether she'll be just another obstacle he overcomes. The standard rules apply. Substitutes are allowed at any time, no potions, berries, or similar items."

The referee stepped forward, looking at the two trainers on the field, which was pretty much like the last one, only with the pool frozen entirely, as expected when battling Lorelei. Both participants had a pokéball ready.

"Get ready. The battle begins now," he shouted, taking his position at the side.

"I hope you are prepared. I've become stronger. Abomasnow, let's start!" She had used this pokémon every time so far. The snow warning ability was simply amazing for a team of ice-types, and it could also mega evolve, making it a real asset to her team. Its only major weakness was fire, so she never let it fight against fire-types. The moment it arrived, the whole stage was ravaged by a vicious snow storm.

"Gigalith, I choose you!" Ash didn't want to fight Abomasnow with Gigalith, he only wanted one move and then choose another one for this fight. "Use stealth rock!"

"Energy ball!" The move was quick and simple, yet powerful enough to deal some damage to the rock-type, who didn't even bother dodging it, finishing his own move instead. A large rock appeared above the stage before shooting down, burying itself in the ice.

"Return!" Gigalith would play a bigger role later, but for now, his part was over. The stealth rock would prevent Lorelei from changing her pokémon all the time like Misty had done. Moreover, the move was effective against her ice-types. "Articuno, I choose you!"

"Oh, I've never seen it in a fight," Serena said, grabbing Marcus's shoulder. "This is so exciting."

A big part of the audience also went wild. Legendary pokémon were rare, and ensured a great battle in their eyes. Articuno, while not the most intimidating pokémon, sported an elegance and style that made it stand out. Obviously, Ash tried to take advantage of the snow storm, as the snow cloak ability made the ice-type harder to hit.

"Return, Abomasnow! You know, I hoped you'd let Articuno be part of this. It's an amazing pokémon. Anyway, time for Cryogonal!" It was immediately greeted by several rocks shooting out of the ground, and exploding next to it. Ash already knew that he had to rely on physical attacks against this opponent, although he wanted to use special attacks a bit more. "I have a surprise for you, Ash. Use living ice!"

"I have no intention of finding out what it does. Use aerial ace!" Before it could get even close to the Cryonogal, her pokémon burrowed into the ice by spinning like a chainsaw. "Don't get too close to the ground! I don't like the sound of the move."

Articuno flew up higher when the ground started to glow blue. A few moments later, the ice on the surface expanded a little, but apart from that, nothing happened. Either this move was a pushover, or it had a hidden effect he wasn't aware of just yet.

"Use agility!" As long as Cryonogal was protected by the ice, Ash's pokémon might as well increase it speed for later use. Lorelei's pokémon shot out of the ice eventually, ready to fight. "Aerial ace!" The combination of speed and the snow cloak, which prevented the opponent from seeing it until it was too late, allowed for a clean hit. However, Ash also noticed that a translucent wall appeared for a moment when Cryogonal was hit, hinting at a reflect move.

"Use flash cannon!" Articuno easily dodged the beam of light, and flew up higher to wait for the next order. Ash needed a moment to think about it, then he decided to use the individual move.

"Ice storm, go!" Articuno spread its wings, shrieking crazily while large ice spears appeared all around it. Then it send a powerful gust downwards, which was meant to pin anything and anyone there to the ground. Unsurprisingly, the spears fell down, one by one, exploding on impact. Cryonogal's levitation ability allowed it to evade most, but not all of them, resulting in a few dangerous hits. "Good. Now combine sky attack with icy wind!"

"Recover!" Lorelei knew the move needed time to charge up, so Cryogonal could safely restore itself a bit. "Now iron defense and prepare a flash cannon!"

Since it couldn't see Articuno while it was flying in the snow storm, she chose to play it defensively. Besides, Ash wouldn't use a slow and unreliable move like sky attack without something to ensure a hit or at least a proper follow-up. Articuno took its time, descending almost a minute later. Cryonogal shot a beam of energy at it, only to realize that it was merely an illusion made of ice. The real pokémon charged at it from behind, surrounded by a white aura. Despite the damage reduction by the reflect and iron defense moves, it was still a powerful hit, that inflicted serious damage.

"Flash cannon spin!" A combination of rapid spin and flash cannon made it shoot beams in every direction, also hitting the retreating Articuno in the process. Lorelei needed to do much more if she wanted to actually defeat it, though. In order to accomplish it, she had to make direct hits, and those were best done by luring Articuno into a trap. "Get ready! Recover!"

"Interrupt it with aerial ace!" Articuno anticipated the following flash cannon, blocking it with its wing, before finishing its attack. Cryonogal retreated by cutting through the ice by using its thin body like a saw with blue markings, that Ash had never seen on a cryonogal before. "Ancient power!" Articuno shot a white orb at the small opening, which was obviously too narrow, but much to Ash's surprise, it did nothing to the ice. Since this was his strongest attack against ice, it worried him a lot, as it meant that his opponent was safe down there. Lorelei's ice-type reappeared soon after, looking like it had used recover down there.

"Get down there, refresh the reflect and iron defense when necessary and keep using flash cannon!" Ash wondered how Cryogonal, who wasn't known to be physically strong, could get through the ice so easily, although Articuno's super-effective attack had done basically nothing to the same ice. Having a closer look at it revealed the same blue symbols he had seen on Cryonogal's body, which could mean that they were somehow connected.

In any case, he had to think of something quickly, as Lorelei's pokémon kept getting out, using a flash cannon, which wasn't concentrated, but covered a large area. This was necessary, as it couldn't see Articuno while it was flying. As a consequence, the damage was low, but impossible to avoid, and the ice-type always retreated before Ash's pokémon could react, and even if it was hit, it could always heal down there. Lorelei's plan was to slowly damage the freeze pokémon until it had to heal, for which it probably had to use roost. It needed to land for the move, and it was vulnerable on the ground, allowing her pokémon to hit it with a concentrated flash cannon or ice beam.

Ash on the other hand didn't really know what to do. He could have easily done it by switching to Gigalith, whose earthquake would've made short work of Cryonogal, but pride prevented him from doing it. He wanted Articuno to do it, no matter how. After a few more hits, he wanted to test a theory, but in order to do that, he had to keep his opponent outside for a short time. His new plan was risky, but he had to try. When he had used ice storm, the gust had rendered Lorelei's pokémon incapable of retreating by pinning it to the ground.

"Use hurricane! I want the strongest wind you can muster!" The snow storm also helped a bit to make the hurricane an incredible powerful storm, as shown when Cryogonal was flung into the air, unable to attack or retreat. "Great, now ice beam on the ice! Cover the whole stage with a new layer!"

Powered by the snow storm, this was done easily and swiftly. Articuno channeled the blue beam until there was a thick layer of ice covering the old one, but it had to ignore the hurricane, resulting in Cryonogal's escape. Naturally, it tried to return to its sanctuary below the ice, only to get repelled this time. As Ash suspected, the ice from the frozen ground move and the pokémon were connected. The spin animation was just there to distract trainers and pokémon, as Cryogonal had no means of penetrating its own, extremely resilient ice. Instead, the ice made way for its master while blocking others. Of course, the new layer was different, and didn't allow anyone to pass. Unless it was removed, Cryonogal couldn't escape Articuno's wrath anymore.

"Aerial ace!" Articuno seized the opportunity, striking the confused ice-type before it could muster its defenses. "Now get away, use agility, and prepare a sky attack!"

"Get ready for ice beam!" Lorelei commanded.

Using recover was too risky, so she tried a different approach. Articuno had taken a lot of damage during the battle, so a point blank hit could turn it in her favor. The snow storm, which had been working against her so far, would strengthen it tremendously. Due to Abomasnow holding an icy rock, it lasted for quite a while, longer than the reflect, which had to wear off soon. Undoubtedly, he'd try the sky attack the moment it happened, effectively doubling the effect of the move. She only had to consider the ice illusion, which was hard to distinguish in the snow storm. Ash on the other hand had to act soon, or he could lose his advantage when the weather effect ended. As soon as a translucent wall appeared and dissolved in front of Cryogonal, Articuno attacked.

"Now!" The freeze pokémon tried to fool its opponent with the ice illusion thrice, but Lorelei's pokémon didn't get fooled, shooting only when the real Articuno charged at it. "Spin!" Even Ash was surprised how often this simple trick saved him even at this level. Although its left wing was struck and frozen, it was nothing compared to a direct hit. It resumed its attack, smashing into Cryogonal, who failed to dodge it due to its ice beam. Since the iron defense had run out long ago, and because of its measly innate physical defense combined with the damage from the aerial ace earlier, Cryogonal was almost knocked out. "Don't let it escape now! Aerial ace!" Fortunately for Ash, the ice encasing Articuno's wing had shattered upon impact, so his pokémon could attack without having to worry about it. The move itself didn't resemble an aerial ace in the slightest, it was Articuno hitting its opponent with everything it could muster.

"Use blizzard! Full power!" Cryogonal tried to complete the move desperately, only to get interrupted over and over again by Articuno's furious attacks. Eventually, it collapsed, leaving Ash's pokémon as the winner.

"Cryogonal is unable to battle!" the referee announced promptly.

"I didn't expect it to put up this much resistance. It must be one of her strongest pokémon," Serena pointed out.

"Top three, actually," Marcus muttered, earning a questioning look from her. "What? I read about her pokémon yesterday, and this one is supposed to be one of her strongest, along with an abomasnow, and a cloyster."

"I'm sure we'll see them as well," Serena said.

No matter how difficult it could get for Ash, she hoped that they would. Perhaps they would make him use the phoenix strike she'd about in the past.

Although Articuno could have lasted a bit longer, it was much closer than Ash had anticipated. Perhaps underestimating the Elite Four, even the weakest members, was a grave mistake. Lorelei was obviously well-prepared with moves he didn't know yet, and a clear strategy. Once again, Ash made it unnecessarily difficult for himself by refusing to recall a pokémon that wasn't suitable for this move. However, the long duration of the snow storm convinced him that Abomasnow couldn't mega evolve, as it wasn't able to hold an icy rock and the item needed for the evolution at the same time. Whether she had another pokémon capable of it, or whether she had sacrificed the mega evolution for a longer weather effect remained to be seen.

"Well done, Articuno. I knew you could do it." He also knew that the ice-type enjoyed fighting its own type the most, especially a surprising challenge like this one.

"Not bad at all. A shame he found the weakness, but it's not your fault. Thank you." Lorelei recalled it before enlarging another pokéball. "Weavile, your turn!"

The first thing Ash noticed that the stealth rock didn't have any effect, perhaps because the ice was too strong for it.

 _Waste of its time._

His eyes flashed green for a moment when he heard the familiar voice directly in his head. Ignoring it for now, he proceeded with his plan.

"Return!" Weavile charged at its opponent, hitting it with pursuit even while it was recalled by striking the energy beam. Although it wasn't nearly enough to finish it, it could make Ash's life more difficult in the future. "Scrafty, I choose you!"

The fighting-type gave Weavile a nasty look, triggering the intimidate ability. Lorelei knew that Weavile didn't stand a chance against a fighting-type that wasn't utterly inferior, yet she didn't want to change the pokémon already, and decided to trust Weavile's speed for a while instead. She wasn't aware of his individual move, which was designed to deal with fast pokémon, which was also a reason why Ash had chosen it for this fight.

"Use reflect and agility!" Ash could already see that Weavile wasn't going to fight aggressively, so he wanted to play that role.

"Rock fist! Then high jump kick!" It sounded risky to use it this early, but Scrafty knew that he wasn't to use the kick if the fist failed for some reason. Scrafty walked towards his opponent first to get a bit closer, then he smashed his right fist into the ground. Weavile expected some kind of shockwave, but instead two rock hands shot out of the ice nearby, grabbing its feet. The moment it happened, Scrafty jumped up to hit the immobilized ice-type in a way that it couldn't dodge. Weavile tried to smash the hands, only to realize that they were quite resistant to physical attacks. This cost so much time that it didn't have an opportunity to attempt a dodge. The result was a massive hit, which basically decided the fight even though Weavile wasn't finished just yet. "Now brick break!" The reflect was the only reason it could still fight, so Ash tried to get rid of it.

"Return!" Scrafty didn't get to finish it, as Lorelei was faster. She hadn't expected a move that could completely negate her speed advantage, and these kind of mistakes could easily decide a full battle on this level. At least the snow storm ended only seconds later, so she could renew it. "Abomasnow, I need you again."

Unless Ash knew its moves, another high jump kick was too risky. even with the rock hands. Rock smash was the only physical move that could quickly dispose of them, as the name suggested. For now, he had another problem, which was the snow storm. Unlike Articuno, Scrafty wasn't immune to its damaging effect, so it would drain his energy gradually.

"Abomasnow, return!" Ash wished Scrafty knew pursuit so he could punish this kind of strategy. "This should be interesting. Jynx, use miracle eye!"

Jynx appeared in front of her, the eyes glowing blue. The move made Scrafty vulnerable to her psychic-type moves, which would probably even surpass the ice-type moves in terms of damage, but more importantly, she gained the ability to control him in some way. On the other hand she'd still take significant damage from his physical dark-type moves.

"Let's start with blizzard!" Lorelei shouted.

"Hide with rock smash!" Ash commanded.

Blizzard was a move he wasn't willing to take directly. Scrafty smashed the ice in front of him to create a kind of refuge from Jynx, who unleashed the blizzard after a few moments of preparation.

"Keep doing it!" As draining as the constant attacks may be for Jynx, they kept Scrafty from attacking, while he in turn was damaged by the snow storm.

"Very well, keep using rock smash to get closer!" The audience certainly had a lot of fun watching Scrafty slowly approaching by smashing a path through the ice and pushing a small mountain of ice shards in front of him to act as a barrier. This way he didn't get hurt by the blizzard itself, only the weather effect was still a problem. When he was close enough, Ash had another command for him. "Use stone fist!" Ash didn't want to try another high jump kick, but if Jynx tried to remove the hands, it would be the perfect opportunity to strike. Besides, it also prevented her from running away in this case.

"Get rid of them with ice beam!" Lorelei tried it so early that Ash got a little suspicious. He decided to attack nonetheless.

"Brick break, then crunch! But be careful!" Scrafty left the safety of his refuge when the icy wind above him disappeared. It wasn't surprising when Jynx tried to put him to sleep with a lovely kiss, so he punched her in the face, breaking the reflect in the process. Even after that, she still attempted a lovely kiss, to which he reacted by biting her head.

"No! Blizzard!" It was a panicked response when she channeled all of her remaining energy into a blizzard that sent Scrafty flying. He was strong enough to endure the attack, though, and he was left with more energy than his opponent. "Use psychic! Push it to the ground!" Lorelei was fully aware of the fact that Jynx couldn't go on much longer, so she only tried to deal as much damage to Scrafty as possible. The more she did, the less trouble her next pokémon would have. The psychic move wouldn't only deal damage, it would also expose him to the snow storm.

"Don't let her! Use feint attack!" Scrafty took a few seconds to get up, as Jynx tried to contain him with all her power, but when he vanished, she was already completely exhausted, therefore she could neither block nor dodge the attack. It was more than enough to finish her off.

"Jynx is unable to battle!" the referee shouted, shivering slightly. The battles involving Lorelei were infamous for the freezing temperatures around the stage.

"Thank you. Leave the rest to the others now." Lorelei wasn't happy with the outcome, though. She had wanted to recall Jynx once Scrafty had been sufficiently weakened, but the crunch had been too strong, and even if she had recalled the ice-type, she wouldn't have been able to do much. "Abomasnow, let's do this!"

Ash looked at it a bit more closely, as there was something different about it, he just couldn't describe it. In any case, it was one of her two strongest pokémon, only surpassed by Cloyster, at least in its normal form, so he had to be cautious. Fortunately, Scrafty looked well enough to continue fighting for a bit.

"You think you can go on?" Ash asked nonetheless. He smiled when he received a nod, and got ready to fight.

Much to his surprise, Abomasnow started to glow the same way as during a mega evolution, but Ash was sure that it was carrying an icy rock instead of the item needed for the evolution. Even when its fur grew longer and shafts of ice grew from its back, he still believed it was some kind of trick. Lorelei spoke up, noticing his confusion.

"Who says I can't have two pokémon of the same kind on my team?" she asked with a mischievous grin, one that only few people had ever seen.

"I see." Although Ash didn't believe that Scrafty stood a chance against it, he could still do some damage before his counter could finish it off. Unfortunately, the stone fist was ineffective against such a large target. "Alright, combine stone edge with focus punch!"

"Ice beam!" Scrafty sent the rocks flying towards his opponent with powerful punches, but he was so far away that it had no trouble freezing them in midair, causing them to fall on the ground. Then it started moving closer to the center slowly. Ash didn't need to be told that something big was about to happen, yet he still refused to just recall Scrafty while he was in a decent shape. "Now entangle!"

Abomasnow raised its front legs, then it smashed the ground with it, causing thorny vines to emerge from the ground around the fighting-type. They weren't only huge compared to him, but also strong enough to push him to the ground.

"Return!" Ash realized there was no use fighting Abomasnow like this, but for some reason the recall didn't work. "What?"

Johanna and Delia looked surprised as well, only Dawn just let out a sigh.

"I told him. I told him about this move, yet he didn't listen," she said with a calm voice, containing her anger. "Well, he has to pay the price now. Serves him right."

"That doesn't sound like you at all," Johanna remarked. "Are you alright.

"Yes, I'm ... sorry. I'm just disappointed he didn't listen. I'll try to make sure he does next time," she replied. "Let's just continue watching."

Unlike Ash, she knew that the vines prevented a recall, and immobilized the target, albeit only for a few seconds. Therefore it was usually followed by a massive attack or combination, and this case wasn't different.

"Blizzard hammer!" Shards of ice began to circle its right front leg, hinting at a concentrated blizzard move.

"Counter!" With a massive leap, Abomasnow smashed the leg into Scrafty, combining blizzard and wood hammer in the leg for incredible damage. Ash hoped that Scrafty could endure it, but it wasn't the case.

"Scrafty is unable to battle!" the referee shouted as soon as Abomasnow took a step back to reveal the unconscious pokémon.

It was the first time he lost a pokémon during this challenge, and it had been avoidable, which only made him more angry. Even worse, he hadn't been able to deal any damage to Abomasnow, apart from the recoil of wood hammer, but even that wasn't a lot, considering a lot of the damage done to Scrafty was the result of the blizzard. Apparently, this pokémon was able to deliver a mighty punch, but it was also slow and vulnerable to fire. As a result, he didn't have to think twice about which pokémon to use next. Now that his pride was hurt, he was going to fight all the more fiercely.

"You did a formidable job," he muttered, recalling his fallen partner. "Typhlosion, I choose you!"

Lorelei took a step back, clearly in shock. Typhlosion, or rather her individual move was feared and respected even by the champions. It was called phoenix strike, an incredibly fast and powerful melee attack, which surpassed even extremespeed in both aspects. Not even an eruption at full power could compete with it, and protect wasn't fast enough. However, such power didn't come without a price. Although Typhlosion enjoyed increased power and speed after using the move, it turned her into a wreck after about ten seconds. Then she was slow, weak, and vulnerable, barely able to defend herself against anything. It usually took a day to recover from a single phoenix strike, and she had never used it twice in one battle before for good reason. Because of this, Ash didn't always use it, and only when he absolutely needed an opponent to be taken out, or when Typhlosion had no other way of dealing damage. In fact, he almost regarded it as a less drastic variant of explosion. The only reason he ever used it was that it didn't have any permanent consequences. Still, it was a dangerous weapon, one that every opponent had to consider when going up against Typhlosion.

"Remove that annoying hail effect with a short sunny day!" The cold wind and the snow vanished when a large, glowing orb appeared above the stage for just a moment. Typhlosion didn't have time for a lasting effect, as Abomasnow immediately shot an ice beam at her, which she dodged just in time. "Combine flame wheel with flamethrower!"

"Counter with blizzard!" Ash's combination wasn't really effective in this case, as it shot fire in every direction, albeit with low power. It was made to hit fast pokémon, not slow juggernauts like Abomasnow, but Ash loved it because it looked impressive, and he wanted to start with something that commands respect. The blizzard was enough to negate it, though, and in the end, the fire-type had only managed to melt part of the ice on the ground.

"Now combine rollout with flame wheel!" Typhlosion rolled towards her opponent like a burning boulder, and neither ice nor grass-type move could possibly stop her. Abomasnow, however, knew more moves than those.

"Earthquake!" Lorelei commanded. She was fully aware of this form's weakness, which included ground-type moves.

"Jump, then flamethrower!" The fire-type canceled her current attack to evade the shockwave by jumping.

"Counter with focus blast!" The flamethrower collided with the blue orb from focus blast, causing an explosion in midair. If Ash wanted to actually make an impact, he had to either use stronger moves, or get closer to Abomasnow. He was hesitant to consider the latter option, because he had already seen how even a pokémon with strong defenses like Scrafty got utterly wrecked by the ice-type. "Prepare for the big attack! Ice beam!"

At first, it attacked Typhlosion, who dodged the ice beam effortlessly, but then it started to shoot them at the ground around it, creating pillars of ice, which worried Ash. A trainer like Lorelei wouldn't just do something like this for fun. They had a purpose, and judging from the effort it put into them, it had to be something big.

"Enough of those little games. Use eruption!" Ash shouted.

"Defensive blizzard!" The blizzard took shape of a twister, carrying ice and snow while circling Abomasnow. Ash wasn't sure how, but he thought that the ice pillars were strengthening it, as they were glowing blue the entire time. The result was impressive, as the eruption, one of the most powerful fire-type moves, didn't get through, at least not with full strength. Abomasnow still received some damage, although it wasn't comparable to a direct hit.

This wasn't what Ash was worried about, though. Without a doubt, this blizzard had taken a lot effort, so it'd run out eventually. It was currently standing on its hind legs, its front legs glowing blue like the pillars. Before Ash could wonder what it meant, the ice-type smashed them into the ground, sending a shock wave in all directions, and shaking the whole arena. It also carried the remains of the ice pillars in from of razor-sharp ice shards.

"Use protect!" It was too late, Typhlosion was launched into the air, and suffered from some vicious cuts by the ice. While she was still in the air, even larger ice pillars shot out of the icy ground, spreading all over the stage. "Careful!" Typhlosion had to melt one of them with flamethrower or she would have hit it directly.

"Attack with focus punch!" It was a scary sight when the large and heavy pokémon launched itself into the air, but even worse when it fell down again with full force and its right front leg glowing brightly. The fire-type had do something or it might very well be defeated by this powerful attack. If she was lucky, she'd only be forced to use phoenix strike.

"Use fire blast! Then flame wheel!" Overheat might have been an alternative in terms of damage, but it would have weakened the phoenix strike, so Ash went with the safe option. His pokémon shot a star-shaped fire projectile at Abomasnow, who used its left front leg to block it, but not without suffering from a horrendous burn. Ash was surprised that it could still keep its concentration, though, finishing its focus punch. However, Typhlosion was using flame wheel, so the touch hurt badly, forcing it to retreat because of the pain, and not finishing the move as a result. Although the right leg wasn't hurt as badly, as it could still stand on it as opposed to the left one, Abomasnow was unlikely to manage a physical attack involving them in this battle. On its way back, it shattered the ice pillars in its way. Despite everything, the damage from the focus punch combined with the shockwave and ice shards was enough to activate the blaze ability. "Good, now smokescreen!"

"Ice beam!" Abomasnow was too much in pain to aim properly, and missed by a long shot, only to get engulfed by the black smoke from Typhlosion's mouth, causing it to lose its orientation entirely.

"Get below it and use flame wheel combined with flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

It was risky, as Abomasnow could collapse on top of her, but Ash was willing to take that risk. The combination could easily surpass a fire blast when used at point blank range, making the target get hit by all the flames. At least the front legs seemed severely damaged, so he didn't have to worry about punches or a wood hammer. Only an earthquake could possibly ruin his plan.

"Crush it with earthquake!" It raised its right front leg to create another shockwave, but Typhlosion was faster, rolling beneath it, where she got stuck. Then she unleashed the combination, both dealing incredible damage and interrupting the earthquake. Although the audience only saw the occasional stream of fire getting through the smoke, they knew that something huge was happening there.

Surprisingly enough, Abomasnow was still standing when the smoke cleared, albeit with more smoke coming from its burnt lower body. Typhlosion was already gone, having used the smoke to cover her retreat. The battle against a mega evolution had taken its toll, despite the massive type advantage. It wasn't her fault, though. Ash hadn't anticipated Abomasnow to be nearly as strong as it was, as he regarded only Lorelei's cloyster to be able to keep up with his pokémon. He'd already displayed signs of a new arrogance within him before, but underestimating an opponent belonging to the Elite Four like this was so much more. People couldn't see it, but Pikachu looked worried. He was afraid that Ash could lose everything because of this when fighting Bruno or Karen. If he got past them, though, it was unlikely he'd underestimate Lance as well, given how much respect he had for the champion.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle!" the referee shouted when it finally collapsed.

"You fared well against impossible odds. Good job," Lorelei said, recalling it. "Alright, time for Cloyster!"

There it was, Lorelei's most dangerous and well-known pokémon. Unlike most of her others, it was perfectly capable of keeping up with Lance's pokémon, and not just because it was an ice-type. Getting past it was a always a challenge, similar to Bruno's machamp or Karen's houndoom. In fact, Ash hadn't been able to defeat the latter yet, so he was more motivated than ever. For now, he had to defeat this worthy opponent, though.

"Typhlosion, return for now. Samurott, I choose you!" Ash shouted, giving Typhlosion a bit of rest.

The fire-type would have to deal with the second abomasnow, Cloyster was for his water-type to defeat. Physical attacks would be useless due to Cloyster's strong armor, so Ash had to rely on special attacks, which was more of a problem than he was willing to admit, since Samurott didn't have an effective special move against Cloyster. Pikachu on the other hand would be perfect, both because of Cloyster's miserable defense against most of his electric attacks, and its mediocre speed, but Ash was still reluctant to do it. In fact, it would have been a wise choice to leave Pikachu at the lab, since he didn't want to use his starter pokémon anyway, only his pride and attitude prevented him from doing it.

"Start with shell smash!" Cloyster opened its shell only to slam it shut, breaking the spikes in the process. It was a risky move, weakening its defenses to greatly increase its offensive potential and speed. If it did this once more, Pikachu could probably defeat it with one or two thunderbolts, assuming he hit the water-type, and wasn't crushed by its powerful attacks. "Now use rock blast meteors!"

It looked like the spikes on its armor regenerated within a few seconds, then it shot them into the air before they came crashing down like meteors from the sky. Samurott managed to dodge them, but it certainly left an impression. Ash had seen this before, albeit with far less spikes. Now things were about to get serious, but Ash realized there was little he could do. Ice attacks were useless, water-type moves were ineffective, and his bug-type moves were physical, thus also useless. Now he regretted having never bothered with normal-type attacks, but then again, water wasn't that much less effective. Since Cloyster didn't know any healing moves, it would just take a little longer.

"Alright, use the seamitar boomerang with water pulse! Then mark it!" The mark was an individual move that only showed its effect with the seamitars. They'd follow the marked target, hitting it until it was either defeated or Samurott removed the mark. Unfortunately, it was a physical move, so he had to surround the seamitars with water pulse bubbles, so the damage wasn't completely negligible. On the other hand it could still be effective with enough hits, which would add up over time, especially due to the shell smash.

As expected Cloyster dodged the seamitars by rolling to the side, where Samurott immediately shot the mark in form of a small, blue orb. His opponent reacted by shooting spikes towards that side while moving, so that the recoil made it come to a complete halt, and the mark missed it. Samurott dodged the spikes, but he wasn't there when the seamitars returned, resulting in them falling to the ground. Ash decided that the mark wasn't worth the trouble in this case, and that the seamitars were better used for defensive purposes instead.

"Grab your weapons and use them to defend yourself against the rocks!" Cloyster's ability was skill link, so there were always many of them, but he trusted that Samurott was good enough to destroy all of them before they could reach him.

That's what he did when Cloyster shot more rock spikes at him like meteors. The ice-type tried it twice more, only for the rocks to get destroyed again. Samurott on the other hand didn't dare attack, and Ash wasn't going to make him. It seemed far more reasonable to wait for a proper opportunity.

"Blast the area around Samurott!" Lorelei finally said.

"Use scald!" This time, it was direct hit, as Cloyster was too busy shooting rocks in the air. Then several of them came down, hitting the ground around Samurott, which caused the ice to shatter beneath his feet. The rest followed when he lost his footing, hitting him from all directions.

"Now pearl bombs!" Lorelei commanded.

"Counter with ice beam!"Ash had seen this move before, so he knew that to expect. Cloyster opened its shell to shoot several small, black pearls at his pokémon, who managed to freeze them just before they could reach him. However, this caused them to explode violently, splitting them into dozens of even smaller pearls, which in turn exploded all around the area. Although Samurott got hit by some of them, it was still nothing compared to a direct hit from the larger ones, as they would have split right next to him, causing him to get hit by almost all of them simultaneously. "Get out of there!"

The explosions had caused the ice to shatter, making moving a little difficult, at least for Samurott, who was holding his seamitars towards his opponent, so that he could repel another attack. The scald had been surprisingly effective, albeit it came at a high price. The pearl bombs were incredibly dangerous, mostly because they were unpredictable. In this case, Samurott wasn't hit too often, but the shell smash made every hit count. One or two more of these attacks and he'd be finished.

"Alright, barrage combination!" the ice-type trainer commanded, sensing that it could mean the end of this fight.

Cloyster shot black pearls into the air, but this time, it blew them up personally to unleash a brutal hailstorm of tiny bombs on the whole stage. Its armor protected the ice-type, but Samurott could only use the opportunity by attacking with scald again, as it was impossible to hit the small pearls or dodge all of them, and even a blizzard, which would've merely frozen them, but not cause them to explode till they hit the ground or Samurott. There was no way Samurott could evade the combination without using protect. However, it also left Lorelei's pokémon vulnerable to attacks, so she decided against using it again, at least for now. Ironically, she attempted to do something even more daring.

"Use rock blast again and ram it!" Her pokémon shot spikes that flew to the sides at first before charging at Ash's pokémon from different directions. Now that Ash thought about it, there was no other pokémon who had such a control over a move like rock blast, it made this cloyster all the more challenging. His thoughts were cut short when it rolled towards Samurott, who took a step back to cause the rocks hit each other.

"Grab it!" He dropped his seamitars to stop Cloyster, although it still managed to push him back quite a bit before it came finally came to a halt. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open the shell, but he didn't need to as it opened by itself, revealing the inner body. "Use hydro pump!"

"Use hydro pump!" Lorelei shouted at the same time.

The two streams of water met in the middle, starting a fight for dominance, which almost perfectly balanced. Neither of them was willing to back down, and the struggle lasted until they couldn't keep it up anymore. Ash knew that Cloyster was also weak to physical attacks that managed to get past its armor, and this was a good opportunity.

"Try megahorn!" The water-type's horn glowed green when he tried to smash it into his opponent's body.

"Strong rock blast!" Lorelei's cloyster could actually use two kinds of rock blast, with the variant that used the spikes on its armor being the weaker one. This one was used by other pokémon as well, but it required an open shell, and couldn't be controlled like the spikes. Samurott was shocked when a rock shot right out of the shell, hitting its head. It was followed by four more rocks, which all hit their target, with the last one doing enough damage to activate the torrent ability. Of course, he hadn't been able to complete the megahorn move due to the damage and even got pushed back a little. "Use pearl bombs!"

Ash had to think of a quick solution, since the pokémon were still awfully close. Perhaps blizzard was the answer after all, albeit with greater strength. It was worth a try.

"Blizzard! Full power!" The larger pearls exploded in front of Samurott, who barely managed to keep concentrating on the move when he got pushed back. The smaller ones got frozen and pushed back by the strong wind. Cloyster was surprised, but closed the shell just in time before they made contact. The smoke from the explosions cleared soon, revealing that Cloyster's armor had barely taken a scratch, whereas the terrain around it was completely destroyed.

The activation of torrent was both a good and a bad sign. Although Samurott's water attacks were more potent now, it also meant that he couldn't take much more, so Ash had to be extra careful. The problem was hitting Cloyster, who was remarkably fast, without exposing himself to its attack, especially the rock blast. Another issue was the absence of the seamitars, which were lying somewhere behind Cloyster.

"We need to get the weapons back. Use surf!" Ash shouted.

"Freeze it with ice beam!" The wave that was summoned by Samurott got turned to ice within seconds, forcing him to jump off so that he wouldn't become a part of it. He was fortunate to have been on top of the wave, as he could jump far enough from that position. "Rock blast!" He reached them just in time to destroy the projectiles shot at him. Now Ash had a problem, the frozen wave was blocking his view on the pokémon.

"Get rid of the ice wall!" Samurott made a quick plan, hoping to do a bit more than just taking down the wall. First, he used hydro pump to push Cloyster closer to it. Even though the ice-type used the same move, Samurott's torrent ability tipped the scales in his favor. Lorelei's pokémon was pushed close to the wave as a consequence, the perfect position for the next stage of the plan. He threw his seamitars to cut off the upper parts of the wave, causing them to collapse on top of Cloyster, who had managed to use the weaker rock blast on him before it got buried. This gave Samurott enough time to destroy the rest until Ash had a clear view on the stage once more. Only a few moments later, a stream of water from within the ice cleared the way for Cloyster, who was immediately greeted by Samurott's hydro pump, which pushed it back into its hole in the ice again. He did this until he couldn't keep it up anymore.

"Use pearl bombs!" Several black pearls flew out of the small cave, where Cloyster was hiding, and got hit by its ice beam when they were somewhere above Samurott. Ironically, it was the cave that protected it from attacks now.

"Take a few steps back and use blizzard!" Ash knew that shooting it upwards would just cause them to fall down eventually, but he wanted them to fly towards Cloyster, preferably getting rid of the ice and the cave in the process.

"Use strong rock blast!" Since the water-type was preoccupied with the pearls, Cloyster left its position to shoot several rocks at him. Those didn't only do a lot of damage, but they also weakened the blizzard, causing the pearls to fall on the ground around Samurott, after all.

The result was a series of dangerous explosions, that caused Samurott to faint. Ash was actually shocked to see him unconscious around the broken ice, surrounded by icy mist. The announcement came promptly.

"Samurott is unable to battle!" the referee said.

"Don't worry, you did well," Ash muttered, containing his anger. As powerful as Cloyster was, he expected a bit more from his pokémon. But the real reason he was mad was Samurott making his own plans without Ash's orders. Although he had to admit that it wasn't bad at all, Ash couldn't accept such behavior.

 _That's what trainers are for_ , he thought to himself.

However, he didn't have time to think about it, as Lorelei still had three pokémon left. Two of them were injured, but it didn't make them any less dangerous. Still, Ash wasn't worried. He was sure that he could defeat them without using Pikachu at all. Articuno was a bad choice against cloyster due to its weakness to rock-type attacks, and Gigalith had only physical attacks, leaving only Typhlosion. The typing wasn't perfect, but she was still the best for this task. Unlike Samurott, she had a lot of somewhat effective moves at her disposal, and there was still the phoenix strike, which despite being a physical move, could still finish off an injured cloyster.

"Typhlosion, I choose you!" The fire-type was a little surprised that Ash would use her against a water-type, but didn't complain.

"Get it with surf!" Cloyster quickly jumped off the wave it had summoned, ready to hit Typhlosion if she decided to jump over it. It was an old trick for Ash, though, and he didn't fall for it.

"Protect! Then combine energy ball with fire punch!" The wave washed over her while Cloyster was looking upwards, yet it still noticed the fire-type creating a green energy orb.

"Strong rock blast!" Typhlosion used fire punch on the energy ball, turning it into a ball of green fire. "Withdraw!"

"Defense curl!" The projectiles flew past each other, and it was too late for the pokémon to dodge, so Cloyster slammed its shell shut, and Typhlosion rolled into a ball, at least as well as she could. They both got pushed back, and hurt badly by the super-effective attacks, but they got up again, albeit with a lot of effort.

There was no way to tell how much more they could take, but it surely wasn't a lot. In fact, the audience expected one of them to collapse any second now, the only question was who was going to be the first one. Even a draw was entirely possible now.

"I know you can do it, Typhlosion!" Ash encouraged his pokémon.

"Don't give up, I believe in you!" Lorelei shouted.

Their breathing got slower, their strength was leaving their bodies, yet they still didn't break eye contact, as if the one to do it first would lose this fight. Everyone's eyes for on them for a few more, seemingly everlasting seconds, then Cloyster fell backwards, its shell opening wide. The fire-type was tempted to just collapse, and sleep, but she knew that Ash expected more from her. She was ready to fight a bit longer, even if it was just for a phoenix strike.

"Cloyster is unable to battle!" The referee took his time for the announcement, as the ice-type had collapsed in other battles, only to come back again. Therefore he had to be extra careful.

"Oh dear, my poor Cloyster. You were wonderful, take a long rest now," Lorelei said, recalling it. "Well, not much left. Weavile, go!"

This put Ash in a difficult situation. Typhlosion was supposed to finish the other abomasnow, but he couldn't recall her, as Weavile's pursuit could easily knock her out. He could only hope that she could use the type-advantage to defeat this pokémon as well before ending the battle with her phoenix strike. When he noticed how fast Weavile could move compared to his pokémon, he realized that it was a fool's hope.

"Use swords dance!" Lorelei commanded.

"Get it with flamethrower!" Ash didn't expect her to hit it, she was only supposed to interrupt the swords dance, which could cause trouble for the other pokémon once she was defeated. Unfortunately, Weavile got close in the process, so its attack had to be imminent. Ash decided to strike first. "Lava plume!"

"Protect!" It looked a little weird when the ice around her exploded, spreading smoke and magma all over the stage. "Now night slash!" Weavile charged at her unscathed, its claws glowing purple, and leaving a black trail behind.

"Don't let it hit you, and retaliate with fire blast when you have the chance!" It was easier said than done, evading the furious and relentless attacks was already a challenge for the heavily injured pokémon, a counterattack seemed impossible. It was almost a miracle that she even lasted for half a minute, when Ash also realized this. "Phoenix strike on the ground!"

Typhlosion was somewhat relieved, as this was going to be her last move in this battle. A direct hit could be too dangerous for a heavily pokémon like Weavile, so he wanted her to use it on the ground instead. The following event was too fast for the human eye, only cameras could capture it fully. Typhlosion's flames turned blue, then she rolled into a ball , and hit the ground below her, but not without getting hit by Weavile's claws once. The resulting explosion was huge, sending Weavile flying, and surrounded Typhlosion by an intense, blue fire. However, she had taken so much damage, that she couldn't even benefit from the boost, and collapsed on the spot. Weavile was finished as well, resulting in a draw.

"Both Weavile and Typhlosion are unable to battle!" the referee announced, making the crowd go wild. The phoenix strike was one of the most popular moves, which was only enhanced by the fact, that it could be used only once in a battle.

"Seems like a bit of a waste, using phoenix strike on Weavile. Oh well, at least I got to see it," Serena said, shrugging.

"Yes, it's impressive. He never bothered to use it against me," Marcus told her.

She couldn't help but smirk when she noticed a hint of annoyance in his words. But then again, it was a huge strain on Typhlosion, and it had never been necessary during their battles.

Ash wasn't satisfied with the result. His original plan had been to finish Abomasnow with the phoenix strike, yet now he had to rely on another pokémon to do this. Although it was true that a defeat was highly unlikely, he was still disappointed that he had only three pokémon left. Using Articuno would be a bit risky, given its injuries, but Gigalith was suitable for the task despite the weakness to grass-type attacks. After all rock-type attacks were also effective against the ice-type.

"Good job. Now it's time for Gigalith." Since Lorelei had only one pokémon left, there was no need to hide his choice.

"You did your best, Weavile. Leave the rest to Abomasnow." The snow storm was restarted by its presence immediately. "Start with energy ball and focus punch!"

It reminded Ash of the very start of the battle, but this time, he wasn't going to take the hit, as he didn't need the stealth rock anymore. Because of Gigalith's low speed, he often used the individual move, stone spike for defensive purposes. The name already said everything, it was a large stone spike shooting out of the ground, and retracting again. Due to its nature, it was only useful against opponents on the ground, so he needed to hit flying pokémon with smack down before he could use it against them. The spike was also strong enough to withstand a lot of punishment, making it ideal for blocking attacks.

"Use the stone spike!" Gigalith knew what he had to do, and stomped on the ground, causing a spike to emerge from the ground. The energy ball, which had been strengthened by the focus punch, couldn't do any damage to it, and then it disappeared again.

The move could hit almost anything on the battle field, but it was easy to avoid by simply moving to the side, as the ground shook beneath the target. Scrafty's stone first was similar, and not without reason, as the two moves had been created together. Unlike the stone fist, the spike was meant to deal with slow opponents, though. A pokémon like Abomasnow would have to keep moving in order to avoid getting hit.

"Now sandstorm!" This wasn't supposed to merely cancel the snow storm, but Ash wanted it to last. Abomasnow could cancel it with hail in return, but it would also leave it vulnerable to the stone spike or other attacks.

"Energy ball again!" Gigalith had to endure the attack this time, but Ash believed the extra power from the sandstorm, which activated the sand force ability, was worth it. He was surprised that Lorelei wasn't more aggressive, perhaps the phoenix strike had made her more cautious.

"Use rock slide and stone spike!" Several large rocks appeared above Abomasnow, who tried to dodge them , only for a stone spike to emerge in front of it. As a result, it was hit by the rocks, and the following spike, which shot out of the ground beneath it.

This simple trick was enough to deal considerable damage, making Ash think that this abomasnow was way weaker than the other one. Maybe this was the reason why Lorelei seemed awfully passive. Although he couldn't see it, the resignation was clear on her face, as she had no hope of winning left. At the same time, she was proud to have taken down three of his pokémon. Nobody would've expected the result after his last try, when he lost only one, which caused people to doubt her abilities.

Her last abomasnow wasn't much of a fighter compared to the others, having been caught not long ago. Therefore it had received far less training so far, although Lorelei still expected a bit more. It was meant to support them with a long-lasting weather effect. At least it could muster a final attack, so that people wouldn't remember it as a pokémon that was only there to make others stronger.

"Combine energy ball and focus punch for a melee attack!" Lorelei commanded.

Ash wasn't impressed when he saw the slow pokémon approaching with a green glowing fist. It struck him as an act of desperation, so he tried to put her out of her misery.

"Use stone edge!" The thin, sharp rocks appeared in front of Gigalith like spears. They didn't appear to frighten Lorelei's pokémon in the slightest, though, as it kept going. When the rock-type shot them at it, it managed to destroy one of them with a punch, but the others not only dealt a lot of damage, which was also boosted by the sand force ability, they also pushed it back. As expected, it didn't get up again, so the battle was over.

"All of Lorelei's pokémon are defeated. Ash is victorious," the referee declared.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine next time," Ash's opponent said, recalling her pokémon.

The applause wasn't as impressive as after the battle against Misty, but it was still quite loud. The two trainers waved at the crowd, and the commentator spoke up again.

"And so the second trainer is defeated. She was undoubtedly better than last time, but it wasn't enough to beat this challenger. I hope you'll all be back tomorrow, when Ash faces the third member of the Kanto Elite Four, Bruno, the master of fighting pokémon. Let's hope he also made progress since the last time." Most of the people remembered it. Bruno hadn't fared much better than Lorelei, and had retreated into the mountains for a while for training. "Until then, have a great time!"

The people started leaving gradually, but Ash stayed when he noticed that Lorelei was walking towards him slowly. She had her usual, dreamy expression on her face, as opposed to the focused look during the battle.

"Well done, take a long rest now," Ash said, quickly recalling Gigalith, before addressing his opponent. "I must admit you gave me more trouble than last time."

"Yes, I guess I wasn't ... too motivated last time. There aren't many worthy challengers, so life as part of the Elite Four can get a little dull. Sometimes we need a ... push." She sighed before shaking her head. "That defeat really got me thinking. And made me train harder. I'm not sure about Bruno, but he's also become stronger, so be careful."

"Don't worry, I'm not afraid of any opponent," Ash replied, unsure about whether she was even listening, since she was already walking in the opposite direction. After a few steps, she stopped, and turned around.

"Oh, good luck." Before Ash could answer, she was already walking away again.

Ash and Pikachu watched he go, deep in thoughts.

"If I didn't knew what she was like in battle, I'd never believe that she's a powerful trainer," he muttered, shaking his head. Pikachu replied by shaking his head. "Alright, let's go back. We still have to prepare for the next battles."

He met the others outside the stadium, but this time, Misty was with them. She had obviously watched the battle as well, but now she didn't have much to say. Most of them simply congratulated him, and went home, as they knew that it wasn't the time to celebrate. After all he hadn't won anything yet. Ash didn't mind, for he had better things to do anyway.

Instead of staying at home for dinner, he went straight to the lab without telling Dawn anything. He wanted to avoid a similar performance against Bruno, so he took some extra time to prepare his next team, which consisted of Pikachu, Charizard, Floatzel, Torterra, Latios, and Heracross. It wasn't until much later, when the food was already cold, that he arrived, only to leave within minutes. It was strange to hear Ash claiming that he wasn't hungry, and even worse, it was the only thing Dawn heard from him, even when she offered her advice on the next battle. She tried to join him at the lab later, but he wasn't there. The pokémon told her that he had gone to the place where had trained his aura abilities, making her wonder why he couldn't do it at the usual place. Perhaps he had something new and secret for the next day, but then again, he should trust her in those matters. Naturally, she looked a bit depressed during the following training for he own battles, although she always brushed off their concerns.

Ash spent the rest of the day telling his team about Bruno's pokémon, his specialties, moves, and tactics, even though he knew perfectly well that their true strength was physical power. In fact, most of his pokémon could keep up with Lance's, but the lack of combinations, and advanced tactics prevented him from defeating the champion. Still, Ash wasn't afraid of fighting them directly, as evident by his choice of pokémon. Torterra and Heracross couldn't just evade them, because they were either too slow, or relied on melee attacks. Despite, or rather because of the effort he put into this, Ash wasn't worried about losing in the slightest, only about the way to win.

Dawn was already asleep when he arrived. He didn't mind, though, as he wasn't in the mood for talking. Only Empoleon's accusing glare made him wonder whether he'd done something wrong, but he ignored it for now, focusing his thoughts on the battle instead. He went to bed with the knowledge that he was well-prepared for anything Bruno could throw at him.


	70. Honorable Duel

**AshxDawnaddicted: Thank you, I try to turn into more than simply than just one move after another. But it gets difficult after some time.**

 **This one is a bit different from the others because of the opponent. I personally find the others more interesting.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 70 Honorable Duel

Ash woke up later than Dawn expected, probably because of the training and preparation. She was even more surprised to find him much more talkative than before, something she'd missed for days now. It made her think that it was the stress or lack of sleep that turned him into a solitary guy. Whatever the case, she was willing to wait until after the battle against Lance, as this challenge was undoubtedly his priority right now, although she still wished he'd pay more attention to her.

Ash was also much more cheerful and confident this morning. The weather on the other hand was arguably worse, the sky was covered by grey clouds, and it was raining nonstop. Ash didn't mind at all, but Dawn couldn't help but feel depressed when looking out of the window, even though she didn't dislike rain in the slightest. There was just something on this particular day that made her feel that way, maybe it was the stress finally getting to her. Ash didn't seem to notice, though, he just kept talking about the coming battle. Clearly, he was looking forward to it, and he wouldn't let anything or anyone destroy his optimism. His pokémon obviously shared it, looking as relaxed as ever, and took their time for the breakfast. Ash even left only shortly before Dawn's departure, not only because of his confidence, but also because he knew better how much time he needed for the preparations at the stadium.

Dawn, Delia, and Johanna met up with Marcus, Serena, and Misty at the entrance to the stadium, but they quickly went to their respective places, since there were too many people, and they didn't want to stand in the heavy rain. As a result, they had to wait a little longer at their places than usual, although only Misty was alone. Nevertheless, they were all glad when the trainers entered the arena. The pool in the center had been replaced by a rocky field. Compared to Bruno, Ash looked like a tiny weakling, especially since the older trainer was only wearing rugged pants, giving everyone a perfect view on his muscular body. High-pitched screams from some of his younger, female admirers could be heard, but he didn't pay any attention to them. Right now, he only saw his challenger, and the opportunity to overcome the trainer who had beaten him last time.

"It's been a long time. I won't be such easy prey this time," Bruno claimed.

"We'll see about that," Ash replied with a smirk.

He didn't get to say more, as the usual announcement began.

"Welcome to the third day of this challenge. Ash defeated two of the Elite Four more or less easily, but now he faces Bruno. His pokémon's strength and prowess in battle are unrivaled, but will it enough to win today? Well, only one way to find out." He proceeded to give a quick overview of the rules again. "It'll be a full battle with substitutes, and the usual restrictions to items. No potions, berries, or similar items allowed. It's over when every pokémon of one team is defeated."

"Let the battle begin!" the new referee, who looked younger than the others, announced.

Both Ash and Bruno readied their first pokéball. The younger trainer expected the first pokémon to be one of Bruno's strongest, as the Elite Four member rarely waster time with preparation, and just started with full power right off the bat.

"Go, Steelix!" This pokémon had been an onyx the last time they had battles, but it was still just as large and impressive as before. Although it didn't stand out in terms of strength, it's appearance made it one of his most remarkable pokémon, and it was easy to recognize due to its size and the scar on its face.

"Torterra, I choose you!" He had to rely on the special attacks because of Steelix's ridiculously powerful defense, although Torterra was more proficient with physical attacks. "Use sanctuary!"

The grass-type's individual move consisted of large vines rooting him to the ground. They provided him with healing and energy, and could even move to protect him from blow, turning him into a fortress, and since he was slow anyway, the immobilization was a little price to pay, at least in Ash's opinion.

"You think that's enough to withstand our power? Steelix, let's do this!" He touched a bronze ring he was wearing, causing both it and Steelix to glow. When it was over, the steel-type was larger, much heavier, and it had spikes on its jaws, and rainbow crystals sticking out of its body, including one that looked like a stinger. Rocks were floating around its neck. Ash was surprised to see it in its mega form, as he hadn't know it was capable of this. "You'll be the first to feel the power of this mega evolution. Prepare yourself! Earthquake!"

"Use earth power!" Steelix smashed the ground with its tail, sending a shockwave towards Torterra, who stomped on the ground, causing the ground beneath Steelix to explode. They both took some damage, but they were tough enough to endure it without a problem. "Now leech seed! Keep a few ready."

"Use dig!" Torterra shook the tree on his back to release small seeds, that flew towards Bruno's pokémon, who evaded them by making a tunnel, and hiding there. Ash wasn't worried that it could emerge right below Torterra, as the sanctuary roots were too thick and strong to allow passage, at least unless the enemy used fire.

"Get it with earth power!" Since Torterra was unable to locate Steelix's exact position, it caused random underground explosions, making the whole stage shake each time. The steel-type shot out of the ground shortly after, rising to its full size. It was a frightening view, yet Torterra didn't even flinch.

"Heavy slam!" Burno commanded.

It was almost painful to watch the massive body drop onto the grass-type, but even if he wanted, he couldn't dodge the attack. At least the leech seeds were activated when their bodies made contact, giving Torterra yet another source of healing. He was hard to defeat once he was under the effect of sanctuary and leech seed, especially since he could always use synthesis or giga drain. Ash wouldn't be worried about a pokémon like Steelix if it wasn't for its mega form, which turned it into a real threat. Fortunately, Bruno knew about Ash's counter to weather moves, so he didn't need to worry about the sand force ability.

"Eat your energy ball and use giga drain!" Ahs shouted.

"Crush it with iron tail!" Bruno hoped to lower Torterra's defense, and interrupt him with the move. The latter was almost impossible, though, as The grass-type had been trained to never let something like that happen, even when faced with super-effective moves, unless making him flinch was part of the move. Steelix rose again to hit its opponent with its tail over and over again, while Torterra calmly ate his own move before wrapping a few thin vines around Bruno's pokémon, whose energy started to get drained.

Ash's strategy was simple. Since Steelix had no way of healing itself, he hoped that Torterra would outlast it by absorbing its energy and using a healing move occasionally. That's why he used moves like giga drain instead of more traditional choices like energy ball. There was no other choice, as his usual strength, physical moves, was almost useless against Steelix's hard skin. The audience surely had fun, as it was a direct confrontation of two pokémon using everything they had.

"Iron head!" The iron tail had more effect than Ash had anticipated, resulting in a little too much damage for his taste.

"Use synthesis!"Whether Bruno expected something like this, or whether it was only dumb luck, the iron head made Torterra flinch, putting Ash in a difficult situation. Were it to happen again, he'd be in real trouble. "Try it again!"

"Interrupt it with iron head!" Ash took a breath of relief when he saw the move work this time. It was far from over, though, as Steelix's moves still dealt a lot of damage, so it was only a moment of respite.

"Now giga drain again!" he shouted.

The fight became monotonous after this, with Steelix damaging Torterra even further with iron head and tail, while the grass-type was slowly draining its energy to maintain his own health. The occasional interrupt caused Ash some trouble, but his pokémon always healed himself again, often with the help of its overgrowth ability, which boosted the giga drain. Near the end of the battle, he could only used the weaker variants like mega drain or absorb, though, so that he was heavily injured eventually. Steelix on the other hand had also taken enormous amounts of damage.

"Now unleash the leaf storm!"Ash commanded, determined to finish it.

"Heavy slam!" Bruno knew that Ash's pokémon was also almost done, so he sought to end the fight as well.

Torterra released numerous glowing leaves from the tree, which hit Steelix from a point blank distance with the boost from overgrowth. It was enough to knock it out, but not to push it back. As a result, it still collapsed on Torterra with its full weight, knocking him out as well. Then it rolled to the side on its back. The whole arena silent, when the referee got a bit closer to see better because of the dust.

"They're both down!" he shouted after a moment.

"Wow, they're really strong. And just look at Bruno's muscles," Serena said, much to Marcus's annoyance.

"Well, this isn't about his strength, but about his pokémon. And he didn't win this time, I must say," he replied, folding his arms. "Despite his muscles."

"Is someone jealous?" Serena asked with a grin. "Oh, don't be mad. Men can be attractive without those kind of muscles. Just look at Ash." She was fully aware of how angry he was getting, but she just loved teasing him sometimes. "Now shush, I don't want to miss the rest."

It wasn't the most refined battle, but it was certainly entertaining, and the audience paid respect to the pokémon, who had fought so bravely and relentlessly. Bruno couldn't help but laugh at the result.

"It's been a while since I had this much fun. Well done, Ash. Well done. There aren't many who can stand up to mega Steelix's raw power." He laughed heartily again. "I hope the rest will be just as thrilling. Don't disappoint me now, boy. As for you, Stellix, I'm proud of you. Hitmonlee will take it from here."

"I enjoyed this fight as well. Torterra, you were awesome. Return now," Ash replied. Hitmonlee wasn't to be underestimated, it even justified the usage of Ash's secret weapon in this battle. He'd only use it against Steelix, who was already defeated, Hitmonlee, or Machamp. "Heracross, I choose you!"

Bruno thought it was an interesting choice, having expected Ash to use her against Machamp instead. It didn't matter in the end, as Bruno had to defeat this pokémon sooner or later if he wanted to win.

"Use stone edge and blaze kick!" Hitmonlee raised his arms, causing several stone spikes to appear above him. Then he jumped at Heracross with his feet surrounded by a fiery aura, and the spikes followed him.

"Dodge it and counter with brick break!" Heracoss jumped backwards to evade the kick, then she walked away from him while the stone spikes smashed into the ground in front of her. Hitmonlee closed the distance again to attempt more blaze kicks, which she managed to dodge. However, she couldn't counter it properly, as the attacks were too fast, and she wasn't used to dodging melee attacks because of her individual move. "Use pin missile!" She lowered her head with her horn glowing, and shot several large needles at Hitmonlee, who managed to dodge them. "Now brick break!" Heracross took the initiative, trying to punch her opponent unsuccessfully. "Use megahorn!" The final attack was a megahorn on the ground that shook the stage, but Bruno's pokémon easily evaded it by gaining enough distance to it.

"Not bad. But don't you want to use it?" Bruno asked.

"Yes, I think it's time," Ash replied.

They were talking about Heracross's individual move, which was a counter to almost any pokémon, that relied on physical moves. It caused the next melee hit to set both Heracross and the attacker on fire. Whereas the opponent was usually severely weakened by the fire, Heracross actually benefited from it, as it activated her guts ability. The difference in power was enough for her to win easily, although those fights never lasted long because of the burn. It had been one of the last moves to be completed, not because they had started later, but because it had proved much more difficult to master. She had only managed to learn it at all because of the fire-typing of her hidden power move, otherwise Ash would have gotten to do the same with poison instead of burning. Bruno, having only physically strong pokémon, was the perfect opponent for her.

"Use searing carapace!" Her whole glowed for a few seconds, then it looked normal again, albeit a little more shiny than before. It would be foolish to consider it harmless, though, as even the slightest touch could activate it.

"Attack with stone edge!" Bruno shouted.

"Destroy them with brick break!" Heracross easily shattered the rock spikes with her punches before they could do any damage. It was clear that Hitmonlee had to get closer if he wanted to deal any damage, which meant that the burn was unavoidable. It was Heracross who made the first move, though. "Attack with focus punch!"

"Blaze kick!" Hitmonlee's foot met Heracross's fist, then there was a flash of light and a fiery explosion around them. The bug-type's guts ability was shown by the crimson aura around her, so she was stronger than before, unlike Hitmonlee. "Use counter!" It took a moment to enter the stance before he was surrounded by a weak aura. Any physical attack, whether ranged or melee, would be countered for double damage.

Now Ash had to be careful, or his pokémon could knock herself out by using a strong move against the counter. Fortunately, she knew moves that were perfect for this situation

"Use pin missile!" Since only the damage from one of the needles was retaliated, she dealt more damage to him than he did to her. Hitmonlee took a few steps back to evade the needles, but in order to do it, he had remove his counter stance. Ash's only advantage in this regard was that it took a second to reenter the stance, so there was always a warning. "Keep using brick break!"

"Use blaze kick when you can!" Bruno commanded.

He had to fight defensively due to Hitmonlee's meager defenses. His slightly superior speed was the only way to avoid defeat, but he also had to make a hit or the fire would finish both pokémon. Ash on the other hand had no reason to hold back, as one hit form Heracross was worth several of Hitmonlee by now. Searing carapace simply wasn't designed for careful use, it was made to take down at least one attacker.

Heracross's wild attacks gave Hitmonlee plenty of opportunity to strike, but usually not without leaving himself vulnerable. Nevertheless he managed to hit her a few times with blaze kick, albeit he also got hit twice. This, combined with the burning, resulted in a quick end to the fight, when they were both close to fainting. However, Hitmonlee would be the first, so Bruno had to be more aggressive now.

"Stone edge cage and high jump kick!" The rock spikes were larger than usual, and hit the ground around Heracross, preventing her from moving to the side when he jumped towards her. Ash could have used protect to cause him to crash, effectively ending the fight, but he decided to take the attack directly.

"Reversal!" As powerful as high jump kick was, the burning, Heracross's guts ability, and the high base power of reversal due to her injuries, caused the bug-type to completely overpower him. The force of the move made him fly to the other side of the field, where he crashed into the ground, and didn't get up.

Heracross climbed out of her small prison with grave injuries. She was proud of her strength, and hoped for a lot of sap as a reward. Ash on the other hand wasn't happy with the result, albeit he was mad at himself, not at his pokémon. If he had been less reckless, she could have taken on another opponent, but now she could only hope to deal good damage before the burning would get her. Ash wasn't worried, though, the others were more than capable of dealing with the rest.

"Hitmonlee is defeated!" the young referee announced.

"Well, that was interesting. Let's see whether you can defeat Hitmonlee as well;" Bruno said, calling out a new fighting-type.

"I'd love to, but the others also want to see some action. Return, Heracross!" He took a different pokéball for the next fight. "Floatzel, I choose you!"

It was going to be a more balanced matchup, as neither pokémon had any significant advantage. Ash could use Charizard or Latios for an easy win, but he wanted to save them for the more dangerous encounters. Although Hitmonchan wasn't weak by any means, others like Machamp were far more threatening.

"Start with aqua ring!" A ring of water moved up and down his body, ensuring a weak, but steady healing throughout the battle. It had saved him more than a few times already.

"Mach punch!" Bruno used the distraction to make a quick hit, and close the distance at the same time. The attack was over before Floatzel could react. "Now thunder punch!"

"Counter with ice punch!" The moves were evenly matched at first, but Hitmonchan soon gained the upper hand due to his ability, iron fist. "Aqua tail!" His tails glowed blue, and he spun to hit the fighting-type with both of them, only get blocked by one of his fists, then he got struck by the other one. Ash realized that he had to try something different, or Floatzel weak defense could make the fight end way too early.

"Use the ice aqua jet!" Floatzel jumped backwards, activating the aqua jet while in the air. Instead of attacking directly, he flew towards Ash's side of the field, and then changed direction again. Once he was flying towards Hitmonchan, he started spinning, and used ice beam to freeze the outer parts of the water around him.

"Combine focus and thunder punch!" Bruno's pokémon had a lot of time to get ready for his counter, which would be devastating, but Ash had a plan.

"Leave it and use scald!" Floatzel broke out of the ice with another aqua jet, flying above Hitmonchan, who was almost so startled that he forgot to shatter the ice husk flying towards him. Because of it, he had no time to dodge the following scald attack. Although Ash was a little disappointed that the secondary effect didn't take place, the attack could still be considered a success in his books.

"Get it with sky uppercut!" Bruno shouted.

His pokémon jumped up high, hitting Floatzel from below, and causing him to fall. He tried to hit the water-type again during the fall, only to get blocked by an aqua tail. Floatzel used aqua jet again before he hit the ground, and gained some distance.

"Now sonic jet!" Ash commanded.

Floatzel's individual move was a variation of the ice aqua jet, which involved sonic moves, as the name suggested. It made for an extremely unstable aqua jet, and caused it to burst violently upon contact. The damage was respectable, but its true strength was the loud noise it emitted in this case. It not only made the opponents flinch, but also had a chance to confuse them. Floatzel himself was immune to those effects, otherwise it would be way too dangerous for him, but he still took some damage when it exploded. Bruno knew what to expect, and since the move affected a large area, it was best to either destroy it from a safe distance, or at least deal as much damage as possible when taking it down.

"Focus punch!" Floatzel's aqua jet was already vibrating crazily, indicating a large amount of power within. Hitmonchan jumped at his opponent a bit earlier than expected, punching him as hard as he could.

The explosion was huge, and the noise was so loud that even the audience was affected. The two pokémon were off much worse, though, as they were flung at opposite sides of the stage by the force. Floatzel in particular had taken a lot of damage, which was the reason why Ash sometimes hesitated to use the move, but it was Hitmonchan who was confused now. In the worst case, this only offered Floatzel some respite and healing from the aqua ring, and if he was lucky, he could also deal some heavy damage to the fighting-type.

"Close the gap with ice aqua jet!" The pokémon took a few more seconds to recover from the shock, then Floatzel was already on his way. He had to seize this opportunity, as he wasn't likely to get another.

"Get ready to defend yourself with thunder punch!" Bruno hoped that his pokémon could understand him, as he looked like he was barely able to stand. Much to his relief, the trainer could see sparks coming from Hitmonchan's fist, but his gaze was unfocused.

When Floatzel crashed into him, he failed to raise his fist in time, resulting in a direct, and brutal hit. Now the water-type had the chance to finish him off before he could recover from the confusion.

"Use the ice fountain combination!" Floatzel used aqua tail to launch Hitmonchan, and followed up with a hydro pump to engulf him with water. Then he used ice fang on the stream of water, which quickly froze, and took the shape of his mouth at the end, looking like he bit Hitmonchan before the fighting-type was encased by ice. The frozen pillar fell down, shattering upon impact, and freeing the pokémon inside.

"You're free. Good. Use mach punch and follow up with thunder punch!" Bruno commanded, but Hitmonchan didn't move. The last combination had been too much for him.

"Hitmonchan is unable to battle!" the referee announced after a few moments.

"Doesn't Bruno ever change his pokémon?" Delia asked.

"Rarely. He believes that his pokémon should be able to deal with any opponent, and that fighting against impossible odds makes them stronger," Dawn explained. "He doesn't fight for victory, he fights for the battle itself, and for the challenge. Otherwise he'd probably be almost as dangerous as Karen."

Bruno couldn't help but feel that Ash had been lucky with the confusion, but then again, luck was part of every battle, and he'd be the last to claim that Floatzel was a weakling. Sometimes even strong trainers looked weak because of a streak of bad luck.

"It happens to the best of us," he said to himself, recalling Hitmonchan. "Machamp, go!"

"Use sonic jet again!" Ash hoped that he could cause confusion, or at least deal some damage before Latios would finish it off.

"Stone edge!" Four stone spears appeared around Machamp, who grabbed and threw them at Floatzel. Even though he used spin, the spears somehow managed to scratch the aqua jet, causing it to burst. This time, Ash was the unlucky one, as his pokémon was thrown right at Machamp by the explosion. "Dynamic punch!"

One of Machamp's fists glowed red when he hit Floatzel will full force, sending him right back towards Ash. The water-type smashed into the tower on which Ash was standing, and fell unconscious on the spot. The confusion from the dynamic didn't even need to take effect to defeat him. The referee wasted no time announcing the result.

"Floatzel is finished!" he shouted.

Ash had gravely underestimated Machamp's no guard ability, which made a miss highly unlikely. The fight including the pokémon were always short, as it never wasted even one thought on dodging moves, but also almost never missed. However, its greatest strength was its melee strength, so a pokémon that could keep its distance had the advantage.

 _Why does it insist on avoiding the inevitable?_

His eyes flashed green again, this time combined with a sharp pain in his head. However, since he'd gotten used to it, he didn't even flinch.

 _This is my goal and you won't keep me from it,_ he replied in his thoughts.

 _The enemy grows stronger. This one must never forget, it is our chosen. But very well, we shall not stop it for now._

The words had become more pushy over the course of the last few weeks, pushing him towards becoming stronger to combat their common enemy. Whether they were malevolent or not, they helped him by making his progress easy and fast, at least that's what they claimed. Only recently did he manage to weaken their influence by focusing on his own goal as well.

"Latios, I choose you!" he exclaimed, making the audience gasp. Latios was well known like Articuno, and the people loved his battles due to his combination of speed and power. "Keep your distance and use reflect!"

A translucent barrier appeared around him for a moment. It wasn't going to last long, since Machamp was sure to use brick break as soon as possible, but that also meant it had to use an ineffective move. It wasn't worried about Latios's speed at all, as it required him to fly via levitation, and a smack down could remove that advantage, so it wasn't surprised when Bruno commanded it to use the move.

"Force it to the ground with smack down!" Machamp extended one of its arms towards Latios, forming a small, white orb in the hand. Then he shot it at the dragon-type with incredible speed, so that dodging it was utterly impossible. The reflect weakened the impact, but it couldn't prevent Latios from falling down. "Now use brick break!" Without his levitation ability, he couldn't move, which didn't mean that he was helpless, though. His attacks weren't weaker at all, and Machamp still had to close the distance. However, Ash was worried about the dynamic punch, so he used the time for something different.

"Safeguard!" A green shield around Latios indicated that he was protected for now, and given Machamp's ability and style, it was unlikely to run out before the end of the fight. This was much more vital than any kind of damage he could have done, as even a short moment of confusion could decide an entire battle. Machamp was able to deliver it with massive damage, and a near-perfect accuracy. "Now luster purge!"

Machamp was already close, so that the two attacks came almost simultaneously. The reflect shield was shattered, leaving Latios vulnerable to the stronger attacks. The fighting-type was hit by the pink beam of energy in return, which wasn't only super-effective, but also decreased its defenses against similar moves. Ash knew that his victory was already assured, yet he wanted Latios to take on another pokémon after this. Therefore he tried to finish it without taking too much damage in the process. Machamp's weakness to psychic-type moves would be his greatest advantage.

"Get it away with psychic!"he commanded.

"Use payback!" Since there was no need to hold Latios, it could use all of its arms. However, the psychic move prevented it from doing anything, and when the eon pokémon used it at full power, the fighting-type was flung at the other side of the stage.

"Keep using luster purge!" It was almost painful to watch Bruno's pokémon getting hit by pink energy beams while it was getting up and running towards its opponent, but it proved remarkably resilient.

"Use stone edge and payback!" Latios couldn't avoid the rock spears, but they didn't do much damage compared to his luster purge. When Machamp finally reached him, its defenses were almost completely down, and it had already taken so much damage, that it was almost defeated, yet it still mustered enough strength for another attack. It was the kind of determination and willpower that Ash valued so much in his own pokémon.

"Psychic again!" Unlike last time, Machamp's movement didn't come to a complete halt. It even managed to hit Latios with payback, but it was so slow that the damage wasn't great. Then it couldn't resist anymore, which allowed Latios to smash it against Bruno's little tower on his side of the stage.

Even then, it attempted to attack the psychic-type again, only to fall forward. It was already unconscious when it hit the ground. The announcement came a few seconds later.

"Machamp is defeated!" This erased the remaining doubts that Ash would be victorious. With Machamp, Steelix, and Hitmonlee down, few believed that Bruno could make a proper comeback.

His spirit wasn't broken, though. He was going to finish the battle with dignity, and follow his principles until the very end.

"You fought well. Now it's time for Pangoro!" he said, calling out his new pokémon.

It was still relatively unknown, so Ash didn't know what to expect. He knew that Latios, especially when pinned down like this, wasn't the right pokémon to deal with it.

"Latios, return for now." Ash readied the pokéball of another popular pokémon. "Charizard, I choose you!"

Neither pokémon had a true advantage in terms of typing, but Charizard's ability to fly would help a great deal against a melee fighter like Pangoro. Ash didn't know that Pangoro didn't know rock-type moves, so he didn't need to worry about smack down in particular. It was the reason he hadn't used the fire-type against Machamp. Although the flame pokémon could have caused a lot of damage, he couldn't have lasted long against the combination of stone edge and no guard.

"Use fling and sky uppercut!" Bruno commanded.

The items used in pokémon battles were designed to disappear from view, so that the opponent couldn't see it, while still retaining their effect. They could only be seen when not used, or during moves that involved them directly. As a result, Ash couldn't know what Pangoro was going to toss at Charizard until it actually happened. He expected a toxic ball, but it was only an iron ball, which merely dealt a lot of damage. The following sky uppercut provided the dark-type with a lot of jumping power, so that he wasn't far behind the ball. Charizard was far enough away to dodge both of them with ease, but Ash had another plan.

"Grab it and use meteor toss on it!" His pokémon had enough time to prepare, grabbed the ball, and with a spin threw it right back at Pangoro with a fiery aura.

"Protect!" The daunting pokémon activated the shield just in time to get only smashed into the ground by the force of the iron ball, albeit without taking damage.

"Sunny day!" Although Ash could probably win by using flying-type moves only, combinations with fire, especially when it was boosted by sunny day, were even better.

"Taunt it!"Bruno simply said.

"Pan! Pan Goro!" The pokémon made a rude gesture, shouting things at Charizard, who canceled the move when he heard it. Being a proud pokémon, he was easily provoked, and Pangoro looked like it was an expert on those matters. Ash realized that he had to change his plans.

"Use earthquake!" Charizard dropped from the sky, sending a shockwave in every direction when he hit the ground. Pangoro simply jumped over it, and towards the fire-type, ready to strike.

"Now payback!" Its fist were surrounded by a dark aura, but it didn't get to finish the attack, as Charizard grabbed its fists with his own. Then he moved his head closer to Pangoro's until they could feel each other's breaths. They glared at each other, none of them willing to give in, but it was Pangoro, who slowly gained the upper hand due to its superior physical strength. It pushed the flame pokémon back steadily, so that Ash soon had enough.

"Fly!" Charizard spread his wings, and took off, taking Pangoro with him by holding onto its fists. The dark-type was helpless in the air, and couldn't escape, as the grip was too strong. "Now fire punch and heat wave!" The first thing Pangoro felt was the incredible heat radiating from its opponent's claws, burning his fists, and it couldn't let go. At the same time, Charizard flapped his wings, sending searing winds at it. Pangoro screamed in pain, but the worst part was only about to start. "Now meteor toss!" Charizard had gained a sufficient altitude for his individual move. He let go of one of the hands, threw Pangoro further up in the air, caught it there again, and, surrounded by a fiery aura, threw it at the ground. It smashed into the ground like a meteor, leaving a large crater, and a huge amount of smoke.

Charizard flew closer to blow away the smoke. Unlike Ash, who tried to warn him, he was already sure of his victory. As soon as he started, Pangoro jumped right at him, biting the upper part of his tail with crunch. It wasn't only extremely painful, as seen when Charizard's eyes widened, and he flew around in panic, it was also a dangerous position for him. Neither his arms, nor his head could reach it, and his wings could be blocked, as the dark-type was still able to use its arms. For now, it was content to punch its opponent over and over again with payback. Ash also noticed a green shield around his pokémon appear for just a moment, which could only mean that the safeguard ran out.

"Calm down! Calm down!" It was far from easy, though, as the pain was horrible, but Charizard managed to do it somehow. "Good, now use your tail as a torch!" The fire-type didn't waste any time, and drove the burning tip of his tail into Pangoro's back. The dark-type cried out in pain, letting go of Charizard in the process, and fell onto the ground below. "Now fire blast!"

"Protect!" The shield was activated just in time to repel the huge burning star shot at it from above. Charizard landed nearby with a pained expression. Clearly, they both wanted the fight to end as soon as possible, and the trainers weren't going to stop them. "Use crunch!"

"Blast burn!" Charizard took a deep breath before he released a massive stream of blue fire, not unlike flamethrower, only way more powerful .

Bruno's pokémon was caught in the center on the way, too weak to escape the flames. It was surprising that it was able to keep standing for the whole duration of the move, and even after Charizard was done. The flame pokémon had to recharge, but finishing it off wasn't even necessary, as it gave him one more smirk before collapsing on its back. There was a burnt spot on its back, and the front side hadn't fared any better. Nevertheless, Bruno was proud of his pokémon, who had fought so valiantly.

"Pangoro is unable to battle!" the referee shouted as soon as he was sure that it wasn't going to get up again.

"Alright, you deserve a break," Bruno said, as if he was merely recalling it temporarily. "Breloom, let's wrap this up!"

Even in his current condition, Charizard would have easily defeated this pokémon due to the type-advantage. However, since he looked like he was in serious pain, and because Ash felt that Bruno deserved a real fight, he recalled the flying-type.

"You did your job admirably. Take a rest now." Latios also had a type-advantage, albeit not a huge one, so he could finish it despite his own injuries. "Latios, I choose you! Start with safeguard!"

Ash was fully aware of the threat posed by Breloom's spore move. It could easily spread all over the stage within seconds, and remain for quite a while, unlike the more fleeting sleep powder. Therefore even Ash's pokémon had to prepare for it, as they'd be easy targets for Breloom's punches once they were asleep. The mushroom pokémon was surrounded by a purple aura for a moment, which had to be a toxic orb taking effect. Ahs concluded that its ability was poison heal, so he had to prepare for strong regeneration.

"Use smack down with mach punch!" Breloom utilized mach punch to increase the smack down orb's speed, but even like this, it wasn't difficult to dodge.

"Retaliate with missile storm!" A large, turquoise orb appeared above Latios before splitting into dozens of smaller ones. They all flew towards Breloom, increasing in size on the way.

This move basically shot a large number of tiny dragon pulses , which grew stronger the further they traveled, and exploded on impact for area damage. Because of this, it was intended to be used as an artillery move, striking foes from a large distance. The precision was low, but it wasn't unusual that one target was struck by several orbs because of the area effect.

"Mach punch!" The grass-type sent a few them right back, but most of them struck the ground around it, hurting it with area damage. Since the move was more effective against Latios, he quickly flew a bit higher. "Attack with focus punch!"

There was a short pause before it moved, making Ash suspect that it was using a substitute, which was a common tactic with breloom. For every substitute, a part of its life force was sacrificed, but it protected the pokémon from some damage, from status and control effects, and from interruptions, which was especially effective when combined with focus punch. If he was right, there was no way to prevent the attack for, so it would be better to reduced its damage and the following damage.

"Use reflect!" Breloom used its tail to launch itself at Latios. Ash was impressed by its speed, but the punch itself wasn't effective due to Latios's resistance, and the reflect move. "Now luster purge!" The mushroom pokémon simply vanished when it was hit, and reappeared on the ground, proving Ash right. However, it was already readying a smack down orb. Since it was already close, dodging it would be difficult, so Ash decided to deal some proper damage to it. "Use psychic to push it back!"

Latios got hit by the orb, which forced him to the ground, but he managed to retain his focus, and flung Breloom across the stage. Ash had an idea, and its position was perfect.

"Use missile storm, and take control of the orbs!" Instead of attacking the grass-type directly, Latios made the orbs float above it, well out of reach. Bruno knew that one wrong step would make the dragon-type attack with them , but he could at least attack as well.

"Stone edge!" Breloom's control over the spikes was immediately lost when Latios used psychic on them. In turn, it lost control over the orbs, which fell down as a result. "Protect!" Although the shield protected it from the heavy explosions nearby, it wasn't prepared when Latios used its own stone edge on it. It was followed by a luster purge, which it managed to dodge, though.

Strangely enough, most of the damage hadn't been suffered due to Latios's attacks, but because of the substitutes. Clearly, Breloom was allowed to use them without Bruno's commands, which was only reasonable, since the opponent didn't know about it in this case. On the other hand they probably prevented a lot worse, and part of the damage had already been regenerated. However, it also had to make hits if it wanted to win, but first, the reflect shield had to be removed.

"Use brick break!" After a brief moment of respite, it ran directly towards Latios, who was still forced to the ground.

"Psychic!" The first move hit a substitute, making the real Breloom appear nearby, but it was already dangerously close to Latios. Nevertheless, the dragon-type reacted in time, lifting it into the air.

"Leech seed!" It shook a few seeds out of the cap on its head, and threw them at its opponent, who wasn't prepared for this. They quickly took effect, providing the mushroom pokémon with another source of healing. "Now seed bomb!"

"Luster purge!" The seed bomb was interrupted, when Breloom fell down again, and got hit directly by a purple beam of energy. As long as Bruno's pokémon didn't get too close, reflect couldn't be removed, and Latios was mostly safe. This meant that he could focus on attacking, which was necessary to counter Breloom's regeneration. "Lift it again with psychic and use psyshock!"

"Stone edge!" The psychic move hit only another substitute, so that Breloom was able to finish its move, not only hitting Latios from a close distance, but also evading the psyshock orb.

However, all the substitutes had taken their toll, and not even its regeneration could keep up. It was almost defeated, but so was Latios. Ash had barely noticed just how much his dragon-type had suffered throughout the battle, and even now, he didn't look like he was in trouble. Ash should have noticed it via the aura link he had recently established between them, but he was too focused on the battle itself to realize what he was missing.

"Just do it again, it can't keep creating substitutes forever!" The next psychic move removed a substitute again. Unlike last time, Breloom failed to dodge the psyshock, though, and its stone edge couldn't finish Ash's pokémon. As a result, it didn't have enough energy for another substitute, and was lifted into the air by Latios. Apart from the damage inflicted by the move itself, it was also unable to evade the psyshock again. It fell to the ground, and for a short moment, it looked like it was unconscious. Only the regeneration allowed it another attempt to fight. Ash, however, had no intention of letting it make a comeback. "Another psyhsock!"

A purple orb hit Breloom when it tried to get up, causing it to fell forward on its face. The leech seeds died the moment it was knocked out, preventing Latios from being defeated as well. The referee waited a few seconds, waiting for it to rise again, and then proclaimed Ash's victory.

"Breloom is unable to battle!" There was a moment of awkward silence, until he realized that Bruno had no pokémon left. "Oh, all of Bruno's pokémon are defeated. Ash is victorious!"

"And there it is, Ash's third victory," the commentator yelled into his microphone. "But he's come this far before, and will face Karen once more. No challenger has been able to defeat her for two years now. Will he end her winning streak? Or will he fail again? I hope to see all of you again tomorrow, so we can find out."

Ash wasn't listening at all, he was praising and recalling Latios, and also waving at the audience. Despite his injuries, the dragon-type still looked like he could take on a whole team, but now Ash could feel that he was close to collapsing. The victory didn't even matter right now, because the first true test was closer than ever. Karen was young, ambitious, and strong enough to beat any champion. Some people claimed that Lance had been lucky not to lose his title to her so far, but it didn't matter to Ash. In order to become a champion, he had to defeat both of them, regardless of the order. Known as the Mistress of Darkness, she was highly intelligent, sneaky, and merciless. Her pokémon knew unique moves made specifically for them, just like the individual moves, and all of them were known to be more agile than their counterparts on other teams. It was the result of hard training, similar to Ash's pokémon's resistance to status moves. Similarly, Lance's pokémon hit harder with physical moves, but Ash didn't worry about the champion just yet. Those effects were small, so that most people wouldn't even notice them, but they could make a difference.

When he felt a large hand on his shoulder, he was startled for a moment until he realized it was Bruno, who was smiling at him.

"Good job, boy. I always enjoy a challenge," the huge man said. "But next time, it won't be this easy."

"I hope you'll be the challenger then," Ash replied with a grin.

"We'll see about that, we'll see." Bruno laughed heartily, then he became a bit more serious. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind someone giving Karen a good beating. She's been pretty arrogant lately, and a bit of humility would only help her. In any case, good luck to you."

They shook hands, and as much as Ash had trained lately, his hand was almost crushed . At least he managed to hide the infernal pain, smiling throughout the whole procedure. He only looked a bit funny when he walked back to his room, but as soon as he felt unobserved, he sank to his knees, grabbing the crushed hand with the other. Pikachu couldn't help but laugh when he saw his proud Ash reduced to a little child, who was breathing heavily, and in the end, rolling around while holding his hand as close to the body as possible. It was amazing that he had even managed to hide it for such a long time. Ash on the other hand didn't pay any attention to his pokémon, as he was too busy finding ways to make the pain go away. It took him several minutes to be able to walk normally again, and even though he could barely feel his hand now, he could at least hide his condition.

Once he was done with the journalists waiting in front of his room, he left the stadium to meet up with the others again. There wasn't much need for words, and they quickly left again. Much to Dawn's surprise, Ash talked much more than usual and even helped her with the dishes a little.

The weather was much worse than in the morning, with icy winds that made even Ash shiver. In addition, there was heavy snowfall until walking became a bit difficult, but Ash had left for their secret cave near Cinnabar Island. Since he usually didn't mind training in the snow, Dawn suspected that he didn't want anyone to see him and his team. However, she could easily determine it by looking at which pokémon were missing. Those were Pikachu, Infernape, Magnezone, Sceptile, Krookodile, and Seismitoad. Unlike in the previous battles, this team was made to win, and nothing else. The pokémon had abilities and moves that worked well together, and the strategy was made to combat Karen specifically. Naturally, she would use a strategy made for Ash, as she knew perfectly well that he wasn't like the other challengers.

When he was done, and returned back to the lab, he even invited Dawn to train with him, which she gladly accepted. Although she couldn't explain this sudden change of attitude, but she welcomed it with open arms. It was like the old Ash had returned, though she worried he could revert just as quickly. Even in this state, he mostly talked about the coming battle, yet Dawn couldn't blame him. It could easily prove the most difficult one in his entire life, at least until it was time to face Lance.

* * *

 **The change at the end is not a coincidence, though it might only be temporary.**


	71. Against the Darkness

**There was a small hint as to why Ash changed again, though it might not seem connected to that at first. It reappears again in a different form in chapter 73 and chapter 77 will give more answers regarding that.**

 **Since vacations are over, chapters will be upöoaded at a slowe pace again. For now here is the 4th battle, this time against Karen.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 71 Against the Darkness

At first, Ash didn't want to leave early this morning. He changed his mind when he saw the huge amount of snow outside, and was faced with too many questions by Dawn. Those only distracted him at a time when he needed to mentally prepare for the coming challenge. Dawn on the other hand didn't think that she had asked that many questions, only the most basic ones. She also left a little earlier with Delia and Johanna because of the weather, and went inside the stadium before meeting up with the others, since they were sure that they weren't expected to wait outside, while it was freezing cold like this. At least it was warm inside the stadium, and it was surprisingly filled. Apparently, many people were willing to endure the weather to see this particular match.

It started later than usual, probably due to the late arrival of some important people. Ash and Karen stepped on the stage, which was a grassy field this time. Whether Karen had chosen it because her team had an advantage on it, or whether it was simply because it hadn't been used so far, remained to be seen. Karen was wearing a short, black dress with black high-heels, and black gloves, which immediately attracted the looks of all the males in the stadium. Either the commentator was among them, or he wasn't at his place just yet, as the two trainers had time for a little conversation.

"I'm glad you made it. It's been a dull year that only got interesting when you absolutely crushed the others months ago. They've been much more competitive ever since." She scratched her chin. "It's really interesting how one devastating defeat can turn old, lazy, overconfident trainers into ambitious, energetic ones. I believe they should thank you for that, but I doubt their pride allows it. So allow me to do it in their stead. Thank you for turning my colleagues into more worthy rivals. Just don't expect me to go easy on you. After all, I'll challenge Lance and become champion once we're done here."

"Not if I can prevent it. I'm afraid you'll have to wait six months for the next challenge because I'll take his place." A new champion couldn't be challenged for six months. This relatively new rule existed so that the champion wouldn't change too often. "I hope it starts soon, the suspense is killing me."

"Impatient, are we? Don't worry, it shouldn't take long," she replied, laughing softly.

Even Karen didn't expect it to take ten more minutes. A large part of the audience was annoyed by then, and didn't hesitate to display it.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We're sorry about the wait, the weather caused some unforeseen problems. However, we're ready to begin now, so let me welcome you all to the fourth and final battle between the challenger Ash and the Elite Four, represented by Karen today." In the meantime, the referee finally walked onto the stage hastily. It was his absence that had caused all the problems. "We all know about her ambitions, so whoever wins today, will face Lance in the near future, and we will get the battle for the champion title, no matter how this ends today. The same rules as in every other Elite Four battle apply. Now let's not waste any more time and begin."

The two trainers readied their pokéballs, giving each other one more challenging look.

"Drapion, let's start with toxic spikes!" Karen shouted immediately.

"Infernape, use stealth rock!" Even Ash didn't bother with his usual words, and started right off the bat.

Drapion raised its arms, shooting dozens of small spikes into their, whereas Infernape shot a rock directly into the ground. Ash was hoping that a certain pokémon wasn't in Karen's team, or his own stealth rock could turn against him. For now, he had to remove the toxic spikes, though, and since he didn't have a poison-type in his own team, he had to rely on an old combination, which brought back memories of his league battle against Paul. Naturally he didn't have time right now, as he had to focus on this battle.

"Use dig and flare blitz!" he commanded.

"Get on your tail! Use toxic pool once it's done!" She knew that an underground flare blitz could basically set the ground on fire, damaging anything on it, and removing the spikes. Since her pokémon was standing on its tail now, very little of its body was exposed to the flames, and it only took minor damage. All the grass was gone, though. Then it spat poison on the ground around it, hoping that Infernape wouldn't dare shoot out of the ground beneath it. "Now earthquake!"

"Don't get too close to it, but get out quickly!" Infernape reemerged near his original position, and was immediately faced with a shockwave coming towards him. His instincts told him to ready a move while jumping, and he was right to do so, as he noticed poison needles flying towards him. He destroyed them with a flamethrower, which also forced Drapion to dodge it instead of attacking again. "Inferno punch!"

"Cross poison!" Infernape was faster, hitting Drapion's face and jumping on its back before it could hit him with its claws. "Poison tail!" Its tail glowed purple, and it tried to sting Infernape from behind, but the fire-type jumped, resulting in Drapion pinching its own back.

"Fire blast!" Ash chose this move for two reasons. The obvious one was that it could deal a lot of damage, but more importantly, the force of the move allowed his pokémon to move further with his jump. He wanted to avoid the poison pool on the ground at all costs. "Earthquake when you land!"

"Dodge it!" Drapion had no move to counter a fire blast, except for protect, but Karen didn't want it to use this unless absolutely necessary. The fire missed it, only managing to remove some of the poison. When Infernape landed, he stomped on the ground, sending a shockwave towards Drapion. "Protect!"

"Return! Magnezone, use magnet rise and light screen!" Ash shouted.

While Drapion was busy, he hoped to prepare for the next opponent, since Karen would undoubtedly recall Drapion. Since Magnezone's physical defenses were already strong, he tried to prepare for special attacks. There was one particular pokémon he certainly didn't want to see today, but Drapion's actions so far made him believe that it was only a matter of time.

"Drapion, return! Malamar, start with cursed ground!" His fears had come true, as this pokémon's individual move allowed for total control of moves like stealth rock, spikes, and toxic spikes. Although his stealth rock hit Malamar when it was called out, it was under Karen's control as soon as the dark-type completed its individual move. Furthermore, it had the infiltrator ability, allowing it to bypass the light screen. Fortunately, Ash had developed other ways of removing moves like stealth rock over the years.

"I love this move, but I just can't reproduce it," Dawn said. "No idea how Karen created it. It's irremovable and perfect for ground control. I think that's what her team is all about."

"Looks weird to me. Dark. Is it an attack move?" Johanna asked.

"No, it just turns moves like stealth rock against Ash. It doesn't last forever, but can be renewed repeatedly," Dawn replied with a dreamy look. "It would be so nice to have that move."

Maybe she simply didn't have a pokémon with the talent to learn this kind of move, which would be a shame, considering how powerful and useful it was.

"Thunderstorm!" Ash quickly commanded.

This was Magnezone's individual move, and the key to success in this fight. Although it had been Dawn's pokémon, the move was created entirely by Ash. Apart from Infernape, every pokémon in his team was chosen specifically to fight under this effect. It essentially created a lot of clouds, which periodically shot lighting at the stage, randomly hitting allies or enemies. Ground-types were immune to them, and although electric-types still got hurt, they were also charged by the effect, gaining a buff for their next attack. In addition, electric attacks were also strengthened as long as it was active. Of course, large targets were more likely to be hit, but it was still unreliable compared to the hail move. However, it made flying-types nearly useless, because they were more easily hit while flying, and flying into the clouds almost guaranteed their defeat, as the lightning was much stronger there.

"Use taunt!" Malamar's eyes narrowed, and even though it didn't appear to do anything, Ash was sure that it said some nasty things to Magnezone telepathically, as it canceled its own move. Now it had to use attack moves, albeit not necessarily directly. Ash could even use the opportunity to get rid of the stealth rock. "Attack with dark pulse!"

"Combine gyro ball with discharge, and remove the stealth rock!" The electric-type started spinning while shooting lighting in every direction, similar to the counter-shield. It easily overpowered the dark pulse, but Malamar was too far away for it to deal proper damage. This wasn't Ash's main intention anyway. Despite its form, Magnezone burrowed into the ground with force, where it eventually found the hidden rock due to the thin tunnel it had left, and destroyed with a flash cannon.

"Use reflect and light screen!" Karen thought she could need those buffs in case Magnezone somehow managed to activate the thunderstorm. Then Houndoom would have to remove it via its sunny day, but it needed protection to pull it off, or it would take way too much damage. Since Malamar didn't have a good way of dealing with a pokémon hiding underground, this was the perfect opportunity.

Ash was also fully aware of this. Even if he managed to complete the move, in order for it to last, he had to remove Karen's defenses. Then he'd have to find a way to prevent another taunt, either by creating a suitable defense, or by defeating Malamar. The latter approach wasn't without flaws, as other pokémon were likely to know taunt as well. As soon as Magnezone reappeared, he had another order for the steel-type.

"I need you to shoot a slow zap cannon at it." The resulting sparkling orb was even slower than usual, so that his next pokémon could use it. "Return! Seismitoad, use surf!" He chose this move not only to deal damage, but also to wash away the rest of the poison pool.

"Malamar, return! Shiftry, use bounce!" Karen shouted.

The zap cannon was absorbed by the wave of water, on which Seismitoad was riding. This made it particularly dangerous, as even a touch could paralyze. Shiftry simply jumped to avoid it, and to attack Seismitoad from above.

"Use leaf tornado!" Karen commanded.

"Waterfall!" Ash's pokémon rose on top of a water pillar coming from the wave itself, not only dodging the leaves coming towards him, but also getting close to Shiftry. "Now brick break with acid!"

"Razor leaf!" Karen knew that its agility was limited while in the air, so she attempted to at least deal major damage to Ash's pokémon. He spread acid all around himself, though, dissolving most of the incoming leaves before striking and shattering the shields in the process. Only a few leaves got through, and dealt heavy damage due to his weakness.

"Use hydro pump to get away!" He didn't even bother aiming at Shiftry, as it was ineffective, and he needed to escape quickly now. The force pushed him further towards Ash's side, where he landed almost at the same time as Shiftry, albeit his landing was a bit rougher. "Earth prison on yourself, but open at the top!"

"Use leaf tornado!" Karen suspected that Ash was planning something big.

The ground-type used a move similar to earth power, which caused several pillars of mud to rise from the ground around him. They created some kind of prison before hardening, with only one opening at the top. He usually used it to imprison opponents to finish them off with earthquakes. The leaf tornado had almost no effect on it, so he was safe for now.

"Jump out of there!" Seismitoad was recalled as soon as he saw it. This prison wasn't for him, it was meant as protection for Magnezone. "Magnezone, use gyro ball for a tunnel, then thunderstorm! Make it last as long as you can!"

"Shiftry, use black thorn seed!" The grass-type released a small seed, which burrowed into the ground on its own, from its mouth. "Return! Malamar, use light screen and reflect!" Magnezone forced its way downwards before starting the thunderstorm move.

This move usually couldn't be used underground, as it had to shoot a beam of energy at the sky or ceiling, but a wide, straight tunnel like this one allowed for this as well. Karen's shiftry didn't know taunt, and since Malamar couldn't possibly reach Magnezone in time, she decided to prepare to override the weather effect with her own.

Karen and many others had learnt about the weather canceling moves a long time ago. That's when Ash and Dawn had decided to create a counter to their own moves. The result was making the original weather moves more resistant to overrides, so that the move used by the opponent had to last at least half its original time in order to cancel it. They could have achieved even more, but since they also had to remove their own weather effects occasionally, they settled with half the time. Since Magnezone could make the thunderstorm last double the usual duration, Karen's pokémon would have to complete a full weather move. Of course, Ash would try to prevent it, so her pokémon needed protection.

"Why can't they stop changing the pokémon?" Serena asked with a frown. "I understand they want the type-advantage, but it's annoying to watch."

"Well, this battle is so important, they can't let even the tiniest advantage slip away. Besides, it's just the beginning. Once some of their pokémon are down, their choices are more limited," Marcus explained.

Serena still didn't like it. She preferred more open confrontations, but at least she could understand the reasoning.

Malamar had just completed the light screen when Magnezone was also done, and returned to the surface, where it was immediately recalled. Clouds gathered above the stage, sending lightning bolts at the ground periodically.

"Pikachu, blinding charge and brick break! Hurry!" Upon stepping onto the stage, Pikachu was entangled by black vines shooting from the ground. This was Shiftry's black thorn seed move, and it activated every time a pokémon entered the field. Although it didn't deal damage, it immobilized the pokémon for a few seconds, which often gave hers enough time for a few good hits. Pikachu, however, disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared right in front of Malamar, who was about to finish the reflect move as well. The first strike with his tail blinded Malamar for a moment, the second one destroyed the shields.

Ash was actually surprised that it worked until he realized that Karen didn't know about blinding charge, as this was the first time he used it in a real battle. There was one major problem, though, one that Karen was about to exploit.

"Use psychic to push it into the clouds!" Pikachu's small stature and his low weight made controlling him easy, and he was paralyzed before he could make a third strike. Then he was flung into the clouds, where he was hit by dozens of lightning bolts. "Light screen and reflect again!"

Karen hoped that it would be enough to defeat a pokémon with weak defenses like Pikachu, and despite him being an electric-type, it almost worked. However, when he fell from there with a bright, sparkling aura around him, she knew that it was over. Nevertheless, she tried to recall Malamar.

"Blinding charge!" Pikachu quickly regained his senses, and struck Malamar with his attack. All the electricity he had stored during his short trip through the clouds was released with this strike. It resulted in a the two pokémon being flung away from each other, but whereas Pikachu managed to stop before he could reach Ash's tower, Malamar smashed right into Karen's, and stayed there with darkened skin and smoke around it. Everyone in the stadium could tell that it was finished.

"Malamar is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

Despite his small victory, Ash wasn't happy with the result. Pikachu had taken too much damage for his liking, and probably couldn't go on much longer. On the other hand, he had taken down Karen's most vital support pokémon, and the defensive moves, whereas Ash still had light screen active.

"My mistake, Malamar. Sableye, start with shadow sneak!" However, Ash recalled Pikachu the moment he heard Sableye via his pokéball. They had agreed to do this if necessary, which was the case right now, as Ash was afraid of Pikachu getting knocked out by lightning on his way back.

"Take a rest. Sceptile, cut the vines and use safeguard!" Ash commanded, throwing his pokéball directly into the prison, so that his pokémon wouldn't be hit so easily.

"Confuse ray!" The ghost-type shot a golden orb with amazing speed at the mud walls and down the tunnel due to its prankster ability, but the grass-type managed to finish the safeguard in time, so it had no effect.

Then the small stone on Ash's glove glowed, and light could be seen coming from inside the prison. Karen immediately knew what was about to happen, and recalled Sableye without a word.

"Houndoom, hell vortex!" One of her earrings glowed the same way as Ash's stone, and her pokémon started to change. The bone-like parts of its body grew considerably, as well as its horns. A few seconds later, Seceptile broke the prison from the inside, as it couldn't hold his mega form properly, especially his much larger tail. What really made him stand out in this situation was his new ability, lightning rod. His tail could absorb all the lightning bolts to boost his own attacks, so that Ash was confident that he could defeat Houndoom. Karen on the other hand believed that only Houndoom could stand up to Sceptile's raw power. Hell vortex was basically a large number of fire spin traps, only more damaging. The light they emitted was similar to a sunny day, albeit a bit weaker. However, it was still enough to partially activate the solar power ability, so that the boost wasn't as strong, but it also didn't lose as much health. Karen actually preferred it this way, as she considered the loss with a real sunny too much for the effect, especially against tougher opponents, when the battles lasted longer. In this case, their most important function was rendering Sceptile's superior speed useless.

Dawn's eyes narrowed, and she didn't look happy.

"He's taking a big risk," she muttered. "But now it's too late. He has to finish it."

"What are you talking about? Sceptile is also a dragon-type in its mega form, isn't it?" Johanna asked. "It shouldn't be weak to fire anymore."

"That's right," Dawn confirmed. "The problem is not the defense, but his attacks. Everything involving leaves is useless. Other moves like dragon pulse and focus blast are unreliable from a distance. And as long as those fires burn, he can't get too close. All the power from the lightning bolts won't help him if he can't make a decent hit."

"You always had so much faith in him, what's the matter now?" Delia inquired.

"I still do. And I probably would have done the same. But still ..." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm so worried."

It was mostly because she didn't know what exactly he was trying to do, as he hadn't told her this time, making this fight almost unbearable to watch.

"You can't do anything now, can you? So stop worrying and just watch. I'm sure he knows what to do," Johanna said, trying to calm her down a little.

Dawn nodded, but she doubted it would be that easy. Whenever Ash was involved, she tended to get emotional, unable to enjoy even the simplest battle.

"Don't get hit! Focus blast!" Houndoom shot small fireballs, which would turn into the traps into the air. Although Ash couldn't stop all of them, he wanted to get those that would land near Sceptile in order to preserve a minimum of safe ground. He was already at a disadvantage because his usual approach wasn't viable, as leaf moves would be incinerated on the way to Houndoom. As unreliable as it was, focus blast was his best bet this time. A few tiny orbs were enough to shoot down the most dangerous fireballs, and Sceptile's tail was attracting all the lightning bolts, which pushed his power to insane levels. On the hand Houndoom also gained a considerable boost due to its solar power, and unlike the grass-type, it didn't need to worry about the damage of the fire spin traps, only about getting immobilized by them. "Now focus blast shower!"

"Flamethrower!" Sceptile cut a focus blast orb into about a dozen smaller ones before throwing them all at the fire-type, who retaliated with a powerful stream of fire. Most of the orbs were annihilated by the fire, but a few of them got through, and despite their size, they exploded quite violently when they hit the ground near houndoom. Meanwhile, Sceptile evaded the flamethrower entirely. "Fire blast orb, then flamethrower!"

Instead of shooting the move at a straight line, Houndoom shot it in a wide arc. It was slow that way, but the fire-type could use another move in the meantime, as Sceptile had to get out of the way or he'd get caught in the massive blast of fire. In his search for a safe spot, he came dangerously close to a fire trap, and couldn't get away from the following flamethrower in time.

"Focus blast! Protect as soon as you can!" The orb couldn't stop the flames, it merely cut through it while hidden by the fire, hitting Houndoom on the other side. The price was getting hit by the fire, until he could use the shield. The dark pokémon was fully aware of the focus blast, though, and destroyed it with thunder fang, albeit not without taking some damage.

Neither trainer was willing to recall the pokémon, as it would mean giving up their mega form. Ash in particular had no interest in Sceptile losing his lightning rod, so they had to go on until one of them was down. Considering how much both of them pushed their attacks, it wasn't going to take long. The only question was who was going to faint first.

"I want a full power focus blast!" Sceptile created an orb of his own size in front of him, and shot it at Houndoom with his tail. "Follow it!"

"Fire blast orb into the air!" Just like before, it created a powerful orb of fire. Only this time, it shot its weapon directly upwards instead of at the opponent. The huge focus blast obliterated the fire traps in its way, clearing the path for Sceptile. Houndoom waited until it was close before it jumped up high, right behind its orb. "Overheat!"

"Focus blast! Full power!" Sceptile formed another huge orb, and sent it towards Houndoom with a hit of his tail.

The two orbs were a little closer to the grass-type when they met, and caused a huge, fiery explosion. It was strong that it sent the pokémon flying far away, with Houndoom flying over Karen's tower, whereas Ash's pokémon managed to stop somewhere in the middle of the stage. He had taken more damage due to the overheat having gotten past the orbs, and was in need of some healing. Fortunately, Houndoom was far away, and the tower was blocking its view on him. In order to soften his fall, it used fire blast on the ground before landing on its feet.

"Use synthesis!" Karen's own move now turned against her, as the small fire traps were bright enough to make a difference. Houndoom on the other hand could barely harness their power anymore, as there were few of them left, and it would have to be at the center of the field.

"Use nasty plot and get back on the stage!" It was surrounded by an aura of black smoke on the way. This was also a reason why Karen hadn't tried to disrupt the synthesis, her pokémon lacked power after the overheat, which it now got back. Sceptile on the other hand didn't need to worry about that, and he could easily use leaf storm over and over again as long as the thunderstorm was active.

Things weren't looking bad at all for Ash. His pokémon had recovered from the injuries, the thunderstorm was still far from over, and Houndoom had taken good damage. The only problem was that the light screen vanished when the fire-type faced him again. Now every single mistake would be brutally punished. After all, while Sceptile's attack power was considerably larger in his mega form, his defenses weren't, and a pokémon like Karen's Houndoom could defeat him quickly if he was trapped, especially when under the effect of solar power. Karen was bound to get more daring sooner or later.

"Hell vortex! All around the field!"she commanded.

"Now focus blast again!" Ash wasn't sure how much longer his pokémon could keep using this powerful move, but he didn't have much of a choice. One of the hell vortex fireballs was coming directly towards the grass-type, who had to shoot it down instead of attacking Houndoom directly. He noticed that the area surrounding his position was mostly covered by fire traps, only the parts behind him and between him and Houndoom were clear.

"Attack with flame charge!" Although it looked like a simple attack when it rushed towards Sceptile, surrounded by a flame aura, Ash knew that it had to be something big, or Karen wouldn't make it get this close to her pokémon. His first thought was to use grass knot, but it would be immediately burned by the aura, so he chose a more traditional approach.

"Wait a bit, then intercept it with focus blast!" As expected, Houndoom jumped before it could get hit, leaving a fireball in the shape of its body to hit the focus blast. The small explosion allowed it to go higher, evading contact with the grass-type. "Now hold your tail below it!" The tail almost reached it, but now that it was between the tail and the clouds, a few lightning bolts hit the pokémon. "Follow it and combine brick break with focus blast!"

Ash was taking a risk by making his pokémon get close, but if Sceptile managed to hit, this could decide the entire fight. When Houndoom landed, the grass-type was almost next to it already with a brightly glowing fist. It had actually anticipated something like this, yet it still took all of its speed, agility, and sill to evade the following attack. Ash was shocked to see it miss, and already had a feeling that he wouldn't win this fight.

"Fire spin!" Houndoom quickly retaliated with a small fireball, which turned into a fiery tornado upon contact. Sceptile could neither dodge nor destroy it quickly enough. In addition to the damage, it also immobilized him, leaving him vulnerable to attacks. In an instant, the fire traps on the field vanished, giving Karen's pokémon the mobility it needed to take advantage of his situation. "Implosion combination!"

Ash gasped when he heard it, as this was without a doubt one of her most devastating combinations, and gave some quick orders to prevent it. Houndoom used hell vortex again to surround Sceptile with inactive fire traps, while dodging his desperate moves. From this distance, Ash's pokémon couldn't possibly destroy them in time. Then the fire-type fletched his teeth, and let out a few cries, which Ash interpreted as a taunt move, as it was a part of the combination. Without it, Sceptile could ruin everything with a simple protect. Now there was only way of evading it, he had to get rid of the fire spin. However, since it was by Karen's houndoom, this was far from easy. Indeed, he'd have to blast the area around him a focus blast, which put him in danger, though.

"Free yourself with focus blast!" He could have used a dragon pulse for the same effect, but Sceptile's weakness to dragon-type moves prevented it.

"Get ready!" This was the signal for Houndoom to begin with the actual move. It used heat wave on the fire traps, turning them into fire tornados, and activating the weaker variant of solar power just long enough for the combination. Although Sceptile knew that it would hurt a lot, he didn't hesitate to use the focus blast, which in turn made Houndoom move the wind towards him, causing the tornados to collapse on top of Sceptile. The result was a massive explosion, which most people couldn't even watch because it was too bright. Even the trainers had to avert their eyes, and they almost fell off their towers.

"Use nasty plot!" No matter how impressive the explosion was, or how much it shook the entire building, Karen expected her pokémon to prepare for the battles ahead. Whereas even the spectators had to hold onto their seats, it barely showed any sign of being affected at all, despite being much closer. It also gained some distance, so that it couldn't be surprised in case Sceptile was still able to battle. When it saw lightning bolts moving directly into the cloud of smoke, it knew that this had to be the case.

Soon everybody could see that Sceptile was indeed still able to battle, although he was on his knees in a huge crater. His new typing had saved him this time. Clearly, healing wasn't an option, as even a weak attack from Houndoom could be enough to finish him off now in the process. Besides, taunt was still in effect, so he couldn't use it anyway. Nevertheless, Ash wasn't going to give up or recall him, which would mean removing his mega form. No, Sceptile's attacks were still as powerful as ever, and he might as well use the opportunity to deal at least some damage before going down.

"Hell vortex wall!" When Sceptile finally crawled out of the crater, he found a wall of fire directly in front of him. Not only was it almost impossible to pass, it also blocked his view on the other side of the stage. On the other hand Houndoom couldn't see anything either, but it didn't matter for the next combination. "Now heat wave!"

The wind from the heat wave pushed the wall towards Sceptile, so actually seeing him wasn't even necessary. As a consequence, the grass-type had to move backwards to evade the fire while Ash was trying to find a way to get past. His pokémon was still capable of inflicting terrible damage, and he was determined not to waste this potential. Ash waited until the wall was between his pokémon and the crater, so that it was on even ground.

"Use dragon pulse on the wall and follow it!" The idea was the same as when he had used focus blast to remove the fire traps, only that it was even riskier now. Sceptile made the orb move slowly, so he could keep up with it, and even use it as a weapon. It forced its way through the wall, allowing the pokémon to slip through as well, only to realize that Houndoom was waiting for him.

"Fire blast!" Karen shouted.

Her pokémon was well-prepared and used the move when Sceptile grabbed his dragon pulse. He only managed to throw it on the ground near the fire-type, causing some damage with the explosion, but was knocked out by the fire. Ash stomped on the ground in frustration, whereas Karen cheered loudly. Sceptile landed on his back, and the lightning bolts stopped hitting his tail. The referee waited a moment, then he declared the result.

"Sceptile is unable to battle!" he shouted.

"Damn it! Well, it's not your fault," Ash said, recalling his defeated partner.

Defeating Houndoom as quickly as possible was essential now. Ash knew that Karen wasn't going to recall it, especially not after those nasty plot moves. The only question was who could accomplish this task. It was already clear that only Seismitoad and Infernape were viable options. Seismitoad could get rid of the fire traps easily with his water attacks, but Infernape was also resistant to Houndoom's dark-type attacks, and they both had super-effective moves against it. In the end, he favored the fire-type, mostly because of fast moves that were hard to avoid like mach punch or inferno punch.

"Let's do this! Infernape, get rid of the vines, and use dig! When you get up again, be prepared for the attack." The flame pokémon quickly burned the vines entangling his feet before digging a tunnel. There he was safe from the now random lightning strikes.

"Hell vortex!" The vines gave Houndoom enough time to spread his fire traps, which activated immediately, all over the field. "Now dark pulse on the ground!"

"Flare blitz!" Although the move wasn't effective against Houndoom, and the fire traps were unaffected by it, it could still rid him of those annoying vines. The ground glowed red while it was being burned from inside, and bombarded with dark energy from above. The damage done to Infernape wasn't insignificant, despite his resistance, and the fact that it wasn't even a direct hit. This was the result of Houndoom's mega form and the boosts from nasty plot. As Ash had expected, his opponent used fire spin as soon as Infernape emerged next t it, but the flame pokémon countered with a small focus blast, destroying the small fireball in midair. "Now mach punch and close combat!"

The first punch was a direct hit, but the others didn't make contact, as Houndoom proved superior in both speed and agility. On the other hand, it couldn't retaliate without exposing itself to the super-effective attacks. Its plan was to evade the strikes until Infernape was tired, but it didn't work perfectly, as it still got hit a few times until it saw an opening in his defenses. Since it was also already exhausted, it immediately shot a fire spin at Ash's pokémon, who got caught, but not without delivering a final, powerful punch. The force of the move pushed it into one of the fire tornados on the field, causing it to get entrapped as well.

"Now earthquake! Full power!" Ash yelled, realizing that this was the perfect opportunity.

Karen knew that Houndoom couldn't possibly deactivate the hell vortex in time, and using protect would only defend him from the first one or two attacks, but then it'd be an easy target. However, since Infernape was also trapped, and also weakened by his constant use of close combat, a powerful move could finish him.

"Overheat!" Infernape jumped as high as he could in his situation, stomping on the ground as hard as possible. Houndoom released a massive stream of blue fire from its mouth not far away, so that the two moves started almost simultaneously. The huge shockwave didn't affect the fire and vice versa, so that both pokémon got hit.

Infernape was engulfed by the flames, and despite being a fire-type, he took a massive amount of damage. The combination of his lowered defenses, Houndoom's boosts, and the strength of the move itself were enough to knock him out. Ash had hoped that his pokémon could defeat the dark-type quickly with close combat, and that he could give him some time to recover in the pokéball after that, but he had clearly underestimated Houndoom's power, even after the long battle against Sceptile. He collapsed on his belly, having never gotten the opportunity to use his ability.

As opposed to his struggle in the end, Houndoom was almost instantly knocked out by the earthquake, as the attacks, the lightning, and not to forget the use of solar power had taken their toll on it. It had finally be defeated after taking out two of Ash's pokémon. No matter how proud Karen was, she was still worried. With the loss of her main pokémon, she had also lost her only effective counter to Magnezone, who was going to be a real problem now. Most people would call it weird, but she truly believed he had the advantage right now, despite having lost two pokémon, and with Pikachu being almost defeated.

"Both pokémon are unable to battle!" the referee announced as soon as he was convinced that neither would get up.

The field was a real mess by now, with all the burnt grass, various holes, and even a few, large craters. Nevertheless, there was still a lot to do, with both trainers having four pokémon left each. Ash took a while to recall his pokémon, as he was far from happy with the result. Losing two pokémon against one was unacceptable, no matter the opponent, but he hadn't expected such agility from Houndoom, not after the fight with Sceptile.

"Return. And thank you." He readied Magnezone's pokéball, feeling that it might very well decide this battle now.

"Houndoom, you were awesome." Karen didn't show her worry, and chose Sableye for the next battle. Although it wasn't perfect for this, it was still the best option. Drapion was clearly a bad choice, as it relied a lot on poison. Shiftry was needed later against Seismitoad, and her last pokémon wasn't viable at all as long as the thunderstorm was active. For now, she could at least reestablish her control over the field. "Shiftry, use black thorn seed!"

"Magnezone, start with light screen!" Both pokémon were struck by lightning while using their moves, albeit neither of them were distracted by it. In fact, Magnezone even gained a boost for its next attack. Shiftry's black seed burrowed into the ground, where it was going to immobilize any new pokémon at the beginning. Karen thought about removing the light screen with brick break, but Magnezone was using magnet rise, so actually hitting it could prove difficult, even though it stayed only slightly above the ground.

"Use leech seed!" she commanded.

"Counter with flash cannon!" The seeds perished in the powerful beam of light, which almost hit Shiftry as well.

"Return!" It was time to increase the pace again. Unfortunately for her, its individual move wasn't going to help her a lot in this fight. "Sableye, use shadow form!"

The move was similar to Dawn's zoroark's shadow diver, but it had a few advantages. It not only rendered the pokémon invulnerable, but also allowed it to see through any solid object even while inside it. Therefore its sneak attacks were always perfectly executed. A drawback was its inability to use any move in this form , and it couldn't move through objects that were imbued with dark energy, so a dark pulse on the ground could ruin its strategy. Ash even thought about using Krookodile, but then she'd probably switch her pokémon again, and Magnezone had the advantage of not having to stay on the ground, so there was always a small warning.

"Use mean look and taunt!" Ash was almost thankful for Karen removing the choice for him when her pokémon provoked and entrapped the electric-type with its look and words.

"Discharge!" Sableye was hit shortly before it could retreat into the ground. Ash's wish of it getting paralyzed didn't come true, though, and now he had to wait for it to reappear, which couldn't take long, for this form drained its energy quickly after a while, which was the price for the invulnerability. However, he remembered something else he had to do, as there still tunnels it could use to recover. "Get rid of the tunnels with magnet bomb!"

If he was lucky, he'd hit Sableye while it was in there, but he doubted it. Magnezone created silver orbs, one by one, and they entered the tunnels, exploded inside, and thus caused them to collapse. Ash was about to give the next order, when Sableye shot out of the ground, hitting the steel-type with shadow claw, and retreating before it could react. Even with its hideouts gone, making a clean hit on it was still going to be difficult. The safeguard also ended at this point, and Magnezone couldn't renew it while it was still under the effect of taunt. Ash had to be faster, and prevent an attack before it could even start.

"Use confuse ray!" Karen shouted loudly. The prankster ability would make sure that it hit quickly, and then he'd be in real trouble.

"Prepare a discharge-countershield!" By focusing entirely on this task, it managed to start the combination almost the moment Sableye shot a golden orb at it. It dissolved immediately when hit by the electricity. Even though the ghost-type managed to escape again, it took some damage, and even got paralyzed.

Now Karen actually considered using another pokémon, but there was no real alternative. Whenever Magnezone was struck by lightning, it used the extra energy in its attacks, and no matter how weak the hit was, it always used the full power of the bolt. The damage done to Ash's pokémon was low because of its typing, so it could go on much longer. There was one move it could use to at least prolong the battle, though. If she managed to do it long enough, the thunderstorm could end, and due to the taunt effect, it couldn't be renewed.

"Recover!" It worked this time, and the ghost-type managed to recover more health than it had lost to the attack before it disappeared again. However, Karen had to be careful, or the paralysis effect could mean the end. So far, Magnezone had used the countershield whenever Sableye appeared, so maybe she could use it to her advantage. "Get out of there! Protect!" she added when Magnezone started the next discharge. "Now shadow sneak with confuse ray!" she added when the attack was over.

"Thunder!" Ash commanded.

Sableye use shadow sneak to quickly close distance, and struck the opponent with a glowing fist. This combination was more reliable than a simple confuse ray, albeit it also put the pokémon in more danger. In this case, it was necessary to avoid the countershield. The confusion was shown by sparks coming from its body, yet it managed to complete its move, and hit the ghost-type directly with lightning.

"Shadow form!" Karen's pokémon fell to the ground, but when it tried to escape, the paralysis prevented it.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash hoped to finish it off, but Magnezone only shocked itself, giving Sableye another chance. This time, it worked perfectly, and it got to safety. The thunder move had been a massive hit, so that he didn't need much more to win, but the confusion was a real problem. He could only hope that his special training would pay off, and remove the confusion soon.

"Recover!" It reappeared again, and Magnezone attempted its countershield, but shocked itself again, much to Ash's frustration. Before he could think of anything else, it was already gone. "Again!"

"Thunderbolt!" Unlike last time, the move worked, and dealt enough damage to negate the recover, but Sableye escaped once more into the ground. "Get closer to the clouds!" Magnezone rose a bit, catching several lightning bolts in the process. "Now get down and prepare a countershield!"

The plan was simple. With the extra power he could deal enough damage to negate the healing move even with a weak hit from the countershield. That way, he could still counter the confuse ray. The damage from the bolts was a price he had to pay for this. As expected, it reemerged soon, and this time, Ash was lucky, for the paralysis caused the move to fail. Magnezone hit it with discharge, and the extra power from the storm was enough to knock it out. For once, it actually went faster than expected for Ash. He had feared a longer-lasting fight of attrition, and maybe Karen had more pokémon for this kind of battle, but Sableye's ability combined with healing moves made it so much harder to defeat.

"Sableye is unable to battle!" Karen gritted her teeth when she heard it, and especially when she recalled her ghost-type.

"Thank you, you did well." As long as the thunderstorm was there, she couldn't use her sixth pokémon, and she needed Shiftry against Seismitoad, so only Drapion was left. Although it was difficult to see, she was sure that Magnezone couldn't take much more, not after all the lightning strikes, the confusion, and Sableye's attacks. "Drapion, use toxic spikes!"

"Use reflect!" Drapion's physical attacks posed the biggest threat, so Ash wanted his next pokémon to be protected from those. Although Magnezone seemed like a good choice, he needed it in case the thunderstorm ran out soon, and Krookodile was just as suitable as the electric-type. Of course, reflect wouldn't help against poison, so he needed to make sure that the ground was clear before calling him out, because Drapion shot countless small spikes on it. "Remove the spikes here with flash cannon!"

A bright beam of light destroyed those directly in front of Ash's tunnel and also those nearby in order to give Krookodile some room to maneuver. Drapion was already approaching it, at first with the intention to attack, but Karen realized that Ash was about to change his pokémon, as Magnezone was immune to the toxic spikes.

"Toxic pool!" It spewed purple liquid on the ground nearby to restrict movement. The liquid could deal extra damage to poisoned enemies upon contact.

"Return! Krookodile, use bulldoze!" Drapion was too far away for a pursuit, so it didn't even try. The ground-type appeared on the safe spot in front of Ash's tower, and stomped on the ground with one foot.

"Poisoned pin missile!" While retreating, Drapion shot needles through the poison pool, covering them in liquid. Since they were homing missile's, and Krookodile was entangled by the vines of the black thorn seed, he was hit and badly poisoned. On the other hand, he managed to make the ground beneath the poison pools crack, causing the liquid to seep away. Now that he was poisoned, he also could ignore the toxic spikes. "Double team and scary face!"

"Earthquake and mean look!"Drapion's copies mimicked his movement, launching themselves into the air with the tail to evade the shockwave. They used scary face simultaneously, but only the original had the intended effect, and Krookodile could feel it, turning his own gaze on the real Drapion. It was surrounded by a dark aura for a moment, which meant that Karen could no longer recall it, at least unless Ash recalled Krookodile, which seemed unlikely. If he wanted to do that, he wouldn't have used the move in the first place.

"Get back here and use toxic pool!" Ash had to admit that it was weird to see a pokémon with a lot of physical strength like Drapion retreat like this, but Karen clearly wanted to let the poison do the work for her, which wasn't a bad decision, given Drapion's weakness to ground-type moves. On the way it left small pools of poison to prevent Krookodile from following.

"Use dig to get past them!" Ash wasn't surprised to see Drapion use earthquake immediately, but his pokémon was smart enough to use protect in his tunnel, and immediately get back up again. He immediately noticed several needles coming towards him, and crushed them between his powerful jaws or with his claws. "Earthquake again!"

Of course, it jumped over the shockwave again, but Ash's pokémon got closer in the process. Soon the dark-type couldn't retreat any further, and Ash needed this, as the poison was getting progressively stronger. Either he managed to defeat Drapion quickly, which would allow him to deal some damage to the next pokémon, or his partner would succumb to the poison. In that case, he'd have to call out Magnezone in order to avoid another pokémon getting poisoned. Although their training reduced the poison's effect a little, it couldn't prevent the damage entirely. At least the thunderstorm was doing its job, hitting Karen's pokémon from time to time.

"Double team!" The copies couldn't stop Krookodile's march, but they acted as a distraction.

"Earth power! Then get closer and use jawlock!" The move wasn't meant to hurt Drapion, as the damage was pitiful, but to get rid of the copies, which it did admirably, thanks to the large area effect that was difficult to avoid.

Ash knew that if Krookodile could catch any part of Drapion with his mouth, the battle was over. Unfortunately, the thunderstorm ended at this point, depriving him of another source of damage, at least for now. Karen realized that there wasn't much room left, and that Drapion had to fight for real now instead of merely letting the poison run its course. However, it was trained to deal with this kind of situation. When Krookodile was in front of the dark-type, it grabbed one of his arms with amazing speed, ducked down, and threw Krookodile over its head with full force.

"Bulldoze!" When Drapion attempted to retreat again, the ground-type smashed the ground with his tail , causing Drapion to fall when the ground beneath it shattered. "Follow up with earthquake!" Ash's pokémon was the first to get up, and sent a shockwave towards Drapion, who failed to jump in time. Thanks to its defenses, it wasn't defeated yet, but Ash knew that it wouldn't take much more. "Now get it with jawlock!"

The following struggle was only entertaining for the audience. While Krookodile was trying to get hold of Drapion with his mouth and claws, Drapion desperately tried to evade his attacks. Only Krookodile's reduced speed, a result of the ground-type's scary face, allowed it to last that long. However, with every dodged move, it got more tired, and thus slower. And since Krookodile never let go once he bit something with jawlock, the end of the battle was imminent. The few attempts to use the ground-type's power against him again failed, and made everything even worse. On the other hand the poison had visibly worn Krookodile down, and the exhaustion from his most recent attack didn't help either. When Karen noticed that her pokémon couldn't go on much longer, she tried to gain a little more time.

"Substitute!" Just when Krookodile finally managed to bite one of its arms, Drapion disappeared and reappeared again a bit further away. The price was the sacrificed health, although it was nothing compared to the damage Krookodile could have done to it.

"Earthquake! Quickly!" Ignoring the pain inflicted by the poison, the ground-type stomped on the ground, and this time, Drapion had to use protect, as it was too weakened to jump. "Again!" He did the same move, only for the shockwave to be blocked by the green shield once more. "Again!" It couldn't go on like this for long, and sure enough, the shield failed to activate, resulting in a direct hit. It was pushed towards Ash's tower, and collapsed after a short struggle.

"Drapion is unable to battle!" Ash had to admit that this drapion was probably an even more annoying opponent that Paul's. Nevertheless, it was finished now, and he had to decide whether to let Krookodile fight until getting knocked out, or whether to recall him for a future fight.

"Well done, friend. You held out longer than I could have hoped for," Karen admitted. Now that the thunderstorm was out of the way, she could finally use her last pokémon. "Honchkrow, use dark pulse!"

Even though Krookodile easily evaded it, as the flying-type flew up high, so that the distance between them was huge, it still suffered some damage when the dark energy moved through the ground. It was ineffective, yet completely sufficient in this case. All it took was a bit more time, and he'd be finished because of the poison. Recalling Krookodile wasn't an option, as Honchkrow was sure to know pursuit.

"Scary face!" Krookodile also realized the hopelessness of his situation, and gave Honchkrow the scariest look he could muster. It was already slow compared to many other flying-types, and the status move only made it worse.

Light screen disappeared a moment later, leaving him with only reflect, which wasn't going to help him against the poison. Krookodile collapsed after the next dark pulse without having done any damage to Honchkrow, but Ash hoped that the reduced speed could come in handy soon.

"Krookodile is unable to battle!" the referee shouted a few moments later.

"You did a good job here, rest now," When Ash readied Pikachu's pokéball, he remembered something. The electric-type knew a few psychic-type moves, the most prominent among them being agility. However, he also knew light screen, a move he'd rarely used, as Pikachu wasn't meant to be a pokémon for support but a damage dealer. Now he could renew the light screen without the need to call out Magnezone. On the other hand he didn't know reflect, for which his ally was needed. "Pikachu, use light screen!"

"Whirlwind!" Karen commanded, much to everyone's surprise.

The electric-type had just finished the light screen, when he was hit by a strong gust of wind, which pushed him towards Ash's tower. Once he was there, he'd be automatically recalled and replaced by a random pokémon. It seemed weird to use this move, given Pikachu's critical situation, but it made sense. After all, Honchkrow lacked fast moves like quick attack, and even a weak hit from a move like discharge would be devastating because of its meager defenses. Therefore Karen was wise to remove him from the stage. Ironically, Shiftry's vines prevented this at first.

"Volt charge!" Once they were gone, Pikachu ran against the wind, surrounded by a sparkling aura, and managed to retain his position, but he couldn't get any closer either. Karen wondered what the purpose of the move was, as in the current state, it only served to tire out Pikachu.

Then her eyes widened in fear. She had thought that volt charge's power increased with the distance Pikachu traveled in the process up to a maximum, but now she had doubts. It was possible that Pikachu was already increasing its strength just by running, and in that case, the power was already at its peak. A few hours ago, she wouldn't have been worried at all, as he couldn't possibly reach Honchkrow, but now she knew about the blinding charge.

"Spin and use wing attack!" This combination was usually used to reflect projectiles, and even though the dark-type couldn't possibly know why, it complied immediately.

"Blinding charge!" Just as expected, Pikachu appeared right above the flying-type, who hit it with its wing, albeit not without taking tremendous damage from the charge. Ash didn't know whether Pikachu intentionally chose his position to smash Honchkrow into toxic spikes, but he was happy about it. The fact that the electric-type fell onto spikes as well didn't really matter, for he had already fainted from the wing attack.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" The dark-type had clearly suffered a lot of damage as well, but it wasn't finished just yet, and unlike most of Karen's other pokémon, it could heal via roost, so Ash had to be careful .Nevertheless, he was content with the result.

"Thank you, buddy. I'll make sure your sacrifice won't be in vain. Now, Seismitoad, use aqua ring!" Since he was immobilized by the vines, and protected by reflect and light screen, Ash chose a regeneration move. Unsurprisingly, Honchkrow seized the opportunity, hitting the ground-type with a dark pulse before getting recalled. "Remove those things with acid!"

"Return for now! Shiftry, start with nasty plot!" It was too far away to hit the opponent reliably, so Karen wanted it to increase its power for now. Seismitoad was done destroying the vines with acid when it started its move, getting surrounded by a crimson aura.

At first glance, it didn't look like either trainer had the advantage, as they both had two pokémon left. Magnezone and Honchkrow were heavily injured, Seismitoad had taken some damage as well, and Shiftry was still at full health. However, Ash had one huge problem, which was Seismitoad's typing. He was extremely vulnerable to Shiftry's grass-type attacks, and changing the pokémon wasn't really an option, as Karen could do the same. Unlike Ash, she had moves like pursuit and the black thorn seed on her side. Therefore he decided to fight Shiftry directly, and with reflect and light screen, he actually had a chance of winning, if he was careful. Drapion had already shown how a pokémon could cause trouble despite a type-disadvantage, mostly because of its poison-type moves, which were also known to Seismitoad.

"Alright, we'll go with the poison strategy. Use dig!" As long as Shiftry wasn't near the entrance of a tunnel, it couldn't use leaf tornado directly into it, and the ground-type was safe.

"Leaf tornado defense!" A whirlwind of leaves appeared with Shiftry at the center. It could shoot them at a target anytime, so Ash's pokémon couldn't appear too close to it without exposing himself to the move.

"Counter with sludge wave!" He shot out the ground dangerously close to the grass-type, who immediately sent the leaves at him. A wave of sticky, purple liquid caught all of them, but then it was blasted by Shiftry's dark pulse, and the pokémon charged right at the ground-type.

"Brick break!" Karen knew that removing the defensive moves would decide the battle, as renewing them would be too difficult in this situation.

Seismitoad looked surprised, but when Shiftry struck him, he simply vanished, and appeared next to the startled grass-type, shooting purple liquid from the lumps on his head right at its face. It wasn't just any poison, it was the infamous toxic move, so it'd get stronger and stronger. Ash couldn't help but grin when he saw Karen's face. Her eagerness had been her undoing, a common mistake even among the best of the best. However, it was still far from over, although Ash could focus on the defense now. A brick break or a leaf storm could turn the tides again.

"Toxic! I guess now it's Karen's turn to experience its devastating effect," Marcus said. He sounded uncharacteristically happy, which made Serena suspicious.

"Wait, I thought you didn't like Ash, but now you're glad that he's winning?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I never said that. Besides, he hasn't won yet. I just enjoy seeing the Elite Four getting beaten up a little. Those arrogant idiots deserve it." He looked around to make sure that Misty wasn't anywhere near him. "Well, most of them," he added, just in case Serena wanted to tell the redhead.

Watching Karen's furious reaction was priceless, though. She was angry at herself, and for good reason, as her recklessness had caused her to be fooled by one of the oldest tricks.

"A substitute? Damn it, grass knot!" Karen yelled.

"Get away and use double team!" Seismitoad jumped so that the vines coming from the ground couldn't reach him, and created numerous copies of himself.

"We're not done yet. Dark leaf storm!" Despite the name, the combination didn't involve leaf storm, but only leaf tornado, which was blasted by dark pulse to send the leaves in all directions. They weren't only faster, but also charged with dark energy, so that even a slight cut could deal significant damage.

"Dig!" Whereas the copies were annihilated, Seismitoad quickly dug a tunnel to find shelter. "Get back here!" Ash was worried about the remaining toxic spikes on the field, which could still inflict poison. While it wasn't as strong as the toxic move, it could still mean trouble for him, so he wanted Seismitoad to return to his side of the stage, where only few of the spikes were left.

"Fine! Hurricane! I want the whole stage to be covered!" The leaves on Shiftry's arms started spinning, and winds around the stage appeared, growing stronger with each passing second. Ash had already seen moves and combinations like this on numerous occasions, so he know what to expect.

"Attack with sludge bomb!" Shiftry took the move in order to continue with its own. The winds grew strong enough to pull the toxic spikes, and even Seismitoad had to go closer to the center, lest he might suffer the same fate. Now the grass-type was releasing countless leaves, which got sucked into the wall of wind around the stage.

"Whirlwind!" Using the leaves on its arm like a fan, Shiftry attempted to push him into the wall. Not only would it prevent a recall, but the leaves and spikes inside would mean certain defeat for him, so Ash had to prevent it at all costs.

"Mud prison and dig!" Seismitoad caused a wall of mud to appear in front of him before he dug a tunnel, protected from the wind.

"Razor leaf!" The leaves cut through the wall easily, leaving it full of holes, so that it eventually dissolved on its own. The pokémon, however, was long gone by now. "Dark pulse on the ground!"

Shiftry remained near the center, where the pull was relatively weak. After all, it wasn't immune to the wind, and getting sucked into its own trap would cause a lot of trouble. However, it did have the better moves to utilize it, which was the sole reason Karen had dared use the combination in a situation like this. A simple whirlwind could decide the whole fight now. She needed to hurry, as the poison inside Shiftry's body was growing stronger, whereas Seismitoad was being healed by his aqua ring the whole time. Thanks to the light screen, a dark pulse spread all over the ground might not be enough to damage him sufficiently.

"Use sludge bomb!" The ground-type emerged behind Shiftry, but kept his distance due to a possible brick break.

"Dark pulse, then whirlwind!" With a fantastic reflex, Shiftry managed to hit the sludge bomb before it could reach the dark-type. Ash was about to give the next order, when a translucent wall could be seen in front of his pokémon for just a moment, which could only mean that reflect ran out. This worried him deeply, so that he wasn't sure what to do for one moment, and Karen seized the opportunity. "Whirlwind!"

"Stand up and use sludge bomb!" Crouching would be the logical reaction, but then he'd never escape. Instead, he stood upright, which pushed him back, but also allowed him to spit a ball of poison above the whirlwind towards Shiftry. "Return!"

Karen knew that Ash would recall his pokémon before the ground-type would reach the edge of the stage, so there was no point keeping up the whirlwind.

"Dodge it!" Although Seismitoad was safe, Shiftry evaded the heavy damage from the sludge bomb. Now it had to prepare for Magnezone, as Karen couldn't recall it without giving up on everything it had built up in this fight.

"Magnezone, use reflect again!" Thanks to its immense weight, Magnezone could easily resist the winds, at least as long as it stayed on the ground.

Therefore Ash refused to let it use magnet rise, and calling out Seismitoad again wasn't an option either as long as Shiftry was still there. The combination of grass-type moves and the immobilization at the beginning was too dangerous.

"Focus blast!" The steel-type couldn't have moved even if it wanted, as the vines were holding it in place. The light screen prevented a defeat, albeit it still took a lot of damage. "Now dark pulse!"

"Flash cannon!" It was interesting to see the two moves, that looked like polar opposites, meet between the pokémon. The resulting explosion pushed them dangerously close to the edge of the stage, but they successfully resisted the pull. "Combine focus blast with leaf tonado!"

There was no way Magnezone could avoid the attack. Even under the effect of protect, it'd get pushed too close to the wind wall, and with the push from the leaf tornado, the focus blast would cut through the flash cannon, or any other steel-type move, easily. Electric attacks on the other hand couldn't possibly stop it, so Ash saw only one way.

"Thunder! Hit Shiftry!" The attack went past the focus blast, hitting the grass-type, but in return, Magnezone got hit directly.

It was pushed back and lifted into the air by the wind even though it was already defeated. Its steel body protected it from the countless leaves until it was flung out again. As painful as it was to watch, Ash actually benefitted from it due to the poison hurting Shiftry the entire time.

"Magnezone is unable to battle!" The referee had trouble approaching the fallen pokémon when he tried to make sure that it was finished due to the wind.

"Thank you. Rest now." Ash noticed that Shiftry was ready for the next attack, and he knew that Seismitoad would get immobilized by the vines at the beginning. The water-type had recovered quite a bit of health with aqua ring during the last fight, and with reflect and light screen active, he might endure the next move or combination. "Seismitoad, use protect!"

The moment the water-type was called out, he was welcomed by a massive leaf storm. It took a moment to activate protect, during which he received heavy damage, but, the vines were cut as well. Shiftry was so exhausted that it sank to its knees after the attack, but nobody was looking at it. Instead, Seismitoad was the focus of attention, as the battle would be over if he was defeated. However, he was still standing proudly and ready to fight. Now that Shiftry was drained by its own attack and the poison, it was his turn to attack.

"Stay strong! Now use earthquake until it's down!" Ash commanded.

"Protect!" Seismitoad's stomp on the ground was as strong as usual, mostly because he could see that it wouldn't take much to defeat Shiftry now, and he also knew that there was still one more opponent left. The shockwave was easily blocked by the shield, but he just used the same move again, and this time, the shield failed. Since it was already too weak to jump over it, it resulted in a hit. Shiftry still wasn't finished, but Ash saw that it couldn't take another attack.

"Use aqua ring!" He chose a healing move, believing that the grass-type was too weak to retaliate. It was risky, but he was right, as it succumbed to the poison mere seconds later, falling on its back.

Ash was glad that the aqua ring was active again. Seismitoad would be in dire need of it during the next battle, as the leaf storm had injured him badly, and without it, Honchkrow could wear him down with weak area attacks like dark pulse on the ground.

"Shiftry is unable to battle!" The referee didn't even need to check, for the hurricane ended, and spread everything in its wake around the stage. Fortunately, most of the remaining spikes were at the edge or outside the field, so Ash didn't need to worry about them as much.

"Very well. Our last pokémon will decide the outcome. Shiftry, thank you. Honchkrow, use feint attack!" The flying-type vanished the moment it was called out.

"Use dig!" Seismitoad quickly dug a tunnel and retreated. In his current condition, he couldn't afford to get hit directly.

"Dark pulse!" The dark ray hit the ground near the entrance to the tunnel, spreading all over the field. The light screen helped a great deal in this situation, but Ash still didn't want to let this happen too often. When Seismitoad left the tunnel again, Karen gave the next order. "Sky attack!"

"Attack with scald!" The water-type tried to hit Honchkrow with streams of hot water, but it was flying too high, and dodged them with elegant spins while charging up the sky attack. When it was surrounded by a crimson aura, Ash knew that Seismitoad had to retreat again, as taking it directly was too risky. Of course, it was just as risky for Karen, but unlike Ash, she didn't need to win. A draw would also result in Ash's elimination, so she couldn't take the risk. "Dig!"

She wasn't as stupid as to think that Honchkrow could still get him, so it flew past the entrance before using dark pulse. The stored energy of the sky attack was transferred to the attack, making it much more powerful. Even with the light screen active, Seismitoad came dangerously close to fainting, and Ash realized that he couldn't let this happen again. The poison on its own would probably take too long, so he had to do think of something fast.

"Get out of there and use hyper voice!" Seismitoad's lumps vibrated, creating a horribly loud noise. The sound waves couldn't be avoided, at least not by Honchkrow, but the move wasn't nearly as effective as moves like scald or hydro pump. Those were unreliable as long as the dark-type was keeping its distance, though.

"Aerial ace!" Karen shouted.

"Mud prison on yourself!" Ash couldn't let his pokémon get hit again, and this time, he also wanted him to be protected from a dark pulse. The walls of mud around him rose and hardened before it could reach him, and a move like aerial ace wasn't powerful enough to break through them.

"Dark pulse!" The dark energy couldn't get to Seismitoad, though, as the walls were made to be resistant to them.

Instead, they were created to hold a pokémon in place while Seismitoad was attacking it with sonic-based moves or earthquakes. Karen had never seen its protective properties, therefore she was surprised to see Seismitoad break through the walls again, completely unharmed by the dark pulse. However, there was a move strong enough to smash the prison, and it could also be used to power the next dark pulse, which could already be enough to end the battle.

"Sky attack!" It sounded risky, almost reckless, but Karen had learnt from her mistakes in this battle.

"Hyper voice. Then mud bunker!" The name of the move wasn't different for no reason. First, Seismitoad weakened the flying-type a little while it was charging up its attack. When it charged towards him, he created the usual mud walls around him.

In the case that Honchkrow destroyed them and followed up with a dark pulse, from which the water-type wouldn't be protected, Ash would at least buy some time. If it decided not to attack, and find another way, Seismitoad would be healed a little, giving him even more time.

"Get ready for dark pulse!" Clearly, Karen wasn't going to back down now.

Indeed, Honchkrow smashed through the wall on one side, only to find the mud prison empty. However, Seismitoad was waiting in a small hole in the ground, ready to strike. Even though the flying-type had expected a trap, and prepared a dark pulse, just as Karen had commanded, Ash's pokémon was slightly faster, hitting it with a powerful drain punch just a moment before it could use its own move. The hit caused it to smash through the wall on the other side and into the ground. The smoke at its position cleared soon, revealing it to still lie there motionlessly. Ash expected it to be finished, but much to his surprise, it got up again to face Seismitoad, who had gotten up from his safe spot.

"Dark pulse! Full power!" Karen yelled with new hope in her voice.

"Hydro pump!" Ash quickly shouted. He hoped that the extra energy from the drain punch was enough for this.

The ray of dark energy met the stream of water between the two pokémon, with neither of them gaining the upper hand. They refused to give up, as they were fully aware that this could decide the battle, and therefore the whole match. The fact that everyone was watching them intently only motivated them further. So they kept using their moves, shooting energy and water from their mouths until their throats hurt, and their legs got weak. Eventually, they couldn't keep it up anymore and had to catch their breath. It didn't look like there was a winner just yet, as they kept staring at each other with fury in their eyes.

It was Honchkrow who closed its eyes before falling forward, its wings spread apart. In the end, the drain punch, the crash, the poison, and finally the exhaustion from the last attack had been too much for it. Since it wasn't the first everyone believed that it was down, the referee waited a bit longer for his announcement.

"Honchkrow is unable to battle! All of Karen's pokémon are defeated." Then he said the words Ash was dying to hear. "Victory goes to Ash!"

Ash let out a huge sigh of relief, looking as happier than most people had ever seen him. Seismitoad could finally relax a bit, and lay down on the ground. There he stayed while Ash was enjoying the applause.

"Amazing! There hasn't been a challenger strong enough to beat Karen for many months now. Now Ash is only one victory away from becoming the new champion, but Lance isn't defeated easily. Without a doubt, it'll be the most important battle in his life, so it's guaranteed to be exciting." The commentator sounded even more thrilled than usual. "And who knows? Maybe we'll have a new champion tomorrow? I hope you'll all be here to witness the battle."

"Dawn? You look ... tired," Johanna remarked with a grin. "And your hair ... oh dear."

It was a huge understatement, for she had sunk back into her seat when Ash's victory had been declared, and been motionless ever since. Clearly, Dawn was relieved but also exhausted, as she hadn't been able to sit still for one second during the last fight. That didn't stop her mother from teasing her by asking about it, though.

"I'm fine. No need to worry. Just why did it have to be so close? It's like he wanted to give me a heart attack," Dawn muttered with her eyes closed. "Just give me a few seconds."

She and other people were surprised that Ash didn't celebrate at all, he just stood there, waiting for everything to end. His thoughts were already on the next match, as he knew that he hadn't won anything just yet. If he lost against Lance, all of his hard work would go to waste, and he'd have to wait a few months until the next attempt. Seismitoad and the others, except for Pikachu, could celebrate, though, as their part was over. Ash to admit that all of them had done a wonderful job, so a long rest was well-deserved. He'd usually let his pokémon take a break after a battle like this, but there was no way he'd become a champion without Pikachu in his team.

"You really made progress since our last confrontation." Karen's voice slightly startled him, especially when he realized that she was standing directly in front of him. She was smiling, yet it looked forced, which wasn't surprising, considering how much she hated losing in any way. "I haven't experienced a fight like this for a long time. Congratulations! I hope Pikachu will be part of your team tomorrow."

"Of course!" Ash replied. "There's no way I'd want him to miss it."

"Good. It's always sad to see promising trainers forcing ideals of weaklings on their team and training methods instead of going their own ways. I'm glad you aren't one of them. You trust your pokémon even though others may regard them as weak when not fully evolved." Pikachu in particular had always been a target of so-called experts, but Ash never listened to those. "Please never change your ways. Continue winning with your favorites, no matter what they say, and they'll come to realize that you're right. And if they don't, they're not worth the trouble. Anyway, you better prepare for the next step. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you. I'll make sure not to waste this chance," Ash said, watching her leave. Then he turned to Seismitoad. "Well done, now let's return to the lab. You should have an easier time finding a comfortable spot there."

Indeed, the stage looked like a war zone with all its craters and tunnels. Ash certainly didn't envy those who had to take care of the mess, but he didn't have time to think too much about it. He recalled Seismitoad, and tried to leave as quickly as possible. Pikachu had to get ready soon, so he only answered a few questions posed by the journalists in front of his room. When he met the others in front of the stadium, he went straight to the lab instead of back home, missing dinner as a result. Dawn couldn't blame him, she was fully aware of the next battle's importance. That's why she brought it directly to the lab, which made Ash do a leap of joy and give her a deep kiss before swallowing the food. However, he didn't want to tell her about his plans. Since it didn't seem like he mistrusted her, but wanted it to be a surprise for her, she wasn't offended.

Ash's victory was the main topic on TV. One expert even claimed that his victory was already assured because Lance had been in his position for too long and that he wasn't ambitious enough to keep his title. He tried to back it up by pointing out signs of lacking motivation, but most people, including Dawn, weren't convinced. After all, he had been able to hold his ground against Karen for quite some time now. The fact that Ash had defeated her was a good sign, nothing more.

Ash's team composition looked simple. Bisharp, Gyarados, and Garchomp were powerful, physical attackers, whereas Pikachu, Serperior, and Glalie were also proficient with special attacks. The grass-type was the main defensive supporter, and Bisharp was there to boost their attacks. Those two pokémon were the most important part of the team, as their individual moves worked well together. The others could greatly benefit from them, especially Garchonp and Gyarados, who were supposed to be Ash's main attack force. He hoped that they could overwhelm Lance's pokémon with their power, but he could never be sure how successful it would be.

During the rest of the day, he kept imagining the battle, various combinations, their counters, and the victory ceremony, even when he was already in bed. Those thoughts kept him awake for a long time, preventing him from getting the rest he needed so much, and even when it was finally time, his dream were all about the battle.


	72. Draconic Power

**And now the final battle, at least for Ash. He's trained and prepared a lot for this, but whether it's enough remains to be seen.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 72 Draconic Power

Dawn had always firmly believed that nothing about Ash could surprise her anymore, but lately, it was like he was trying to prove her wrong whenever he could. This time, despite the coming battle, he helped her making breakfast. In addition, he didn't say a word, and had a serious, determined expression all the time, which almost made it feel a bit creepy. She could only guess that he was trying to distract himself, and she certainly couldn't blame him for that. After all, she had always been overexcited before important events as well.

He left early again, and took his time getting to the stadium. Since the weather was much better now with the sun shining and the clear, fresh air, he could afford it. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any problems concerning the arrival of important people on this day. Dawn and the others met in front of the stadium shortly after his arrival, and remained there to discuss various matters because it was so much better there than in the crowded stadium. Eventually, they had to go inside, though, and quickly found it to be almost full already. After all, such a battle didn't happen often, and nobody wanted to miss it.

Ash on the other hand didn't take notice of the audience at all, leaning against the wall of the corridor leading to the stage. His thoughts were focused solely on the battle ahead, but also on how he had gotten here.

 _Weird. How come I remember it now? I've come such a long way. Who would've thought a boy who tried to beat Brock's pokémon with electric attacks could challenge someone like Lance now? Come to think of it, I've received so many of my first badges without winning an official battle._ He scratched his head. _Makes me wonder how I even made it to the league. But then again, I did pretty well there. And I got better and better. Even Gary, who had always seemed a few steps ahead of me the entire time, was defeated. But then I met Paul. He and Dawn made me become stronger than ever, and when I finally defeated him, there was that wonderful sense of accomplishment. Would I be here without them? I don't know about Paul, but certainly not without Dawn. I don't even know how she did it, she was neither exceptionally strong, nor experienced back then .I guess it was her creativity and iron will that helped me so much in the end._

He welcomed those thoughts, as they helped him calm down a little. Perhaps they could even give him a sense of humility, which he might need after his recent successes.

 _I think my journey through Sinnoh was so outstanding because of them. Only a trainer with legendary pokémon could stop me in the end. None of my other rivals could keep up with Paul. But at least I had Dawn at my side again after the Unova trip._ He chuckled when he remembered his battle against Shauntal. _I must say, my first attempt against the Elite Four was pathetic, but it helped me learn and grow in the future, so I guess it wasn't a total waste of time. And now here I am, stronger than ever._

He could hear the commentator's voice from his corridor, and waited for the time to step forward.

"Welcome! Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! You have come to see the last official battle of this year, and this one is guaranteed to be exciting. Will we see a new champion rise today? Or will the current champion vanquish yet another challenger? We'll know the answer soon. Now please give a warm welcome to the challenger, Ash from Pallet Town!" He stepped forward, slowly going to his tower. There was a lot of applause, but he merely waved without looking at the audience, studying the stage instead. There were two long pools at both sides, the rest was a grassy field. "He's come a long way since his first try. However, his opponent today is Lance, the Dragon Champion." Ash's opponent, who was wearing a simple, dark blue costume with a black cape, appeared at the other side of the stage. There had been times when he looked like a superhero due to his extravagant costumes, but only the cape remained. He went onto his own tower, and gave Ash a stern look.

"I've been looking forward to this. I always knew that you had it in you, so it was only a matter of time. Now I'll have the pleasure of putting your skills to the test." He smiled confidently. "It's been a horribly boring year. Only Karen came close to defeating me, so don't disappoint me now."

"Oh, don't worry," Ash replied with a grin. "I don't want to just get close, I want your title. And I'll get it."

"We'll see about that." Lance didn't look worried in the slightest, and listened to the commentator.

When he was done praising the two trainers and their pokémon, he proceeded to explain the rules of the battles, which were exactly the same as for the previous ones. When it was finally time to begin, the referee officially announced the start, and they readied their first pokéball.

"Aerodactyl, start with stealth rock!" Lance shouted.

"Serperior, use healing seed!" Ash commanded.

Despite being called Dragon Champion, Lance's pokémon weren't exclusively dragon-types. Several of them had merely a draconic appearance, which he valued so much. This gave him a better coverage than a single type could provide, but he was also known to prefer physically strong pokémon.

One of them was Aerodactyl, who shot a rock into the ground, whereas Serperior did the same with a large, brown seed. Like stealth rock, it activated whenever a pokémon was called out, but instead of damaging enemies, it healed allies. It needed a little time to recharge after every heal, so mindless switching to heal the pokémon wasn't viable, but one normal move was usually enough. One of its most valuable advantages was that it was much harder to remove, as its roots were spread all over the ground, and they could reproduce the seed in case it was destroyed. Only an attack covering a large area, like the underground flare blitz, could successfully destroy it.

"Now reflect!" Serperior tried to create the shield against physical attacks, but Aerodactyl knew the move that had annoyed Ash so much during the last battle.

"Taunt!" It let out a few shrieks, which made the grass-type visibly mad. "Now aerial ace!"

Ash knew that his pokémon couldn't possibly win without her status moves. The type-disadvantage coupled with Aerodactyl's speed would be way too much, so he decided to change the pokémon. There was going to be a lot of switching, so he needed to disable the stealth rock, and prevent Lance from using it again. One of the pokémon capable of this was Glalie, who was therefore often in the same team as Bisharp, albeit not as often as Serperior.

"Return!" Aerodactyl charged at the red energy beam connecting Serperior and her pokéball, dealing some damage with pursuit when it was hit. "Glalie, use blizzard!"

"Get away!" Whiel Aerodactyl was gaining distance to evade the move, Glalie was hit by a few rocks shooting out of the ground, only to be healed when the ground beneath him glowed green. Due to his weakness, it wasn't enough to negate all of the damage, but it helped him a great deal.

"Now spikes, but be ready to defend yourself!" Ash shouted, expecting a certain move.

"Taunt again!" It was exactly what Ash wanted to happen.

"Protect, then disable!" The ice-type canceled the spikes, blocked the move first, and then he disabled it. Aeodactyl was surrounded by a blue aura for a moment, which confirmed that it couldn't use the annoying move anymore. This allowed Ash to finally take care of the stealth rock without the risk of getting disabled by a mere taunt. "Now double team and frozen ground!"

"Return!" Lance knew that Aerodavtyl didn't have the effective area attacks required to get rid of an opponent with double team quickly. "Charizard, use heat wave!"

The frozen ground move was already finished, covering the ground on Lance's side with a thin layer of ice, and that was enough for now. Ash didn't dare use the ice-type against Charizard for much longer.

"Return! Pikachu, use light screen!" He waited until the heat wave was over, and when the electric-type was called out, there was no stealth rock attack. It wasn't the layer of ice, though, as it was merely a side-product. The ground itself was utterly frozen and almost impossible to penetrate. A stealth rock couldn't get past it, dig was impossible, but the healing seed was still active, since its roots were already close enough to the surface. The hard ground made it even harder to remove, however, which was another advantage for Ash. There were a few other aspects like the prevention of moves like ingrain, but those didn't matter right now. The only downside was that Ash also couldn't use stealth rock, which would've been a potent weapon against Charizard. "Volt charge!"

"Use flame charge and get ready for flame burst!" Of course, Lance had seen Ash's combination of volt charge and blinding charge against Karen's honchkrow, so he was prepared. An orange orb of energy appeared in front of its mouth, ready to be shot at the electric-type.

"Safe thunder wave!" Ash shouted.

At first, it looked like Pikachu was waiting, but shortly before he was hit by Charizard, he paralyzed the fire-type instead of dodging or attacking directly. The reason was simple, he had needed the time for a substitute, which protected him from the attack, causing him to appear nearby. However, Charizard used the flame burst on the retreating Pikachu. The orb exploded halfway between them, sending several waves of fire towards Pikachu, and the electric-type was hit by one of them. The light screen prevented heavy damage, but it was too much to ignore. Ash wanted to make one more attack, though.

"Get on its lower back with blinding charge and use thunder! Use volt switch when it retaliates!" Something similar had happened to his own charizard, and Lance had seen it as well, so his reaction was swift. First, Charizard instinctively rose into the air, allowing Ash's pokémon to shock it with his most powerful move in this situation.

"Use your tail as a torch!" Pikachu didn't even need to hurry when he heard it, as the paralysis made Charizard slow. He shocked it once more, then he returned to his pokéball by himself.

"Well done, buddy." Ash had finally dealt some damage, and he was content with the result. "Bisharp, use magnet rise!"

No matter how strange electric-type moves seemed for a pokémon like Bisharp, Ash considered them essential, even though the steel-type was only able to learn two. Magnet rise provided superior mobility and agility, and an easy way to reach opponents that were out of reach otherwise. Thunder wave increased his support abilities, and allowed the other pokémon to hit the opponent more easily.

"Attack with heat wave!" Bisharp could protect himself against most moves via spinning swords dance, but heat wave wasn't one of them, therefore he had to dodge it.

"Torment!" His eyes glowed red , and Charizard was surrounded by an aura of the same color. This prevented it from using the same move twice in a row, so that it had to waste its time with another move before it could use the more reliable heat wave. "Now swords dance!"

"Dragon dance!" Since the other moves weren't viable in this situation, Lance wanted his pokémon to gather strength, and increase its speed to counter the paralysis.

"Again!" Lance knew what was about to happen, and he had a plan. However, he wanted it to be a surprise, so he couldn't recall Charizard just yet.

"Use roost!" When it landed, Ash hesitated to seize the opportunity. It could be a trap, and there were better pokémon to deal with a fire-type, so he continued with Bisharp's individual move.

"Legion switch!" he shouted.

As the name implied, this move involved a change of pokémon, and similar to baton pass, stat changes were preserved. The difference was that their durations were increased, allowing the affected pokémon to fight with increased power for much longer. In addition, it also added a small bonus to speed. Ash's strategy involved increasing Bisharp's power or defense before switching to a suitable pokémon for the rest. Naturally, it involved a lot of switching, so a move like healing seed was invaluable, and stealth rock was extremely dangerous.

An aura of blazing, white light surrounded the steel-type for a moment, then it turned into an orb that rose above the stage.

"Return!" Obviously, Lance didn't want Charizard to fight Ash's next pokémon even without knowing who it was. It was a wise decision, as with the boosts, a simple pursuit or quick attack could deal impressive damage. "Druddigon, cursed skin!"

Ash had never seen this particular pokémon before, and it worried him deeply, for it meant that he had no way of knowing what to expect. Whatever its move did, Druddigon's skin was surrounded by black smoke for just a moment.

"Garchomp, start with blood claws, then dragon rush!" The moment he entered the field, the orb hit him from above, transferring the power to the dragon-type.

Garchomp's individual move was what Ash considered his most dull creation so far. Being a powerful melee fighter, healing in the middle of the battle was a bad idea for him, as it always meant that he had to interrupt his attacks, and thus ease the pressure on the opponent. Ash's simple solution was to let him heal while attacking by converting a part of the damage to health. This way, he didn't need to waste time on healing, and could focus on what he did best.

"Dragon claw!" Druddigon was so slow that Garchomp reached and hit it before it could get ready, but then something unexpected happened. Not only did it look like nothing happened to it at all, but then Garchomp was also surrounded by black smoke for a second, and was flung away. Ash could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the injuries on the mach pokémon's body. Everybody could see that he was almost defeated.

Even worse, Ash had no idea what had hit him. Until he knew, he couldn't attack Druddigon without risking utter defeat. Lance sensed his confusion, and enraged him further by smiling mischievously.

"The old champion still has a few tricks up his sleeve, doesn't he? It took years to perfect this move, but this one moment made it all worth it," he told Ash. Of course, he wouldn't tell him how it worked, that's something Ash to figure out by himself. The fact that it happened when Garchomp hit it with a move made him believe that it was some sort of counter move.

"Dragon claw!" Lance commanded.

"Don't let it hit you! Give me a little time to think." Thanks to Druddigon's low speed, this wasn't too difficult, but he had to find a way to fight back. The first thing Ash noticed was that Lance's pokémon seemed eager to remain close to Garchomp, so he decided not to use a contact move. "Keep your distance and use dragon breath!"

Since Garchomp didn't dare attack directly, he breathed green flames on the ground beneath Druddigon, engulfing it in flames. Both he and his trainer were relieved to see that there was no visible reaction to the attack, but it also almost caused Garchomp to forget about the opponent, and almost got hit. Fortunately, Druddigon only tried to attack in melee, otherwise dodging would be more difficult.

Now Ash knew that ranged, special attacks worked, but those weren't exactly Garchomp's strong suit. He had to try ranged, physical attack, or it would take forever, but on the other hand he had to be extremely careful. A stone edge with one rock hitting probably wasn't strong enough to knock him out, in case there was a similar retaliation.

"Use stone edge, but try not to let more than one rock hit it!" Several large rocks appeared around him, and he was about to shoot them at Druddigon, when it attacked as well.

"Dragon pulse!" There was black smoke around it again for a moment, but Ash didn't know what it meant. In order to evade the move, Garchomp had to block or destroy it, therefore he shot the rocks directly at the turquoise orb in front of his opponent. The first rocks caused an explosion, which deflected most of the others, but the last few got through, and hit Druddigon. Once again, it didn't have any effect on Ash's pokémon, which told him that earthquake was probably safe as well. "Draco meteor!"

"Earthquake and dragon claw on the meteors!" Ash quickly shouted.

The orb that shot into the air by Lance's pokémon took some time to detonate, enough to let Garchomp stomp on the ground. The boost from swords dance turned it into a devastating shockwave of destruction, which dealt massive damage to the dragon-type. Ash's pokémon still had time to prepare for the orange energy orbs that were closing in from every direction. However, he didn't manage to destroy all of them, resulting in a few hits. Despite its high base power, the attack was weak due to Druddigon not being suited for it, yet it was almost enough to finish off Garchomp.

"Return!" Lance didn't believe that his pokémon could be victorious, at least not without taking too much damage. Before he could call out his next pokémon, though, Ash recalled his own.

"Well done, return!" It seemed wasteful to recall the pokémon without even knowing who would be his next opponent, but the last thing Ash wanted right now was to lose him to a pursuit or a quick attack. Therefore he couldn't risk letting Lance call out his pokémon.

Apparently, Lance had planned exactly that, as he put the pokéball, which he had readied, away again. Ash guessed that it was Aerodactyl, who had already hit Serperior with pursuit, and with its amazing speed, it could quickly reach the other side. It didn't matter now, though, as Lance changed his mind. The audience was waiting to see who could predict his opponent's plans, but Ash's thoughts were still on Druddigon's move. Hopefully, Lance would tell him what it was about after the battle, no matter the outcome.

"It is time. Please continue," the referee reproved them.

"Sorry. Serperior, use reflect!" Ash commanded.

"Charizard, use flamethrower and flame charge!" The reflect was almost done when the fire reached the grass-type, so she could evade most of it, and the light screen further reduced the damage. However, when Ash saw Charizard charging at her, surrounded by a flaming aura, he knew that another pokémon had to deal with it.

"Return! Bisharp, iron defense!" Charizard continued its attack and smashed into the steel-type, but the damage was low due to reflect and iron defense. "Now swords dance!"

"Counter with heat wave!" In order to escape the spinning blades, Charizard flew back, flapping its wings crazily. This sent searing winds towards Bisharp, and the damage wasn't insignificant from this distance.

"Legion switch!" The glowing orb from his body carried the power of the swords dance and the iron defense. "Pikachu, discharge!"

The fire-type was too close to get away, so it just activated its fiery aura from flame charge to punish Pikachu, should he try to attack in melee, because those were the attacks Lance feared the most. In order to defend against them, he was ready to use Charizard's special skill.

"Flames of renewal!" A ring of green fire lip up on the ground, and Charizard landed in the center. They'd heal it for every fire-type move, and hurt everyone getting too close, but only as long as it was there, so it couldn't fly without removing the effect. "Now flamethrower!" Whenever it used the move, green rays of energy connected it to the flames, healing it for a small amount.

"Use agility and prepare a volt charge!" Ash hoped that Charizard's paralysis would disable its defenses from time to time. However, while it was the case for the flame charge aura, the renewing flames were unaffected, so even though Pikachu could easily get inside via blinding charge, escaping would be much more difficult. Eventually, he ran out of patience, and chose another tactic. "Keep dodging and use thunder!"

As long as it stayed between the flames, Charizard couldn't evade the powerful move, and the healing couldn't keep up with the damage. Pikachu on the other hand had so much space that dodging the streams of fire was almost routine. When its blaze ability activated, Lance took it as a sign to recall it. He could have changed his tactic again, but he had something different in mind.

"Charizard, return!" Lance readied a new pokéball. "Aggron, gravity armor! Then earth shatter!"

Ash hesitated a little when he saw the massive steel-type appear on the stage. Although Lance didn't seem to use it often, it was considered one of his most dangerous pokémon, especially in its mega form. This was to no small part due to its individual moves, which worked well together. Gravity armor was one of them, and it caused its own body to draw everything nearby towards it. Not only did this pull opponents into melee range, it also made dodging its ranged attack more difficult. The fact that it also reduced incoming damage seemed almost like a side-effect compared to that. Its second unique was a kind of earthquake, only that it stomped on the ground repeatedly, so a pokémon couldn't simply jump over it, or it would simply get hit by the next shockwave. Those were more powerful the closer they were to Aggron, so the pull form gravity armor could actually increase its damage.

A small pokémon like Pikachu was helpless against the pull, and he'd get crushed in melee combat, so Ash had to recall the electric-type. However, he wanted to make it easier for the next pokémon first.

"Thunder wave, then volt switch!" Pikachu resisted the pull at the beginning, paralyzing the iron armor pokémon. When the shockwaves got closer, he jumped to evade them, fully exposing himself to the pull. It didn't matter, though, as he was recalled when the following volt switch hit.

Now Ash had to make a tough decision. One of his pokémon had to face the steel-type in battle, but he was unsure about who was the best choice. Clearly, calling out Pikachu again was a bad option. Bisharp and Gyarados weren't viable because of their reliance on physical attacks, which simply weren't any good against the heavily armored pokémon. Serperior didn't rely on those, but she didn't have any effective moves at her disposal, so Ash decided against her. Garchomp was a tricky case, as he had an extremely effective move. Unfortunately, that move, earth power, was one of those blocked by the frozen ground, and therefore impossible to use. Even if it was available, Ash wouldn't use the dragon-type, though, as he needed to be in his mega form to deal decent damage with it, and he probably wouldn't last long enough to do it in his current condition. This only left Glalie, who was far from optimal as well due to his weakness to steel-type moves. In addition, he didn't know any effective moves, and he needed to be in his mega form as well for enough attack power. Furthermore, Ash wanted to use the ice-type against Lance's dragonite. However, there was little choice in this matter, and he could at least do something to help him out a little.

"Serperior, combine leech seed with leaf tornado!" he finally commanded.

"Destroy them with flamethrower!" The stream of fire was so measly, though, that it didn't even come close to burn all the seeds, which were sped up by the tornado and the pull. The gravity armor was also the reason they couldn't miss, and in the end, the steel-type was covered in leaves and seeds. The leaves would soon dissolve, but the seeds were going to drain its energy to whatever pokémon was on Ash's side. The pull was a two-edged sword, as it also drew attack moves to the pokémon, but then again, it wasn't made for dodging, and it also served to protect allies, who were usually more vulnerable.

"Good job, return!" He hesitated a little, as he knew that this decision could decide the battle, yet at the same time he was perfectly aware of the missing alternatives. "Glalie, block it with your ice!"

Much to Lance's surprise, Glalie changed into his mega form. His mouth and lower jaw got considerably bigger, the color of his pupils turned to red, and he gained an additional horn on his forehead. In terms of power, his offensive capabilities and his speed increased, and his ability changed to refrigerate, which strengthened normal-type moves, and turned them into ice-type moves. This mattered little to Ash, though, as he wanted to use dark pulse instead. His ground-type moves weren't going to help much because all of them were physical.

Glalies first task was to make sure that Aggron wasn't recalled, as he would probably use Charizard and render the mega evolution useless. It was a combination of block and frozen ground, which caused pillars or ice to form around the stage, entrapping Aggron until Glalie was defeated or recalled. Lance took it as a sign that Ash didn't have a more suitable pokémon in his team. Usually, he'd prefer to preserve Aggron until Glalie was down, but this wasn't possible anymore, and the iron armor pokémon had the type-advantage. But in order to win without taking much damage, he wanted to help it out a little. After all, he still needed it for Ash's other pokémon.

Aggron grew larger and heavier, a third horn grew on its nose, and spikes appeared on its arms. Most importantly, its armor turned to steel completely, removing its own rock-type, and therefore its double weaknesses to Fighting- and ground-type moves. Its new filter ability weakened super-effective moves, which wasn't important in this case, though, as Ash wasn't going to use them, at least not with Glalie. All in all, it was a far more formidable opponent now.

"Use earth shatter!" Despite being able to levitate, Glalie usually couldn't get high enough to evade moves like earthquake for long, being restricted to a low altitude.

"Use dark pulse to stay in the air!" Glalie knew what he meant, as he had done something similar in the past, albeit usually not for a long time. It took him a moment to find the right angle, but he managed to use the recoil of the move to stay in the air. Due to Aggron's gravity armor, he had to aim at the ground between them, and the waves of dark energy spreading from there hurt the steel-type indirectly.

Then it was a contest of who could keep up the respective move for longer. The audience was getting agitated, the people wanted to see a real clash, not further skirmishes. It was time for a pokémon to finally be defeated, and by now they didn't care who it was going to be. The fact that two mega pokémon were fighting made a quick end the most probable outcome, and the trainers wouldn't recall them until they were down. In the end, it wasn't waning strength, but Aggron's paralysis that decided this contest. Glalie could finally get down again to catch his breath, but stayed near the pillars of ice, so that he had something that could block ranged attacks for him.

"Use dark pulse on it!" This time, it was a direct attack, and Aggron made no attempt to evade it.

"Hot metal burst!" Ash didn't like the sound of that, and for good reason. Aggron covered when he was hit before spreading his arms and shooting igneous steel shards towards the ice-type, who immediately hid behind the next pillar. The shards did barely anything to it, but they were made to withstand almost anything, and Ash had no doubt that a direct hit would be not only extremely painful, but also extremely damaging. "Volcano punch!"

"Dark pulse!" Ash had seen this dangerous combination before, but he was sure that the frozen ground would prevent it, as it was similar to earth power. Aggron used fire punch on the ground, but just as expected, nothing happened. Under normal circumstances, the ground beneath Glalie would burst, giving way for a fountain of fire. It was the perfect opportunity for another hit, but Ash wasn't content with the result, and considered using something to increase the damage. "Fake tears!" Glalie shed a few tears, giving his opponent a look of misery. It lowered Aggron's defenses, but he didn't dare attack immediately. He had to hide behind the pillar instead, for Ash couldn't afford to take any risks in this situation.

"Prepare a stone edge! Then hit the safe spots with combustive rock slide!" The steel-type kept the rocks close to its body, so that it could shoot them at Glalie as soon as he showed himself. Then a few large rocks appeared right above the space behind the pillars, forcing the ice-type to move. The following stone edge was a direct hit, but at least the damage was reduced by the reflect move.

"Disable!" There was a blue aura around Aggron for a moment, then it was unable to use stone edge again. Although there were more dangerous moves, Ash wanted this one to be disabled, as it was ranged. "Now dark pulse!"

"Hot metal burst!" Lance commanded. Upon getting hit by the ray of energy, his pokémon shot metal shards at the ice-type again.

"Don't get behind the pillars! Spin!" The reason for this was Aggron's combustive rock slide, a combination that made the rocks explode when someone or something got too close. As long as they were there, Glalie couldn't hide, so he used a technique similar to whirling defense. This way, he could deflect most of the shards, only two of them got stuck in his body, but those were enough to cause excruciating pain.

"Now burning wave!" Lance certainly didn't want him to recover, so he ordered the next attack. Aggron used a variation of rock slide to form a rock between its fists, and smashed it with fire punch, causing the rest to fall down as glowing shards and hot dust. The following shockwave from an earthquake move carried those, and they gave it a fiery appearance. Although it didn't look as impressive as it sounded, it could be almost as painful as the hot metal burst, so Glalie had to avoid it at all costs.

"Evade it!" Ash was proud of his pokémon's discipline and ability to keep going despite the pain. Glalie jumped over it as if it was nothing at all.

"Keep using the wave!" Lance wasn't going to let his advantage go to waste, and wanted his pokémon to continue.

Secretly, he hoped that his opponent would attack for another metal burst, but Ash was smarter than that. As long as the pillars didn't provide protection, he wasn't willing to attack directly. After all, the leech seed kept healing his pokémon, so unlike Aggron, he didn't need to finish it quickly. Glalie's cold body eventually cooled the metal pieces in his body, and he could finally remove them by closing the gaps with new ice. When Aggron was affected by its paralysis, Ash had to act.

"Ice beam on the rocks near your closest pillar!" The rocks immediately exploded upon getting hit without damaging the pillars, so Glalie could use the pillar again. He had to gain some distance, so he wouldn't get caught in the blast. "Now dark pulse!"

"Counter with hot metal burst!" Lance noticed that the ice-type was a little too close to Aggron to retreat behind the pillar in time, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered with the move.

"Earthquake!" Ash had actually hoped this would happen, and when Aggron shot his metal spikes at his pokémon, they were sent back by the shockwave. The gravity armor also helped a great deal, and within seconds, the red-hot metal shards were all over its body. The pain must have been horrible, yet it didn't even flinch.

Before it could do anything else, Glalie was already on his way back behind the pillar, so it didn't even need to try to attack. Instead, Lance used the extra time to reflect on the battle so far. The pillars of ice had proven a huge problem, and he had no idea how to remove them effectively. In fact, not even Ash knew how to do it, as he had never used them defensively. Therefore the champion's best option was to prevent his opponent from hiding, and he had to do it more effectively than with just a few exploding rocks.

 _Yes, I need a lot more exploding rocks,_ he thought to himself with a grin.

He needed to hurry, though. The fake tears move had weakened Aggron's defenses considerably, so that the dark pulse's effects had increased, and it showed. In addition, the leech seed had drained its energy the entire time. There was no doubt in his mind that he had to end it soon or his pokémon would lose.

"Combustive rock slide! Cover the outer area! I want it to be full of rocks." Aggron raised its arms, which were surrounded by a fiery aura, then large, glowing rocks dropped from the ceiling all over the area around the pillars. Dodging them wasn't difficult, but in order to do it, Glalie had to move closer to Aggron.

"Dark pulse!"Even when hit by the attack, the steel-type kept creating those rocks, until nobody could move there without setting them off.

Ash was deeply worried by this. If even one of them exploded, there would be chain reaction, resulting in the whole outer stage getting blown up. Obviously, he'd be foolish to get too close to them, yet this meant that his protection was gone, and he had to finish it quickly. However, the next dark pulse was dodged by Aggron, who simply ducked to avoid the beam. Glalie had taken the hit for granted, and aimed far too high, but whether this was going to be of any significance remained to be seen. The trainer was about to give the next order when he realized that Lance could also cause the explosion anytime. For now, Aggron had to recover from its own move, which had taken an incredible amount of effort, but it would be ready soon.

"Destroy them with rock slide, then increase the intensity of your gravity armor!" Ash had no idea what the second part meant, as according to his memory, the move couldn't be further strengthened. Lance had simply never used it yet, though, saving it for a critical moment like this one.

A lot of people shuddered when they saw a large rock appear above the ring of rock bombs. It fell down, setting them off, and thus causing huge explosions all around the stage. The whole stadium was shaken as a result, and the trainers had to be careful not to fall from their towers. Being closest to the explosions, Glalie was pushed towards Aggron, who showed no sign of being affected at all. However, he wasn't close enough, and too heavy to be affected by the standard gravity armor, so its power had to be increased for a short time. This change came at a price in form of a massive weakening of its defenses, though, leaving it vulnerable even to physical attacks. Even the trainers could feel the pull, and Glalie started moving towards the steel-type involuntarily.

"Dark pulse! Quickly!" While being drawn towards it, he dealt considerable damage, although keeping it up was far from easy.

"Grab its horns!" No matter how much he struggled, Glalie couldn't stop Aggron this time, and got grabbed. Now he was in range for its most powerful attacks, and there was no way it could escape. "Brick break, iron head, then heavy slam!"

"Use dark pulse!" Ash hoped that it could finally show its secondary effect of making the opponent flinch, but he wasn't surprised when it didn't happen.

Aggron punched his pokémon in the face, shattering the reflect protection, before following up with an iron head, which made Glalie flinch instead. What followed was almost painful to watch, as it smashed the ice-type into the ground and jumped right on top of him, crushing him with his massive weight. When it got up, Glalie was already unconscious, but Ash noticed that Aggron was also almost finished. It wouldn't take much to avenge the ice-type.

"Glalie is unable to battle!" the referee announced almost immediately. There wasn't much need to confirm the defeat, not after the last move.

"Well done, you almost won despite the type-disadvantage. Rest now." For a moment, Ash wondered who should be his next pokémon, and decided to renew the reflect. "Serperior, leaf storm!"

"Metal burst!" Aggron didn't get to use the move, though, as even the leaf storm dealt massive damage by now, and it was more than enough to defeat it. IAs a result, it fell forward, shaking the ground once more.

"Aggron is unable to battle!" the referee promptly shouted.

"Thank you, it was a good fight." Lance was actually unhappy with the result, having hoped for a much more favorable outcome. Nevertheless, he had to deal with it now. "Charizard, use flamethrower!"

"Reflect!" The situation seemed awfully familiar. On the one side, Charizard was trying to deal as much damage as possible, on the other side Serperior used reflect to protect her allies. The healing seed made it much easier for her, but it was still dangerous without a light screen. "Return! Pikachu, use discharge!"

The electric-type immediately had to evade the fire shot at him, and did so while using his area attack. Things were actually looking good for him, as the healing seed had negated a lot of the damage he had taken, he only needed a good opportunity for light screen now.

"Use earthquake!" Charizard landed with force, sending a shockwave in all directions.

"Jump, then blinding charge!" Unsurprisingly, he was greeted by a flamethrower upon jumping, but he evaded it by using blinding charge to get right above its head, striking its eyes with his glowing tail. The flame charge aura could have prevented it, but it took too much energy to keep up all the time, so Lance only wanted to use it if Pikachu charged up a more powerful move. The flash of light blinded the fire-type, so that it didn't notice when Pikachu jumped behind it. "Light screen!"

"Behind you! Use earthquake!" By using its tail to stomp on the ground, it managed to hit Pikachu before he was done with light screen. Despite the protection provided by the reflect move, he still took quite a bit of damage, yet Ash was content, as the light screen was active. A few switches could make up for the hit, he only needed to last this long.

"Return!" With both defensive support moves up, Bisharp was in a perfect position for his usual preparations. "Bisharp, swords dance!"

"Flare blitz!" Charizard blinked a few times, then it launched itself at the steel-type. Lance would have preferred to use a pokémon with pursuit like Aerodactyl, but it would stand little chance due to its typing and weaknesses. It'd need to taunt him before he could gain any considerable buffs.

"Use iron defense and payback!" Combined with reflect, the increased defense made even a super-effective move like flare blitz bearable. The retaliation was far stronger due to the swords dance, but Charizard wasn't finished yet.

"Overheat!" The fire-type gained some distance so that it wouldn't have to suffer another payback, which gave him enough time for another move.

"Legion switch!" It was a wise decision, as he wasn't nearly as good at taking special moves, and iron defense didn't help against them. Ash waited until the overheat was done, then he called out the next pokémon. "Alright, Garchomp, use stone edge!"

Charizard almost looked panicked when it dodged the rocks shot at it, and with good reason. A direct hit would be devastating, but it managed to evade all of them despite the reduced speed. Lance didn't hesitate, and recalled his pokémon.

"Return!" He considered Garchomp dangerous even in his current condition, so he entrusted his main pokémon with the task of taking him down. "Dragonite, combine dragon pulse with twister!" If Ash decided to switch his pokémon again, he'd at least lose the buffs from Bisharp's move.

"Use draco meteor, then dragon rush!" Ash commanded.

Then everything went fast. Garchomp shot an orange orb of energy into the air, where it exploded and turned into about a dozen smaller orbs, which went straight for Dragonite. Lance's pokémon formed a turquoise orb, and pushed it at Ash's pokémon via twister. The ground-type didn't seem to be impressed, and dodged it before charging straight at his opponent.

Clearly, Ash was ready to let Garchomp get defeated, but not without dealing a lot of damage. Lance on the other hand tried to knock it out quickly and without taking a lot of hits. He could guess why Ash had the mach pokémon use draco meteor, which wasn't too strong when used by him.

"Attack! Ice punch!" Strangely enough, this was part of a defensive tactic. Dragonite's multiscale ability would greatly reduce the impact of the first hit, which was exactly why the draco meteor, which consisted of many small energy orbs, could easily render it useless. The following, much stronger dragon rush would then deal the full damage. By clashing with Garchom before the orbs could make contact, he'd ruin that plan, and he was willing to take the full draco meteor for this.

"Block it!" Watching Dragonite rush recklessly at the opponent was already surprising enough for the audience, but Ash's decision to cancel his attack confused them even more. However, he had good reasons to do it, for a direct hit now would result in Garchomp's defeat, but only minor damage on Dragonite due to its ability.

Garchomp's weakness to ice-type moves made this extremely risky. Despite him blocking the attack with his arms, despite the reflect and the iron defense, he was almost knocked out by the attack, and the little healing he had received from the seed was already gone. People had the impression that the pokémon stayed like this for an eternity, then the draco meteor orbs hit Dragonite from behind, with one of them activating multiscale. Both trainers knew that it was vulnerable now.

"Outrage!" Ash shouted.

"Ice punch!" Lance commanded in return.

Ash's pokémon was a little faster, breaking the ice around his arms from the ice punch, and striking Dragonite with his right claw. The following attack with his left one got dodged, but he managed to hit with his head, sending it flying towards the ground. It managed to regain its balance in midair, and countered with an ice punch when Garchomp charged at it, surrounded by a bright, red aura. As soon as the attacks collided, the pokémon were pushed towards their respective trainers, but unlike Dragonite, Garchomp fell on the way and didn't get up. However, he had done more damage to his opponent than Ash had expected, so that he came to regard it as a success.

"Garchomp is unable to battle!" the referee declared before Ash recalled the dragon-type.

"Thank you, that was awesome." Now he had to hurry or Dragonite would heal via roost. "Gyarados, icy roar!"

The pools hadn't been hit by the frozen ground move, so his pokémon could move around freely.

"Roost!" Lance knew that the move would force a switch, and that the water-type was too far away for a real attack, so he tried to let his main pokémon recover a little.

Using a combination of roar and ice fang, which was similar to a weak icy wind, Gyarados forced Dragonite out of the fight before it could complete its move. The dragon-type returned to its pokéball, and one of the others opened by itself, calling out Lance's gyarados. Although it was random, the champion was actually happy with the result, believing the water-type to be more than capable of defeating any other gyarados. Little did he know, Ash had prepared his pokémon for physical attackers and Lance's gyarados in particular, as it had always been the pokémon's wish to face the famous red gyarados in battle.

Things didn't look good at first glance, though. Ash's gyarados wasn't small by any means, yet he looked tiny compared to Lance's. He was also much younger, and also less experienced. People tended to regard it as more powerful because of its unusual color. However, it was often slow to react, which was pretty much Ash's only chance.

"Start with bladed scales!" Apart from raising his defense against physical attacks, it also caused transparent spikes to grow on his body. Those hurt any pokémon making contact, and even those that got too close. Thus even moving past an enemy made Gyarados deal damage to it.

"Dragon dance!" At the same time, Lance's gyarados moved rhythmically, increasing its attack power, and more importantly, its speed. "Now rampage!"

This move was well-known for its amazing power. It worked like outrage, only that its attack power increased with time until it was incredibly destructive. Once it was over, Gyarados got confused, and it was weakened for a short time, mostly to minimize the damage it could deal to itself due to the confusion.

"Keep dodging it!" Lance didn't know the effect of bladed scales, as Ash had never used the move before. It allowed Gyarados to deal damage without exposing himself to enemy attacks.

He showed no sign of fear when the red gyarados charged at him, surrounded by a bright, orange aura. It tried to hurt him with bites and tail strikes, but its opponent was fast, slithering around its massive body. Whenever he passed it, the spikes cut through its scales, and even though they weren't large, it added up with time. When it tried to bite him from above, he used the opportunity to move all the way down its tail while circling its body. Whenever it tried to hit him with its tail, he evaded it narrowly, just so that the spikes could do their work.

It wasn't easy, since all of his instincts were telling him to attack whenever an enemy was close. Therefore it required a lot of discipline to maintain this battle style, but his will to defeat the red gyarados was stronger, and he knew perfectly well that he wasn't going to win by using brute force. As long as Lance's pokémon was under the effect of rampage, it was predictable, he only had to make sure that he wasn't hit directly. A few minor hits were unavoidable, but the spikes did more damage in return.

People were amazed at how easy it looked for Ash's gyarados, whose almost graceful movement seemed strange for a pokémon with his brutish appearance. It didn't look like Lance had a proper counter to this, so they expected him to recall his pokémon, which would already be a sensation, considering how famous and powerful his red gyarados was. Right now, he was merely watching the fight with a pondering look. The rampage had reached a level, on which the damage was simply brutal, so recalling it already would be a waste. When the aura disappeared, both trainers knew that the rampage was over, resulting in the pokémon getting confused and weak for a short time.

"Return!" Ash's gyarados was obviously well-prepared for this encounter, so he wanted to try another pokémon.

"Use crunch!" He used the little time he had to bite the red gyarados's neck, and swinging from there, hurting it whenever he passed its body.

Although it bugged him that he didn't get to finish the battle, he regarded the result as a great victory, and the audience agreed by applauding. They had never expected another gyarados to beat Lance's in single combat. However, he had to face another pokémon now.

"Druddigon, cursed skin again!" Lance shouted.

Ash looked at the black smoke around the dragon-type with worry in his eyes, yet at the same time he was sure that Gyarados could defeat it. After all, he knew ice-type moves, and even a few physical, ranged combinations, so that he didn't have to rely on weaker attacks like ice beam. The only real danger was his own move, the bladed scales, whose damage could be easily reflected. On the other hand, there was no better pokémon for this job, now that Glalie was gone. Pikachu and Serperior didn't have effective, ranged moves, and Bisharp was even worse in that regard.

"Use ice fang twister!" Ice spikes in the shape of fangs formed around his real fangs, and he flung them at Druddigon with a tornado from his mouth. He was too far away, though, therefore even a slow, paralyzed pokémon like Druddigon had no trouble evading it. "Use dragon dance!"

Since other attacks didn't make sense either, powering himself up seemed like the most sensible choice. As long as he stayed in the water, he was faster and thus relatively safe. When he began with the move, it suddenly picked up the pace and got surprisingly close to the edge of the pool. After one more dragon dance it was there and jumped into the water.

"Waterfall!" Gyarados rose on top of a pillar of water, so he could observe the pool and couldn't be reached easily. Getting out of the pool wasn't an option, as it would reduce his speed.

"Dragon pulse!" Using a version of dragon pulse with a beam instead of an orb, it launched itself at Gyarados from the depths. Ash hadn't expected this kind of speed from a paralyzed pokémon, but then again, it didn't weaken the force of the move. Much to Ash's horror, it got hold of Gyarados's tail fins when he jumped off the pillar. "Move with dragon claw!"

What followed was painful to watch. Ramming its claws into Gyarados's scales, it basically climbed up his body, and every time it made contact with one of the spikes, the damage was reflected. The water-type fell back into the pool, and tried to shake it off by swimming faster, but its hold was too strong. In the end, the pain was so great that he attempted to use crunch on it, an instinct that could easily lead to his defeat.

"Stop!" Ash shouted, and his pokémon held back for now. "Just shake it off! Shake your tail!"

He moved into a position that only his head and tail were outside the water, and then he started swinging it. At first, it merely prevented the dragon-type from climbing up further, as he had to hold on, and it seemed like it could hold on indefinitely. Ash's pokemon on the other hand grew tired, until only the dragon dances' power let him keep going. The grip soon grew weak, though, and it started to slip. When the paralysis took effect, Gyarados moved his tail upwards, launching Druddigon into the air.

"Ice fang twister!" Ash sounded desperate, so his pokémon hurried.

"Return!" Lance realized that his pokémon couldn't last much longer, but his reaction was too slow, as it got hit by two large ice spikes in midair, sending it towards the center, before the beam from its pokéball could hit it. A second set of spikes finished it shortly after it hit the ground.

"Druddigon is unable to battle." Lance hadn't even tried to recall it after the hit, for he already knew it was finished.

Although the course of this battle had been far from optimal for Ash, he was glad that the dragon-type was gone for good now. With his current team, an opponent like this was more than just inconvenient, it was a real threat, especially for Bisharp. Now he had to worry about a different pokémon.

"Aerodactyl, rock slide!" Large rocks appeared above the water-type, and even though he could evade them without a problem, Ash knew that there was little he could do in the long run. The rock-type would simply keep its distance while letting huge boulders fall into the pool.

"Return! Bisharp, start with magnet rise and swords dance!" However, this time Aerodactyl was there to taunt him right at the beginning, so he could neither levitate nor increase his own strength. There was little he could do in this situation, but Ash wanted him to stay at least long enough for the healing seed to recharge. "Use dark pulse!"

"Alright, use muddy terrain!" Lance commanded.

Aerodactyl landed behind one of the pools, and started sprinkling water on the center of the stage, not even bothering with the dark pulse. Then he breathed something on it, something that made the ground sticky. Since the water usually wasn't part of this move, Ash guessed that it had something to do with the frozen ground. What mattered was that he couldn't use Pikachu anymore, as he'd get stuck and crushed by rocks. Only Serperior, who could float slightly above the ground, seemed like a viable option, despite the type-disadvantage.

"Bisharp, return! Serperior, use glare!" Her eyes glowed green when she gave Aerodactyl a nasty look. In return, she was taunted, but managed to finish her own move, paralyzing it. "Now eat your energy ball!"

"Tail wind!" Lance didn't believe his pokémon would actually hit the fast grass-type from that distance, so he decided to negate the effect of the paralysis, at least for now. Since energy ball was an attack move, it wasn't affected by taunt, and she could still do with it whatever she wanted. A temporary boost to her grass-type moves was the best option in this case. "Aerial ace!"

"Get a hold with vine whip!" The chances of dodging a move like aerial ace with tailwind in effect was slim, so she prepared for the counter instead. She wrapped her vines around its tail when it struck her, and retracted them again to pull herself close to it. Aerodactyl didn't notice her at first, and just kept flying to prepare the next attack, only when she wrapped her entire body around the tail and used giga drain did it feel her presence.

"Get down and use earthquake!" It quickly landed, then it used the move by smashing its tail on the ground. Being at the very center of the shockwave, Serperior took heavy damage, and was dazed, so that she had to fall off after a few moves. At least she didn't get stuck since the muddy terrain had already lost its effect due to the cold ground. "Now wing attack!"

"Leaf tornado!" It managed to strike her once, then leaves from her mouth hit its eyes, making it retreat a little. "Vine whip and giga drain!" This time, she wrapped the vines around its neck before absorbing its energy.

"Sky drop!" In retaliation, Lance's pokémon grabbed the end of her tail with its mouth, and flew up high.

"Vine whip on the wings!" She let go of its neck, and attacked its wings instead, making it impossible to fly anymore. The result was both pokémon crashing into the ground.

"Fly! Get rid of the vines with wing attack if necessary!" It escaped this time, which also gave Serperior a little time to recover. However, it would soon return, and after the last struggle, it was sure to use its most powerful attacks. On the other hand those could also provide interesting opportunities for her. "Combine sky attack and aerial ace! Prevent escape with rock slide!"

It was a well-known combination, which wasn't as strong as a true sky attack, but made up for it with reliability. Aerodactyl gathered energy while flying until a bright, red aura signaled that it was ready. Instead of the usual charge, it used aerial ace to make it harder to evade, and the energy dealt extra damage on hit. Before it attacked, it used rock slide to cause large boulder to fall on the ground next to and behind Serperior.

"Build a leaf tornado and use leaf blade!" Ash hoped that those two moves would be enough to counter Aerodactyl's attack. She had time to make the tornado much larger than usual, and held her green glowing tail in front of her face, ready to strike anyone getting too close.

Aerodactyl let out a loud shriek before charging at the grass-type. Much to Ash's disappointment, the leaf tornado did barely anything to stop it, and the leaf blade was no match for the boosted aerial ace, resulting in Serperior getting pushed against the boulders behind her. To make matter worse, Lance's pokémon quickly rolled one of them onto her tail with its wings, then it proceeded to strike her repeatedly with wing attack. Since Ash's view on her was obstructed by the boulders, he could only see the flying-type using his wings, and a recall was impossible.

"Leaf storm!" She unleashed her strongest attack, and from this distance against an aerodactyl on the ground, it was highly effective. In fact, it had to retreat or the continuous stream of leaves would have knocked it out.

"Again!" The fossil pokémon flew in a wide arc, charging up the attack on the way.

Ash waited remarkably long. Although things weren't looking good for the grass-type, he still believed that she could win. Without the reflect, she would have already been down, and it was about to run out, so he took a big risk by not recalling her. After all, she was the only pokémon in his team capable of this move, Pikachu could only learn light screen.

"Grab a rock with vine whip and throw it!" he finally shouted, just when the enemy was about to strike.

The rock on her tail looked suitable, and she flung it at the flying-type with full force, hitting its head directly, and causing to crash. It was only dazed for a few moments, though, then it got up again, and closed the distance to finish her off with wing attack.

"Leaf storm again!" The move wasn't weak, but not strong enough to drive Aerodactyl off. She tried to escape, but fell to its merciless attacks. The reflect ended only moments later, leaving the rest of Ash's pokémon vulnerable to physical attacks.

The referee had to get closer in order to make sure that she was really defeated, but Aerodactyl helped him by removing the boulders, which vanished shortly after. This also helped Ash, who recalled Serperior when the referee declared her defeat.

"Well done, leave the rest to the others." Looking at Aerodactyl again made him think that it couldn't last much longer, and without the muddy terrain, he could call out Pikachu again. "Pikachu, blinding charge! Then thunder!"

"Muddy terrain!" The flying-type hurried to the edge of the pool again with the tailwind helping it. Pikachu had to wait, or he could fall down easily, but when it landed, he knew it was time. It was a little surprising when it didn't fight, and just continued with its move. Since he didn't like being ignored, Pikachu used one of his strongest moves, shocking it with thunder. "Return!" Lance said once it was done. Although Ash was angry that it managed to escape, he had a feeling that even a weak move could finish it now, unless it used a healing move like roost. "Charizard, keep using fire spin!"

His intention was clear, he wanted to decrease Pikachu's mobility by preventing him from moving across the edge of the pool. The center was already impossible to pass due to the muddy terrain, leaving only the pool itself. However, Ash wasn't going to allow it, and recalled the electric-type.

"Return!" The other choices didn't appear much better at first. Bisharp would get caught by the muddy terrain, and Gyarados needed to be in melee range for proper damage. A surf move could serve the purpose, but he had a feeling that it would maintain the muddy terrain, or even make it worse. His main advantage was that he was more mobile in the pool, and could easily endure Charizard's most dangerous moves and combinations. Once he was sure the muddy terrain was gone, he could use Pikachu again. "Gyarados, hydro pump!"

Even though it was super-effective, it wasn't too dangerous when used by Gyarados, so Lance continued with his plan. The water-type couldn't get close due to the muddy terrain, which made it a perfect opportunity for some healing. For this, he was even willing to let Charizard get caught by his own move.

"Flames of renewal, then roost!" It landed as far away from Gyarados as possible, and prepared to recover from its wounds. This, however, provided Ash with an interesting opportunity in turn. Apart from the surf move, there was another way to get to it, a much better way.

"Slide to it by using ice beam on the ground!" Unlike the alternative, it wouldn't increase the duration of the muddy terrain, and he was even faster on the ice, so that he could reach it sooner.

"Solar beam!" Lance realized that Ash's pokémon would reach his soon, and the grass-type move was still the most effective attack he had, and it took less time to shoot it because of the bright flames around it.

"Aqua tail!" Gyarados simply ignored the solar beam, whose power was reduced by the light screen, and swung his tail at Charizard. Everyone in the stadium expected it to be flung away, but its feet were stuck, so the water-type could follow up with another attack. Then it was recalled, as Lance saw it was a lost cause. His pokémon couldn't possibly do anything against him in melee combat.

"Return! Aerodactyl, use rock slide!" He hoped to force Gyarados on the muddy terrain, where he would be an easy target for further attacks. At the same time, he didn't believe that it could emerge victorious, its injuries and the paralysis didn't allow it, but it was still likely to deal more damage against the water-type than against Pikachu or Bisharp.

"Ice beam!" He couldn't evade all the rocks falling on him, and had to take a few hits, but he also managed to hit it with ice beam in return, freezing one of its wings. It fell down as a result, falling unconscious during the crash.

"Aerodactyl is unable to battle!" It left Lance with three pokémon, just like Ash.

Both trainers still had their gyarados, and both of them were still able to fight, despite some major injuries. Lance's charizard on the other hand was close to defeat. Pikachu and Bisharp were still in relatively good condition, mostly because of the healing see. Gyarados didn't benefit from it at all, as he was always called out inside the pool, where the roots obviously didn't reach. Dragonite had also taken serious damage, but it was still far from finished. In fact, it was much more dangerous in this state, which was a direct result of its first individual move. Ash expected it to put up a huge fight before going down.

In order to win, they had to use the right pokémon. Pikachu and Ash's gyarados countered Lance's directly, but it was superior to Bisharp in direct combat. Charizard could cause a lot of trouble to all of Ash's pokémon, even Gyarados, if it managed to heal a little. Otherwise, it was easy prey for Pikachu's electric attacks. Pikachu wouldn't last long against Dragonite, only the combined power of the remaining pokémon could take it down.

"Dragonite, ultimate rage!" Lance shouted, calling out his strongest pokémon.

It was probably one of the most dangerous moves Ash knew, and even though he had only seen it once, he had a lot of respect for it. This move increased Dragonite's attack power and defenses against both physical and special attacks depending on the damage it had taken, making it much stronger when it was close to being defeated. Therefore he had to watch out, as it could easily wipe an entire team when others could barely walk anymore. As far as he knew, the move had only three weaknesses. Firstly, the powerful defenses didn't help against poison, which was a good way of finishing it off. Secondly, its speed wasn't changed, making paralysis a good way of weakening it. Thirdly, while it increased its rage and attack power, the same rage caused Lance to lose control over it with time. In its most advanced form, Dragonite was uncontrollable, and extremely reckless. Unlike many other moves, this one wasn't removed when it was recalled, so it needed to be used only once per battle.

The cosmetic change was subtle, with only a weak, green aura surrounding him, but Ash had seen its potential in Lance's last battle against Karen. Many experts claimed that he couldn't have won it without ultimate rage, which had allowed Dragonite to finish off Karen's last three pokémon. The fact that Ash also had three pokémon left seemed like a bad sign, but at least two of them were still in good shape.

"Return!" Although Gyarados could stand up to the dragon-type, he was stronger in the water. However, he couldn't get back there without getting beat up on the way, so Ash chose the only sensible option. "Bisharp, use magnet rise and taunt!"

Although preventing the use of its second individual move was important, Bisharp's safety was even more vital. The steel-type used the improved mobility to get a bit further away before taunting the opponent.

"Flamethrower! Get closer for fire punch!" Lance commanded.

"Swords dance!" Bisharp deflected the blades while increasing his own attack power. It was essential to hit it hard, or its boosts could mean the end. "Iron defense! Then sucker punch with thunder wave!"

The iron defenses reduced the damage from the fire punch considerably, then he charged his blades with lightning before striking Dragonite quickly. It not only dealt damage, but also paralyzed it, which was a vital part of Ash's plan. The dragon-type's reduced speed made dodging the following fire punch easy.

"Swords dance!" While he was under the effect of iron defense, Ash was ready to take one more hit, and Dragonite was even cut by the spinning blades in return. "Legion switch!"

This gave Ash a little time to catch his breath. The light screen ended, and he had no intention of renewing it again, at least not while Dragonite was there. His next pokémon was going to be Pikachu, whose mission was to weaken it enough for Gyarados to finish it off with an ice move.

"Pikachu, volt charge!" The electric-type started running, powering up his move. Without status moves, Dragonite couldn't protect itself against it, it could only punish Pikachu for the move.

"Use the flame charge aura and earthquake!" the champion told his pokémon.

It surrounded itself with the fiery aura, and then it crashed into the ground, sending a massive shockwave in all directions. It was so big, that Pikachu would have to cancel his charge in order to jump over it, and this could ruin his attack. On the other hand the volt charge wasn't at full power, which made Ash wonder whether he shouldn't simply restart it. However, he didn't believe that Dragonite would simply let him do it, and he didn't want Bisharp's preparation go to waste.

"Blinding charge! Then volt switch!" Pikachu appeared right in front of the dragon-type with a flash, directly striking its face. Even though the move wasn't as powerful as he had hoped, it was so strong that even Dragonite had to take a few steps back. It recovered quickly, though, and struck Pikachu with dragon claw when he attempted the volt switch. Ash was worried about his partner, and there was no doubt that he was heavily injured, but he managed to use volt switch in midair, recalling himself. "Well done, buddy. Gyarados, start with dragon dance!"

"Return!" There was no harm in recalling the dragon-type, and Lance wanted to avoid this particular matchup. He had only one pokémon left that could do better, despite a type-disadvantage. "Charizard, keep your distance and use solar beam!"

It took some time to prepare, giving Ash a moment to think about his options. As long as the fire-type was far away, there was little Gyarados could do against it. Pikachu seemed like a much better choice, and the healing seed could help him recover a little after the last fight. The only problem was the solar beam, as he didn't want it to knock him out right at the beginning. It was up to Gyarados to stay until it the threat was gone.

"Protect!" Ash commanded when Charizard shot the beam of light at the water-type. It was blocked, but he didn't attack in return. "Well done, return for now. Pikachu, use agility and volt charge!"

Now it was Lance's turn to wonder whether he should recall his pokémon. While it was true that Pikachu was at an advantage, he was also heavily injured, and even with the healing from the seed, one good attack could finish him. There was another reason why he chose not to use another pokémon this time, though. Unlike the champion, Ash could simply keep changing his pokémon to heal them gradually, so he'd be smart to attack while Pikachu was still low on health.

"Keep up the flame charge! Now earthquake and heat wave!" He had no idea how long it could keep up the aura in its current state, but it was necessary, for one volt charge could mean the end. Charizard used earthquake when it landed, then it flapped its wings, sending waves of fire at Pikachu. Similar to earthquake, they covered a large area, but they lacked power from that distance. Nevertheless, Pikachu was in danger, for his speed was almost useless against them.

"Jump, then protect!" The electric-type used protect almost the moment he was past the shockwave, evading both moves that way. The following waves of fire were a different matter, though, and Ash didn't want to risk anything by using protect again. Blinding charge was an alternative, but he couldn't get close as long as the fire aura was active. "Get into the water!"

As long as he remained between the waves of fire, he didn't get hurt, and the water protected him from the raging fire. On the other hand he couldn't attack while he was there, a fact that Lance attempted to exploit.

"Flames of renewal! Keep using heat wave!" A ring of fire appeared around it, healing it a little for every heat wave. Ash remained patient, and waited for it to get tired, as evident when the fire aura disappeared.

"Now blinding charge and thunder!" Pikachu jumped out the pool, only to vanish and reappear in front of the flame pokémon. He struck its eyes with his glowing tail, blinding it temporarily, and followed up with a powerful thunder move.

"Fire blast!" Since it had no idea where Pikachu was, it shot the star of fire where its head was pointing, and it almost hit the electric-type. Pikachu was still grazed and flung away, but fortunately, he wasn't thrown into the ring of fire. Still blinded, Charizard attempted to fly away, only to barely lift off, for its strength was almost gone. Pikachu used thunder again to end the fight, causing the fire-type to fall on its back.

"Charizard is unable to battle!" the referee shouted after a few seconds.

"Thank you. Now, Dragonite, use golden wings!" It was its second individual move, and Ash wasn't going to wait for it to attack Pikachu.

"Return! Gyarados, use dragon dance! Ice fang when it gets close!" This time, Ash didn't use Bisharp for some boosts, as he considered it too dangerous after Dragonite's recent buff. Even like this, he believed that a good ice fang could decide the battle in his favor.

He was both surprised and relieved that the dragon-type didn't use golden wings, probably because the rage was already so strong that it could only attack. Otherwise, the battle would've been much more difficult. After all, the move created golden extensions for its wings, which made it more agile, fast, and they could even act as shields. Fortunately, it required a lot of concentration and energy, so Lance tried to use it when Dragonite was heavily injured, but not uncontrollable yet. Not even Lance always succeeded in that, though, especially against powerful opponents.

Instead of golden wings, it used dragon rush on Gyarados, who was still in the middle of his dragon dance. It hit his face directly, but not hard enough to knock him out with one move, and thus it was vulnerable to his retaliation, which came promptly. With blue glowing fangs, he bit his opponent, burying the icy extensions in its flesh. Those burst a moment later, dealing massive damage to the dragon-type. Its aura advanced to its final stage, turning bright and golden. Now it was clear that Dragonite wasn't down, but close to defeat. With even greater strength, it raised an arm, and struck Gyarados with dragon claw. He immediately collapsed, and floated on the surface, unmoving.

"Gyarados is unable to battle!" Ash was far from happy, now Dragonite was even more difficult to hurt, and only Bisharp could do it.

"Thank you. Rest now. Bisharp, use magnet rise, double team and iron defense!" There was one move, for which he didn't need swords dance. More importantly, he didn't want his pokémon to get knocked out by a single move.

Lance didn't say anything, for he knew that Dragonite was uncontrollable in its current state. It used dragon rush on Bisharp, who dodge the move, and created countless copies of himself, which gave him enough time to safely use iron defense. Dragonite destroyed a copy with flamethrower, and then used dragon rush on another. It seemed like such a waste of energy, yet it seemed to have an infinite supply. Time was another matter, though, and it certainly wasted it, until it recognized the real Bisharp by the stronger glow of his armor, and immediately charged at him with a fiery fist.

"Again!" Thanks to the paralysis, Bisharp was faster than his opponent, and could gain some distance before creating more copies of himself. While Lance's pokémon was busy destroying them with different moves, he strengthened his defenses for the second time. Still, it wasn't enough, and he did the same once more. Then he was ready to attack, carefully at first. "Night slash when you feel it's safe!"

However, with Dagonite around, there wasn't really a single moment when he felt safe, but he had to do it at some point. He waited for Dragonite to use an ineffective move, in this case ice punch, and hurried past it, slashing its belly on the way. Its defenses were so strong by now, that the attack did barely anything.

"Try again!" Ash commanded. This time, it took longer, for it mainly used dragon claw, fire punch, flamethrower, and dragon rush. Eventually, he ducked when it used dragon claw again, and slashed its belly with both arms. Dragonite retaliated by kicking him towards the ground, and followed up with a dragon rush. Despite the kick having caused a lot of pain, he quickly retreated backwards, before his opponent hit the ground.

"Damn it! Why won't it just go down?" Ash shouted with frustration, and even desperation clear in his voice. When the dragon-type looked up again, it looked more menacing than ever, with its furious glare and its golden glowing eyes. It looked like Bisharp had to use a specific move, one that was dangerous to use when the opponent was this strong. "Use foul play! Be careful!"

It was by far the most logical choice to use Dragonite's own power against it, yet at the same time it was risky, for it was difficult to control properly, and could easily result in a direct hit. Bisharp took a few steps back, as if it was going to increase his chances. His opponent was surprisingly hesitant, waiting for a long time before it used dragon rush on him. The steel-type took a step to his left, causing it to rush past him, but it changed direction almost immediately and proceeded to attack him with dragon claws and fire punches. One of the dragon claws made contact, and it took the power of the iron defenses to reduce the damage to a moderate level. His instincts told him to be more careful, but in order to find a good opportunity, he had to stay close, which put him in a much danger, and it took a lot of time, and a lot of dodging, until something happened.

Bisharp took a few steps back when Dragonite unleashed a flurry of fire punches on him. Enraged by this failure, it roared angrily, and jumped forward, his first covered in intense flames, ready to strike down anything in its path. This was his chance, the magical moment he had been waiting for the entire time. The attack was not only powerful, but also reckless, and easy to avoid. This wasn't his intention, though, he merely ducked to get into a better position, and drove the blade on his head into its belly. The scales were so hard there wasn't much penetration, but it cut deep enough for him to lift the dragon-type with his remaining strength. He let himself fall on his back, taking it with him, and slamming it into the ground behind him. Its head hit the ground first, and the blade in its belly came loose before the rest of its body fell down on its back. Bisharp quickly ran away in case it wasn't the end, but stumbled on the way.

Fortunately, Dragonite didn't look like it was going to get up anytime soon. It only let out a groan before its golden aura vanished entirely. Since this only happened after either a long break, or its defeat, the case was clear. Ash had defeated Lance's most powerful pokémon without using an ice-type, but his joy was short-lived, for he remembered that Lance still had a pokémon left, and this one wasn't feared any less. Fortunately, he still had Pikachu, whose extremely effective moves could ensure his victory.

"Dragonite is unable to battle!" Everyone could hear the announcement, as the whole stadium was silent. It had been a long time since Dragonite's last defeat, and with Ash's victory so close, the audience didn't want to miss anything.

"You did great job. I'm proud of you." Lance looked disturbed, yet there was no fear or anger in his voice. Perhaps he hadn't realized the full meaning of this fight just yet. "Gyarados, use hydro pump!"

He intended to wait for Bisharp to come, since the steel-type was horrible at ranged combat, and his own pokémon would defeat the weakened sword blade pokémon easily in melee, for the battle against Dragonite had left it in terrible state. Therefore it didn't come as a surprise when Ash recalled him.

"Return! Pikachu, use thunder! Don't hold back! I want it to end now." The healing from the seed wouldn't be enough to save him from any powerful move, so he had to be careful. Gyarados's size made it easy to hit, so the less accurate thunder move was superior to thunderbolt.

"Keep using hydro pump and shake the ground!" The water-type had to strike from a distance, as it would get fried before getting anywhere close to Pikachu.

While shooting water at the electric-type, it made its way on solid ground. Pikachu tried to keep his own movement to a minimum, never going far for a dodge, and relentlessly shocked Gyarados from his position. As soon as Gyarados was on the ground, it raised its tail, and smashed it on the ground three times in a row, sending three huge shockwaves towards Ash's pokémon. Clearly, he was too exhausted to jump over all of them, and three protect moves were likely to fail.

"Full power!" Ash still had Bisharp, so the solution was to defeat Gyarados, even if it meant Pikachu's own defeat. Using all of his remaining energy, Pikachu shot the most powerful lightning bolt he could muster at it before getting knocked out by the first shockwave.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

Not only had the last thunder move been devastating, Gyarados had also tired himself out with the triple earthquake, and now it looked like Ash wouldn't even need to do anything to defeat it now. Nevertheless, he couldn't just wait, and called out his final pokémon.

"Rest, buddy." Ash called out Bisharp, who now had to finish Pikachu's job. "Use iron defense and ..."

He stopped because he noticed that Gyarados was moving strangely, and he had enough experience to know that it wasn't voluntarily. Its eyes were half-open, and it was swinging as if trying to keep its balance. Eventually, it couldn't keep it up any longer, let out a weak growl, and fell to the side. The crash shook the ground, silencing the whole stadium. Everyone looked at the referee expectantly, but he took his time, for this decision had tremendous consequences. However, the choice was clear in this case, as Gyarados showed no sign of being able to continue.

"Gyarados is unable to battle!" he shouted. "All of champion Lance's pokémon are defeated. Victory goes to the challenger."

The stadium became incredibly loud due to all the fans cheering loudly, but unlike those, Dawn simply sank back into her chair. She looked just as tired as Ash, and not without reason. The battle had also taken its toll on her.

"And here I thought you'd want to celebrate his success," Johanna remarked with a grin.

"So tired," Dawn just managed to say. Only a weak, but tired smile showed that she was happy.

"I've never seen you this tense, not even during your own battles." Johanna had to sit down and cover her ears. "Damn it! Why do they have to be so loud?"

Ash didn't notice anything, he was in his very own world the entire time. The fact that he had just achieved his lifelong dream at long last was still too new, too unbelievable, and needed to sink in first.

 _It's done. I'm the new champion. Or am I? Is this just a cruel dream? No, can't be. It must be real. Must be. I'm really a champion. Finally._ He just stood there, watching his last pokémon fall on his back, since he was too tired to even stand by now. _Lance was tough, but my pokémon were amazing, all of them. Now we can start to build a legacy._

"Rest for now," he finally said, recalling Bisharp.

Now he finally became aware of how loud it was. It wasn't surprising, considering how rare it was a for a champion to be replaced. Then he noticed Lance approaching him in the company of Mr. Goodshow.

 _This is it,_ he thought to himself. _They're about to give me my trophy. Is there any trophy? I can't remember. Well, who needs something like that anyway, the glory is so much better._

The greatest moment of his life was about to happen.

* * *

 **Now the question is how he'll deal with the result and whether he'll reert to the cold, distant Ash again.**


	73. Price of Victory

**AshcDawnaddicted: How he'll take it is indeed the qurstion or whether he's prepared for this new situation at all. Being a champion is different from becoming a champion. And now that he's finished, others become more active again. And thank you for keeping up the reviews. It's always interesting to hear what others think or what questions they have.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 73 Price of Victory

Everyone in the stadium watched the president of the pokémon league and the defeated champion walk towards Ash. Lance was the first to shake his hand.

"Congratulations, Ash. I knew you had it in you," he said almost merrily.

"You don't look upset at all. Almost ... relieved," Ash remarked.

"I guess so," he replied, laughing softly. "Winning isn't everything, you know? Sometimes watching the young and talented become stronger and take their places in the world is just as interesting. If it means I have to make way for them, then so be it. Honestly, being a champion isn't that great. The attention you get isn't always the good kind."

"Oh, don't ruin it for the boy," Mr. Goodshow protested. Despite his age, he looked still healthy, although he was said to have become a little strange in the head. "You can now count yourself among the most powerful trainers in the world. But before it's time for the official ceremony, we have to do something else."

He tested his microphone, and cleared his throat for a long time, until the whole stadium was silent.

"Well, good people, it looks like we have a new champion. And here I thought I'd bite the dust before watching Lance get defeated." He earned a few nervous laughs, which made him a little angry. "Humph, you young people just lack humor. Anyway, our workers have to prepare everything now. Please return here at noon when our challenger officially becomes the new champion of Kanto."

The audience cheered for Ash again, then they started to leave for something to eat, the bathroom, or simply to spend the remaining time outside. Mr. Goodshow on the other hand motioned for Ash to follow him, and Lance did the same. As soon as they were in a corridor, where nobody could see them, he called out an abra.

"You know where to take us," he told his pokémon.

It sighed, got up, and approached its trainer. Ash had no idea what it was all about, but Lance didn't seem concerned, and he guessed that the dragon-trainer had gone through this at some point. The psychic-type teleported them to an initially dark place. After a few seconds, weak lights went on, but there was much more than that. They could see blue holographic figures, both of humans and pokémon all around the room. Ash noticed that six pokémon always corresponded to one of the humans, and that the size of the pokémon wasn't always realistic. When he saw Lance's hologram surrounded by one of his dragonite and a few other pokémon, he realized that those were probably the champions. All in all, the place had a strange beauty to it.

Apart from the holograms, there was nothing noteworthy in the entire room apart from a large computer in the center. The walls were made of solid steel, and there was no visible entrance, so perhaps teleportation was the only way to enter it. Ash was so entranced by the holograms that he didn't notice Mr. Goodshow walking towards the computer.

"This, my boy, is what makes you a true champion, not that silly ceremony, or a lousy trophy," he said, gaining Ash's attention. "You can see every single champion of Kanto here with their winning team. Well, at least those that were still alive when this room was built. As you may have noticed, you can only travel here via teleportation. This is because only champions and I are allowed to be here, and of course, it means that you can't show or even tell anyone. And I mean anyone." Ash understood, he could tell neither Dawn nor his friends, not even his mother. "I can take you here again when you have a psychic-type with you, so it can teleport you here whenever you wish. But now, we have something important to do. Please come here."

Ash followed him to the computer. It was larger than normal ones, and had a large capsule made of metal next to it, large enough to contain a human.

"Please give me your pokédex and your pokéballs, then enter the capsule for a scan. Then we'll have your hologram up in no time." While was handing over the items, Mr. Goodshow talked to Lance. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"It does. Good times. I was so enthusiastic back then," he admitted.

"You still are. You just don't show it anymore. Perhaps a break will do you some good." As soon as Ash was inside the capsule, the president inserted the pokéballs in six opening next to the keyboard, and started the usual procedure. "Oh, I almost forgot. Strike a pose, that's how your hologram will look like," he shouted, so Ash could hear him.

Since it was almost fully automated, he didn't need to do a lot, and soon Ash's hologram, and those of his pokémon appeared nearby. His right fist was in the air, almost as if he had just caught a new pokémon, and his team was around him in poses predetermined by their species.

"Alright, you can get out again," Mr. Goodshow shouted.

Ash complied and quickly went to his hologram, examining every detail. This was an eternal proof for what he had accomplished in life. But then it struck him. As special as he seemed to be, he was only one of many. The room was full of other holograms, which belonged to people who had achieved just as much, perhaps even more. In the end, he didn't feel special at all.

"Magnificent, isn't it? And it's all yours," the president muttered, unaware of Ash's negative thoughts. "There's a room like this in every region, with each of them representing their regional champions."

Now his way was clear. There were other holograms he had to create, one in every region. This was surely a task worthy of his skills, and then he could finally rest with the knowledge that he was the very best.

"What's the matter?" Lance asked. "You look troubled."

"It's nothing." Ash waved it off. "I still have to process all of this."

"Yes, yes, but we should go now." Mr. Goodshow had to wipe away a tear. "This place always has such a strong impact on me. The nostalgia ... anyway, you're free to go here anytime you like, just don't tell anyone about it. Trust me, we'll know if you arrive with someone who isn't supposed to be here. Now let's get ..."

"Wait, I have a few questions," Ash protested. "Why aren't other people allowed in here, and what happens when the room is full? There isn't much space left."

"Well, it's meant to be exclusive, nothing more. Opening it to the public would ruin it. Besides, creating those holograms requires a lot of energy, and we don't want to keep them up all the time. As for the second question, we'll either build a new hall, or upgrade this one." He nodded at Abra. "Now let's go."

They reappeared in the empty corridor, where he recalled his psychic-type. They still had a lot of time until the ceremony, and Mr. Goodshow gave Ash some advice.

"You better go to your room and stay there unless you wish to answer the reporters' questions. You'll have to do it later anyway, so don't tire yourself out. By the way, the computer back at the hall has a part similar to the machines used in pokémon centers. Your pokémon are healed and fit for the ceremony, we don't want them to miss the fun, do we? Most of them still don't know about the victory, you should tell them in your room," he added,

"I'll also relax a little for now. See you soon," Lance said, shaking Ash's hand again.

"Alright, I'll see you there," Ash replied.

As long as he remained in the trainer area, he was safe from reporters and journalists, as guards prevented them from entering for now. It was now that he realized how exhausted he was, and judging from what he'd heard so far, things were only about to get worse. Therefore this little pause was essential, and he wasted no time to get to his room. Unfortunately, he couldn't call out all of his pokémon inside, since it was too small for Gyarados, but he quickly told the others, and then allowed them to rest outside their pokéballs.

It took some time until the stadium slowly got filled again, and the audience could watch the workers build a new stage in record time. After all, the trophy couldn't be given to the new champion on the devastated battlefield. It was Lance who knocked on the door to Ash's room, waking him from his sleep. He had been sent by Mr. Goodshow, who was already at the stage. Ash recalled all of his pokémon except for Pikachu, and the two trainers went to the corridor leading to the stage, and waited for a signal. The stage was finished soon, and Mr. Goodshow grabbed a microphone to talk to the audience.

"It looks like we're ready for the official part. Ladies and gentlemen! Today we witnessed the rise of a new champion," he shouted. "Now let's not waste time, give a warm welcome to him!"

Lance nodded at Ash, and followed the young champion onto the stage. There was loud and enduring applause while Ash and Pikachu were waving back at the people. It was the kind of acknowledgement he had never felt before, and he enjoyed it to the fullest. His place on the stage was on an elevated position, where everyone could see him perfectly well. There were fireworks on the sides, ready to be used once the ceremony itself was over. From another corridor, someone approached, carrying a large trophy, which appeared to be made of gold. It was richly decorated, had long, thin handles, and a thick, wooden base. Ash would need a new, strong cupboard to hold something like this.

"And here it is, Kanto's master trophy. One of the most desired trophies in the world. A beautiful piece of art." The carrier stopped next to the president. "Ash has come a long way. He's experienced both victories and defeats, and grew stronger every time. No matter how discouraging the result, he kept going. No matter how successful he was, he wasn't satisfied. It is the kind of ambition and attitude that allowed so many trainers before him to reach the highest rank. It is the spirit that will encourage many others to follow in his footsteps. After a long way, he's finally a true master, a champion. By defeating Lance, he has proven his skills and worthiness. Ash Ketchum, the new champion of Kanto!"

The applause when Ash had arrived was nothing compared what was happening now. For Ash, it was pure bliss, others had to be careful not to become deaf, though.

"But let's not sell the pokémon short. They've also played a big part in his triumph." Ash took it as a sign to call out all of his partners, who took their places next to him, and seemed to enjoy the applause just as much as he did. As soon as it died down a little, Mr. Goodshow spoke up again. "This is a glorious day for all of them. Now it's time for Ash to receive his price. I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to hand it over in person, but I don't think it'll matter too much right now. As is tradition, the former champion hands the trophy to the new one. Congratulations!"

Lance took it from the worker, and walked up to Ash, before kneeling in front of him.

"Do you accept this trophy, and with it the position and all of its privileges and responsibilities?" he asked, offering it to Ash.

The young trainer had no idea what was the usual thing to say in this situation, so he answered directly.

"I do." With these two words, he took the trophy, and lifted it into the air.

The following applause put everything before to shame. He expected the fireworks to start, but instead, he saw Mr. Goodshow approaching and offering his microphone.

"Now it's your turn for a speech. I hope you have something prepared," he whispered.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case, but then again, he didn't think it was too important, and that the things that came to mind right now were good enough. After all, a trainer was supposed to battle, not to talk.

"Thank you. I feel honored to be Kanto's new champion, and I'll do my best to fulfill all of your hopes and expectations. Words alone can't describe how I feel, for this is my lifelong dream come true. All of my hard work has finally paid off. But it's not just my work, I'd also like to thank my friends, my family, and my pokémon. Without them, I wouldn't have gotten this far, and they deserve praise at least as much as I do." He thought about what else he could say, but nothing of importance came to mind. "As you can see, I'm not a great speaker. I let my battles do the talking. Thank you."

This was the signal for the fireworks to set off, and they created a wonderful light show inside the stadium. At the same time, a storm of flashes began, when the journalists took photos of him, the pokémon, and the show itself, and now he almost worried about going blind as well. However, he kept a smile on his face, waved at the cameras, and gave the heavy trophy to the pokémon, who tried to handle it with uttermost care, for they knew how important it was to him. Time flew by like this, until all the fireworks were gone, and Mr. Goodshow stepped up, telling Ash and the people to go to the large chamber next to the trainers' rooms for a press conference.

"Mind what you're telling them. The media can be a cruel beast," the president warned Ash. "This will take some time. Be prepared for a few long hours."

Ash quickly realized that this wasn't meant for fans, but he didn't want the others to wait for him the entire time. Therefore he contacted them with his aura powers, speaking directly in their heads.

"They say it'll take a long time. Don't wait for me, we'll meet back home," he told them.

Dawn heard it, and was concerned that Johanna and Delia could be shocked by the sudden words, but they merely mentioned it casually. Obviously, he had told him about his new abilities at some point without her knowledge. They met Marcus, Misty, and Serena outside, where they agreed to go to Ash and Dawn's house, where they already had a cake prepared. That's where they'd wait for him to arrive, so they could have a small celebration.

 _So it has finally won. Well done, chosen one._ The voice had been quiet during the last battles, now it was back.

"Chosen one," Ash muttered, enjoying the way it sounded.

 _We have withdrawn to let it finish this. Now it is time to return to more important have not forgotten the bargain. We expect it to focus on this sole matter._

Ash felt a familiar, cold grip in his guts, but quickly forgot about it due to the questions.

The conference took long, much longer than expected, though. They even went to Delia's house to watch him on TV, although it wasn't too interesting. The questions seemed endless, but at least not all of them were for Ash, Lance also had to answer his fair bit of questions. Even when the conference was finally over, Ash still had other things to do, other people to meet, and there was still a lot to know. In the end, he was allowed to leave late in the evening, but he wasn't finished yet. During the next few days, he was supposed to learn what he was supposed to do and know as a champion, so at least he was prepared for a lot of work.

Whereas he looked completely exhausted when he finally arrived, Pikachu looked bored to death, and almost shocked everyone, when they surprised the duo.

"Congratulations!" they shouted, holding up the cake for him. However, he didn't take notice of it.

"Please let me sleep. I'm tired." With those words, he walked past them and up the stairs, followed by his partner.

This was a reaction they hadn't expected. Now they were left with a cake he didn't want, and a planned celebration without the most important person. Misty, Marcus, and Serena had enough for now, and went back home after promising to at least call him later. Johanna and Delia also returned to their homes, and took the cake with them for later use. Dawn on the other hand went to the bedroom, where Ash was already asleep. She kissed him on the fore head.

"Congratulations, champion," she whispered softly.

Then she undressed, and went to sleep as well. She was also tired, for it had been a hard day, and she'd have to start the serious training again the next day. Unlike Ash, she still had her battles ahead of her.

* * *

It's been days since Eileen had seen the light of the day. In fact, she hadn't seen anything but the constant darkness in her cell. For some reason, she had been captured by her allies, and put in this cell, where she had only received some water. However, it was neither the loneliness, nor the lack of food, nor the boredom that had gotten to her. The worst part was her fear of darkness.

 _The first hours were horrible. The shivering, the panic, the screaming,_ she remembered. _I even tried to scratch and kick the steel walls. I was stupid, but it doesn't matter anymore. Spiritomb took the pain and the fear away. It comforted me with its mere presence, with its words. Even in utter darkness, I'm not alone. I don't need to be afraid any longer._

It hadn't shown itself for a while now, but there was no need anymore, for the door finally opened. At first, it seemed too good to be true, she even expected it to be a cruel joke, but the door didn't close. Still, she was hesitant to go there, as her eyes weren't accustomed to even weak light, and her body was weakened by the lack of movement and food. Even now, she had no idea why she'd been imprisoned in the first place, and she had stopped caring after a few hours in her cell. When Eileen approached the open door, she hoped that she'd see or at least hear from it again. The light almost blinded her, but she stepped out of her cell, naked, weak, thin, and scared. Someone snuck up from behind, and wrapped a warm blanket around her body, making her jump a little, as she had taken it for an attack. Divine, Seth, and a grunt were standing in front of her.

"Well done, you survived, and I hope you've also learned a few things." Divine was smiling widely. "I guess you're wondering why you were in there."

"Why?" she simply asked, lowering her head.

"Simple. In order to be of any use to me, you need to conquer your fears, thus you need to confront them. You seemed awfully distressed at first, so I sent Spiritomb to help you out a little," Divine explained with a grin. "I must admit, it was more successful than I could have hoped for. You looked almost ... relaxed in the end."

"What? You ... that's the reason? How do you even know?" she asked incredulously.

"I have way of gaining information on many things, including people. For example, I know that your father locked you in a cupboard when you were little, and then he forgot about you. It must have been ... horrible. Locked, forgotten, neglected. You were lucky that your sister found you in the morning, but you should have told her the truth instead of that lousy excuse. I mean, locked yourself by accident? Really?" He stepped forward, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I know you wanted harmony within your family, but sometimes you have to be honest to yourself. He wasn't a good father, and now that he's gone, you have no reason to deny it any longer."

"That may be true," she muttered. "But he is still my father."

"He was," Divine corrected her. "But enough of this. There's something you should see. Follow me."

They all went to Divine's office. On the way, Eileen looked at Seth a few times, but he always looked away, as if he was trying to avoid her gaze. The grunt on the other hand always smiled at her, albeit there was something disturbing about his expression, something forced and empty at the same time. Once they were in the office, Divine pressed a button on the on the lower side of his desk, causing the wall to open next to him. It revealed a screen, which showed scenes from a large stadium.

"Have a look at this." Divine stopped the video when someone special could be seen on it.

"Marcus?" Her brother was in the stadium next to someone else she knew, Serena.

"This is from Ash's battle against Lance. We've also seen him watching the other battles. Looks like he doesn't bother looking for you anymore. Perhaps he's found someone else." The screen focused on him and Serena. "He looks happy, doesn't he? I'm sorry, but it doesn't look like he cares about you anymore, or he would've continued his search instead of wasting his time in the stadium. He doesn't even like Ash, yet he watched all of his battles instead of looking for you?"

She stumbled towards the screen, putting her hands on it. It was hard to believe, yet at the same time not entirely unexpected. The way he looked left no doubt that she wasn't needed anymore, and this fact pained her deeply. Although it was true that he had rarely acted like a big brother, he was still the only family member left.

"I've never seen him so happy, so relaxed," she muttered. "I'm happy for him."

"You should be." Divine was already standing behind her. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be angry as well. He abandoned you! Don't forget that. I'll still honor my side of our deal, unless you want me to punish him, but I'll tell you when I believe he mistreats you."

"You kept your word," she said, making sure that Seth could hear it. "But my brother, he's forsaken me. Why? What have I ever done to deserve this treatment?"

 _He doesn't care about me anymore. He has her now. I'm useless._ Her thoughts were tormenting her now. _I've always been just a burden to him, and I hate it. He probably only tolerated me because I was his sister. Perhaps he should be punished. Wait, what am I thinking?_

She was overwhelmed by dozens of different thoughts, usually focused on blame, hate, and sadness. While she was struggling with her mind, Divine was watching her with smile, for he knew about the battle in her head.

"Yes, it's painful, being rejected by those who are supposed to love you unconditionally. Your anger, your sadness, your frustration, let them all out. Be honest with yourself for once. He doesn't deserve your love, and you don't need him. Be free, free yourself from those feelings, and embrace independence," he whispered, growing louder. "You may think of yourself as a burden, but it's the other way around. You're young, strong, you have much potential, but you let your own feelings get in the way. It's time to leave them behind."

"I ... I guess I have nowhere else to go," Eileen muttered.

"It's easy to say, but I'd like you to prove it, and for that, I have a task for you." He nodded at the grunt who had given her the blanket, and the man kneeled next to her. Then Divine pulled out a gun, and handed it to her. "He's a traitor, who earned extra money by selling out other grunts to the international police. The punishment is death, and I want you to be the one to extract it."

Eileen was speechless for a moment. Never once in her life, not even during her short service for Divine, had she been asked to kill someone. Naturally, she refused at first.

"I ... I can't do something like that!" she protested. "Never! Never! I can't do it."

"My dear girl, you don't have a choice. And if you think you can save him by refusing, you're wrong. He's dead, for if you don't do it, someone else will. However, I want you to do it, and I won't accept no for an answer." He addressed the doomed grunt. "What do you think?"

"Please kill me," he said, smiling at her.

"See? Even he wants you to do it. Come on, he's a traitor, the worst kind of scum in existence. As long as he lives, he'll just keep betraying everyone close to him. The decision isn't that tough, is it?" Divine asked. "Otherwise, I'll ask Spiritomb to do it for you."

"No!" She already considered it a friend, and didn't want it to do something horrible like this. Of course, she didn't want to do it either, but now she had some weird thoughts. Although it still seemed like the wrong thing to do, she got the impression that there was little choice in that matter. In fact, the voices in her head were urging her to end it quickly before someone else could do it far more painfully. "Let me ... let me handle this."

She slowly raised her gun, but hesitated to pull the trigger. After all, it was murder, whether he was a traitor or an innocent, and she was afraid of what she would become once she started killing. For a moment, she even had the image of standing in front of a pile of corpses while laughing madly like Boris, but she quickly repressed the thought. Instead, she was starting to imagine the man in front of her as Boris, who was insulting and taunting her, and all of sudden, she wanted to do it, she wanted to punish him for his deeds. Then she shook her head, realizing that she was merely imagining things again. There would no going back, she could never return to her friends, her family, once this was over, and without her realizing it, it happened. The gun was quite powerful, so that the recoil caused her to fall to the ground. Even now, she had no idea what was going on, and got up unprepared, only to be shocked by the view in front of her.

Blood and remains of the grunt's head were all over the floor. Even worse, she could feel warm fluid on her face, and touched it with her hand. When she looked at the blood on her hand, she almost fainted, but still somehow managed to remain conscious. The thought that this was her doing was almost unbearable, especially since she couldn't understand how she had been able to do it. For all she knew, it simply happened.

"Good." Divine said, taking the gun from her. "I'm satisfied with the result, and I firmly believe you deserve a reward." Eileen barely listened, as she was feeling sick, but what he said after that sparked her interest. "You're almost ready to become a real trainer, aren't you? I don't think it's necessary to wait even longer, so I'll give you not only one pokémon, but three of them."

"But you already gave me pokémon," she replied.

"That may be true, but those are trained pokémon for your protection. Technically, they're mine. What I'm talking about is a pokémon to raise, to train, to befriend. Your very own starter. Studies show that those are far superior." She gasped, but he waved it off. "First, let's get rid of the blood, shall we? We don't want your pokémon to see you like this for the first time after all."

They went to the nearest bathroom, where she could finally clean herself, both from the blood and her guilt. As soon as she was ready, he took two tiny pokéballs from his pockets, and presented one of them to her.

"This one hatched yesterday, and she'll be glad to have someone. Go on, call her out," he told her.

Although she was a bit reluctant at first, she grabbed it eagerly after a few moments. In her hands, it got larger, and she called out a pokémon for the first time in her life. An eevee materialized in front of her, looking at her curiously.

"Eevee?" The pokémon tilted her head slightly.

"You're my partner? My friend?" She carefully extended an arm towards Eevee, who sniffed her hand, and then pushed her head against it, basically telling Eileen to pet her. For the first time in weeks, the girl showed an honest smile, forgetting all the horrible things that had happened to her, at least for a few minutes. "You're so cute. I promise I'll take good care of you."

"I've always wondered why people don't use them as starters more often. They're loyal, fluffy, and once you have more experience, you can choose its final typing together, instead of choosing it at the start, when you have no idea what you really want or need. I'm sure she'll prove a valuable companion to you. Now to the second pokémon. She's just as young, even more fluffy, and can illuminate the darkness whenever the need arises." He called it out, revealing it to be a mareep. "It should be safe to hug her, there isn't much electricity in the wool."

First, she approached her new pokémon carefully, making sure that Mareep was alright with it, and since she didn't show any sign of distress, Eileen hugged her carefully. The feeling was incredible, even Eevee felt like a rock compared to her. Eventually, she pulled back, and looked at the electric-type.

"Hello, Mareep. This is Eevee. I hope we can all be good friends." She watched the two pokémon meeting each other, and it looked like they'd get along. Now she was eager to see the last pokémon.

"Now it would be time to introduce you to your third pokémon, but there's no need. You already know it, although you may not have seen it yet. Giving it to you wasn't part of my original plan, but it asked me to choose you as its new trainer." He called out a spiritomb, and she was happy to see it. "It's unusual for a spiritomb to grow attached to anyone so quickly, so believe this is a good idea. It's a little more experienced than the others, but still good for a beginning trainer. May you grow strong together."

The other pokémon didn't dare approach it, for it looked extremely scary to them, but Eileen had no problem with it. Even though it had acted on Divine's orders when it had helped her, she knew that its concern had been sincere. The dark look didn't bother her in the slightest.

"Eevee, Mareep, Spiritomb, welcome to my team, I know I lack experience, but I hope we can grow together, and become good friends," Eileen said, stepping between them.

Eevee and Mareep needed some time until their curiosity overcame their fear, but then they started talking to the ghost-type. However, before they really got to know each other, Divine interfered.

"I'm sure there's a lot you wish to discuss, but please do it in Eileen's room. You're free to do whatever you wish today, so you can play, bond, and talk to your heart's content, but I'm a busy man," he explained, handing the pokéballs to the girl. "Leave now, there's still a lot I need to discuss with Seth."

It seemed like a strange request, considering they were still in the bathroom, but they complied nonetheless. Eileen felt strange, for as wicked as this man was, he had done more for her today than most people in her entire life, certainly more than her father. In a way, Divine had become a replacement for him, and she couldn't help but feel attached to him, which was also because nobody else here had treated her with respect. On the other hand he had made her commit a horrendous crime, one that she would never forget.

With these conflicting feelings, she went to her room. It was probably the worst day of her life despite her new pokémon, who now had the chance to make it less so. Perhaps this was a sign, a sign that she had to leave everything behind and start a new life.

At the same time, Divine and Seth went back to the boss's office.

"I didn't think she had it in her," Seth admitted. "But it was risky, just giving her a gun like this. She could have shot us instead."

"You mean she could have shot you. Don't forget, she still has an okcha inside of her, so she couldn't attack me, even if she wanted to. I doubt she would have completed her mission if it wasn't for that thing." He laughed softly. "Everything she does, everything she thinks, everything is under the okcha's influence. However, she thinks that she did everything by herself, and that's what's important. A beautiful illusion, that will fill her with guilt, but also make her stronger. Freedom of choice." He laughed again.

"She's a bit like a younger Victoria, only she's actually good at what she does," Seth remarked.

"I guess a psychic like you wouldn't miss something like that. It doesn't matter. But I wonder how our two trainer friends will react once they have to battle her," he wondered, scratching his chin.

Seth was no fool, he knew that Divine didn't care about the girl. He could have chosen others as Victoria's successor, but none of them would have shocked and enraged Ash and Dawn nearly as much, and that was his main intention. Being proud and arrogant, the fact that they hadn't joined him so far was a huge insult, and couldn't be tolerated. Therefore any chance to spite them was welcome.

When they finally reached the office, Seth spoke up again, curious about his next mission.

"So why did you call me? Certainly not for her," he said.

"You're absolutely right. She's not the reason." Divine opened the door, and they entered the room. "My scouts have told me about a powerful trainer, who's asking a lot of questions about the attack on Viridian City. Usually, I wouldn't bother with such nonsense, but he's asking specifically about a girl, who apparently looks an awful lot like Wraith. I doubt it's a mere coincidence, and I'd like to know more about him and what he has to do with her."

"You want me to scan his mind?" Seth asked, but Divine shook his head.

"No, I have something better in mind. You'll tell him a little about our trainer friends, and he'll pay them a visit to ... discover the details," he told the psychic.

"Is that all? Can't you send one of the grunts for such a menial task?" Seth was visibly offended by this.

"No, there's more. The international police have taken down all my devices in Pallet Town, but I want to listen to the conversation. That's why you need to plant a device on him, without him noticing, of course. I don't trust those foolish grunts with this, Eileen still needs to prove herself, and Wraith is obviously a terrible choice, but your powers should make it easy for you," his boss explained.

Seth still didn't like it, feeling that someone with his abilities shouldn't have to do such simple tasks. Besides, he didn't understand why he couldn't simply extract the information from the man himself, instead of revealing it to his enemies as well, creating a potentially dangerous situation, but then again, Divine rarely chose the easy way, and his decisions weren't always logical. In the end, there was no alternative for the psychic, so he simply accepted his fate, but he still wanted to voice another concern.

"Very well. Unless you wish me to hurry, I'll take care of this matter tomorrow," he replied.

"Good. You'll receive the device tomorrow morning. It should prove more resistant than the older models. Now, is there anything else?" Divine asked.

"Just one thing." He sounded a little embarrassed. "Are you sure giving that spiritomb to the girl was a good idea? That kind of pokémon can be rather nasty, and she's still young, and easy to influence."

"That's what the Okcha is for. It'll report any sign of treason, and take control of her if need arises. As you can see, we're not in any danger. Only the girl." Seth obviously didn't like the answer, but didn't say anything. "I believe that answers your question. You may go now."

For once, the psychic was glad to comply. He had a feeling that the coming weeks wouldn't get better, but he had no choice. On the other hand, he was also curious about what the man in Viridian City could tell them, and he hoped to hear it as well.


	74. The Past catches up

**This is the only chapter this week, since there's not time for another. There'll be three at the end of next week in return (probably).**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 74 The Past catches up

Dawn soon realized that Ash didn't need to leave in the morning, as he slept much longer than usual. It was well-deserved after his victory, and Dawn had no intention of waking him up. She even waited for him before eating breakfast, hoping for a good start of the day, just the way it had been before all the trouble. Those hopes were short-lived, though, as he arrived in a rotten mood.

"Good morning, Ash," she said, flashing her brightest smile. "I hope you had a good night's sleep. I never got to congratulate you ..."

"Don't even think about it. I'm sick and tired of hearing it," he complained, sitting down. "You can't imagine how many people already did it. I couldn't get a single minute of peace."

"Then you won't like hearing about all of your friends having called yesterday while you were still gone. You know how persistent they are, they'll call again soon," she added, making him look even more miserable.

"Well, they can wait a bit longer. I'm busy today. Tomorrow too. In fact, I won't be free anytime soon, so don't get your hopes up," he told her, much to her disappointment. "Anyway, it gives you time to focus on your own training. No more slacking off."

"I didn't slack off! I worked just as hard as you did." For a moment, she was tempted to say that she had worked even harder, as she had trained his pokémon as well.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you did. Soon you'll have the opportunity to show it," he replied before finally starting to eat.

Dawn didn't wish to prolong the discouraging conversation, despite her earlier intentions. He seemed so condescending and arrogant now, and she felt like there was barely any connection between them anymore. Nevertheless, she firmly believed that he simply needed some time to get used to his new position. However, for the first time, she had serious doubts. His new attitude seemed just too different, it was like he wasn't the Ash she knew, and it worried her deeply. The longer he was eating, the more distant his gaze became. It was like he wasn't aware of his surroundings, but saw something entirely different.

Ash left without another word as soon as he was done, and soon he was ready to go to his new workplace. He'd have to neglect his pokémon for a while, but this time, Dawn didn't plan to do it for him. After all, they had earned a long rest, and Ash would still have more than enough time until his first challenge. There were a few urgent matters, that needed to be resolved as soon as possible, including Empoleon's new individual move. Since the evolution rendered his old one useless, she needed to hurry, or she'd be at a disadvantage against the Elite Four.

Unfortunately, she didn't have a long time to work on it, for only about fifteen minutes after her arrival at the Oak lab, she was approached by a stranger. It was a tall, bald man wearing all black, with a constant scowl on his face. He looked threatening, so Empoleon and a few other pokémon got ready to fight.

"You're Dawn?" he asked without greeting her or introducing himself.

"Yes, and you are?" she asked in return.

"I'm Joshua Harding," he replied. "I'll get straight to the point. You've been in Viridian City during the attack?"

"I was, but why are you interested?" She didn't like the way he talked to her, but answered nonetheless.

"And you've see a girl there?" he asked. "About 17 years old, small stature, red eyes, long, messy, black hair, gloomy expression, doesn't talk a lot? She's usually in the company of ghost-types, sometimes steel-types. She also has a silver, heart-shaped amulet."

There was only one person who fit that description, the girl who called herself Wraith. Dawn wasn't sure whether to tell him, though, as he didn't seem like a nice person at all. As far as she knew, he might even be Wraith's friend, relative, or companion. When she hesitated, he waved it off, speaking up again.

"There's no need to confirm it. I know she was there, and I know that you fought her. Someone saw you, and told me you did, so there's no need to deny it," he told her.

"What?" She wasn't sure who could have seen identified them with all the chaos, but at least she could talk about it now. "Well, why do you care? Is she a friend of yours?"

"I want her dead," he simply stated, making her take a step back. "She's a murderer, who killed my brother in a most brutal way. I've been hunting her for years now, but I lost track of her almost a year ago. Now, do you know where to find her?"

Dawn needed some time to answer, for she was a little shaken by his revelation. Ash had battled the very same girl, but it hadn't been clear how dangerous Wraith actually was until now. On the other hand, she didn't look like a cold-blooded killer, and according to Joshua, she's only 17 years old. Furthermore, she wasn't sure whether this man could be trusted. There was something cruel and cold about him, yet he also looked incredibly sad, which could be a result of his brother's death. In any case, she couldn't help him.

"I'm sorry. Ash battled Wraith, I had a different opponent. I doubt he could tell you more about her, though. We were pretty much ambushed by her and her allies. We don't know where they are, why they attacked us, or what they want," Dawn explained carefully.

"Wraith? So that's what she calls herself nowadays. Interesting. Anyway, I believe you, so there's no reason to remain here any longer. I won't bother your friend Ash either. Farewell." He turned his back, and left, leaving a perplexed Dawn.

The pokémon relaxed when he walked away, but Dawn was troubled by his words. If he was right, this girl was dangerous, and since they'd seen Victoria several time already, albeit not always in her true form, they were likely to meet Wraith again as well.

* * *

Divine leaned back in his chair when the conversation was over. Seth was standing in front of his desk, having listened as well, but the result was underwhelming.

"Well, that wasn't nearly as useful as I expected," the boss muttered. "Almost nothing important. Except maybe ..."

There was one thing Joshua had only mentioned as if it was insignificant, but Divine knew that if this had been the case, he wouldn't have mentioned it at all. Besides, it was still their best lead.

"This amulet. I've seen her wear it before she started wearing the uniform, which covers it. A heart-shaped amulet, it always looked strange on her. I wonder if it's important to her." He frowned, which usually meant that he was deep in thought. "Well, in any case, it's important to this Joshua, perhaps important enough to loosen his tongue a little."

"Is there something you want me to do?" Seth asked in advance.

"No, not yet. Let me think a bit more about this. I'll tell you when I have a plan," Divine replied.

Seth gladly left, but he was worried. Wraith was one of his less annoying colleagues, and he suspected that she was more dangerous than she looked. Therefore he didn't like messing with her, but at the same time, going against Divine's orders would be suicide. In the end, he could only hope that he'd only play a minor and indirect role in all of this, even if it meant having to do those mundane tasks he despised so much.

The plan devised by Divine began in the evening, just when his scouts reported that Ash was on his way home. He wanted the young champion to be there, to witness everything. Divine informed four agents, who all had a part to play, and then got ready to listen to the following events. But first. about 15 minutes after the beginning, a furious Wraith entered his office, followed by her banette and froslass.

"Where is she?" she simply asked.

"I suppose you mean Eileen, but then again, I could ask you the same question. After all, you were on a mission with her," he replied calmly.

"That bitch knocked me out from behind, and stole my amulet. I want it back. And the girl must pay," Wraith told him.

It sounded like she demanded help from him, which amused him to no end.

 _Amazing what a little bit of fury can do to people,_ he thought to himself. _I've never seen her like this. Perhaps I'll see even more sides of her today._

"You mean that silver amulet in the shape of a heart? I didn't know it was that important, but I guess my scout's report wasn't completely useless after all," he said. "You see, he told me that Eileen went to Pallet Town only minutes ago, and entered Ash's house there. I have absolutely no idea what she's trying to achieve, but I'm intrigued. You ... where are you going?"

She was already on her way to the amulet, and he knew it all too fell, but decided to feign ignorance. Wraith on the other hand was convinced that he had something to do with all of this, but getting her amulet back was more important right now. Divine didn't attempt to stop her, and pushed a button to open the hidden door to his vault.

"You can come out," he shouted, and after a few seconds, Eileen walked out of it with a grim expression. Despite her obvious dislike for Wraith, she still didn't like harming her like this. "Everything worked perfectly. The Okcha and a few grunts will prevent the international police from interfering, so we only need to sit back and listen."

In the worst case, he'd have to make an Okcha take full control of Wraith, and make sure that her pokémon didn't escape in the process. First, they'd have to realize that such behavior could result in a lot of trouble for their trainer, and then they'd realize that he was their real master.

* * *

When Ash arrived, Dawn was still busy making supper. Fortunately, she was almost done, so he didn't have to wait for a long time. Although he was a bit more talkative now, he only talked about his advanced aura training, complaining that progress had been rather slow as of late. He didn't understand that it didn't really matter to her, for she had other concerns. Only months ago, everything had been fine, and now it seemed so far away. In fact, she felt that Ash was more distant than ever before, as he continued talking even though she clearly wasn't listening at all, and he didn't seem to be bothered.

A hard knock on the door interrupted him, much to his annoyance. He had no idea who wanted to visit them at this time, and he didn't care, but he still got up, and went to the door. Being a bit more curious about their visitor, Dawn followed him. Somehow, she wasn't surprised to see Joshua in front of the entrance. His arrival was remarkably close to Ash's, so she suspected that he wanted to speak to her boyfriend, despite what he'd said earlier.

"Where is it? Don't lie to me, I know it's here," he shouted, sounding desperate.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ash yelled back. "And who are you?"

"That's Joshua. I didn't get to tell you, but he was already here in the morning," Dawn replied, hoping that everyone could calm down a little. "Now what do you mean?"

"The amulet! It's here. I know it!" There was more than just desperation in his voice, there was also a hint of madness.

"Calm down, man. What amulet?" Ash asked again.

"Wraith's amulet?" Dawn guessed, remembering what he had said.

"Wraith? What does she have to do with anything?" Ash inquired. He was already sick of having to ask for details all the time.

"Yes, Wraith's amulet. It's in your house. Although I'm sure the person who told me about it is toying with me, I have to check everything, and if it leads to the discovery of the amulet, I'll gladly play along," he confessed. "Now, allow me to search your house."

He attempted to enter it without Ash's agreement, and got immediately stopped. Even though he was taller, and also looked stronger, Ash new abilities made him superior. However, Joshua seemed determined not to let anyone get in his way, and immediately called out a houndoom, a zoroark, and an absol. Ash wasn't sure whether this guy had no idea about his position, or whether he was only extremely confident, but he called out Bisharp and Serperior in return. It looked like the conflict could only be resolved in a battle, until Dawn went between them with an amulet in her hands.

"is this the amulet?" she asked bluntly.

Joshua's eyes widened, and he grabbed it to study its details. Only when he opened it did he realize that it was the real deal, for it contained a tiny picture, but it wasn't something he particularly liked, as evident in his disgusted expression.

"Where did you get that?" Ash asked.

"I found it on the table in the living room while you two were preparing to fight," she replied, not even trying to hide her annoyance.

"It's real," Joshua muttered.

"What the hell? Am I the only one who has no idea what's going on?" Ash complained furiously. "What's the deal with the amulet? How did it get here? And what does it have to do with that Wraith girl?"

"It's hers. But I don't know how it got here. Someone must have placed it in our house," Dawn guessed.

"Yes, and whoever did it wants us to meet her. She's coming, I'm sure of it," Joshua said, looking around.

For Ash, everything was so strange that he actually believed that something was about to happen, yet it wasn't the case. He was about to complain again, when someone teleported nearby. There was Wraith, accompanied by her banette, froslass, and gothitelle, and she looked furious. Once she was there, he could immediately feel the creation of a huge dark field. Whoever was responsible, he or she didn't want anyone to get in the way. In this case, Ash actually benefitted from it, as it also prevented Wraith from escaping again, but he was going to let Bisharp create one as well, just in case. The orders arrived via aura link, and the steel-type nodded before taking a few steps back for the field.

"Well, look who finally shows up," Joshua shouted, so that Wraith couldn't possibly miss it. "Now, at long last, I can avenge my brother."

She eyed him suspiciously, then she noticed the amulet in his hands.

"I don't know who you are, but I'll take that amulet," she said, having calmed down a little.

"You don't? Have you forgotten poor Richard so soon? Even after the brutal murder?" he asked.

"He never told me he had a brother," she replied coldly. "It matters little. That chapter of my life is buried and forgotten."

"There's one thing you still need to learn. You can't escape the past, Yana." Whereas Ash and Dawn were surprised before realizing that it was probably her real name, the girl was angry, to say the least. "Yes, it hurts, doesn't it?"

"Don't you dare use this name! It died together with Richard, my new name is Wraith." She took a deep breath, and forced herself to be calm again. "Now hand over the amulet, and I won't have to hurt you."

"If you don't care about him anymore, how come you still have the amulet? I mean, it's not worth a lot, and you could have sold it a long time ago. I guess it's because it was a present from him," Joshua remarked, proceeding to taunt her. "I wonder whether you knew that he stole it from our parents. We didn't have much back then, and the amulet was a big deal, so even then you caused quite a bit of trouble."

"It doesn't matter. Now give it to me," she said, raising her voice slightly.

As a matter of fact, she had no idea why it was still important to her. Perhaps the reason was that she had nothing else left that reminded her of Richard, who, despite having caused her a lot of pain, was still one of the most important individuals in her life.

"I've been hunting you for years, and I certainly won't render it all useless. You'll pay for your betrayal!" he yelled, losing his temper.

"He betrayed me!" she corrected him.

"Can you please just explain?" Dawn asked.

Although it pained Wraith to talk about her past, she knew that she was badly outnumbered. However, if she managed to turn Ash and Dawn against Joshua, she'd stand a chance. Judging from what she'd heard about them, it wasn't entirely unrealistic to cause a heated argument between them, which she could use for one of her most powerful combinations. She gave Banette a sign with her fingers, telling it to prepare for combat.

"I grew up in the streets of Castelia City, the unwanted child of poor, illegal immigrants. I learned early on not to trust anyone, and joined small gangs. It was always a struggle, with leaders changing frequently, but I adapted and survived. Richard found me there, and convinced me to join his gang, one of the largest in the city. I think he was some kind of recruiter for them. We became friends, despite my distrust, and eventually best friends. He was the first person I truly trusted, and he even gave me the amulet as a sign of our friendship," she explained. "I should've known better. He was just like the others."

"No, he wasn't. That's why he chose to turn his back on crime, and start a new life," Joshua said in return, angry about her badmouthing his brother. "But getting out of a gang is difficult, as they don't take kindly to quitters. He needed protection. And that's why he needed the police. He traded names and locations for amnesty and protection. A new, honest life, and all that scum got arrested. A good deal, don't you think so?"

"Except that I was part of that scum. And as much as I hate to admit it, the gang was still the closest thing I ever had to a family. And he destroyed it, all of it. My hopes, my friends, my future, all gone. It was like he dragged me out of hell just to push me even further into it later. That's why he had to pay." While she was hesitant at first, she couldn't stop talking now, and it felt good for some reason. "Fortunately, the police was sloppy. They failed to cover his tracks properly, so finding him was almost trivial. Then I confronted him, strapped him to a tree, and cut him with a rusty knife, over and over, until there was barely a spot without a wound. The screams of pain, they were so satisfying back then, and I don't regret a thing. He deserved every single cut. Then I set him on fire. It was slow, but just what he needed."

Without a doubt, the deed was more than despicable and reason enough for her to spend the rest of her life in prison, but Richard hadn't been exactly as innocent as Joshua would have them believe. Ash and Dawn wondered how they would've reacted in Wraith's situation, but then again, perhaps they were too different to even imagine it. In any case, they had to deal with the current situation first, and it looked like it was about to escalate. Both Wraith and Joshua were ready to kill each other.

"Do you even know that he never gave them your name?" For a moment, Wraith looked shaken, but she quickly regained her composure. "That's right, he never betrayed you. In fact, he wanted to tell you about his plans, and escape together, but we convinced him otherwise. We didn't want some random troublemaker slut from the streets to ruin everything."

"It matters little," she replied after taking a deep breath. "I wouldn't have destroyed everything for just another new beginning. By betraying them, he also betrayed me. There's no excuse. But I should thank you. Now that I know that he didn't even bother telling me that he stole the amulet from his own family, and about the family itself, I'm even happier to have destroyed him."

"You bitch! Just when we thought that everything was going to be fine, that we're finally going to be a real family again, you ruined everything." The more he talked, the louder his voice got, until he was screaming madly. "Mother died only a weeks after Richard's death of a heart attack, and father took his own life months later, when he couldn't stand the loneliness and grief anymore. We could have been a happy family again! I spent years hunting you, do you think I'm going to stop now? Screw the police, they haven't done a thing to protect my brother or bring you to justice."

"Maybe you should've stayed with your father instead of hunting me to fight his loneliness. But I guess you don't really think of others anymore," she replied coldly, enraging him even further. "Anyway, I was eventually found by my current boss. I was tired of running away. Tired of struggling. He took my freedom, but also my responsibilities. It was a decent deal."

"Enough of this! I spent all the money I had to get some strong dark-type pokémon, and now you'll feel my wrath!" he shouted.

However, Ash stepped between them. His intention wasn't to prevent a fight, but to initiate it his way.

"This is my home, and I'll take care of intruders," he proclaimed.

"Are you kidding me?" Joshua clearly wasn't willing to let him do it. "I haven't come this far ..."

"And you won't get anywhere unless you cooperate with me. This is my home, and you have no right to order me around. Now get out of the way or face the consequences," Ash insisted.

"Even if you were the freaking champion, I wouldn't let this chance slip away." Joshua clearly had no intention of backing down now, and their pokémon felt it, turning to face each other instead of Wraith's pokémon. "Bring it on!"

Wraith on the other hand was amazed at how well this was working. They might even do all the work for her if she was lucky. Banette was already prepared to take down several pokémon, but Dawn attempted to calm them and make them focus on the real threat when Empoleon told her about Banette's strange, red aura.

"Guys," she shouted, making both of them turn towards her. "Look at ..."

"Shut up!" they yelled in unison.

"This isn't about you," Ash added.

"Damn it! Look at Banette!" she screamed, ignoring their rudeness for now.

Having realized that she couldn't hide it much longer, Wraith had started the mega evolution, which was needed for this combination. It was already finished when her enemies finally turned their attention to her.

"Now," she whispered to the ghost-type.

The aura disappeared, then it charged at Pikachu, leaving behind a trail of black smoke. It went straight into the electric-type, who was surrounded by the same, red aura for a moment, then it left again, charging at the nearby Serperior and doing the same to her. From there, it jumped to Zoroark, Absol, and Houndoom in that order, before it retreated again, looking completely exhausted. Wraith also looked like she was in pain, though she tried to hide it with great effort.

"Well done. Let the others handle the rest," Wraith whispered, recalling her ghost-type.

"Great, look at what you've done," Joshua said, pointing at their pokémon.

"What I've done? If you had just let me take care of her, this wouldn't have happened," Ash retorted.

"Are you crazy?" Dawn shrieked. "This isn't the time for this! Focus on the real enemy."

One by one, the affected pokémon fainted, leaving only Bisharp on this side. In order to compensate for their losses, Dawn called out Mamoswine and Flygon, with whom Empoleon had been training. The emperor pokémon also got closer, now that most of the other pokémon were down. As soon as his pokémon were recalled, Ash called out Garchomp and Glalie to replace his fallen partners, but he was surprised that Joshua didn't do the same.

"What are you waiting for? I thought you wanted to be the one to crush her?" he asked angrily.

"I don't have any pokémon left." Whereas Ash and Dawn were baffled by this, Wraith started laughing. It was the kind of laugh that chilled people to the bone, and it got even creepier with time. "What? Good pokémon are expensive, and I didn't have much money to begin with."

"The fact that you seriously believed that you could defeat me with only three pokémon is laughable, to say the least," she said between the fits of laughter. "And to think that you could have simply started a new life, instead of focusing entirely on vengeance. Come to think of it, isn't that what you accused me of earlier? Maybe we're not so different after all."

She knew how to infuriate him even more, but he had enough control not to charge at her. Instead, he hid behind Ash to keep the amulet out of Wraith's reach, which in turn enraged her.

"I want that guy and the amulet. Gothitelle, use thunderbolt . Froslass, blizzard." She had no intention of defeating Ash and Dawn, and she wanted to test their defenses first. Without Lucario, those moves were a threat to both the pokémon and their trainers, but Ash could create his own aura bubble by now. Unfortunately it quickly shattered when hit by the lightning bolt. Glalie went in front of Ash, shielding him from the blizzard, Empoleon and Mamoswine did the same for Dawn and Joshua respectively, whereas Garchomp and Flygon evaded the blizzard. "Psychic."

Gothitelle lifted Joshua out of reach for the others with its powers before pulling him towards its master. Once he was close enough, she forced him on his knees, and Wraith pressed a knife against his throat. She had won, for there was no more need for battle.

"Go ahead, do it! Isn't this what you always wanted?" Joshua said, spitting on the ground.

"Do you ever think before you say or do something?" she replied.

The whole situation reminded Ash and Dawn of Victoria's last stand at the Oak lab, only that Wraith was threatening to kill someone else instead of herself. Although she certainly disliked Joshua, she didn't seem to loathe him as much as his brother, so that she might be convinced to let him live. However, it was going to be difficult, and it could easily backfire.

"Let's all calm down and reflect on the situation," Ash shouted. "You're under the effect of a dark field, and you can't defeat us, so you're stuck. Think about it, will killing him really improve your situation? Is he really worth it?"

"I've already done worse. It won't make a difference." She looked completely unimpressed, so he tried to be a bit more forceful.

"Don't be foolish. You'll go to prison either way, but if you give up now, you might reduce the sentence, especially if you also help the police," he offered. "But if you refuse or kill him, we'll beat you up, and make sure that you'll never leave prison ever again, and you won't see your pokémon again either."

"Ash, don't you think threats are a bad idea here?" Dawn whispered to him.

"Well, if you think you're so smart, why don't you try it?"He looked offended by her words. "Come on."

Dawn took a deep breath before speaking up. One wrong word could make the situation escalate, so she had to chose them carefully. Threats clearly didn't work, and other things didn't look too promising to her, but she had to try nonetheless.

"Listen, I know you're angry at him, but killing him won't help anyone. Will it bring back your old life? Will it restore your faith in people? Will it give you a future?" Ash rolled his at the rhetorical questions. "No, it won't. No single action can do that. But you can start to build a better future, and you certainly won't find it with your current master. You know how he betrayed Victoria, don't you? And you also know that he'll do the same to you eventually. Don't let it come this far, you have the power to prevent it."

It was true, Wraith didn't really trust her boss, especially after the incident with Victoria, and she suspected that he had something to do with Eileen's earlier actions. On the other hand she valued her freedom, and she had no reason to trust others more than him. At least he had taken her in while others had only ridiculed her for her age or other things. Still, the prospect of getting betrayed by Divine wasn't appealing at all, but if she wanted to escape, she'd do it alone instead of trusting strangers.

"But this isn't only about you. By cooperating, you can save many lives, lives like yours, and prevent a lot of suffering. Do you want their blood on your hands?" Dawn continued with a softer voice. "Even if you escape, you'll never have peace. You'll always have to run, both from your enemies and from your own past. That's not a life and you know it. So please stop the madness."

She hoped that her words would help Wraith see reason, but if anything, they made her angrier.

"The audacity ..." she muttered with a lot of bitterness in her voice. "You think you can understand me, my suffering, my problems. You think I'd simply believe you, but you're wrong. Tell me, why should I trust you? Even my best friend betrayed me. Why should I care about others? They're no different from him. In the end, everyone's alone, in life and in death. So what if I have to run? It's always been like this, and I can't imagine life being different. It's better than trusting someone, only to get betrayed again."

She looked incredibly tired right now, and the others felt that she could snap at any moment, so they didn't dare speak just yet.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Joshua clearly wasn't afraid of her. Considering his current situation, he looked rather foolish. "Have you lost your voice or why don't you answer?"

"This whole conversation is a huge waste of time." Her voice was even quieter than usual, so that Ash and Dawn couldn't hear her. With the hand that wasn't holding the knife, she called out an ampharos before addressing her opponents. "Don't think you know, let alone understand me. You can't. Struggle, betrayal, the will to survive at all costs, that's what I stand for. My boss may betray me, but that would happen anyway, independent of the side I take. You'll suffer the same fate, maybe by someone you trust completely. Let this be a warning to you. And now, it's time to go. Ampharos, light travel!"

Before they could think about what the move could possibly do, she slit Joshua's throat. Then she and all of her pokémon glowed brightly, and vanished. Ash and Dawn didn't know that light travel wasn't a psychic-type move, but something completely different, and therefore it wasn't affected by the dark field. Originally, Divine's ampharos had been the only one to use this move, but the Okcha created with its body were also capable of using it. These Okcha had been handed out to important agents to give them an emergency exit.

Ash and Dawn felt terrible about this defeat. Not only had they been unable to save Joshua, but they had also lost the girl and the amulet. It was already the second death in front of their house. Ash in particular was furious about the outcome, as neither his abilities as a trainer, not his aura abilities had been able to make a difference.

 _Still not strong enough. It will have to do a lot better._ Ash was far from happy about hearing the voice again.

 _Shut up!_ Ash hissed in his thoughts.

 _We told it that others were distracting it. It needs to sever the connection. The blue one in particular is a danger. We shall block its influence completely or even sever the connection ourselves._

Ash didn't answer to that. That thing had already influenced him too much, having promised him that his abilities would help him become more powerful. For the first time he had doubts about this being the way to go, but those doubts were erased again when images of the event at the Oak lab returned in his mind. The voice had helped him before, perhaps it could guide him a little longer.


	75. Spark to Fire

**I apologize. I've uploaded and older, unpolished version by mistake. This is the real chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 75 Spark to Fire

With Joshua dead, and Wraith gone, there was little Ash and Dawn could do. When they attempted to call the police, they found out that the international police was already nearby, but Okcha had been forming a defensive ring around Pallet Town, preventing them from interfering. Ash guessed that those creatures had created the first dark field for that purpose. Now that Wraith was gone, the Okcha were retreating, and the police could finally reach the house. Having listened to everything, they weren't surprised to find a dead body there, and they also didn't need to ask the trainers about the conversation, but questioned them all the same. At least it didn't take long, and they could return home after only a few hours, and it was already time to go to sleep.

Despite having annihilated a sizeable bunch of Okcha, Max Wright was far from happy. The whole event clearly had been staged by Wraith's boss, although Max wasn't sure why. He hadn't known that Wraith was the same that had killed Richard Harding, and he didn't really care. More importantly, this event had shown just how many Okcha Divine could amass, and it was more than troubling. There was only one positive aspect to this deal, which was the additional information about Wraith. Hopefully, they could use to against her in the future, although Max seriously doubted it.

Wraith immediately went to her room in the main base, and was surprised that she wasn't stopped on way by Divine or one of his grunts. Considering that she was messed up with tears running down her face, she wasn't sad about this. Even though she had expected her past to catch up at some point, she had been shocked by it. Now that the pressure was gone, she couldn't hide her feelings any longer. Now she was in dire need of some time on her own to recover.

Froslass was still with her. Unlike Banette, she had always warned her trainer about this, and now she regretted not having listened to the ice-type. Instead, she had always been close to Banette. The ghost-type had found her after Richard's betrayal, and encouraged her to kill him for it. Ever since then Wraith's hatred had fueled its power, allowing it to grow strong fast, but also making it cruel and violent. The bond it shared with her was so strong, that they both were willing to die for each other, if necessary, The only real problem was that its judgment was rarely objective, but she couldn't simply ignore its advice, and often ended up neglecting Froslass as a result.

They finally reached the entrance to her room, and Wraith unlocked it. When she opened it, they immediately noticed four Alakazam standing inside. Two of them used their psychic powers to prevent Froslass from doing anything, the third pulled Wraith's ring from her finger, and the fourth paralyzed her. Divine appeared at the doorstep, holding a black crystal in his hand.

"I had a lot of fun hearing about your history, but I'm afraid I can't afford to let a mentally unstable employee ruin my plans. No matter how you act, no matter how intelligent you are, no matter how much you know, you're still a frightened child, and it looks like the emotions you've been repressing for years, are resurfacing. Too bad, really. Perhaps I'll give you your freedom back once I'm in power, but I wouldn't count on it. Now prepare yourself, this might hurt a little." He raised his hand with the crystal, and she knew what was about to happen.

Although she wasn't surprised about his betrayal, she hadn't expected it this early, which was probably a foolish assumption. Of course, she was still too valuable to him to simply kill her, but he was going to make her easier to control. He walked behind her, out of her sight, and pressed the crystal against her back. Struggling didn't help at all, Alakazam's control was too strong for her. The procedure was indeed painful for a moment, but soon her back became numb, and eventually, she couldn't feel anything. Her eyes glowed green, and her vision was lost as well, which was a sure sign that she was under complete control of the Okcha.

"Hold still." He took her silver ring from Alakazam, and put it on her finger, then turned to the psychic-type constricting her. "Now, release her." The body fell to the ground, and she had trouble getting up, as the Okcha was just as new to controlling a body as Wraith was to being possessed. Divine addressed Froslass while it was getting used to its new situation. "As for you and the others, you better accept all of this soon, or you might find that your master gets punished for your deeds. Are we clear?"

Froslass nodded reluctantly, for she knew enough about the Okcha to realize that Wraith was under his control. There was nothing she could do, at least right now, and angering him was always a bad idea.

"Very good." He addressed Wraith, or rather the Okcha, who was standing firmly again. "I don't want you to take full control unless necessary. Let her think and act as she pleases, as long as she keeps following my orders, and doesn't make plans against me or my organization. You're to report any suspicious thoughts directly to me at the end of each day. Understood?"

"Yes, we understand," it replied, and already began to return control to Wraith.

"And talk like a real human, for crying out loud! This is getting extremely annoying. Anyway, Eileen, why don't you join us?" The girl had been waiting in Wraith's room the entire time, and now she walked to the door. Wraith, who had already regained her eyesight, noticed two gloves with large gems in Eileen's hands. "I have presents for you. Forget about the old products, these are far superior."

He took the gloves and help them up high for everyone to see. One of them was white with a black gem attached to the upper side, the other one was black with a transparent gem. Whereas the clear gem looked like it had a radiant aura, the black one was darker than anything they had ever seen. Both of them had two smaller, blue gems next to the big ones. Then Divine started one of his lectures.

"You all know that many pokémon have amazing, unique abilities, which we humans lack. We'd give so much to jump like a blaziken, to have the strength of a machamp, and to think like an alakazam. What makes us special? Only our mind, our creativity, our ability to use tools to enhance ourselves. I created the essence ripper to make up for our shortcomings, but even with those precious gems, our bodies aren't able to unleash the full potential of the pokémon apart from a few particular abilities like aura and psychic powers. The rest is beyond our reach, for an empowered flamethrower move would scorch our own flesh, and a blizzard could freeze our own bodies solid. However, there are powers older and purer than those, powers that can be used by us. Light and darkness, or rather energy and mass." He raised the glove with the clear gem even more. "You can find energy in many forms. Light, heat, movement. With this glove, you'll be able to blind enemies, burn them with concentrated rays of light, or tear them apart with bursts of force. Or you can move with incredible speed, although the test subjects found it hard to control. I'm sure there are even more possibilities just waiting to be discovered. Eileen, this one is all yours."

She took it without a word or sign of gratitude. There was an electrifying feeling when she put it on, unlike anything she'd felt before, and it made this glove stand out. The others had been downright dull compared to it.

"The other one is completely different. With its help, you can manipulate gravity, fling dangerous projectiles, and even create something similar to tiny black holes. I found the ability to pull things from a distance most useful. But I'm sure there's far more than that." He handed it to Wraith, who put it on. "You might already have noticed that they're different from the usual tools. Those need to be charged regularly, or they stop working. The two blue gems create a link to the Okcha's dimension, from where they draw the power for the large gem. The energy reserves aren't great, but the regeneration is swift, and you won't run out quickly unless you waste the energy carelessly. In addition, they store much more of their respective essence, making them far more potent than the older models."

With that glove, Eileen never had to fear the dark ever again, but she didn't care, for she didn't regard it as a threat anymore. Wraith was too occupied with other thoughts to even look at her new glove, let alone try it out. The fact that Eileen was here, and that Divine hadn't mentioned her theft or a punishment at all, told her that he had been the mastermind behind it indeed. While she wasn't surprised, she was angry, but couldn't say anything, as the Okcha blocked any attempt to complain. She had to admit that the creature was strong, and that she probably couldn't get rid of it without help.

"I want you to learn as much as possible about your new powers in the training hall tomorrow. Just try not to wreck the whole place, alright? After that, you may return to your regular missions," he reassured them. "Now it's time to get some sleep. That's an order."

He left the room with Eileen and the alakazam, giving Wraith at least some privacy, although with the Okcha inside of her, she doubted that such a thing even existed. Being completely exhausted, she simply fell into the bed. Even the tiniest amount of rest was most welcome. Froslass watched her master with worry. As much as she wanted to help her, she first had to tell Banette in a way that it wouldn't do something rash and stupid. The ghost-type sighed, for she knew that the next weeks weren't going to be easier for either of them.

There was one thing Divine hadn't mentioned. The main gems on the gloves weren't linked to any Okcha, therefore they were unusable by anyone not being possessed by them. Now he considered messing with Wraith a bit more by telling her, as it was a sure sign that he had planned her getting possessed all along. With their new gloves, he hoped that they could finally find and execute the renegade Storm Raider grunt. It seemed ridiculous that he still managed to hide from his men and the international police, but he probably had friends helping him out. In any case, it wasn't important to him, and Divine only made the girls hunt him because there was nothing else to do for them.

* * *

During the next few days, the relationship between Ash and Dawn worsened. Ash had much more time to stay and train at home again, but it didn't help. They rarely talked anymore, and when they did, they usually argued over trivial matters. The arguments themselves, however, were heated and hectic, and they often ended up not talking to each other for the rest of the day. The pokémon were powerless, for their trainers didn't even listen to them during the arguments. They feared the worst, but Ash and Dawn stayed together longer than expected.

Apart from this, Dawn in particular had other problems. With her own battle for championship approaching, her pokémon contended for her favor, hoping to be among those used against Wallace. From time to time, it resulted in arguments, and sometimes in fights. In those situations, Dawn always calmed them down, but the mood was already ruined at that point. Unlike Ash, she didn't have too many pokémon, so the loss of Leafeon had been a heavy blow. Only Shaymin and Cresselia, who were fully aware of their lack of experience, remained in the background, but still suffered from the toxic atmosphere. Lucario and Alakazam didn't even need a proper reason to argue, and in the end, she was too exhausted to break up their fights, leaving it to her other pokémon instead. Fortunately, Buneary, Milotic, and Togekiss hated the conflicts, and did the best they could.

Unsurprisingly, she was easily agitated, especially when Ash was around. He was different from his usual self, and preferred to spend time at an unknown place, but refused to talk about it. The reason was that he studied the former champions at the hall of champions. The computer contained a lot of data and statistics about their battles, and naturally, he wanted to learn as much as possible from it, but couldn't tell anyone about it. More than anyone else, he had to endure Dawn's mood swings in the evening.

One afternoon, Ash returned a bit earlier, and decided to have a look at his pokémon at the lab. They were allowed to rest, and most of them used the opportunity, for they'd return to the hard training soon enough. While making his round, he saw Dawn leaning against a tree with closed eyes. Working on a new individual move for Empoleon had been both exhausting and frustrating, and she was in dire need of some rest.

Ash was even more distant than usual, looking like he was lost. A strange smile grazed his face while he was humming an unknown melody. At one point he even started singing under his breath, though nobody heard it.

"... Sihin aler se cara viio, sihin avirr set kreash ..." he muttered, but he was brought back to another reality by the voice in his head.

 _See how lazy the blue one is. It is not worth the trouble._

"Slacking off again?" he asked with a big grin.

She opened her eyes and sighed. He wasn't going to improve her mood with those words.

"I'm not lazy! It's just a short break," she replied. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at your top secret place."

"Come on, don't be like that. I told you I can't talk about it. Besides, you should prepare for the Elite Four, and you should train much harder than this," he suggested, but it only made her angry.

"Train harder? Like you did by ignoring the pokémon and training your aura abilities, which you didn't even use in the end?" She had told him this often, but her role in this was still unknown, and she was itching to tell him to do something about his arrogant attitude.

"My pokémon were just fine," he reassured her, as always. "Otherwise they wouldn't have made it."

This time, she went a little further by pointing out a flaw in his logic.

"So what about Lucario? Was his performance also just fine? You didn't exactly look happy after his fight," she pointed out.

"He was an exception. I needed him for the aura training, so obviously he wasn't in perfect shape," he explained, running out of patience. "What does it have to do with my preparation anyway?"

"Because you tell me to train harder even though you barely did anything right before your battle. Doesn't make your advice very believable, does it?" It sounded a little more aggressive than she had intended, but she didn't care by now.

"Think what you want but my success speaks for itself. I don't need to justify my actions," he claimed, also getting annoyed now. "Maybe you're just envious of my title because you're not sure that you can also make it."

Ash had never reacted like this before, and in a way, she deserved it. However, it finally caused her to snap, making her say things that she was about to regret.

"Oh yeah? Now you doubt my potential? First you encourage me to challenge Wallace, only to tell me now that I don't stand a chance?" she asked, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

"I didn't say you don't stand a chance," he corrected her, still unaware of her fury.

"But you thought it. It's already bad enough. Apparently, your opinion of me is pretty low, so why do you still put up with me? Force of habit? Or are you just afraid of what people might think of you if you ditch me? Or are you afraid that I might tell them that it was I who trained your pokémon at the end? That I kept them in shape?" She relished his flabbergasted expression. "Not very champion-like, isn't it? Wait, you didn't know? Your pokémon didn't tell you? Were they too concerned about your self-esteem to tell you about it?"

"You ... did that without my permission? How dare you?" he asked with both surprise and anger.

"You really think you'd have made if all your pokémon had been like Lucario? You think you'd have made it without Pikachu's blinding charge? You didn't even bother finishing his move, so I had to do it for you. Yes, you heard right. I don't think you'd have made it without me." She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

"Don't think you can just walk away. You've still got some explaining to do," he told her, staying remarkably calm.

 _It shouldn't wait for an explanation, but simply leave it._

"What's still left to explain?" she retorted.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You've never been like this before," he complained. "It's like you're a completely different person."

"Funny, I got the same impression from you. Ever since you returned from iron island, you've been distant, cold, arrogant, self-centered, condescending, ..." She couldn't think of anything else right now. "Well, you get the picture. You've been a total jerk to me."

Ash wasn't aware of having done anything wrong, therefore he was offended by her words. Now it was his turn for a rant.

"Have you ever considered that your own attitude might have something with it? An ungrateful friend can ruin anyone's mood. You know what I think? I think you're just envious. Without me, you'd probably still be struggling to win your first grand festival," he claimed, laughing at his own words. At the same time, he wondered whether he was going too far.

"You mean making countless attempts to win? Like you did?" He was surprised at her aggressiveness. "You wouldn't have even defeated Roark without my help."

 _This is not how it should talk to the chosen one._ The voice was fueling his rage even further.

"You really want to piss me off, do you?" he retorted, repressing the urge to confront her with his belief to be the chosen one.

"It's not my fault if the truth hurts so much." She tried to break free, but his grip was way too strong. "Let me go! You want me to train, don't you?"

"I don't care! And I won't allow anyone to talk to me like this, not even you," he yelled.

The pokémon tried to break up the fight, but Ash pushed them aside. Pikachu even shocked him to gain his attention, but Ash simply shrugged it off. In the end, they were completely helpless.

"It's all because of those damn aura powers. Because of them you neglect your pokémon. And me. It's like we're nothing to you anymore. Worthless. Expendable." It was exaggerated, but she felt that it was necessary to make it clear. Now she sounded tired instead of angry, and her voice was weak. " I thought things would change again once you're champion. I kept telling myself that it was just the stress getting to you. I was wrong. It only got worse. Everything got worse. To be honest, I don't think I can go on like this any longer. I don't want to. I'm sorry, Ash, but it's too much. Either you change back to your normal self, or ... or I'll have to leave."

He couldn't say that he was surprised by her threat, but his choice was clear. He wouldn't give up his new abilities, which he regarded as a gift, for anyone.

"You're wrong. Aura is my destiny. I learned it for you, for our families, for my pokémon. I can protect all of you with it, but I need time to master it." For a moment, Dawn thought she saw a green glimmer in his eyes. He sighed, as what he was about to say could change his life forever. "If you choose to get in my way, I'm afraid there's no place for you in my life anymore. I'm sorry, but I can't let you get between me and my dream. With the aura abilities, I'll conquer the other regions to become the one, true champion."

He smiled, and it was a smile Dawn had never seen on him, not even during the last few months. It scared her and his pokémon, for unfathomable greed could be seen in this smile, and they knew he was serious. He wouldn't stop until there was no champion beside him. Naturally, they were worried that this near-impossible mission could consume him, and destroy everything, as unlike Ash, most of his pokémon didn't believe it could be done.

"That's ... madness. Have you already forgotten about Cynthia's story? Have you forgotten about the others? None of them came even close to do it," Dawn cried, sounding desperate now. Even now, she cared about him, and didn't want him to ruin his life.

"What others? Oh yes, I remember now, you told me shortly after Cynthia told me about Red. And if I remember correctly, there were only two others," he claimed.

"That's true. But don't forget, one of them was a psychic, who could communicate with her pokémon telepathically. In addition, she was an incredibly powerful trainer. And yet even she failed miserably." Dawn shook her head. "Do you have that much faith in your abilities?"

"I do, and I'm disappointed that you don't. You used to believe in me, but I guess that's not the case anymore." His expression hardened, and he continued with a dead-serious voice. "Now it's up to you. Despite your words, I'll give you another chance. Apologize, and support me."

"I don't think so," she told him, looking away. "I'm sorry. As I said, I can't stand seeing you like this, so I can't follow you on this path."

Ash was disappointed, but his and Dawn's pokémon were even more upset. They looked at their trainers with horrified expressions. Although it wasn't completely unexpected after the last few weeks, it was still a major shock, and now it was too late to be undone. The impact on the pokémon was huge, as it could easily lead to friends and lovers getting separated. They urged Ash to reconsider, but the trainer was adamant.

"I see. Seems the girl was right after all. Betrayal is just a matter of time." He looked disgusted by her decision. "Go wherever you want, and what you want, I won't have anything to do with it."

"You still don't get it, do you?" Now she also looked more angry than sad. "No, I think you don't want to understand. Fine! Continue to live with your ignorance."

Much to her annoyance, he either didn't listen, or simply didn't care enough to respond. Instead, he asked about another problem-

"So where are you going to live? I certainly won't leave my house because of you," he said, letting go of her, and folding his arms.

"It's our house, don't you forget that. But don't worry, I'll sleep on the couch. Perhaps I can live in Mom's house once I find a good opportunity to tell her." Telling Johanna and Delia would be the worst part. They had always been supportive in the relationship, and they were also good friends, so news of their children breaking up with each other would bring them a lot of grief. It was necessary, though, for they couldn't possibly keep up an illusion like that, even if they wanted. "Perhaps one day you'll understand, and then you can come back. Until then, I'm gone."

"Best idea you've had all day." He turned around, motioning for Pikachu to follow him. When the electric-type hesitated, looking at Dawn and back at him, he lost his temper. "Come with me. Now!"

In this state, Ash was almost scary, and not even a courageous pokémon like Pikachu dared disobey. The others merely looked at him sympathetically, and also watched Dawn leave. Her pokémon gradually left to go with her, for the training wasn't over yet, and she was bound to be extremely agitated.

 _At last. The blue one was only distracting it from its destiny._ For some reason, he didn't like it when the voice said it this openly, yet he wasn't in the mood to answer.

Pikachu soon got over his strange fear, and was finally able to confront his trainer. It didn't look like Ash knew where he was going. He was deep in thought, focusing on something else, probably his aura powers. However, he was fully aware of his partners worries.

"I know what you think, but it's for the better, I assure you." Even though Ash did his best to contain his anger, Pikachu couldn't help but notice it in his voice. "Nobody will hold me back. Soon we'll start to train seriously again, and that'll be the start of a new, better life. Aren't you looking forward to it?"

The pokémon replied by directing his thoughts towards him, so that Ash could easily read them.

"I don't like it. What about Buneary? What if I want to see her again? What about Lucario and Espeon? Scyther and Scizor?" Ash didn't reply immediately, so Pikachu continued. "Also, what about becoming champion in every region? We've never talked about this."

"It'll be fine. I won't force you to stay away from Dawn's pokémon, at least as long as you don't let them distract you from your training. As for your other question, I'd have expected a bit more enthusiasm." Ash gave his pokémon a pondering look. "You aren't going to abandon me now, are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm with you. The others are with you, no matter what. Never even doubt that. I'd just like to be informed beforehand. This is a bit too sudden. And you know that a task like this will require constant hard training, and we certainly won't be able to afford even short vacations." Ash didn't seem to mind, but Pikachu did. Being the only pokémon who's in Ash's team all the time, so he was under constant pressure, and his time would be cut short even more. "Is it really so important to you?"

"It is," Ash simply stated.

The electric-type walked in front of his trainer, making him stop, so that he had his full attention.

"You'll need support for this. Dawn has always supported you, so why break up now? It doesn't make any sense," he complained.

"You want to know why?" Ash kneeled, giving his pokémon a stern look. "Have you already forgotten how she treated me or what she said? Do you think she should talk to me like that? She even asked for it. No, my friend, it couldn't have possibly continued like this. Eventually, I'll find someone else to take her place. And now I don't want to hear anything else. I'm sick of hearing about her."

He stood up and continued walking. For him, the matter was over, and any attempt to start the argument again would be shot down immediately. Pikachu sighed, hoping that Ash would see reason once he's calmed a little. While it was true that Dawn shouldn't have said a few things, but Ash wasn't completely innocent either. The pokémon had noticed that he was different a long time ago, just like Dawn. However, unlike her, they could handle his new self, at least at the moment.

She was currently training with Empoleon and a few others, including Espeon. Ever since the break-up, she was harder and colder, even to her pokémon. Just like before, she tried to distract herself with training, which was her way of hiding her frustration and grief. No one dared mention Ash, for she looked like she wouldn't appreciate it, to say the least. It was after the training session, while she was sitting on the grass, that Empoleon, Buneary, and a reluctant Espeon approached her. The latter would've preferred to stay behind, giving her trainer a bit more time to think about everything, but the others needed someone to translate, so that they could properly convey everything they had to say.

"We're pretty concerned about you and ... the recent events." Dawn heard Espeon's voice in her head, and looked up. "We'd like to talk a bit." Empoleon spoke up, and Espeon translated his words, although not always directly. "He'd like to know why you chose to throw it all away. And he wants to know what's going to happen now."

Dawn needed a moment to come up with the answer, as she wasn't quite sure herself. The last conversation seemed strangely far away, and she couldn't even remember all the details.

"Well, it's really simple. The way he treated me was unbearable, and in the end, he hardly resembled the Ash I came to love. It was the logical ... no, the necessary choice." She shook her head . "No, that's not right. There was no choice. It was bound to happen. Empoleon, you should know better than anyone else that sometimes we simply don't have a choice."

The water-type lowered his head, remembering the time when his everstone was taken from him. While he was lost in his thoughts, Buneary spoke to Dawn instead. The trainer listened to Espeon's words in her head.

"Buneary thinks you should have given him another chance. Usually, you don't give up this easily. And what about us? Will we still be able to see the others whenever we want?" the psychic-type said.

"And how long am I supposed to wait? A week? A month? A year? No, I've had enough. That guy has to learn that he can't push me around, even if it means I have to take more drastic measures." She sighed, and shook her head. "Even if it means to end it all. But you don't need to worry. I won't move out anytime soon, so you'll still be able to see his pokémon. And if he changes back, then I'm willing to give him a chance. Until then he's on his own. "

Now Empoleon spoke up again. There was something on his mind, something that had struck him as weird.

"He wonders whether you really believe that Ash can't do it," Espeon said. "You've been supportive, even when it was extremely dangerous."

"Why doesn't anyone listen? I said it wasn't about his plans." She felt misunderstood, and it made her angry. "Not at all. I'd support him unconditionally if he was still the Ash I knew. But he isn't," she added with a saddened expression. "No, he's different. It's like he's a whole different person. Almost like he's still possessed. "

She looked down again, and stopped talking altogether. Empoleon was still curious, though.

"Do you think he can do it?" Espeon asked for him. "Just hypothetically."

"No," Dawn simply stated, not even looking up. "I guess you want an explanation? After Cynthia told us about someone who failed to do it, I wanted to confirm the story. I also found others who tried the same thing, and they all failed. It seems champions are extremely prideful, and as soon as someone has more than one title, he immediately becomes their target. There's no malicious intent, they don't even care about his titles, but simply want to defeat him. It's a challenge, nothing more. And being champions or former champions, they usually get past the Elite Four. Several challenges per month aren't unusual, once he can be challenged, and it usually results in him losing all of his titles within a few days or weeks at most. I don't want the same to happen to Ash, although as I said, I'd still do my best to help him. It seems it won't happen now."

She didn't tell them about what had happened to those people after this crushing event. Apart from one, those were depressing stories, and she didn't like remembering them. She knew Ash well enough to be sure that he'd be able to deal with it, but then again, the recent event had shown that she may not know him as well as she'd like. The pokémon continued to talk to her, but she was already too tired to answer all of their questions. Therefore it wasn't surprising when she ended the training prematurely.

Back at their home, she made herself something to eat, and went to sleep early. It hurt Ash's pride that she was the one to sleep on the couch, there was nothing he could do, for she didn't even listen to him. pretending to be asleep instead. Neither of them had an idea what to do now, and they didn't wish to do it just yet. Right now, they needed time to rest.

* * *

 **Sounds bad? It could've been much worse. Chapter 77 will hold some answers.**


	76. Shattered Hopes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 76 Shattered Hopes

"You can't escape!" the voice kept telling her.

Sheryl and her lucario were in a real pinch. Armed men were chasing her inside the forest around Violet City in Johto. The tall, young woman with green eyes and red hair was an aura guardian, and a good one, despite her young age. However, she was powerless against a large group of assailants armed with assault rifles. They were shooting at her the entire time, but the trees offered some protection, and she summoned a weak, but mobile aura shield around herself, which blocked the bullets. As long as there weren't too many, she'd be fine, but she couldn't fight those people from that distance, and she still couldn't see them.

Eventually, she reached a clearing, yet she was hesitant to enter it, for she'd be an easy target there. That's why she attempted to go around it, but then she saw them, coming from the side. They looked like real soldiers, but she knew that they belonged to Team Plasma, and they were here to kill her, nothing else. Her shield couldn't last long against direct fire from their weapons, so attacking them directly would mean certain death. She was forced into the clearing, which immediately turned out to be a trap, as they were closing in from all sides now. She counted at least a dozen of them, and they all kept firing at her. Her last hope was a counter-attack, which she coordinated with Lucario. They increased the shield's power, and made it expand rapidly, hitting the grunts. They were still too far away for it to deal any significant damage, though, resulting in a simple push. Her protection was weakened as a result, and many bullets hit the aura pokémon. She was a bit more fortunate, as only her legs and shoulders got hit, albeit several times.

She collapsed, but still had enough strength left to turn towards her pokémon, who was bleeding heavily from wounds in its chest and head. It was clear that it couldn't possibly be alive, especially since it wasn't breathing anymore, and she doubted that she'd get out of this situation alive. But instead of finishing her off, the grunts lowered their weapons, and waited for something, only making sure that she didn't get away.

"What are you waiting for? You want to let me bleed to death?" She tried to stand up to face her death with dignity, but the pain was too much for her. "Just end it already!"

"The master wishes to speak to you. He should be here shortly," one of the grunts told her.

Sheryl didn't need to wait a long time, as she soon heard heavy footsteps. Someone was approaching, and when she looked up, she saw the most pompous man she'd ever seen. Elijah, the leader of Team Plasma, was clad in an ornate red and golden robe with a huge, thick golden, cloak. It looked way too big for the young man wearing it.

"You aura guardians are truly the most arrogant and careless fools I've ever seen. Strolling though the town just like that ... you had it coming," he said to her with a calm voice, yet she detected a lot of nervousness. He tried to appear strong, like he had everything under control, but he was scared deep inside. "You should've gone into hiding, but even when it was already clear to you that we were about to kill you off, you continued traveling alone or in small groups. Now there are too few of you left to fight us. Soon you'll be gone for good."

Her answer was a good laugh, as weak as it was. Coming from someone like this, it sounded so ridiculous, that it almost made this serious situation look funny. The grunts weren't sure what it meant, but it made their leader, who was somewhat angry at her reaction, look foolish.

"Gone for good? You really know nothing about us, do you?" She laughed again, enraging him further.

"What?" he yelled. "What's so ..."

"Don't interrupt me!" Even in this situation, despite her weak voice, she gave everyone the impression that she had more authority than Elijah. "Aura isn't the kind of power for which you absolutely need a teacher. It can be learned by anyone, at any time. They only require a partner, who's also willing to learn. That's why you'll never succeed. Even if you eliminate every single aura guardian, others will heed the call, and restore our glory. You can't win."

Elijah was furious, for she made him and his plan look stupid in front of the others. They might even start doubting Arceus's commands, which would be unacceptable. He had to regain his authority and make clear that he was in charge here, no matter how. For this, he even went as far as kicking the dying aura guardian repeatedly. Sheryl didn't give him any satisfaction by screaming or showing signs of being pain, and simply endured the attacks, until he was exhausted. Since he hadn't had much exercise lately, and due to the weight of his robe, it happened quickly.

"Is that all?" She grinned at him, making him almost start again, but he realized that it was no use.

"You know ... if you help us catch the others ... especially Halldur, we might not let you live ... but we'll make it quick and painless." He had to catch his breath a few times. "We have ... a deal?"

"Forget it, moron. Halldur is a cowardly and dishonorable, just like you, but at least he's intelligent. You'll never ..." She had to cough for a few seconds. "You'll never catch him."

Elijah grabbed the weapon of a subordinate, put a foot on her back, and aimed straight at her head. He was about to taunt her, but she merely laughed again, and that's when he finally realized that she wasn't afraid of him at all, and thus would never be intimidated into helping him. He gave the assault rifle back, and addressed the grunts.

"She won't help us. Try to heal her, and take her to the base. Perhaps torture will loosen her tongue, but I wouldn't count on it. Now go. We'll meet later," he told them.

By having at least three pokémon trained in teleportation and with knowledge of at least a few of the key locations between the regions, it was possible to get to Unova almost instantly. Only few people knew this trick, which he had found in the Team Plasma archives in the base. Another place was his destination this time, though, a small outpost with a few of his best men, waiting for the start of their mission. With the help of a few psychic-types, he went the south of Unova, where the outpost was located. The stationed men immediately stood up and saluted.

"Is it time?" the leader asked.

"Yes, we're running out of time. We got another aura guardian, but I fear if we can't present at least some information, her head won't suffice to calm the lord." The plan was not without risks, so he needed to gather all of his strength for the final decision. "It must be done. No matter the cost, no matter the risk. You have only a few hours, so hurry."

The plan was simple, but dangerous. They needed to catch an officer of the international police, and take him or her to the base. Hopefully, that particular officer would know something about their common enemy. On the other hand it would result in Team Plasma becoming a prime target for the police, after they'd been mostly ignored. In order to distract them as much as possible, the target was an officer far away from their base, but he was sure they'd search the whole region anyway. However, even the full power of the international police paled in comparison to Arceus's wrath. Elijah had wasted too much time looking for Halldur, and if it hadn't been for one of his scouts spotting Sheryl in Violet City, he'd have to face his master with empty hands.

Now he had to return to the base to prepare for a potential attack. Max Wright wasn't known to tolerate attacks on his men, so large search parties were bound to arrive soon. Until then, he wished to spend the time in prayer to his lord. He was soon interrupted by one of his underlings bringing news about Sheryl and the officer. Whereas the aura guardian had died on the way, the officer was currently being taken to the interrogation chamber. Although one of the attackers had been captured by the rest of the patrol, Elijah was convinced that he wouldn't tell them anything, purely because Arceus's revenge was too terrifying. He was on his way to their captive, when everyone in the base could hear a familiar, powerful voice in their head.

"I see we have a guest. Leave him to me. I wish to extract the information from him personally. Nobody is to disturb me. Anyone who enters the room, or even opens the door, will be turned to dust." Although they weren't sure whether Arceus could see them, the grunts nodded eagerly, and those already in the room, immediately left, closing the door behind them. "Good. If someone interrupts me, I will hold you all responsible."

In order to prevent any foolish deed, Elijah order at least three people to guard the door at any time. To be absolutely sure, he also stayed there most the time, and only left his post to go to the main alter, and ask for guidance, but he never received an answer. There was also no sound coming from the interrogation chamber, but no one dared eavesdrop, let alone enter. Hours passed agonizingly slowly, and people got nervous, especially when they heard about a large number of international police officers having arrived in Unova, which was probably the reaction to the kidnapping. Even though there was no doubt that they'd need a lot of time to find this hidden base, people were extremely nervous, no matter how much Elijah tried to assure them that they were prepared for an attack.

After what seemed like an eternity, explosions could be heard nearby, and one of the grunts informed the high sage that the international police had discovered an entrance to the base, and surrounded the secret escape routes. Right now, a large group of heavily armed officers was assaulting the entrance, and while it appeared that the defenses could hold for a while, they were unlikely to withstand a large-scale attack in the long run, at least not without help. Elijah commanded every single man and woman in the base to help with the defense while he was trying to get help from Arceus. Even in this dire situation, he didn't dare enter the room, so he returned to the secret room behind the altar, and prayed for its arrival.

He received an answer remarkably quickly, albeit it wasn't what he'd expected.

"Your servants are fighting bravely. Why don't you support them? They could need the help of their leader," the voice told him.

"But ... I came here to ask for your help and offer the head of another aura guardian." He had put it in front of the altar, and now he lifted it, hoping that his master would be pleased with his efforts. "We couldn't find out anything about the other enemy, so we brought someone from the international police ..."

"Indeed. It is most regrettable that he knew nothing of significance. As for the aura guardians, I am pleased that you could reduce their numbers even further, but one of them less will not make a difference. There are so few of them left that they pose no threat to my plans." Elijah could hear laughing, and it sounded way too soft for Arceus's usual deep, powerful voice. "I must admit, I did not think you would be able to handle this task, but maybe the aura guardians simply are not what they used to be. In any case, you have exhausted your usefulness."

Elijah immediately dropped the head in shock, hoping that he had merely misheard. It couldn't be true, his lord couldn't just drop him like this, right when the police was basically at his doorstep.

"My lord! Please! We did what you asked of us. Please don't abandon us in our time of need," he begged. "Give us another chance! I'll do anything, anything! Just don't leave me! Please!"

"Tell me, my champion. Why do you think I chose you?" it asked him.

"Because ... of my devotion?" he replied hesitantly, fearing that the wrong answer could ruin everything for him.

"You needed respect, confidence, and a purpose. I gave everything to you, so I knew you would never betray me, no matter how cruel my commands. Not because of your skills or your little organization. My original plan did not include this visit, but since you have exceeded my expectations, it is only fair that you receive an explanation. You see, I was the one to inform the international police. I told them about your hideout, about all the entrances, and what defenses they will face." The voice suddenly changed, becoming faster and higher. "You must understand. I have to remove any traces of my activities, and that includes you. But don't worry, you'll be one of the few to see my true form. Kind of. You really should feel honored."

In the end, Elijah was barely listening. His beliefs, his future, his very being, he saw all of it crumbling in his head, when his master revealed that the high sage had been merely a tool the entire time. The only thing that gave him comfort was his somewhat successful mission for Arceus, even if it turned out to be a master not worth serving. Now he saw the wall across the entrance to the small room glow brightly, and he was terrified to see pointed, white legs with golden tips move through the wall. The head followed along with the rest of its body, including the characteristic golden wheel. A radiant aura surrounded it, but it wasn't its most noteworthy attribute. It was Arceus's size, as it even small enough to easily stand on the altar-

"Magnificent, isn't it?" the voice said to him. "I'm afraid it's merely an illusion."

In an instant, its body changed to that of a zorua, and now it looked at him mischievously. At the same, he heard laughter in his head. He finally lost his mind completely, when he realized that he'd been deceived the entire time, and instead of serving, he'd been doing the dirty work for a zorua. He didn't know the reason, and he didn't care, for now he could feel guilt and regret.

 _Those aura guardians ... they were innocent, weren't they? They didn't deserve to die, but I killed them. I killed almost all of them. Because a zorua told me so!_ He started laughing, it was simply so absurd. _I almost eradicated them for no apparent reason. I ... am a killer, the worst kind! No, wait, that can't be true. I'm the chosen, Arceus's champion. This must be a joke, right? Right? He'll return soon, he must!_

The revelations and all the implications were impossible to grasp for him. His role in particular was way too much for him, and he refused to accept reality. Instead, he grabbed the small pokémon in front of him, shaking it repeatedly.

"Where is Arceus? What have you done to my lord? Bring him back!" He kept repeating the last phrase over and over again, while Zorua was laughing in his head, which only increased his madness.

"Oh, I almost forgot how easily deceived you humans are," it told him between fits of laughter. "Go on! Yell at me! Hurt me! Kill me! Nothing can wash away your guilt!"

"He'll do it. The master will do it for me. Then I'll be pure again, the savior! You can't fool me, evil creature!" It looked like his eyes were trying to force their way out of his skull, and his hands were shaking. He placed them around the zorua's neck, and gripped it firmly. "The master needs a sacrifice. You'll do. Once you're gone, everything will be fine. Everything! You'll bring him back."

Now it was his turn to laugh, and it sounded just as mad as his words. Meanwhile, the remains of Team Plasma were fighting a losing battle. The international police were clearly well-prepared for anything, and unlike the grunts, they could retreat a little whenever the need arose. They fought with unrivaled zeal, for they hoped that Arceus would come to their aid. Of course, they had no idea that they'd been fooled, and that there wasn't going to be any help.

Looker was coordinating the assault from outside. So far, there had been no casualties, and he was determined to keep it that way. However, it required an extremely slow and cautious approach, as the grunts were well-armed, and they didn't seem willing to give even one quarter.

"There you are." He turned around to see Iris standing there. "Surprised to see me?"

Instead of replying, Looker gave one of his captains a sign to take over for a moment, then he addressed her. She looked at him innocently, as if they were back in his office.

"How did you find us? Answer quickly," he said coldly.

"I placed a tracking device on your coat," she answered, as if it wasn't a big deal. "You should've told me. I might even help you."

"A tracking device? It seems I shouldn't wear my coat every day, but I must say I didn't expect it from you." If it had been someone else, it could've been dangerous, but then again, he hadn't left his office for weeks and had barely received any visitors. "At any rate, a civilian isn't welcome here. Stay back and don't get in our way, or I'll have you removed from this place."

"Don't worry. I wouldn't want to risk the lives of my remaining pokémon in a fight like this one," Iris replied.

Indeed, the prospect of fighting men armed with assault rifles, grenades, or even worse wasn't too appealing. Even the well-trained officers couldn't advance at the moment, despite being superior in numbers, because the resistance was too fierce. Looker still expected some kind of catch, as the discovery of this base was simply too mysterious. Only two hours after a member of a patrol had been taken by Team Plasma, an anonymous informant had told them about this hideout with surprisingly many details. The captured Team Plasma grunt on the other hand had been uncooperative, having preferred to insult his captors with strange threats about Arceus avenging him and similar things. Strangely enough, it was this direct attack on the international police that had finally made Max Wright send a decent number of men and women to Unova. Without them, Looker wouldn't have the manpower to attack this directly, which could have given Team Plasma enough time to escape.

Iris's appearance didn't change a lot, as long she didn't get in the way. Looker couldn't blame her, as there was still a chance that her pokémon were in this base. Under these circumstances, her actions were actually petty sensible.

Whenever Looker was in a situation like this, he was reminded why he preferred undercover work. The noise, the smoke, and the stench from the shots and the explosions were making feel a little sick, although it wasn't nearly enough for him to lose his focus. He knew all too well how important his work was, and if he did this right, he might get a better assignment soon. Most importantly, he had to put an end to Team Plasma's activities once and for all. Their hunt for aura guardians hadn't gone unnoticed, but they had refused help, so Max hadn't done much about it. Observing them would have taken away too many resources from the missions he considered more important. The reasons for Team Plasma's hunt were still unknown, and both Max and Looker were curious about them.

It took a few hours until the grunts' numbers started dwindling, mostly because they were running out of ammunition. Even so, they refused to surrender, attacking the international police with knives or even their fists. Most of them were either killed or arrested in this room, as they were no match in direct combat, but others retreated further into the base to regroup. After this long struggle, the international police had only captured the entrance hall, and Looker wasn't going to make the mistake of pushing in recklessly for a swift end. The remaining guards weren't much of a problem, though, and the officers entered in large numbers.

Four of them managed to get to the prayer room, and the hidden door to Elijah's secret chamber immediately opened. It seemed too good to be a mere coincidence, so they had to be extremely careful, or they might fall into a trap. Against their better judgment, two of them went on to investigate, whereas the other two stayed behind so that potential Team Plasma reinforcements wouldn't catch them off-guard. The moment they were past the entrance, the door closed again, trapping them inside. Neither group could find a way to open it again, and the trapped duo decided to advance when they heard laughter from further down the corridor.

They found a chamber with a few torches and a small altar. A dead zorua was lying on it, but the officers were more concerned about the laughing madman in a heavy robe. Without hesitation, they aimed straight at him.

"Hands up and turn around slowly!" the female officer of the duo shouted.

"Tricked, deceived, fooled by a tiny pokémon. It's so ridiculous." He lifted his hands, and slowly turned towards them. "It was a lie, all of it. And now we all pay for our folly."

The female officer approached him carefully, but once she was close enough to arrest him, his eyes suddenly glowed blue, and she was unable to move, just like her partner. Elijah grabbed her weapon without resistance, and shot her in the head several times while her partner could only watch helplessly, until his finger pulled the trigger several times as well. For some reason, he thought that it wasn't he who did it, but some unknown force, maybe even the same that had prevented him from moving. The shots killed Elijah almost instantly, but it was already too late for his partner. When he checked on her, he realized that she was also dead. Right before his death, the high sage had pushed the button to open the hidden door with his psychic powers, and it could be heard from the chamber. Since the threat was gone, the remaining officers turned to the arriving colleagues, but then he felt something cold on his back. The feeling turned into a pain, as if something was piercing his skin, followed by a strange numbness.

"Dave, you alright?" one of the others asked when he almost fell down due to the sudden pain. "The door opened all of sudden ... what the hell happened here?"

The two dead bodies weren't the most pleasant sight, especially since one of them used to be an ally and friend. Before examining them, they made sure that at least their surviving ally was alright.

"I'm fine, don't worry," he assured them, breathing heavily. "That damn bastard took Jenny's gun and shot her. If I hadn't killed him, he'd have done the same to me."

"Poor girl. She deserved better than this," another officer muttered, looking at the body with pity in his eyes. "At least the asshole paid for it. He just could've suffered a little more."

"Boss won't be happy, though. His knowledge died with him," the officer called Dave pointed out.

"You better inform him. We'll secure the place here." He immediately complied, and left this place, which held nothing but bad memories for him.

The rest of Looker's troops had captured the entire base in the meantime, and now they were inspecting everything or taking the prisoners to their own bases for interrogation. When Looker and Iris entered the hideout, one of them was escorted outside, and she seized the opportunity.

"You there. Where are the pokémon you stole from me?" she yelled, grabbing him by the collar.

"You must be the girl with those lousy dragons. Why should I tell you?" he asked with a grin, which vanished when she kicked him between the legs. Now he sank to the ground, his face wreathing in pain.

"Well?" she asked coldly.

"No need for that, although he surely deserved it," one of the officers accompanying the grunts told her. "They have a bunch of pokéballs in one of their storage rooms. I believe it was number one."

Another officers showed her the location, while the grunt was taken away. They saw a few gruesome scenes of dead defenders on the way, but Iris was too focused on her goal to notice them. After all, the trouble had been going on fort way too long now, and she was dying to be reunited with her beloved pokémon at long last. The very thought was almost driving her insane, and she had to do her best not to seem overly excited. There was only one problem, which was that nobody had told her that her pokémon were actually among those in the room, but she chose to simply ignore it for now.

The room contained only about thirty pokéballs, a sure sign that Team Plasma hadn't done a lot lately in that regard. However, they were at least well-sorted, and the box containing Iris's pokémon had a proper label on it, so she didn't need to search for long. Without wasting any more time, she called them out, and while they looked a bit malnourished, they were fine all in all. Their gloomy looks when they were called out quickly got replaced by looks of pure joy, as they realized that they were finally saved from Team Plasma.

Looked observed the scene from a distance while examining the other pokéballs, and assigning a few officers to return them to their rightful owners. It always felt great to be able to help someone in need, and watching reunions like this one, where the happiness knew no bounds, always warmed his heart, although he never showed it. He left for now, only to come across a troubled officer, who immediately spoke to him.

"Sir, I have bad news. We found a secret chamber, and Team Plasma's leader inside. I fear he resisted arrest, and killed my partner." Dave lowered his gaze. "I had to shoot him."

As cruel as it sounded, the death of the high sage was probably even worse, for he was the only one who could have told them what exactly had been going on. Even though the members of this attack force were all trained professionals, this one looked shaken by this loss.

"You look horribly pale. Get some fresh air, and then give me a full report. Dismissed," Looker told him.

Dave looked grateful for this opportunity, and saluted before leaving. His superior had so many other things to do in the meantime, that the report coming a bit later didn't matter at all. Only a few minutes later, he was approached by Iris, who now looked happy, but exhausted, with her hands behind her back. She appeared to be embarrassed for some reason.

"I wanted to thank you for your help. I doubt I'd have found my pokémon without you." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I know I didn't make it easy for you, and maybe I didn't always show you the respect you deserved. For that, I apologize."

"Don't worry, I'm used to people not appreciating my work, but I only do my duty. Now you better return the pokémon to your gym. I'm pretty busy, and the others there will be delighted to see them again," he told her, and she wasn't going to argue.

He watched he walk away, and it seemed she was as energetic as ever. She had reached her goal already, but the day was far from over for Looker. Only ten minutes later, he was approached again, this time by one of his younger men. He appeared extremely disturbed by something, which in turn immediately gave Looker a bad feeling. The news were dire indeed, as Dave was dead, but the cause was far worse than anything he'd have expected. Looker was led just outside the base, where the dead officer was lying with a bullet in his head. A female officer investigating the scene gave Looker a small note, in which Dave basically explained that he had failed his partner, and couldn't live with the shame.

"Does this make any sense to you?" she asked with a frown. "I always thought he was way more ... mentally stable."

"So did I. This seems highly suspicious, so I want this to be thoroughly investigated. Got it?" She nodded as reply. "Good. Max will have our hide if we don't find out what happened here."

In the end, Jenny and Dave were his only fallen allies, which didn't sound too bad, considering the base's defenses, but the circumstances left a bitter aftertaste to the whole affair. Furthermore, they still had no idea about the motivations of Team Plasma, and they could only hope that the grunts knew enough to give a proper answer. Capturing Elijah alive would've been extremely beneficial, but now they had to work with what they got. At the very least, they didn't have to worry about Team Plasma again, and if they were lucky, the archives could even give them the location of other, hidden bases.

* * *

 **So much for Team Plasma. Many of you can probably already guess who that imposter really was and why it targeted the aura guardians. Now only one more chapter until Dawn's challenge begins.**


	77. Banishment

**The final chapter before Dawn's challenge. This one may seem rather weird.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 77 Banishment

Times were challenging for Ash and Dawn. News of the supposed break-up had spread quickly, and in addition to their usual problems, they also had to fight infatuated people trying to capture their hearts. It was clear that most of them mostly loved their status, looks, or success, and regarded the trainers as a trophy more than anything else. Even when someone showed real love, though, it was a lost cause, for neither Ash nor Dawn returned those feelings, leaving a lot of broken hearts in the process. However, it was still better than giving them false hopes, only to crush their hearts later with even more force. Still, they kept coming, and eventually, Ash was so bothered by them, that he ordered one of his water-types to make a huge rain dance to remove them.

Naturally, Delia and Johanna weren't pleased when they heard about it, especially since their children hadn't even bothered telling them. All of their attempts to make them reconsider were immediately shot down, though, as they refused to even talk about the matter. The pokémon weren't much more successful, they usually only hot to hear that the other one had to apologize before they'd consider discussing anything else. Their friends called them, usually to voice their concerns, or to comfort them, although a few were a bit more aggressive, like Lyra. She sounded angry, and threatened to visit them if they didn't get over their differences without her help.

Zoey arrived a few days later. Although she still considered Ash a friend, she was mostly there for Dawn. That didn't mean that she agreed with everything the coordinator had done, though, and she tried to offer he honest advice. One of the topics was the future.

"So what about your plans concerning the Elite Four?" she asked during a break at the lab. "It was Ash, who convinced you to try it, wasn't he?"

"It was. And I'm still going to do it. Not for him, but for myself." She looked into the distance dreamily. "A few days ago, I'd have said that I needed to show him, that I was going to show him what he'd lost by treating me like that. But now ..."

"Now?" Zoey inquired.

"He's changed again. It's so weird. He isn't as hostile, but he's seriously lacking passion now. I have no idea why he's like that all of sudden, and it isn't much better, but at least he treats his pokémon better." She sighed. "I really want him to return to his normal self, but I can't simply return to him, or he might think he can push me around all the time."

"Good, that would be the worst thing to do. But don't wait too long, or you might miss a good opportunity. In any case, do you need help with your preparation? I know you used to do it with Ash all the time, so maybe I can help you out instead," Zoey offered.

Dawn looked up, and considered it for a moment. While it was true that she'd be able to train more efficiently with someone else, and Zoey might even help her with Empoleon's new individual move, she wasn't ready to accept any help.

"I'm sorry, but I have to decline. This is something I want ... no, something I must do on my own," Dawn told her, shaking her fist. "I would never be able to look into Ash's eyes ..."

"So you do care what he thinks about it," Zoey pointed out, chuckling slightly.

"I ... maybe I do. But it's also about self-respect," Dawn replied.

"Not even the strongest and respectable person in the world can do everything alone, but I see you're serious about." She gave her friend a sly grin. "So I challenge you instead. There's no harm in a full battle, right?"

"Fine! After the break," Dawn said, rolling her eyes.

She was actually glad about the human company, and made the battle last long by using mostly defensive pokémon. Both Dawn and her pokémon were sad to see her leave after it, but there was nothing they could do about it.

* * *

Ash received a call from Serena that day, and his hopes that it wouldn't be about the break-up were quickly destroyed. As much as he tried to make clear that it was alright, she kept rambling that she needed to do something, and that she'd visit him soon, hanging up before he could protest. He wasn't concerned, though, for in her case, soon could mean anything from an hour to a month. He wasn't really in the mood for visitors, especially today. For the first time in weeks, he had woken up without the slightest bit of motivation. Although it was true that the only thing that had brought him any joy lately was his aura training, even this could barely motivate him anymore.

The progress had been extremely lackluster as of late, which was why he had chosen not to do anything about it today. However, even during the normal training with his pokémon he felt unfocused, drained, and empty. Sometimes he also felt dizzy and saw things that weren't real. In a moment of desperation, he called over Latios, and told him to simply fly off, leaving the others behind in confusion.

"Where are we headed?" Latios asked, wondering what this was about.

"Nowhere. Just keep flying. I need some time to clear my mind," Ash replied.

Without a destination, Latios simply kept circling Pallet Town. He couldn't see what Ash was doing on his back, but he felt that his trainer relaxed a bit. Still, there was something bothering him.

"This is so weird. I used to really enjoy those flights. Now ... I feel absolutely nothing. I don't understand," he muttered. "It's not just flying. The time I spend with my pokémon ... or Dawn, it didn't excite me in the slightest. What's wrong with me?"

"There must be something you still like to do," Latios answered.

"The aura training. It kept me going. The feeling of power, all the new things I could do, all of it made my heart race. It was incredible at the beginning, it made everything else feel dull and boring." There was a new kind of excitement in his voice, but it quickly disappeared again. "Now it's gone. Not only did I make barely any progress lately, I also can't find any motivation to work on it. Only a few days ago, I would've called myself crazy for saying that."

It took the dragon-type a while to come up with a proper answer. Since he didn't know a lot about aura powers, he couldn't help his trainer too much in this case, but he could at least give some advice, or at least some comfort.

"What did Lucario say about it? He learned it before, maybe he can help you out," he suggested.

"He said that I wasn't a beginner anymore, and that the advanced techniques often take months, if not years to learn at my age. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but it was so fast at the beginning that the current speed seems unbearable." He sighed heavily. "Maybe I'm just silly. Maybe I shouldn't expect quick results."

"Yes, maybe the beginning gave you wrong expectations. Perhaps a break is in order?" Latios asked carefully.

"That's what Lucario suggested, but I refused until today. I believe a week or so without training will be good for me. It means the progress on the new abilities will be lost, but it's not much anyway. If I don't stop now, I fear I'll only want more and more," Ash explained. "He also said that the problem was most likely the ridiculous speed at the beginning. It's usually impossible to learn the basics in such a short time, so he said it could have weird effects on an unprepared mind. You know, I'm inclined to believe him." Ash had never mentioned the voices to anyone, and he wasn't going to do it anytime soon, lest they might think he's crazy or a puppet.

"I'd trust him. He's an expert on this," Latios replied.

"Perhaps ... please take me to the secret grotto near Cinnabar Island. I need to think about this," he said with sudden determination.

Latios didn't argue, and simply complied. There were still many things he would've liked to talk about, especially about the effect of this on his relationship with Dawn, yet he was smart enough not to mention her at all. Ash was easily agitated whenever he heard her name, and the pokémon didn't want to ruin everything right now. This could very well be a turning point for the better, so he considered it too risky.

The wind was strong above the sea, so actually getting to the destination took longer than expected, and Ash was almost freezing by then. It wasn't much warmer inside the grotto, but at least they were protected from the wind. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as beautiful at this time of the day. It was also empty right now, but he was okay with it in this case. Ash took off his shoes and socks before dipping his feet in the water. Of course, he immediately regretted the decision when the water turned out to be extremely cold.

"Why did you do that?" Latios asked, barely able to keep himself from laughing.

"I ... have no idea. I don't think my head is working properly right now." He stared at the water, and some sort of dizziness overcame him. All of sudden, his head hurt, and strangely familiar words escaped him. It sounded like a song, but the words were unlike anything they had ever heard.

 _Tir vina sear sin a naii, no leneo sin a shrea.  
Sin inhiaa sevvahri, uddou maarasi a seeh. _

_Sihin aler se cara viio, sihin avirr set kreash,  
Kilin sin ilar ahal tir nie, tir peday cal aas de._

 _Nive ka verena si? Sin kar ne daar abe. Telehaa abylass mare.  
Feadehe sin rudos adura? Tei xan se hen, sin okcha._

 _Sid keehl, tir xan a hel! Taris vi sid xeris, talid sin va se dar.  
_ _Kun desa iri kun se hesarina devi isia marus dilahr._

 _Sin kar tedis, sin kar peday, sin kar astu, sin wilao ascro.  
_ _Sin kar ne lis. Ulara pocre sin mara, senna tir xen._

His eyes were unfocused during the song, but when he was finished, he blinked in confusion.

"Well, that was interesting. And disturbing," Latios remarked, his voice full of worry. "What was that about? What kind of language was that?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Ash looked and sounded shaken, having been deeply affected. "I know I've heard it before but I can't seem to recall when or where. And I've no idea what it means, but -" He stared at the entrance to the grotto. "- it somehow fills me with a sadness I can't explain. Is this weird? Am I going crazy? Am I still being possessed?"

Latios knew that the questions were serious, but he had no explanation. He was only certain that it had something to do with the strange creature that had possessed Ash, although it still didn't exactly explain the meaning of this strange occurrence.

"I'm sure the answer will come to you eventually. Just be patient," Latios told him.

It wasn't the answer Ash wanted to hear, but then again, Latios wasn't the kind of pokémon to be good at advices, and Ash couldn't think of anything better either.

"Alright, let's leave. This is creeping me out, and I've no idea why we went here in the first place," Ash said, shivering slightly.

They left without looking back, but even though he seemed a bit more relaxed now, Latios could still feel that Ash was greatly disturbed. When they arrived back at Pallet Town, he was somewhat glad to see that most of his pokémon were working hard. Since he didn't want to talk to all of them at once, he told Latios to join them, and sent a message to Lucario with his aura abilities. The pokémon understood, and left without drawing too much attention to meet him alone. If this strange song was a side-effect of his other problem, Lucario had to know about it, but he'd try not to talk about the song, if possible.

"I've been thinking about your suggestion, and I believe a break is a good idea." Lucario nodded in agreement, satisfied with the result. "But I want to know more. The way you described it, it sounded almost like a drug."

"What's a drug?" Ash was angry at himself for having forgotten that the aura pokémon wasn't too familiar with the human world. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's fine. Let me explain. Drugs are dangerous substances, which can make you addicted to them, and destroy your body and your mind. Well, that's pretty much all I know, and I don't wish to find out more." He was happy to have grown up in a small town in a nice neighborhood, so he'd never needed to worry about these matters. "So what do you think?"

"No, aura isn't like that." He sounded a little offended. "You'll neither get addicted to it, nor will it ever harm you if you use it responsibly. Why would you ever think otherwise? Sure, your problem might have been similar, but it's not due to aura itself. If anything, it was the reckless speed."

Ash had to chose his next words carefully if he wanted to get the necessary information without mentioning the song. After all he didn't want his pokémon to worry or think that he's weird, and information like that could easily get out, even if they were cautious.

"I wonder if there could be other side-effects. Is there anything that comes to mind?" he asked.

"Other side-effects?" He sat down, and closed his eyes, trying to think of something. "No, there's nothing noteworthy. You sound like you have something specific in mind. Is there something bothering you?"

Ash sighed, having already failed. Now it seemed impossible to get away without saying anything about the song. Hesitantly, he started talking about it.

"Alright, but keep your voice down. I don't want anyone else to hear this, not even Pikachu. Understood?" Lucario nodded, wondering what could possibly be such a bid deal for the trainer. Ash sat down next to him, looked around to be absolutely sure, and proceeded, a bit quieter than before. "Well, as you can probably remember, I left some time ago with Latios. I guess you were a little confused, but I needed some fresh air. Fresher than usual I mean. Anyway, we went to a cave, where I could relax a little. It worked at first, and we talked about some things." It was awfully uncharacteristic for Ash to beat around the bush like that, which only made Lucario even more suspicious. "It came suddenly. Without warning. I got the urge to do something ... unusual. I'd never have done it under normal circumstances, but I didn't really have control." Realizing that the aura pokémon was getting impatient, he got straight to the point. "I started singing. It wasn't a song you'd know, though. In fact, I have no idea why I know it. Weirdly enough, it still seems familiar. Oh yes, I didn't even mention what was really creeping me out. You see, the language of this song ... I have no idea what it is. I don't recognize any words, and it doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard, yet I know the text by heart. Now do you understand why I'm so concerned?"

This was a lot of information for the fighting-type, who needed some time to think about it. All of this sounded more than just strange, if not incredible, but Ash wouldn't make such a silly joke. This was a serious problem, so they needed to work on it seriously.

"Very well, let's try to find some answers, one question at a time. You said you don't recognize the words and the language, but what about the melody, the rhythm?" he asked.

"Can't say I've heard anything similar. But as I said, it still sounded familiar." Ash got an idea. "Wait, maybe you've heard it. Latios was just as clueless as I was, but you never know until your try it. Let me just think about it for a moment."

Much to Lucario's astonishment, Ash recited a text in an unknown language. There was no hesitation, no stuttering, and it sounded right to him, so he had to assume that Ash wasn't simply making it up for some reason. On the other hand it raised some questions. How could Ash memorize a song like this so easily and why would he do it? In order to accomplish it, he must have either seen or heard it at some point, but where? Those were the questions running though his mind, but before voicing them, he wanted to say something else.

"Never heard anything like that. It's remarkable, to say the least. I wonder ..." he scratched his chin. "You must have heard it somewhere, at some point, even if you can't remember. But perhaps there's something we can do. If I remember correctly, you told me that Alakazam erased part of Dawn's memories after that incident with the psychic. She might help you recover certain memories instead."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "What if it's simply gone?"

"Maybe. Or it's repressed. You have nothing to lose, right? I'd say it's worth a try," Lucario replied. "Come on, why are you hesitating?"

"I ... don't want Dawn's pokémon to get involved," he admitted.

"Alright, what about Reuniclus or Latios?" the aura pokémon suggested.

"I fear Reuniclus wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. Memories and the mind in general aren't Latios's speciality, but at least he already knows about the song, so there would be no harm in trying." Ash pondered a little, looked around, and finally agreed. "Alright, Fine, Let's try it. But let's find a place where we're safe from prying eyes. Then tell Latios to join us, and ... we'll see. We just have to make sure nobody followed him."

Although Latios was a little upset about being disturbed during his break, his curiosity was picked when the fighting-type told him about their plans. He was just as eager to uncover this mystery, so he quickly agreed. They met east of Pallet Town, near the woods, where Ash wanted to perform their experiment. Despite their confidence, the pokémon weren't completely sure what to do, so they tried to communicate without Ash noticing it. In the end, they agreed to only try methods which didn't involve any risks. Before they began, they made sure that nobody else was nearby.

"Alright, sit down and close your eyes. It shouldn't hurt," Latios told him.

The sound of that wasn't encouraging in the slightest, but he trusted his pokémon, and complied immediately. He had no idea what they did to him, he could feel warmth around his head, and a pleasant feeling of total relaxation, which was far better than anything he'd have expected. Latios wasn't an expert on this matter, so he didn't do anything unless he was sure that it wouldn't hurt his trainer. Of course, this limited his options considerably, until he merged their minds, which gave him a better idea of what could be dangerous. Lucario made sure that Ash didn't feel most of the procedure.

Latios's focus was the time of Ash's possession, as he'd most likely heard it then, or perhaps he never actually heard it. It was also possible that even though he hadn't been in control of his actions at that time, it might have been in his mind ever since. If he managed to activate it somehow, they'd actually know a lot more than merely the origin of the song. However, he couldn't really know whether it worked without Ash telling them, so he simply stopped to wake Ash once he was done with everything. For the trainer, it was like waking up from a long sleep.

"Now let's see whether it worked. Can you remember anything about the time during the possession?" Latios asked.

Lucario was a bit surprised when he heard those words in his head, for he had thought that Latios was trying to uncover the memory of the song specifically, but the psychic-type simply wasn't good enough at it. If this turned out to be a failure, they'd have to rely on Alakazam, who was more adept at everything concerning the human mind. Knowing Ash, he'd be too stubborn, and they'd never unveil this mystery. The trainer closed his eyes, trying to concentrate the particular event, and the memories came to him easily.

"Yes, it fled. Teleported as far as possible. It was afraid, terrified of something, because it needed to regain its power. I tried to fight it, but ultimately, I wasn't strong enough. Then it did little but to strengthen its control, until it felt powerful enough to take on Riley. It stole a boat, and went to Iron Island. It ... was uncertain whether Riley was still there, but it found him training." Ash hesitated when he remembered the following event. "The creature didn't believe it could take both Riley and his lucario in a direct battle, so it tried to distract them."

Flashback

The Okcha Prime had something in mind that it hadn't done in a long time. It was an activity unknown to its kind, but it regarded this as the only good thing mankind had ever taught it. Hopefully, it could distract the enemies, and prevent them from attacking directly due to Ash's strange, twisted aura. It sat down on a nearby rock, while they were already on their way to investigate.

 _Tir vina sear sin a naii, no leneo sin a shrea.  
Sin inhiaa sevvahri, uddou maarasi a seeh. _

_Sihin aler se cara viio, sihin avirr set kreash,  
Kilin sin ilar ahal tir nie, tir peday cal aas de._

 _Nive ka verena si? Sin kar ne daar abe. Telehaa abylass mare.  
Feadehe sin rudos adura? Tei xan se hen, sin okcha._

 _Sid keehl, tir xan a hel! Taris vi sid xeris, talid sin va se dar.  
_ _Kun desa iri kun se hesarina devi isia marus dilahr._

 _Sin kar tedis, sin kar peday, sin kar astu, sin wilao ascro.  
_ _Sin kar ne lis. Ulara pocre sin mara, senna tir xen._

The song worked just as he had hoped, as Riley's defenses were down, and he was unprepared for an attack. The Okcha Prime wasn't aware of the fact, that Ash's aura wasn't a reason for the aura guardian to attack at all, for he didn't know its meaning. In fact, even if it told him what exactly it was, he wouldn't attack, as only few aura guardians still knew this particular creature.

"Be careful. There's something wrong about his aura," Riley's lucario told him.

"I remember you, Ash. What are you doing here? What kind of song was that? And are you alright? There's something different about you," he asked with concern in his eyes.

He was still wearing his old black and blue outfit, with his hat being the most prominent part of it. However, he looked a bit older and wiser, which wasn't surprising, given how long Ash hadn't seen him. The Okcha Prime was a bit startled by the lack of hostility at first, but then it proceeded with its original plan, and teleported behind Riley before punching his head with full force. This attack not only hurt him a lot, but also dazed him for a long time. Lucario got between them to protect its master, forcing the Okcha to retreat.

"How do you like that?" it taunted him. "Beating you with your own weapons, oh how long I've waited for this moment."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Riley groaned, holding his head. The aura-empowered punch had almost knocked him out, but his training had left him extremely tough. "Why are you doing this, Ash?"

"Poor, clueless creature. Let me put you out of your misery," it replied.

The goal was to kill him before he could recover from the blow, and join in the fight. Separately, its opponents were easy to defeat, but together, they might be a real problem. Lucario understood this, and never ran too far from Riley, protecting him whenever it could, which made getting close to him dangerous. His ranged attacks on the other hand were easily blocked by their powerful barriers. Several attempts to get past the aura pokémon failed miserably, because the Okcha Prime focused on getting past it instead of defeating it. When it finally decided to simply ignore the pokémon, it got hit from both sides by aura spheres.

This was so devastating that Ash would start fighting back again soon, which could prove extremely dangerous. With Lucario around, the Okcha couldn't possibly win, even with its stable connection to its home world. Although it could leave his body voluntarily to preserve its energy, it still needed to finish off Riley, or the whole fight was for nothing. Ignoring the attacks entirely, it grabbed Riley's head and smashed it into the ground, then dropped a knife it had stolen. Lucario cried out, but there was nothing it could do. Wasting no more time, the Okcha left Ash's body in the form of what looked like a centipede made of black goo, and possessed Riley instead, gaining his knowledge. Grabbing the knife, it tried to kill its old host body, but was interrupted by a psychic move pushing it back. When it looked up, it saw a small creature in the air, though there was no way to see anything detailed because it was floating in front of the sun, which blinded the Okcha Prime.

Realizing that it couldn't finish Ash like that, it quickly disposed of Riley's body by slitting his throat, and left his body to move into the ground. Since it had no aura in this form, Lucario couldn't track it, which allowed it to look for a new host without interruptions.

End of flashback

Ash couldn't remember anything else, but the rest was pretty clear. Lucario and the strange creature had dragged him to safety, and he had been taken to the international police base, where he'd recovered . As soon as Ash was finished telling the pokémon about all of this, they looked at each other happily. Their plan was more successful than anticipated, but on the other hand they still had no idea what the song was all about. They only knew that it came from the creature that had possessed him, which was still better than nothing.

"I don't suppose it said anything about a translation?" Latios remarked.

"Nope, nothing," Ash replied. "And I don't think there's any way to know unless we meet it again. Now let's return to the lab, and please leave me alone for a while. There's a lot on my mind, and I need time to think about all of it. The aura training is canceled for now."

It wasn't surprising, even though there was actually nothing new except for the origin of the song. Remembering Riley's death, and watching him die in his own mind instead of simply hearing if from someone else was still a heavy burden, which he needed to process. He looked depressed now, so they didn't dare say anything, and merely followed him.

 _What is it doing? It will not stop its training._ The voice was more aggressive than before. _We will not allow ..._

 _Ash, you have the power to stop it anytime. Free yourself of this vile influence, get it out of your head!_ It was a new voice, one that sounded like it belonged to a young man. _You have already learnt how. Try it. Shield your mind. I do not remember you having such a weak will._

 _It will not ..._

 _Shut up! Leave my mind immediately._ Ash thundered in his own thoughts, focusing all of his anger and frustration on the voices.

Strangely enough, it worked. Not only the voices, but also the whispers in the background were gone, and he became much more aware of his surroundings. New scents entered his nose, background noises like chirping, which had been unheard lately, was noticed immediately, and his vision became much clearer, as if a veil in front of his eyes had been lifted. Even the colors seemed much more radiant than before, and the air felt much more fresh. Only now did he realize the full extent of the influence. However, he still didn't know what the other voice was, or what it wanted with him.

His pokémon didn't notice any of it. Since there was nothing else to do, and Lucario and Latios rarely talked for long, they used the opportunity to discuss a few matters via telepathy.

"I really wish we could've had a longer break after the championship," Latios complained. "I mean, I'm no stranger to hard training, but I'm growing a little tired."

"Really? I expected a bit more from a legendary pokémon," Lucario replied, laughing. "But seriously, I'm not too concerned about it after the last few weeks. I really need to regain my full strength."

"I'd prefer to combine it with something else like helping Dawn's pokémon just like they'd helped us back then." Lucario was sure that were was someone specific the psychic-type wanted to help.

"Oh, I know. You want to train with Cresselia don't you? How sweet," he remarked with a grin. "To be honest, I have no idea how anyone could have the energy and patience to put up with her."

"Hey, she's become far more serious and mature lately, although not as overly serious as Espeon," he added to annoy Lucario a little. "Ever since Dawn intensified the training with her a little, she's been extremely dedicated to learn more and grow stronger, and she's becoming more and more like her trainer. I heard they were already working on her own move, but I believe she was just bragging, as she hasn't talked about this for a while. Anyway, Dawn's and Espeon's influence on them starts to show."

"You make it sound like she'll be ready for the coming battles," Lucario said, frowning slightly.

"Nope, she's not nearly prepared for that. Same with the little guy. Shaymin really could need more self-confidence outside the land forme. At least that's also improved." They walked in silence for a while. "Well, at least you can't claim that the sleep isn't the best with her around."

"I just worry it makes us too soft," Lucario replied.

"Try to annoy her to the maximum, and you'll find out how soft you can get. Poor Samurott tried to seduce her, and even though he was far stronger, it was still a ... memorable event." He couldn't hide a hint of satisfaction. "It's a shame you were busy with that aura training with Ash. It was quite a sight to see him getting chased around by her, I didn't even know she could become this angry."

"Yes, yes, I know you're fond of her." Lucario rolled his eyes. "Any news about Empoleon's new move?"

"I heard it's in its final stages, and designed to deal with pokémon like Milotic. She always goes to a secret place for that, at least that's what Cresselia told me. I don't think she wants anyone to know about it, least of all Ash, so we shouldn't tell him." Although they doubted that the current Ash would use the knowledge in any way, they didn't want to bring trouble to Cresselia, who had told Latios about this.

Little did they know, Cresselia was exactly who Ash needed right now. Almost every night, he had the same , strange dream. It was the time when the voice contacted him, showing him images of death and destruction, probably to push him further down the path it had chosen for him. Perhaps even without Cresselia he'd be able to regain his dreams for himself.

Right now, all he wanted was a little bit of rest, as the procedure had left him with a headache. Most of his new memories were gone again already, which was probably for the better. Dawn wasn't at the lab when he arrived, probably working on Empoleon's move again. For some reason, he couldn't help but think that she'd already be done with his help. However, he doubted that she'd accept his assistance unless he apologized, and he wasn't going to do it anytime soon. If he returned now, then she might not believe him, it would be too sudden. First, he wanted to give her some time to calm down and wait for the battle in Hoenn, then he'd decide what to do next. With a bit of effort, he might even give some signals that he's his own self again.


	78. Rough Start

**Now it's time for Dawn's challenge. Interesting enough, she has to face almost the same types of pokémon, only in a different order. Ash will be there despite their argument, though he's too ashamed and proud to openly cheer for her yet.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 78 Rough Start

The following days flew by, and despite heavy snowfall and cold temperatures, both Ash and Dawn kept training. Empoleon's new move was ready, but she didn't intend to use it in the first few battles, unless it was absolutely necessary. Serena actually did arrive the day before the battles , and Dawn immediately used the opportunity to have a bit of more specific training somewhere else, so that she didn't have to listen to the blonde all the time, as it was the last thing she needed in her situation. This meant that Ash had to endure all of it, while Marcus was always sitting nearby, ignoring all of Ash's pleas for help. Zoey also reappeared, eager to watch the battles with the others, but unlike Serena, she stayed at Johanna's house with Dawn, who had chosen it as her home for the last few days.

On the day of the first battle, Dawn left early in the morning to mentally prepare herself for it in Hoenn, where it was considerably warmer than in Kanto. Alakazam teleported her to the pokémon center closest to the stadium before the trainer adjusted her team for the challenge. Despite having watched Ash doing this on numerous occasions, the prospect of standing there herself made her nervous, even frightened, worse than the first time she'd been in a contest. No amount of training could possibly help her in this case, but she wished she had at least Ash's support. However, she knew she had only her pokémon to get through this, and it should be enough. Still, she had a bad feeling, which didn't get away easily.

Ash's recent change was both encouraging and depressing. Although he was almost back to normal, he appeared too stubborn to apologize. If either Ash had changed a little earlier, or Dawn had been a bit more patient, all the trouble could have been avoided entirely, but now it was too late. Even now, before one the most important battles in Dawn's life, he crossed her mind regularly, and she was afraid it could happen during the fight, messing up everything. It was most unsettling, but there was also something else on her mind. Marcus had approached her on the previous day in the evening with news of Eileen. Apparently, she'd been seen west of Saffron City in the company of another girl, who looked awfully similar to Wraith according of the description of the man who had spotted them. The scary thought was that Marcus's sister hadn't looked like a prisoner at all, but more like an ally. Now they suspected that she'd been possessed and forced to work for their enemies. Why she'd been chosen instead of someone else was still a mystery, but they knew that she had to be freed before something terrible happened to her, or she was made to do something terrible. Unfortunately, further investigation had yielded no results whatsoever, and the international police refused to talk about the matter at all.

All in all, there were plenty of reasons to postpone all of this, but it would mean prolonging the preparation, and she wanted to finish it, no matter the outcome. Therefore she simply waited for the beginning. Meanwhile, Ash, Zoey, Serena, Marcus, Delia, and Johanna were looking for their seats. Thanks to the latter, they didn't have to sit separately, Marcus was on the far left side, next to Serena, then there were Ash, Zoey, Johanna, and Delia, in that order. Ash had actually tried to get a seat far away from Serena and Zoey, since he wasn't in the mood to talk, which suddenly made Marcus the most pleasant company he could imagine in this situation. The stadium was filled even faster than usual, as a coordinator challenging the Elite Four was unusual, and people wanted to see it.

The stadium itself wasn't as big and modern as the one in Kanto, but still good enough to provide the terrain needed for any battle. In this case, Sidney, Dawn's first opponent, had chosen a simple grass field. Barely older than Ash, he was the youngest member of the Hoenn Elite Four, and arguably the weakest, yet also with the biggest ego. He was known to prefer an offensive approach to all of his problems, and his pokémon could pack quite a punch, so Dawn had to be careful. His specialty was the same as Karen's, but he wouldn't stand a chance against her.

When the obligatory music at the beginning finally stopped, a female commentator entered the stage via one of the corridors with a microphone in her hand, and spoke up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first challenge of this year. It's still unusually early, so we may hope for a lot of them. That is, unless this challenger, Dawn, manages to defeat both the Elite Four and the champion Wallace. As most of you probably know, she is a renowned coordinator, and one of the winners of the Ocean Ribbon, which makes this all the more interesting. Will we trade one coordinator champion for another? Or will Wallace retain his position again? Only one way to find out, but first, she has to get past the Elite Four, an accomplishment, that is already beyond most trainers. She'll face Sidney today, Please a big applause for our dark-type trainer." The trainer arrived at the end of one of the corridors, walking to the tower on his side of the field. He was wearing red shorts, black shoes, and a black shirt. His hands were in his pockets, and judging from his behavior, he didn't take all of this seriously. "Now to the challenger. She's proven to be capable in battle, but will she be able to stand up to the Elite Four?"

Experts agreed that Sidney would be nothing but a nuisance in her path, and that only Drake was a real threat to her plans. When she entered the stage and went to her tower, looking a little distracted. Meanwhile, the commentator went to her chamber, leaving the stage to the trainers and the referee, who stepped up. A few seconds later, the commentator's voice could be heard again.

"Standard rules apply. Changing the pokémon is allowed at any time, once one trainer has lost all of his or her pokémon, the match is over. Consumable items are prohibited. You can find a list containing all the permitted items on the pokémon league's official website," she told the audience, mentioning a few vital rules. "Now, let's not waste any more time."

"Battle, begin!" the referee shouted, returning to his spot next to the battle field.

Dawn needed more time than usual to choose her pokémon, changing her mind twice. This only confirmed Ash's suspicion that she was nervous.

"Drapion, start with toxic spikes!" Sidney yelled.

"Typhlosion, use dig with burning fury, and erupt form the ground!" Before Drapion's purple spikes hit the area around the fire-type, his flames turned blue, and dug into the ground.

"Again!" Instead of dealing major damage with a move like earthquake, Sidney chose to do more damage in the long run by applying a second layer of spikes. Only a small part of the field around the dark-type wasn't covered by the poisonous spikes, which would make moving difficult for Dawn's pokémon. Suddenly, the ground beneath it shook, and a fountain of blue fire engulfed the pokémon.

"Fire blast!" Typhlosion emerged, boosting his power with the flames, and used the powerful move for massive damage.

"Payback!"Using both arms, it pushed him into the spikes, poisoning him badly.

The counterattack was a bit surprising after all the damage it had taken, but now Dawn only needed to finish it off before the poison could grow too strong. However, her decisions were far from sensible right now, and she chose a defensive approach out of fear of a powerful melee counter. Whether the fear was justified or not, it prevented a quick end to the fight, and allowed the poison to run its course.

"Keep using flamethrower!" As unreliable as it was, this move was still the best he had in this situation, and most importantly, it didn't require him to get close.

"Double team! Then use earthquake and venoshock!" Sidney couldn't understand why she was so passive, but he gladly seized the opportunity. Removing all of the copies with flamethrower took a long time, which his pokémon used for earthquakes. Whenever Typhlosion jumped to evade the shockwaves, it shot a small purple orb of poison at him. Since he was already poisoned, it dealt a lot more damage to him, and dodging them every single time in midair proved difficult.

She tried something different a few times, yet every single time, something went wrong, like when she had him waste a will-o-wisp on one of the copies.

"What the hell is she doing?" Zoey complained. "First she's overly aggressive, and now, when it's actually needed, she hides. I don't understand her."

"You should've known when she called out Typhlosion. As strong as he may be, he isn't the typical pokémon at the beginning," Ash pointed out. "She has yet to show why it would be a good idea. If it goes on like this, it might actually become an interesting battle." He tried to sound uninterested, but deep inside he was worried.

The others had to agree. Dawn was making this extremely difficult for herself, and she'd never get past the other Elite Four members like this. Only when her pokémon's condition worsened considerably, she finally decided to be more aggressive.

"Alright, use burning fury and flamethrower!" By using it during the spin, it covered a large area, removing Drapion's copies in the process and getting closer to the dark-type.

"Earthquake!" Sidney shouted.

"Fire blast on the ground, then overheat!" He was glad that he could finally do more than just wait for a mistake, and happily complied.

With the force of the move, he launched himself into the air, and immediately charged at Drapion when he reached a sufficient height. By using a special technique to surround himself with the white flames from overheat while spinning with burning fury, he gained an extremely destructive shield, which exploded upon contact. It was enough to knock out Drapion almost instantly, and because of his flash fire ability, Typhlosion wasn't harmed in the raging fire. Unfortunately, the poison had grown too powerful for him to last much longer. In fact, he could already faint while Sidney was calling out his next pokémon, so Dawn chose to recall him. While the pokéballs usually didn't heal the pokémon inside, they could weaken the poison effect, so that it returned to its original strength when he was called out again, which could buy her only some time, since it didn't prevent the poison to increase in power again.

"Drapion is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"Interesting. Well done." Sidney started to believe that he could actually win this. Before he could call out the next pokémon, Dawn recalled hers quickly.

"Good job. Return!" She had to find a way to get rid of the spikes. Hitmontop could remove them with rapid spin, but he'd get poisoned in the process, so she had to find a different method. In the end, she came to the conlusion that there was but one choice. "Empoleon, use surf!"

"Cacturne, start with leech seed!" Empoleon's typing allowed him to step on the spikes without fear of getting poisoned, and with a huge wave of water, he washed them away, clearing the area for Dawn's other pokémon. The leech seeds were also caught in the wave, as he quickly jumped off. "Spiky shield!" A green force field protected the pokémon from the water.

"Good, return for now!" She hesitated a bit, then she called out her next pokémon. "Ambipom, use arena!"

Dawn wouldn't call it Ambipom's individual move, it was merely a necessary setup for the actual move. This one created a transparent dome around the stage, which let anything and anyone pass, except for her other move. "Now the arena ball!"

"Feint attack!" It disappeared from view, and Ambipom created a glowing, white ball on one of her tails. Then she threw it in a random direction, before she got hit by Cacturne, who appeared right behind her. "Now brick break and poison jab!"

"Double team and focus punch!" Ambipom created countless copies of herself, making it impossible for Cacturne to use his combination of punches. The copies approached the grass-type, and prepared to attack, but it simply shot small needles in every direction, hitting the real one and interrupting the attack. Dawn chose a more reliable attack, which also benefitted from Ambipom's typing and technician ability. "Double hit!"

"Spiky shield!" Hidden thorns around its force field hurt Ambipom when she hit it with her tails, but the following attack made contact, as the spiky shield failed.

Sidney never bother to get information on his opponents, and Dawn was no exception, therefore he had no idea what the arena moves were all about. He only saw that a bouncy, white orb, was being reflected by the dome over and over again. What he failed to notice was that its speed and power was increasing with every bounce. Ambipom herself reflected it as well, just like the dome, or she could give it a new direction by slapping it with her tails. Given enough time, it its speed could increase to ridiculous levels, so that it was impossible to dodge or even see, and in that case, the damage was also incredibly high. One way to avoid it was to destroy the orb before it could gain too much power, or use a move like protect at the right time, though it was difficult once it was too fast. Of course, Sidney didn't know all of this, and ignored the orb entirely for now. Ambipom could also create more than one orb, but they exploded when making contact, so it was way too dangerous.

Dawn considered changing the pokémon, but then the dome and the orb would disappear. In addition, she simply refused to do it, because Ash had also accepted any fight in his earlier battles, and she wanted to show that she could do the same, even when her pokémon was clearly not suited, like Ambipom in this case. For her strongest attacks, she had to make contact, and it usually hurt, especially when Cacturne used spiky shield. At least there was a solution for that problem, although it already a bit late.

"Use double team and taunt!" Dozens of Ambipoms were making a silly dance, provoking Cacturne with it and her words. A burst of needles destroyed the copies, but now Sidney was getting worried about the bouncing orb. By now, it was too powerful to destroy. "Now focus punch!"

"Needle arm and drain punch!" Dawn thought that Ambipom was strong enough, but the combination attack overpowered her, and healed Cacturne in the process. Now it wanted to finish her off, and go too reckless, trying to hit her with the same combination.

"Double hit!" When it missed with its punch, she hit its belly with one tail, and its back from above with the other. "Now use return!" Her body glowed white, and she smashed her body against the grass-type, pushing it back. "Now the orb!"

"Dark pulse!" Any other pokémon would have trouble even seeing the orb at this point, but Ambipom's ping-pong training really paid off in moments like these. The only problem was she couldn't hit it properly unless it was both near her and flying in the right angle. It was only a matter of time, but she got hit directly by the dark pulse in the meantime. When she got the chance, she immediately sent the orb towards Cacturne, who didn't even know what hit it, as it only saw a flash of light, and then felt a huge force hitting its body. The orb burst right in front of its stomach, and sent it flying backwards. Dawn had expected it to be over, but much to her surprise, it was still able to get up again, although it was clearly close to fainting. "End it with return!"

"Sucker punch!" Without access to a healing or protection move, Cacturne could only hope to deal as much damage as possible before going down, and with a quick, but powerful punch to the stomach, it could do it, then Ambipom's move knocked it out. It fell backwards the moment it was hit, and didn't get up again.

"Cacturne is unable to battle!" the referee shouted promptly.

"Good job. Better than expected," Sidney said, recalling it. "Alright, Absol, use future sight!"

Dawn wasn't sure what was more surprising, Absol's early appearance or its usage of a move like future sight. In any case, she had chosen her own absol for this job, and didn't hesitate to call her out.

"Well done, Ambipom. Return now. Absol, celestial wings!" Dawn commanded.

Her fur grew longer, looking like wings on her back, her spikes got larger, and the shape of her horn and tail changed slightly. In her mega form, she was much faster and her attacks were stronger, both the physical and the special ones. Even during the transformation, the fur on her back extended even further, until it looked like a pair of glowing , feathery wings strong enough to lift her into the air. In the end, they were about as long as the pokémon. Although she couldn't fly with them, they could help her jump much higher and faster than before, granting her superior agility, and she could also glide with them, or even use them as shields, as they were quite robust. In a contest, the majestic look would've already severely diminished her opponent's points. This move was still new compared to the others, having been created after countless failed experiments with invisibility.

Dawn expected Sidney to let his pokémon mega evolve as well to be able to keep up, but he had something else in mind.

"Return! Tyranitar, earthquake!" he exclaimed with a smirk.

While raising its right foot, it began to change as well. The center of its belly became red, long spikes grew on its back and shoulders, and a large horn on its head. In addition, its tail was longer now, and had larger spikes near its tip. It was stronger in almost every way compared to its normal form, and its powerful physical defense made Dawn reconsider using Absol, who excelled in those. However, she didn't want to recall her already, wasting the mega evolution in the process.

"How the hell could she do that?" Ash complained. An outburst like this was uncharacteristic, so the others ignored the battle for now, and turned their attention towards him. He looked a bit embarrassed, and proceeded a bit more meekly. "I mean, she could've just waited a little. Now she has to change her pokémon, or fight an impossible battle."

"Are you really surprised?" Zoey asked, rolling her eyes. "It's like she can't make a good decision today. Who in their right mind would fight a cacturne with an ambipom?"

"But she won, didn't she?" Serena pointed out. "What's so bad about it?"

"Zoey's right, she could have defeated that cacturne without taking a lot of damage. Just what's wrong today?" Johanna muttered.

"Choosing Absol for the mega evolution is usually a bad choice. She's trained to take down fast and vulnerable targets, while preventing escape with mean look, but Tyranitar is pretty much the opposite," Ash explained. "And considering how she's been handling herself so far, I'd be surprised if she did more than insignificant damage to it."

They watched a powerful sandstorm appearing due to Tyranitar's sand stream ability. Having no access to weather moves, Absol had to endure it, and Tyranitar's typing allowed for only two effective moves, x-scissor and mega horn, which were both physical attacks.

"Evade it and use taunt!" She rose into the air, and taunted it with her words. At least now Dawn only had to worry about attack moves and the sandstorm.

"Attack with earthquake and stone edge!" The earthquake either forced the pokémon to jump, making an easy target for stone edge, or Absol was forced to use a move like protect. In this case, she rose into the air, spreading her wings. They allowed her to navigate more easily in midair, so that she could dodge the rocks, and even get closer to Tyranitar. "Stone edge!"

"Swoop attack!" Absol held them close to her body, and moved below the incoming rocks. From there, she glided next to Tyranitar, piercing its armor on the side with her claws. Holding onto it, and using the force of her own move, she spun, and used mega horn on its back before retreating again.

"Rock slide!" Sidney commanded.

She spread the wings again, and let the wind of the sandstorm carry her to safety. In fact, the wings were most effective during weather moves like sandstorm or hail, but even a gust could help her out immensely, as she was trained to use even the weakest wind effectively. Therefore, she was even stronger when used in double battles with another pokémon who could assist her. It was a shame there were no major leagues featuring double battles, but Dawn couldn't do anything about. For now, she had to deal with this brute, and she could only rely on Absol's speed, Tyranitar was superior in most other ways, and if she got caught once, it could mean the end. That's why Dawn was hesitant to let her dark-type attack, but at least there was a way to minimize the number of attacks needed to take it down. If everything else failed, she'd have to use perish song in conjunction with mean look.

"Keep dodging and using swords dance!" she shouted.

"Stone edge defense!" Although it counted as an attack move, it was actually a defensive move, as the name suggested. The rocks were spread all around the pokémon, ready to be shot at the opponent at any time, and while Absol was powering up, Tyranitar was accumulating them. A simple protect move didn't help against them, as they didn't need to be used at the same time. "Keep using rock slide!"

Now Dawn was at a severe disadvantage. Without an effective ranged attack, Absol couldn't put the swords dance moves to use, and getting close was way too dangerous now. The sandstorm was hurting her all the time, though it couldn't last forever. At least its end was also the signal to taunt Tyranitar again, or she'd have to deal with much more. Sidney knew it, and didn't make his pokémon do a lot apart from the occasional rock slide and eathquake. The audience was also getting impatient, until the sandstorm finally came to an end, and Absol immediately taunted her opponent again. Although she didn't receive damage anymore, she still had to do something eventually.

"Double team! Then leer and attack!" Copies of Absol appeared all over the place, and approached Tyranitar, who activated his defenses. A few single rocks got rid of most copies, and when the real Absol was discovered, it shot the rest of them at her gradually. She had almost gotten close enough to attack, but now she had to shield herself with her wings. It was an exhausting process, and the wings were almost destroyed in the end, even letting a few rocks through, but they protected her well enough to allow her to proceed with her attack on Tyranitar, whose attack had left it slightly weakened. "Mega horn!"

"Smack down!" Even without her wings, she managed to evade the white orb it threw at her, and rammed it with her head before quickly retreating again. The buffed attack had done major damage, yet she needed at least two more moves like this to finish it off. "Renew your defenses!"

"Swords dance to the maximum, then use celestial wings again and then leer!" Dawn commanded in return.

It wasn't a pretty battle, mostly because neither pokémon was suited to deal with the other, and both trainers were too stubborn to recall them. Dawn wanted to make sure that the next attack was the last, so Absol's attack power had to be at the maximum, and Tyranitar's physical defense had to be as low as possible. When she felt that the time was right, she started the attack, as Sidney had obviously no intention of taking the initiative in this case.

"Psycho cut on the rocks! Then attack with mega horn!" Absol charged at her opponent, shooting two psycho cut blades at the rocks, effectively destroying a large number of them.

"Blast it!" Once again, the rock-type used the remaining rocks, forcing Absol to block with her wings, but this time, there weren't enough to rip them apart, and Dawn's pokémon continued, striking its chest with her horn. Ironically, her wings, which had protected her only moments ago, now became her downfall, as Tyranitar got hold of one of them. "Now crush it!"

The rock-type puller her closer, grabbing one of her feet before she could remove the wings. Those small arms possessed a lot of strength, so much that Absol had no hope of standing against it. Tyranitar proceeded to slam her into the ground repeatedly, then it threw the helpless pokémon upwards, and finished off with a stone edge. The body fell dropped in front of it, and it roared when she didn't move.

"Absol is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

Even though Sidney's pokémon was standing proudly, any experienced trainer could tell that Absol's last attack had almost knocked it out, and now it was close to being finished. Once again, Dawn had underestimated her opponent, and paid the price. At least any pokémon could take care of Tyranitar now, as it had used most of its remaining energy for the final attack. All in all, the result was still better than anticipated.

"Good job, Absol. Bellossom, take care of the rest with your roots!" The pokémon slammed one hand into the ground, and a moment later, roots shot out of the ground beneath Tyranitar, entangling its legs and tail. A mega drain through the roots was enough to end the battle in her favor. The ground shook when it collapsed, falling on its belly.

"Tyranitar is unable to battle!" Sidney was already holding its pokéball when he heard the announcement.

"Good job, buddy. Absol, feint attack!" he commanded.

"Short sunny day, and solar burst!" An orb of light appeared above the stage to empower or quicken Bellossom's next few moves. Then she quickly used protect to prevent Absol from attacking, and followed up with a solar beam within the shield. The burst of light revealed the dark-type, disrupted its attack, and dealt a bit of damage. "Now stun spore!"

"Evade it and use taunt!" The sunny day activated Bellossom's chlorophyll ability once more before disappearing, so she quickly released the spores, but Absol was fast, and retreated backwards, provoking her with words on the way. Now that she didn't have access to moves like sunny days or synthesis, it was far more difficult for her. "Feint attack!"

"Use the dazzling gleam counter!" She shot a beam of pink light in random directions while spinning, and managed to hit Absol, albeit not well enough to prevent the attack."Entangle it!"

"Oh no, you won't! Night slash!" Bellossom took a step back, and caused roots to shoot out of the ground, but they were quickly cut to pieces, and Absol proceeded to use night slash on the grass-type instead. "Keep doing it!"

"Dazzling gleam!" Despite the super-effective move, she couldn't possibly hold out for a long time in melee. Since Absol was unlikely to give up the advantage, she had to force it. "Grass knot and get back!"

The move seemed obsolete since she had her root move, but it had a single advantage, which was its speed. Unfortunately, it didn't last nearly as long, so Bellossom didn't have much time. She didn't get far, and Absol also had a move to cope with opponents that kept running away.

"Dark grip!" Thin claws of black material shot of the ground, and formed a prison around Bellossom. They were known to explode when taking too much damage, but Absol was immune to it, so it often cut both the pokémon and the claws to increase its damage. Most importantly, it prevented her from escaping. "Swords dance, then night slash!"

"Use stun spore a full power leaf hurricane!" She'd forgotten that her pokémon had been taunted, yet it still worked due to her training and because the taunt had been rushed. The spores had no effect on the prison, and simply stayed around to keep Absol away, since Sidney wasn't willing to let his pokémon get paralyzed this easily.

"Keep using swords dance until they disperse!" he shouted.

However, they got caught by the following leaf hurricane, and Bellossom remained at the center, kept in the place by her roots. The cage was destroyed by the leaves in the wind, and dealt some damage when it burst, but Dawn knew it was inevitable. When the hurricane started spreading, Absol tried to run away, but first a grass knot, and then a root prevented it. Both Dawn and her pokémon had realized that a quick grass knot before the standard move could drastically increase the chances of success in this case. The dark-type tried to cut them, but the roots kept coming, resulting in it getting caught by the hurricane, which not only hurt it, but also paralyzed it due to the spores in the wind.

"That's enough. Dazzling gleam!" The roots were difficult to maintain, and right now, it wasn't worth it anymore. Bellossom shot a beam of pink light at her opponent, who dodged it despite its lowered speed.

"Dark prison again, then night slash!" Dark claws rose from the ground again, and the dark-type charged at the opponent with glowing claws, which were still imbued with the swords dances' power. Dawn was worried when two more dazzling gleams missed, and Absol was in melee range.

"Leaf storm!" She was worried that it might be too early for this, but reasoned that she needed to hit it hard, and it was indeed a brutal hit. However, Absol still managed to execute its move, and its super luck ability came into play. The critical hit, combined with the buffs and the dark prison, caused massive damage, far outweighing that of the leaf storm. At least the dark-type was pushed back considerably, so that it couldn't immediately follow up with another attack. "Open roots!"

Instead of shooting her roots into the ground, she released them directly into the air. They looked more like vines that way, and they entangled the charging Absol. Since Dawn hadn't said anything else, Bellossom used the follow-up, which consisted of a giga drain at maximum power. This variation of her individual move was so taxing that other options weren't viable. Absol glowed green while its energy was transferred through the pulsating vines.

"Mega horn!" For the first time in her life, Dawn saw a ranged variant of mega horn, which looked like a light green, wide energy blade. It didn't really interrupted Bellossom's move, as she couldn't keep it up much longer anyway, but it dealt considerable damage. The only positive aspect for Dawn was that it wasn't a critical hit, and her pokémon could continue, although she was close to defeat. "Quick attack and night slash!"

"Defend yourself with leaf blade!" She retracted her vines, and created long leaves in her hands. The quick attack was too fast for her, but she endured it, and blocked the night slash with the leaves. With a spinning movement to the side, she evaded the following attack, and slashed Absol't arms in return. The dark-type, surprised by the sudden strength of resistance, howled in pain, and took a few steps back, but Dawn's pokémon jumped on its back and struck it repeatedly. This was mostly possible because of the paralysis, which made it slow to react.

"Get back here! Then double team and quick attack!" However, Bellossom didn't let it go, and the dark-type needed a lot of time to shake her off its back.

Few people knew that the grass-type was almost as good with physical attacks as with others, and now that she was weakened due to the leaf storm, it was actually the best choice. With her unorthodox techniques, which involved a lot of spinning and jumping, and due to her size, she was hard to hit, and even harder to predict.

"Keep attacking with your blade dance!" Now she started spinning with her arms stretched, destroying any copy that got too close. Apparently, Absol was afraid of attacking, and kept throwing copies at Bellossom, whose speed only increased the longer she kept spinning. In the end, it charged at her, hoping that the speed from quick attack would be enough to get through her defenses, but it got pushed back after being hit several times consecutively. "Now get it!"

The way she jumped at him with rotating blades resembled of a helicopter, and the slashes dealt considerable damage. Then she made a well-aimed strike at its feet, followed by a an upward slash on its face. Then she finished the scene by simultaneously striking the head from two sides with her blades. The last three attacks in particular were devastating, and the pokémon collapsed only moments later. Bellossom dropped her leaves, and walked around aimlessly, clearly confused from all the spinning. Now it didn't matter, as her opponent was defeated, and she couldn't keep fighting anyway.

"Absol is unable to battle!" the referee declared soon, once he was sure that Bellossom was only confused, and not about to faint.

"Not your fault. I guess I wasn't careful enough," Sidney admitted. "Very well. Mightyena, take care of this. Get it with sucker punch."

"Return!" Dawn shouted, recalling her pokémon.

"Come on, you are better than that!" Ash shouted loudly, standing up before sinking back into his seat. It was painful to watch her struggle like this. The others looked at him, but his concern was greater than his pride right now.

Absol was Sidney's strongest pokémon, powerful enough to keep up with Wallace's pokémon, so this victory wasn't a small achievement. She looked around, uncertain about her performance so far, but she only sought the face of one special person. Her heart sank when she saw Ash's expression, which she interpreted as a mix of boredom and disgust. She didn't even consider that her judgment might be clouded at the moment, but used it as a motivation boost. For some reason, she believed that he didn't consider her a real trainer after this, and she wanted to show him that he was wrong. With new determination, and a fire in her eyes that hadn't been there for a long time, she chose her next pokémon.

"Hitmontop, use bulk up!" The main reason for this start was Mightyena's intimidate ability, which she hoped to negate this way, and the boost to his physical defense was a welcome bonus.

"Taunt!" The dark-type snarled, and provoked its opponent, but only after he was done with his move. "Now super fang!"

This was dangerous, even to the strongest pokémon, for defense didn't matter against it. Despite the danger, Dawn remained calm, and so did her pokémon. They waited for Sidney's pokémon to get close and jump for the attack. Then it was time to strike.

"Mach punch and rolling kick!" He quickly moved below the dark-type, and punched it in the stomach, before jumping up and kicking it in a way that made it spin in midair. Another kick sent it flying backwards.

Most hitmontop were known to fight almost exclusively on their head, but Dawn's was more versatile, as she didn't want him to be predictable. He was one of her most durable fighters thanks to his individual move, renewing touch. The name was a bit of a joke, as the move consisted of two kicks, which had the same effect as draining punch, but could also restore reduced power, speed, or defenses. The base power of each kick was kept low, so that it benefitted from his technician ability, making it more effective than a single, powerful kick. Since his sustain was tied to his attack power, he was extremely difficult to defeat for a pokémon with a type-disadvantage, which made him an ideal pokémon against a dark-type trainer. Flying-types were his greatest weakness, for he had trouble hitting them effectively as long as they were in the air.

"Fire fang on the ground!" It looked like Mightyena bit the ground, but then huge flames erupted beneath Hitmontop, and forced him to jump up high in order to avoid them. "Now take down!" It attempted to get in his way, but even in midair, he started spinning, and several hard kicks sent it back towards the ground.

"High jump kick!" It wouldn't be as strong as a well-prepared kick, but still powerful enough to deal heavy damage. Sidney's pokémon dodged it, though, and he crashed. "Now dig!"

He stood on his head, and spun to burrow into the ground like a drill. Dawn believed that Mightyena couldn't hit him there, and she was right. Furthermore, he could reemerge at any time, so it had to be on high alert all the time.

"Fire fang on the ground again!" Sidney hoped that it could hit him that way, but in the end, it only served to force him onto the surface. He shot out of the ground next to the dark-type, ready to attack. "Protect."

"Feint and renewing touch!" He landed on his again, and with a combination that looked like a triple kick, he first shattered the protect shield, then he struck it twice to replenish his energy. "Close combat and renewing touch!"

"Combine take down and fire fang!" Sidney commanded in return.

The following fight was uneven, mostly due to Hitmontop's type-advantage, and his better training. Mightyena's combinations couldn't keep up with any fighting-type move, and Dawn's pokémon used them effectively. Close combat dealt a lot of damage, and renewing touch healed his wounds and countered the loss of defense after close combat. In fact, as long as he didn't let every single attack hit him, the occasional mending touch was enough to keep him in perfect condition. Sidney realized this quickly, and wanted his pokémon to flee for now.

"Get back here!" In terms of movement speed, it was superior to Hitmontop, even now that it was close to fainting.

"Rock slide kick!" The rocks that appeared above the fighting-type were small and round, and they fell one by one, so he could kick them at his opponent easily. It tried to dodge them, but they kept coming so fast that it couldn't evade all of them, and they eventually overwhelmed it. When one of them hit the head, It fell to the side, and Hitmontop stopped the bombardment.

"Mightyena is unable to battle!" The battle had been almost completely one-sided, although in terms of strength, Sidney's pokémon wasn't much worse.

"Interesting. Return!" He knew that he couldn't possibly win, but he wanted to at least beat the pokémon that had made his mightyena look like a joke. "Crawdaunt, use surf!"

This pokémon was clearly better suited to fight Hitmontop. Not only was it well-protected from physical attacks due to its hard shell, its typing also allowed it hit him more effectively, and if it managed to inflict a burn with its scald move, things would be much easier.

"Cut through it with rapid spin!" With his usual spinning movement, it got through the wave like a drill, and landed on his head. "Rock slide kick again!" He kept spinning, and while moving towards his opponent, he kicked rocks falling from above at it. They were large enough to pose a real threat, so it tried to block all of them with its pincers.

"Use scald!" Once it saw a decent opportunity, the water-type shot two streams of boiling water from its pincers at Hitmontop, enduring the rock that hit its head.

"Dig!" He disappeared in the ground again, and Sidney guessed that he wanted to attack from there.

"Ice beam on the ground and prepare a crabhammer!" It created a thick layer of ice between it and the ground to warn him of anything attempting to get through.

Dawn's pokémon were often encouraged to act independently when the need arose. This was one of those times, and instead of simply drilling through the ice and exposing himself to the crabhammer, Hitmontop used stone edge to shatter the ice, and hit the water-type from below.

"Close combat and renewing touch!" He jumped in front of the opponent before unleashing his attacks.

"Crabhammer and scald!" Crawdaunt retaliated, using one of its pincers to strike him directly, and the other to use scald.

"Retreat and dodge the attacks!" Dawn commanded.

It wasn't fast enough to follow him, and actually preferred to keep its distance for now. Sidney wanted it to hit him with scald and inflict a burn, which would make him much less dangerous. Unbeknownst to the trainer, he'd also reduce Hitmontop's sustain that way. However, the fighting-type kept his distance, evading the attacks with artistic moves, and waiting for Crawdaunt to get tired. It happened after a few minutes, during which it tried to increase its chances by getting closer, only for the fighting-type to fall back every time. Hitmontop on the other hand was still in good condition, as his moves were merely a little extension to his normal movement.

"Now mach punch!" The sudden aggressiveness caught Crawdaunt off-guard. It got hit in the face, and tried to grab its opponent with its pincers, but Hitmontop dodged them, kicked the arms, and proceeded to attack it mercilessly. "Close combat and renewing touch again!"

"Guillotine!" It was a final, desperate attempt to turn the tides. The water-type was too tired, and Dawn's pokémon too agile for this to happen, and it became weaker quickly. "Try crabhammer instead!"

The following struggle was one-sided because Hitmontop skillfully hit its arms and legs to knock it down constantly and prevent counter-attacks. In addition to the effectiveness, it also provided a good show for the audience, who got to see a fighting-type not relying on brute strength, but on agility and precision. Even Ash had to admit that Hitmontop's style, which was all about changing his position all the time and using spins to keep the opponent at distance unless he wanted them to get close, was close to perfection. Of course, his opponents were perfect for him, as he had much more trouble against ranged attackers. All in all, he made his fights look rather easy.

Crawdaunt got knocked out by a powerful kick in the face, and fell forward. Everyone involved was glad that the battle was finally over.

Crawdaunt is unable to battle! Dawn is victorious," the referee declared, pointing at her.

"Yes, much better!" Ash exclaimed, raising a fist before he noticed the others looking at him. "If she keeps fighting like that, she might actually do it," he continued, trying to sound more serious.

Despite the improvement during the last fight, the applause was underwhelming, but Dawn didn't care much, and left for her room soon. Sidney simply shrugged off his defeat, and went to his own room, minding his own business. The people didn't mind, as they were used to his carefree attitude, but Dawn, who was usually much more cheerful, caused a lot of frowns.

"Good job out there," she told her fighting-type in the corridor. "I was worried at the beginning, but you really showed them." He raised a fist, and let out a cry of victory. "Yes, you were awesome. Now you can take a long rest."

She recalled him and went to her room. After the thrill of victory was over, her mood worsened considerably, and she locked herself there, hoping that nobody would disturb her for a while. She needed to think a lot, especially about her performance today, and how she could win the coming battles. It was already clear that she wouldn't get past Drake unless she fought like Hitmontop all the time, but she had no idea why she had gained such a boost when she had seen Ash in the crowd. In the end, it didn't even matter whether it was her pride or something else, she didn't want to rely on him in any way. Her thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking on the door. She tensed, fearing that it might be Ash, but unlocked it anyway. Much to her relief, it wasn't Ash, but Mr. Sorlan in company of an azumarill.

"Hello there. Nice to see you again. I believe you haven't met Azu yet. Say hello to the young lady." Dawn kneeled next to the water-type, and shook her little hand.

"Nice to meet you," she said with a weak smile before addressing the man accompanying it. "Nice to see you too, Mr. Sorlan. What are you doing here?"

"As I said, I enjoy watching battles, and you're of particular interest. And so is Ash." She looked down when he mentioned him. "I was quite upset when I heard about the break-up. May I ask about the reason?"

Instead of answering, Dawn walked back to her seat, and offered him to sit on a couch nearby. Nathan complied, and looked at her with a curious expression. She took a deep breath, and spoke up.

"Well, it wasn't a single event. He ... changed over a long period of time, and I just couldn't handle it anymore. His arrogance, his indifference, his ... he ignored me all the time, he was rude to me and the pokémon. He ... it doesn't matter anymore." She sighed. "It doesn't matter anymore. It's over."

"But you still love him, don't you? It's impossible to miss, and you seemed extremely distressed during the battle. I assume it's because of him? Because let's not sugarcoat it, except for the last part, it was horrible." She knew it was true, but hearing the truth was still painful. "Perhaps getting back together would help? Or at least try to talk to him."

"Never! He's changed so much and so often that I'm not sure whether I can trust him anymore," she retorted at first, but then she regretted her outburst already, and proceeded with a calmer voice. "Sorry. I can't forgive him for his words that easily. If he apologizes, we'll talk about it. I'll even apologize for what I said in return, but he has to make the first move. Sorry, no discussions here."

He frowned, but didn't say anything. Instead, he thought about how he could convince her to reconsider her plan. Thus they were sitting in silence for almost two minutes before he spoke up with a calm voice.

"You know, I also lost someone recently. My brother, my last direct relative, died in Unova." She was about to say something, but he was faster. "Don't bother. He didn't mean a lot to me. In fact, we never got along, and when he joined the new Team Plasma, he was already dead to me. Yet I still regret not having talked to him. When someone close to me departs, I prefer to be on good terms, no matter how useless or wretched they were. Be careful, or it might happen to you as well."

 _But Ash won't die anytime soon. There's still time to calm down and work on ... well, unless you consider all the trouble and the enemies we seem to have right now. What if they actually manage to kill him because I'm not there to help him out?_ She paled visibly when she thought about it, especially when she imagined Boris ambushing him. _I can't allow it to happen. But if I tell him, he'll just think I'm a scared, little girl in need of protection. No, not like that. But I might give him a chance sooner than planned._

"And what do you suggest?" she asked.

"I don't suggest anything. You know him better than I do, and I don't wish to give you bad advice. I merely say that you should make up, before it's too late, because this world is crazy and you never know when bad things could happen."He extended an arm towards her, offering her his hand. "But you should know that I'm your friend, and should you ever need help, don't hesitate to contact me."

"I ... thank you. But right now, I need some time to think," Dawn said, shaking hands with him.

"Yes, I also have a lot to do right now, so just one more thing. If you don't want to talk to him directly, you should at least give him a signal that you're willing to talk, or he'll never make a move first," he told her. "Something subtle, something others wouldn't notice. Anyway, it's time to leave. Azumarill, say goodbye and then let's go home. We'll see her again tomorrow."

Dawn said goodbye to Nathan and his pokémon before turning to the only mirror in the room. In her reflection, she saw a tired, worried face, and she didn't have a solution to her problems. Right now, she was considering focusing on the battles, and going with Nathan's advice, Hopefully, Ash would notice it, and be willing to talk to her after everything. Until then, she needed to find a way to ignore everything not concerning her battles, and her pokémon might help her with that.

The others were probably on their way home. Dawn hurried to get ready as well, and already changed her team in the stadium for the next day. Since it included Alakazam, she could get to the lab directly, where she gave a few instructions to Galvantula before having dinner with her mother. The rest of the day was used to prepare for the next opponent. It appeared that the weather was against her, as the snowfall was getting stronger with every passing hour.

Ash watched her from the distance, looking indifferent to everything, but in reality, he was worried. As much as he wanted her to do better than before, as much as he wanted to help her out, he couldn't persuade himself to speak to her. Although he loathed himself for it, he chose to return to his own training, leaving her to hers.

* * *

 **Not the best battle, this one, but the last part gives hope. Next up is Phoebe with her ghost-types.**


	79. Increasing the Pace

**AshxDawnaddicted: Frankly, I have no idea what exactly is the appeal of those battles. I just try to make them as dynamic as possible. This one is on a slightly higher level, though it'll start in the 3rd match for real.**

* * *

Chapter 79 Increasing the Pace

When Ash and Dawn woke up in the morning, they were suddenly aware of just how bad their idea to challenge the Elite Four during the winter really was. Everything outside was covered by a thick layer of snow, which would make any kind of training a real pain. Dawn still preferred it to extreme heat in the summer, though, and Ash's challenge had gone without those amounts of snow, so it wasn't that big of a deal for them. This time, Dawn waited for the others, letting Ash's gallade teleport all of them to Hoenn, as Alakazam had to battle, and the strain from a long-range teleport would cause a lot of trouble.

Ash noticed that she was wearing her aura stone, but since he wasn't wearing his, there was no glow or warmth. It was a first, subtle sign that she was willing to discuss their differences, although she was convinced that he wouldn't understand it. Even she thought that it wasn't much of a signal, but she couldn't think of anything else that wasn't either even more subtle, or blatantly obvious. It wasn't the right time to think about it, though, as she had to face Phoebe soon, and the ghost-type trainer was a more worthy opponent than Sidney. In order to be able to focus on this task without any risk of getting distracted, she had partaken in a few special meditation sessions with her psychic-types, leaving the rest of the preparation to Galvantula. Even with less time to prepare herself, she was much calmer, and also looked more confident.

Phoebe was the first to appear on the stage in her usual clothes, a blue top, a blue and white skirt, and two red, flower-like accessories on the sides of her head. Having watched the battle against Sidney, she was confident that she could make it. Dawn arrived mere seconds before the official beginning, ignoring everything around her.

"And our challenger is here as well. Now let's not waste any more time, we'll see whether Phoebe can put an end to Dawn's ambitions," the commentator shouted, leaving the stage. "The same rules as yesterday apply. Let's hope for a battle to remember."

"Everyone ready?" The referee looked at the trainers, who readied their pokéballs. "Battle, begin!"

"Froslass, start with spikes!" Phoebe commanded.

"Froslass, use icy wind!" Dawn was just as surprised as Phoebe and the audience that they used the same pokémon. In addition to its intended effect of slowing Phoebe's pokémon, her move also blew the spikes towards her side, so that Dawn's side was relatively clear. "Now get closer and combine confuse ray with ominous wind!"

Froslass shot a golden orb at her opponent, and accelerated with the ghost-type move. Phoebe's froslass was fast enough to dodge it even with its reduced speed, and prepared a counter.

"Shadow ball and icy wind!" Dawn's pokémon dodged the shadow ball, but had to endure the icy wind due to its area effect, and controlled the confuse ray with a psychic move, making it fly in a wide arc and return even faster than before. Phoebe saw the chance to use it against Dawn. "Evade it!"

Right before it hit her, she moved to the side, so that the orb flew towards Dawn's pokémon, but she simply used her individual move to create a small mirror of ice in her hand. By holding it correctly, she reflected it at Phoebe's pokémon, who didn't have time to dodge it again, and got confused. In addition, she was hit by a shadow ball only a moment later.

"Get back here!" Phoebe wanted to avoid any further damage by fighting with the confusion, but Dawn wasn't going to let her get away that easily.

"Shadow fist with ice shard!" By holding onto the large ice shard when she shot it at the opponent, she was dragged along, and punched her with tremendous force, her shadow ball still in the hand. "Shadow fist again!"

"Return!" Phoebe let her pokémon recover from the confusion in the pokéball for now. The spikes on her side weren't numerous enough to pose a real threat to her pokémon, so she ignored them for now. "Banette, phantom force, then shadow claw!"

"Return! Scizor, use protect!" The moment he materialized on the stage, he created the green shield, which blocked Banette's attack. "A quick sword dance, then sneak attack!"

The way she said it was different from usual, but it looked like Scizor was using the regular swords dance, albeit a bit faster because he needed to evade the following shadow claw. He gained a little distance by taking a few steps back, and when Banette tried to hit him again, he simply vanished. For a few moments, he wasn't anywhere to be seen, then he emerged from the ground behind the ghost-type with glowing pincers. Surprised by this, Phoebe's pokémon took a defensive stance to protect itself against slashing attacks, but instead, Scizor shot a dark pulse at it. People were astonished to see that it was actually extremely powerful.

"Dark pulse? Oh, how sneaky. Why don't you show us your real face?" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Very well. I guess there's no use hiding it any longer." The moment Dawn said it, Scizor's appearance changed, revealing it to be Zoroark. His swords dance had actually been a nasty plot, masked by his illusions. Using the illusion ability on moves was a bit trickier than on himself, and required a great deal of concentration, so Dawn only had him do it when they could gain a lot form it. In this case, a strengthened, super-effective dark pulse more than justified its use. He had also used double team and shadow diver combined with his illusions to ensure a hit. "Get away with shadow diver and use the combination of dark pulse and night daze!"

"Phantom sneak!" It was a move that was only used when Phoebe was in a tight spot, not because it was dangerous to the pokémon, but because she wanted to preserve her secrets, and this move was worth it.

Both pokémon moved into the ground, becoming impossible to spot. In this state, Banette couldn't be harmed directly, and gained power for its next attack comparable to a swords dance. It could leave the ground at will, but it was vulnerable for about a second, so it had to make sure that the attack was strong enough that the opponent couldn't retaliate. Since it could choose the moment of attack, and do it from any angle, that was usually the case. Pokémon that couldn't fly or prepare with moves that covered a large area could be defeated with a few attacks, but she only bothered with the move unless it was absolutely necessary.

Zoroark prepared for his combination, and immediately executed it upon reemerging. Even with the resistance to ghost-type moves, Dawn didn't want him to get hit by this attack, as reports had suggested that it was not to be underestimated. She hoped that the usual counter to ghost-types worked with this move as well. Zoroark slammed his fists into the ground, one of them glowing purple, and the other one red. The red glowing fist was the cause of a weaker night daze, and the other one shot a dark pulse into the ground. The combination was fairly simple, as it dealt some damage, and provided the effects of a dark field, albeit it lasted much longer, and the ground's red glow was always a bonus in contest battles. Against a ghost-type trainer, the denial of the ability to pass through solid objects alone was invaluable. As expected, Banette was forced out of the ground near Zoroark.

"Shadow diver and dark pulse!" Being a dark-type move, it wasn't affected by a dark field, so unlike Banette, he could still escape at will, giving him a huge advantage in this fight.

Phoebe was still baffled by Dawn's skills compared to the previous day. Everything about this battle was so much different from what she'd imagined, and it certainly wasn't in a positive way. So far, she hadn't been able to make a single, good hit, and assuming that Dawn would become any weaker would be foolish, so she needed a good plan. Of all her pokémon, there was one far better suited to deal with a dark-type like Zoroark, and she needed to change the pokémon before Banette would take another big hit.

"A good start," Zoey remarked. "Unless something bad happens, she'll win this more or less easily. But Phoebe is bound to become stronger."

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll have to wait and see," Ash replied, trying to look unimpressed.

"She looks like she's ready to pick up the pace. I wonder what pokémon will be her next." Zoey expected Phoebe to change her pokémon soon, and she was right.

"Return! Sableye, watch out for Zoroark coming out of the ground, and use mean look!" Its prankster ability allowed it to use the move almost instantly as soon as Zoroark appeared next to it, and it changed during the course. The gem on its chest fell on the ground, and grew much larger, then its eyes turned red. The huge gem blocked the dark pulse, and caused Zoroark to disappear into the ground again, and his head emerged a bit further away.

"Use taunt!" He jumped onto the surface, and provoked Sableye, but due to its new ability, he was also provoked in return. Losing shadow diver was bitter, but Dawn was willing to make that sacrifice to prevent Sableye from healing, and furthermore, she was sure that it would use taunt eventually anyway. "Now night daze!"

"Jump onto the gem!" It was relatively safe from the move in that position, but exposed to others. Zoroark followed up with a dark pulse immediately, but it simply jumped down again, hiding behind its gem.

It was said to be almost indestructible, and Dawn wasn't going to put it to the test. As long as Sableye was hiding behind it, she'd have trouble dealing any damage to it, and she doubted that luring it onto the gem with night daze was going to work after she'd already tried it, especially now that Sableye was starting to fight back properly.

"Power gem!" In its mega form, Sableye's power gem was close to an individual move. Although it was similar in terms of base power, it was shot directly from the large gem as a continuous energy beam.

While Zoroark kept his distance, dodging the beam the entire time, Dawn tried to think of something. The first thing she realized that the battle could last for a long time, so Zoroark needed to renew the effect of taunt whenever possible. She was also aware of the fact that the this power gem wasn't much stronger than a regular one, but it could deal a lot more damage with its beam.

"Use taunt again as soon as possible! Now fight back with dark pulse!" About every five seconds, Sableye needed to recharge for a moment, which Zoroark used to shoot a beam of dark energy at the gem. The ghost-type countered it with its own, white energy beam, and they met between the pokémon. Zoroark's attack was superior, however, at least as long as he could keep it up. Dark pulse wasn't made for this, though, so it was exhausting for him. In the end, he managed to push it back all the way, hitting the gem and causing it to fall on top of Sableye. Usually, it would be able to move right through it, but the dark field prevented it, dealing a lot of indirect damage that way. "Now night daze!"

Since it was pinned to the ground, it couldn't evade the red energy field expanding all over the stage, though it eventually managed to free itself. Because of its defenses, it was still far from beaten, but it needed to hit the opponent as well.

"Get closer and try it again!" By waiting for his chance closer to the gem, he ensured that he didn't need to keep up the dark pulse as long. However, when the dark beam was getting close to the gem, Phoebe knew what to do.

"Shadow sneak attack!" The ghost-type abandoned its gem, closing the distance quickly and striking the surprised dark-type while he was using night daze before retreating with shadow sneak again. It jumped onto the gem, and as soon as the red field was gone, it hid behind it again.

Since mega sableye were often practically glued to their gem, Dawn hadn't expected something like this. It made everything more complicated for her, as she needed to think of something different now. Her options were limited, for only his dark- and fire-type moves were able to hurt Phoebe's pokémon. The taunt effect on Zoroark ended a little earlier, allowing him to provoke his opponent before it could even attempt to heal itself. Although the taunt didn't deactivate his illusion ability, the unnatural fury in his mind prevented him from focusing on them enough to do anything worthwhile.

Another problem arose eventually, as the dark field was fading slowly. Without it, the ghost-type could pass through solid objects again, which would limit Dawn's options further. In order to renew it, Zoroark would have to stand still for a moment, and take all the damage from the power gem during that time. However, there was little choice in that matter, as the dark field was also useful to her other pokémon.

"Restore the field!" In order to minimize the damage, Zoroark waited for the beam to get weaker, and then used combination. He was only vulnerable for about a second, but it was enough for the beam to reach its full strength, and it hit him critically in the face. "Stay away and dodge it!"

Zoroark's defenses were so weak that he heavily relied on dodges, and this single hit caused him real trouble. A few more of those would be enough to finish him off, and since it didn't look like Sableye was getting tired, it was only a matter of time. Dawn had to think of something fast, but if she was too hasty, she'd only hasten her defeat. Her first idea was to use flamethrower instead of dark pulse, so that Zoroark's hands were free for the next attack or a quick melee counter, should Sableye come for him.

"Try the same approach with flamethrower!" He got closer and tried to fight the beam with fire from his mouth, but the rock-type move overpowered the flames quickly, forcing him to evade it and cancel the attack. "Let me think of something else."

Only moments later, she came up with a solution, one that was so simple that she had to wonder why she hadn't thought of it earlier. It was also risky, though, and failure could mean the end for Zoroark, but she had to try.

"Get closer and use a quick night daze!" Since she didn't want him to get hit again, he had to use a fast, but weak variant of night daze. If Sableye jumped onto its gem to evade it, the next phase could begin, otherwise she'd just keep weakening it with more night dazes. "Now keep using dark pulse on the gem, full power!" Dawn commanded when the ghost-type did it.

Using both arms for his dark pulse, he pushed the gem away while it was still standing on it, causing it to fall down. The force of his moves pushed the gem against Phoebe's tower, where Sableye couldn't use it as a shield or wall. Instinctively, it tried to return to its precious tool with shadow sneak, but it had to push it away from the tower first, and Zoroark used these moments of vulnerability. Without its gem, its defenses were mediocre at best, and it was clearly wasting more thoughts on how to get out of the situation than to defend itself.

"Keep using dark pulse and night slash when you can!" The dark pulses were weak due to exhaustion, but enough to interrupt his opponent, and when he reached it, it was even easier.

"Fight back with brick break!" Without its gem, it was no match for Zoroark, though, as it was inferior in terms of speed and attack, and its defenses were only slightly better. Most importantly, it wasn't used to fighting that way in this form.

During the following fight, he only got hit once, whereas Sableye felt his claws countless times. It was almost painful to watch a pokémon in its mega form getting beaten up so badly, but without its most prominent feature, it was little more than a nuisance to Zoroark. Eventually, it collapsed next to its gem, and the dark-type sank to his knees, having used almost all of his power for the final attack.

"Sableye is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"That's it, she's won," Ash declared. There was a hint of joy in his voice.

"What?" Serena looked perplexed. "But Phoebe still has five pokémon. How can you say it's over?"

"Simple," Zoey said, answering in his stead. "Two of them are injured, she doesn't have access to another mega evolution, and it doesn't look like she's even aware of who she's facing. Phoebe looks like an amateur here."

"Don't underestimate her dusknoir," Johanna warned. "I heard it can turn the tide of any battle."

"It's just one pokémon. Her others can't keep up with it," Ash replied, watching Phoebe's reaction.

"Damn it. So close. Anyway, good job." She was visibly upset, but she had no time to think about what she'd done wrong. "Froslass, use spikes!"

"Good job. Return for now." Due to his illusions, he could still make a final surprise attack later, but now Dawn wanted someone else to fight. "Scizor, bullet punch!"

With glowing pincers, he jumped through the spikes flying onto Dawn's side of the field. The moves was so fast that only the huge initial distance allowed Froslass to evade it, making him fly past her.

"Get it with shadow ball!" He stopped and used whirling defense, sending the shadow ball right back at her, before charging at her with another bullet punch. She dodged the shadow ball easily, but he had an easy time striking her.

"Iron head and bullet punch! Try to grab her with locust's bite!" The attacks were so fast that Forslass didn't have any time to launch a counter-attack, but thanks to her impressive speed and agility, she didn't get hit either.

Phoebe watched everything with a lot of worry. If her pokémon got caught with locust's bite, it'd be over for her, as she was already too injured. There was one pokémon in her team that was far more suitable for this opponent, and while she'd prefer not to use it this early, she couldn't think of a better counter.

"Return! Dusknoir, mean look!" Dawn had anticipated this, and she changed her pokémon the moment she heard about Dusknoir.

"Return!" She was faster than Dusknoir's mean look, and now she could choose a proper counter.

There were many things to consider. Dusknoir's usage of fire-type skills like will-o-wisp and fire punch made him a direct counter to Scizor. Pokémon with great or even mediocre speed often had trouble with its trick room, which turned it against them. That's why Froslass, Zoroark, and Crobat were also bad choices. In addition, it had a few nasty tricks available, like mean look, disable, destiny bond, and gravity, and there was still its individual move, which was basically a flurry of shadow punches. Strangely enough, Dawn's pokémon of choice was Alakazam, who looked like the worst choice of them all at first glance, but there were several good reasons to use her, most importantly her ability to use trick room to counter Dusknoir's. Reflect could protect her from its shadow punches, and with her healing move, she could recover in case it dealt enough damage. She also had a particularly effective surprise for it in her hands.

"Alakazam, use trick!" Dawn shouted.

The moment she appeared on the stage, she burst into flames, a direct result of the flame orb she was carrying. Her magic guard ability removed the damaging aspect, and the loss of physical power didn't matter in the slightest. In fact, it was a welcome effect, as it prevented other, more harmful effects like paralysis. The orb was visible for a short moment, then it disappeared with a flash and was replaced by a spell tag. Dusknoir immediately felt the difference when it started burning, and Phoebe paled visibly.

"Use shadow storm!" She was sure that Alakazam knew trick room, so she didn't even attempt the move. Instead, the pokémon punched the air a few times, causing several shadowy fists to appear around the psychic-type. Due to the burn, the effect wasn't as great as she'd hoped, though, and things were only about to get worse for her.

"Disable, then reflect!" It was surrounded by a blue aura for a moment, then its most important move was gone, and Alakazam created a barrier to further reduce the effectiveness of his physical moves. "Now recover!"

"Shadow punch!" Phoebe hoped that this, combined with the damage from the shadow storm was enough to defeat a vulnerable pokémon with weak defenses like Alakazam, but the burn, the reflect wall, and the missing spell tag reduced its power so much that it didn't come even close to victory. The following recover move did the rest by healing her a lot again. "Disable!" The command was born out of desperation, as it was already clear that Dusknoir was extremely unlikely to win. The loss of recover could make defeating the psychic-type considerably easier, but not for Dusknoir. "Return!" Only the burning had deal some damage to it, so it was still good to go against another pokémon later. For now, she needed a pokémon that didn't rely on physical attacks. "Drifblim, ominous wind!"

"Return!" Dawn wanted Alakazam to preserve her strength for Dusknoir. She waited for the ominous wind to end before calling out her next pokémon. "Crobat, feint attack!"

"Surround yourself with shadow balls!" Four small shadow appeared at the tips of its four arms, growing to their full size while Crobat was nowhere to be seen. If he attacked in melee, he'd be confronted with all of them at once.

"Cancel and use nasty plot!" Crobat could use both physical and special attacks effectively, yet he could only boost the latter. Those seemed like a better choice now, as getting close to Drifblim looked dangerous. He became visibly close to the ghost-type, and got surrounded by a red aura.

"Disable, then thunder wave!" The aura turned blue for a moment, meaning that nasty plot was blocked now. The electric attack was easily evaded by the fast pokémon, though.

"Scream of terror!" The move wasn't too popular among the audience, as they suffered from the horribly unpleasant noise just as much as the opponent, and had to cover their ears. The move dazed the ghost-type for a few moments, but it failed to inflict confusion, much to Dawn's dismay. However, it was an easy target now, for it couldn't hear Phoebe's commands for a few seconds.

"Disable it!" its trainer cried, but it was no use.

"Air slash!" The nasty plot turned the energy blades into potent weapons, and using all of his wings, Crobat shot four blades at once after getting a little closer. Drifblm wasn't able to dodge all of them, and got struck by one, which also made it flinch. Since it wasn't about to attack, it was nothing but a useless side-effect, though. "Keep using it!"

For a short time, he was able to attack without fear of retaliation. He flew around it all the time, only making sure that he didn't get too close. It changed when the ghost-type regained its ability to hear its master.

"Disable that sound when it uses it again! Now use hypnosis and psychic!" Phoebe knew all too well that her pokémon could never hit a pokémon like Crobat with hypnosis unless it either guided the attack or the opponent. Since psychic was a supper-effective move, the latter option appeared to be the better idea.

The effect wasn't as great as expected though, which was also a result of Dawn's special training. It merely slowed him down considerably, which wasn't enough to ensure a hit with hypnosis. In addition, he was still able to attack, and broke its control entirely when he forced it to evade his air slash. Only the damage was just as strong as ever, so Crobat had to be fast or it might become too much eventually. Right now, Dawn wanted to try confusing Drifblin again.

"Scream of terror, then air slash on the arms!" His move failed to confuse it again, and it got disabled. One of the following air slashes made contact, causing Drifblim to drop a shadow ball. Although this didn't prevent it from creating another, it gave Crobat a little time, and he dealt some damage in the process. "Use nasty plot twice!"

Now that scream of terror was disabled, he could use nasty plot again to increase the power of his next moves. While it couldn't hear it trainer, it tried the combination of hypnosis and psychic again, but failed once more. When Crobat was under the effect of the nasty plots, Dawn wanted to try something.

"Gain some distance, then air slash storm and sky attack!" He unleashed four air slashes with his wings, and then flew behind them towards the ghost-type.

Phoebe suspected that Dawn wanted it to dodge the air slashes and get hit by the sky attack instead, but there was an easy way to solve this, almost too easy. However, even if it wasn't her plan, Drifblim still had four shadow balls at its disposal.

"Psychic on the blades!° They flew in different directions for a moment, and then charged at Crobat. Thanks to his superior speed and maneuverability, he managed to evade all of them, and by that time, he was already close to Phoebe's pokémon. "Now the shadow balls!"

"Blade storm!" He managed to shoot four more energy blades at the target before he was forced to fly upwards. This way, he was unable to finish the sky attack, but the energy blades cut through the shadow balls with the power from the nasty plots, hitting Drifblim directly. "Now heat wave, then gust and air slash!"

"Counter with ominous wind!" It was stunned from the brutal attack, though, and the heat wave pushed it against the ground.

Crobat followed up with gust, making it impossible for the ghost-type to get away, while his smaller wings use air slash when they could. The four energy blades had already dealt tremendous damage, and this did the rest. Phoebe hesitated to recall it at first, believing that it could still turn the tides, and when she realized that she was mistaken, it was already too late. When Crobat stopped his attack, it rolled to the side, clearly unconscious.

"Drifblim is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"You did well." Phoebe was in a real pinch now, with two pokémon down, two injured, and one of them on fire, but she wasn't one to give up, even when she was up against impossible odds. "Rotom, light screen!"

"Good job. Return now." Crobat had done a marvelous job, but now it was up to a pokémon, who hadn't seen as much action so far. "Scizor, start with swords dance!"

Phoebe had a slight type-advantage, and given the course of the battle so far, it was more than expected. Now she just had to use it.

"Reflect!" The light screen was still useful in case Dawn changed her pokémon, but the reflect was essential against Scizor. "Now discharge and will-o-wisp!"

"Protect, then whirling defense and bullet punch!" Dawn wanted to prevent a paralysis at all costs, and didn't take any risks. When the electric attack failed, he waited for the will-o-wisp, reflected it, and launched himself at Rotom.

"Shadow ball, then thunder wave!" It destroyed the will-o-wisp, and paralyzed the approaching bug-type. In return, it was ready to endure the bullet punch, which was highly ineffective. "Now get away and thunder!"

"Stay close and use brick break!" Using bullet punch, he could offset the reduced from the paralysis, and Rotom was struck before it unleashed the thunder move. Of course, the fighting-type move didn't have any effect on Rotom itself, but it shattered its defenses.

Dawn realized that she was a bit too reckless, and that Scizor couldn't win that way, even with the light screen and reflect move gone. His mega evolution was always an option, but she felt that she could succeed without resorting to that method. However, she needed to be a lot more careful, especially now that her pokémon was slow. The biggest problem was that Scizor was only strong in melee combat. It was time to remember her strengths, and Dawn needed to not let the good start make her become arrogant.

"Get away with quick attack and use swords dance!" The move carried him all the way back to Dawn's tower, where he turned around, and spun to increase his strength.

"Combine shadow ball with thunderbolt!" Phoebe felt a lot safer now, and took the initiative. A shadow ball formed in front of Rotom, who charged it with a thunderbolt to create a sparkling, dark orb. It was shot at Scizor, and Dawn thought about reflecting it, but then she had a better idea.

"Eat it!" Scizor's right pincer absorbed the orb with locust's bite in midair, sparkling with energy as a result. "Now quick attack and side slash!" He moved past it, and used night slash on the way, damaging it further with the energy stored in his pincer. Before it could react, he was already far away.

"Thunder!" The move was also mostly absorbed by both pincers. Rotom needed a move that spread the energy a bit more, and there was a perfect one at his disposal. "Discharge!"

No matter how small he tried to appear, he couldn't absorb all of it with his pincers, as a part always managed to slip past them. It wasn't much, he was already paralyzed, and the move wasn't strong from that distance, but it was impossible to avoid. Dawn noticed that all of its electricity was shot from the two lightning-shaped arms, which could be exploited. When it attacked with discharge again, she decided to fight back with force.

"Grab its arms with locust's bite!" He was only exposed to the discharge's full power for a moment, then he grabbed the arms, and started absorbing the electricity at its source, and also drained Rotom's power. Phoebe quickly realized that she couldn't rely on electric attacks in this situation. On the other hand, the dark field had disappeared some time ago, giving her more options, but first, she wanted to hit Scizor hard. "Shadow ball in its face, then escape into the ground."

Before it was fully formed, Scizor used iron head on the orb, causing it to detonate between the two pokémon. Due to its weakness, Rotom took far more damage before it escaped by becoming intangible and moving into the ground. It was the beginning of an extremely time- and energy-consuming strategy. As soon as it emerged next to her tower, she gave the instructions.

"Keep using discharge and escape again!" she commanded.

The result was a hit-and-run strategy, with Rotom appearing at different places to deal a bit of damage to Scizor, who couldn't do anything but absorb as much as possible. Even though the damage of each individual discharge was low, it added up with time. Nevertheless, Dawn remained calm, and let him do swords dance to be ready for a massive attack.

"Be patient. The attacks are bound to become weaker," she kept telling him.

Indeed, the constant attacks were making it tired and slow, but Dawn waited until she absolutely certain that Scizor could get it. He couldn't rely on his eyes for a fast counter, as it often appeared behind him.

"Close your eyes. Listen, and strike when you hear it," she finally told him.

He did as he was told, waiting patiently for the sound of electricity. The moment he heard it, he lunged at it, not bothering to confirm its situation, but trusting his senses. He reached it with bullet punch when it began to use discharge, and he was exposed to its full power for a moment. It didn't distract him, though, and he slashed it with both pincers, which were at full power due to the swords dances and the absorbed energy. The electric attack was immediately over, and the ghost-type fell to the ground.

"Rotom is unable to battle!" Dawn took a deep breath when she heard it, relieved that they had won this problematic battle.

"You were awesome, so don't feel bad." Phoebe didn't have a lot of options left, and with Rotom's defeat, there was no way to protect Dusknoir with light screen anymore, destroying her last hope of winning. Her new goal was to take down at least one of Dawn's pokémon. "Banette, shadow sneak!"

"Return!" Banette changed its move to pursuit when it heard that, which allowed it to hit Scizor, although it wasn't enough to knock him out. "Froslass, ice beam!"

"Feint attack and combine it with shadow claw!" Froslass stopped her attack as soon as she heard Phoebe's command.

"Use the dark combination! Put everything you got left into it." Froslass used a combination of moves she wasn't supposed to have. Zoroark had used it earlier, which left only one possibility. Since he used all of his remaining power, the result was a blast of dark energy, which revealed and pushed back the ghost-type, in addition to significant damage. It left Zoroark weak and vulnerable in return, though. "Well done, now return! Froslass, confuse ray and psychic!"

Phoebe was angry that she'd been fooled twice, and in both cases, Banette had been the victim. Posing as different pokémon in one battle was difficult, and only well-trained zoroark were able to pull it off, but for Dawn's, it was a trivial matter. He had done a magnificent job, having made two devastating sneak attacks, and defeated a mega pokémon on his own. Now the others had to take care of the rest. Froslass was to make the first move by finishing off Banette, who looked like it couldn't go on much longer.

"Destroy the orb with night slash!" This time, Phoebe didn't want to try anything fancy, and simply let her pokémon destroy the confuse ray. "Now combine shadow claw with shadow ball and get her!"

"Shadow shards combination!" She created a large ice shard and merged it with a shadow ball before shattering it and shooting the small, purple glowing shards at the approaching Banette. They had the speed of a regular ice shard move, and there were so many that it couldn't get rid of all of them. "Now ice punch with shadow ball!"

Both pokémon attacked each other with purple glowing arms, and when their fists met, there was a bright, purple flash, and the pokémon were thrown in different directions. Whereas Froslass managed to soften the fall with a bit of snow, Banette was unconscious before it hit the ground.

"Banette is unable to battle!" the referee shouted a few moments later.

"Not again. Well, thank you." Phoebe was extremely frustrated by now. "Fine! Dusknoir, use trick room!"

She knew that Dawn's alakazam would remove it, but she needed a bit of time, which Dusknoir could use to take her down. Even with the ghost-type burning, Forslass would have a lot of trouble against it, mainly due to her speed. There were only few pokémon capable of taking on this dusknoir without support, and Dawn even doubted that Wallace's Milotic would win, which made the fact that a pokémon like Alakazam could counter it all the more weird.

"Return! Alakazam, trick room!" Dusknoir's move took effect when a transparent, pink cube appeared around the stage for a second, so the psychic-type was slow, and Phoebe's pokémon could use its strongest attack, the shadow storm while she was busy. Enduring the fists of shadow, she finished her move, returning the speed to normal. All the time, Dawn carefully listened to Phoebe, in case she decided to make Dusknoir use disable on her trick room, but it didn't seem the case. "Reflect, then recover and protect!"

"Keep using shadow storm, and disable recover!" There was good reason to choose the healing move, as without it, Alakazam would eventually succumb to the shadow storms. Another shadow storm hit her, and a third when she started to recover. It was pretty close, but she managed to heal a lot of the damage done to her, and with the reflect move in effect, she was relatively safe now. Furthermore, she was so fast with the protect move that it blocked the disable even though Dusknoir was remarkably fast. Now it was Dawn's turn to play with disable.

"Try to disable the shadow storm, and keep using psychic on it!" In combination with the burning, Dawn hoped to take it down quickly.

"Protect when it uses disable! Try to get closer!" The method that saved Alakazam's recover move now served to protect Dusknoir's shadow storm.

The ghost-type was so slow that Alakazam had no trouble teleporting to the other side of the field whenever it got close, while hurting it by attempting to crush it with the power of her mind. It certainly wasn't the prettiest or most exciting battle, but both pokémon were extremely focused, as one mistake could mean that their most important move was gone. Under normal circumstances, Phoebe wouldn't take this huge risk, but she had little choice right now, and time was against her. In the end, however, both pokémon couldn't use protect anymore at the same time. Dusknoir had used it far more often, but its pressure ability tired out Alakazam.

"Recover, then psyshock! Disable shadow storm when you get the chance!" Dawn knew that she couldn't prevent it from getting deactivated this time, but then again, the psychic-type couldn't use recover much longer either. Fortunately, Dusknoir was almost down so she didn't have to keep fighting much longer.

In fact, it was already knocked out by the psyshock, for it was too exhausted and too busy with its own move to watch out anymore, and got hit critically in the face. For such a powerful pokémon, the defeat was extremely unspectacular, as it simply fell forward, and didn't move anymore.

"Dusknoir is unable to battle!" It was a major shock to the trainer and the audience, who hadn't seen it losing to one pokémon in a long time.

"That was scary," Serena confessed.

"Don't let this fight fool you, it's freaking powerful, no matter how meek Alakazam made it look," Ash told her. "It's one of the most feared pokémon in the world, and now it got defeated by a psychic-type. How humiliating. Just like the whole battle."

"Yes, look at Phoebe. She's broken," Johanna said, pointing at the trainer.

"Well ... return." The ghost-type trainer didn't really know what to say. "Froslass, you ... use ominous wind."

"Wonderful job, but return for now. Froslass, shadow shards!" Both moves missed, and the pokémon started moving around the center of the field, waiting for the other to make the first move. "Confuse ray!"

"Shadow ball!" Phoebe hoped the two orbs would meet and explode, but Dawn had a better idea.

"Psychic on the shadow ball!" She made it get out of the way of her own orb, and fly in a wide arc back at Phoebe's froslass, who charged her arms with shadow balls, and destroyed both orbs with punches.

"Shadow ball with ominous wind!" She used ominous wind to accelerate and strengthen the orb, but Dawn's froslass simply used her icy mirror move to create small shields in her arms, reflecting the attack that way. "Shadow assault!"

"Confuse ray when you see the opportunity!" Phoebe's pokémon charged her arms with shadow balls again, and tried to win with physical attacks, for the icy mirror rendered most of her ranged attacks useless.

With quick punches, she hoped to take her down, but Dawn's pokémon didn't even fight back properly, focusing solely on her defense. She was quick to dodge every strike, but always kept an eye out for any possible opportunity to fight back. It presented itself when Phoebe's froslass attack with a bit too much force. Dawn's pokémon quickly got past her, and pressed the orb from confuse right against her back.

"Now attack!" A point-blank shadow ball sent her towards the ground, where she got up surprisingly quickly. "Again!" She shot two small shadow balls at her opponent, and even though Phoebe's froslass got away in time, she moved towards Dawn's side for some reason, where she was met by another shadow-ball-powered punch.

It fell down again, looking around in confusion. Dawn wanted to end it properly, with a spectacular attack. The chill of darkness was maybe not the strongest, but certainly one of the most impressive combinations, and the helpless forslass on the ground was a good target for it.

"Use chill of darkness," she said calmly.

Her froslass raised her arms, creating a shadow ball with about five times the usual radius. Then she used blizzard, so that countless shards of ice were moving on its surface, and icy winds surrounded it. Parts of the orb even changed their color to a light blue instead of purple, but those changed every second. It almost looked like two flames, blue and purple, were raging inside the orb, fighting for control over it. Leaving a trail of ice, it was smashed into the ground where Froslass was lying. Although most of its power came from the blizzard, to which she was resistant, it was still enough to defeat the weakened pokémon. The blast sent her flying, but even before she hit the ground, it was clear that she was down. Phoebe had already come to accept the defeat, and merely waited for the referee to declare Dawn's victory.

"Froslass is unable to battle!" he shouted mere moments later. "Phoebe's team is defeated, therefore victory goes to the challenger."

Phoebe nodded at Dawn as a sign of acknowledgement, recalled her fallen pokémon, and left without paying any attention to the thunderous applause. Dawn was finally able to relax a little, and she enjoyed the attention after the disaster on the previous day. With some kind words, she recalled her victorious pokémon, and simply stood there, waving at the people. Even Ash made no effort of hiding his joy, clapping loudly along with the rest. She eventually left, as she had no intention of letting the new hype get to her. If she wanted to get to Wallace, she needed to focus on the goal, and not let her victories give her a false sense of security. Other trainers had already failed because of this, and she wasn't too keen on becoming the next. She only heard the commentator talking about the usual nonsense, but didn't bother paying attention to it, and left for her room.

This time, there was no visitor, and secretly, she was glad about it. The last thing she wanted right now was Ash ruining the balance she had found. On the other hand, she'd have to meet him eventually, for it was his gallade who was to take her back home. In order to gain a little more time, she called out her pokémon, praising their performance. What they had done this day was nothing less of a humiliation for the Elite Four, and the remaining members were unlikely to underestimate her the way Phoebe had done after the horrible fight against Sidney. Now that they were warned, she had to expect a lot of resistance. Fortunately, the teams for those opponents had more synergies, especially those for Drake and Wallace.

Unfortunately, she had to show herself at some point, and she didn't want to keep the others waiting forever. Whereas Ash only said congratulations, looking embarrassed, the others were far more talkative, and couldn't stop talking until it was time to part ways in Kanto. After all Dawn still had to prepare for the next battle, and with all the snow around, it wasn't going to be pleasant. However, those were the perfect conditions to simulate the battle against Glacia, an ice-type trainer. All in all, it went surprisingly well, and she felt that it shouldn't prove too much of a challenge. With the feeling of being well-prepared, she went to sleep in the evening, hoping that the next days would be just as successful as the last.

* * *

 **Next up is Glacia with her ice-types. She surely won't undererstimate Dawn now, but try to restore the Elite Four's honor. Let's just say she has a surprise that was originally meant for the champion.**


	80. Chilling Surprise

**I hope you like this one. It's more balanced than the others and not due to bad decisions.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 80 Chilling Surprise

Ash woke up early next morning, and used the extra time for an extended breakfast. Unsurprisingly, Dawn's most recent victory was in every newspaper. Whereas they had called her too weak to even get to Drake, they praised her in every way possible now. Ash knew all too well how quickly their opinion could change, and he found it disgusting. One of them compared the battle against Phoebe to a fight between a modern fighter jet, and a blimp, which was obviously a reference to Corabt versus Drifblim. In any case, it was good that Dawn didn't have time to pay any attention to the media right now, or they might ruin her attitude. When he was done, he looked out of the window, and could hardly believe that there was even more snow outside, but at least the sun was shining right now.

A bit later, Dawn woke up as well, and after a short breakfast, she went to the lab, where Alakazam took her to Hoenn. Glacia was a more cautious trainer, preferring to balance defense and offence. It was essential, for ice-types had a lot of weaknesses, which had to be considered, but sometimes she simply had to defeat the enemy before he could take advantage of them, and in those cases she often revealed a fiery passion, which didn't seem to fit. Most importantly, she wouldn't underestimate her opponent like Phoebe.

The previous battle had sparked the interest for this one, so Ash and the others weren't surprised to see a much larger crowd in front of the arena. The stage was different this time, consisting of a frozen pool, as expected of an ice-type trainer. She was the first to appear, long before the official start, wearing a simple, long, light blue dress, white gloves, and white high heels. The way she walked gave the audience the impression that she was a princess or even a queen, but she always claimed that she'd merely been raised well. Enjoying the cool air on her tower next to the frozen pool, she waited for her opponent patiently. Dawn arrived on time, so that it could start almost immediately.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the third round of the first challenge this year. Yesterday, we've seen an amazing display of skill, but will she be able to do the same today, against the famous ice queen?" Even the commentator sounded much more enthusiastic now. "The stakes are high, for if Dawn wins, she'll face the oldest and most powerful member of the Elite Four. But enough of this, let's get started. You've come for a battle, and you shall get it. The usual rules and victory conditions apply."

"Are both trainers ready?" the referee asked, already taking a few steps back. When they both nodded, he announced the beginning of the battle.

"Abomasnow, icy wind!" Glacia commanded.

"Ninetales, fire shield!" Dawn shouted.

The fire shield was an individual move, and an improvement to her fire spin combination. It was a sphere of fire around her, which could burn some moves thrown at her, activated her flash fire ability, and dealt damage to anyone getting close to her. The main advantage over the fire spin was that it didn't immobilize her, allowing her to put her good speed to use. In this case, it negated the icy wind, and even protected her from the hail caused by Abomasnow's snow warning ability. She only had to be careful not to remain on the frozen pool for too long, or she might melt a tunnel downwards.

"Cancel it!" An extremely short sunny day ended the hail, but on the other hand it didn't allow her to increase the strength of her own moves.

"Return!" A double weakness was too much, especially at the beginning, so she wanted to try something else. "Walrein, use aqua ring!"

Dawn suspected that its ability was thick fat, which would make fire-type moves ineffective. In addition, it had access to water-type moves, thus it was extremely dangerous to Ninetales. Dawn only wanted her to try one more thing before she could be recalled.

"Safeguard!" This was meant for her teammates, and soon as Dawn saw the green shield flash around her, she recalled the fire-type. Glacia had anticipated this, and didn't even bother attacking. "Pachirisu, cruel storm avatar!"

"Surf, then rollout!" Glacia knew Pachirisu, and she tried to counter her.

Storm avatar was similar to rollout, as the pokémon curled up, and moved towards the opponent, turning into a sparkling, blue orb. In this state, damage from all sources was greatly reduced, but it also put a serious strain on her body. The wave coming towards her was no problem at all. She simply penetrated it, and then had to face Walrein, who had stayed behind, and now was rolling towards her. Usually, she'd return to her normal form, and strike it with her charged tail, but it would simply roll over, so she stayed like that. The collision pushed back both of them a little, but Pachirisu recovered faster, jumped onto its back, and used super fang on it, which was the reason why Dawn had called for a cruel storm avatar. Since it was still uninjured, the damage was enormous, and Dawn was tempted to recall her already, but the type-advantage made her want to go further.

"Blizzard!" Glacia commanded.

"Another cruel storm avatar!" The electric-type curled up again, and gained some distance to charge up her attack, ignoring the blizzard at her previous location altogether.

"Again!" This blizzard wasn't meant to hurt her, but to slow her down, and considering how difficult maintaining this form was, it was a valid method. She eventually got to the ice-type, though, and this time, she struck it with her tail, before biting it again. However, she was pushed back by another blizzard after that.

The normal strategy involving Pachirisu was to let her weaken opponents with super fang while remaining mostly uninjured due to storm avatar, or focus on a single, powerful opponent, and use storm avatar whenever she wasn't attacking. This was the second case, albeit Dawn wanted to preserve her as much as possible for the others, which meant using storm avatar as little as possible.

"Use thunder wave!"Despite her size, Pachirisu could take quite a beating, and paralyzed it when she hit the ground. "Now discharge!"

"Encore!" Glacia obviously intended to make Pachirisu use thunder wave over and over again, but her pokémon was slow, and with the paralysis, it didn't get to clap with its arms until after Pachirisu was done with the discharge, which wasn't so bad. "Return! Abomasnow, earthquake!"

"Return!" Discharge wasn't a good move against a grass-type, so Dawn changed her pokémon again. It had brought another snowstorm, and she needed to remove it quickly. "Ninetales, cancel it!"

"Return!" Apparently, Glacia had only called it out for its ability. "Glaceon, eternal winter!"

"Flamethrower!" Dawn shouted, sounding worried.

There was a lot of reason to be worried, for the eternal winter was an extended, irremovable hail move, and while Glaceon was a weak fighter, the move alone more than made up for it. It needed a little time, which Dawn used to hit it with a reliable, super-effective move.

"Now wish!" While Ninetales was keeping up a stream on fire, engulfing it all the time, it shot an orb of white light upwards. "Return!" The hail and the wish move cost it a lot of health, but its teammates could benefit a lot from it. "Walrein, rock slide!"

"Return!" Dawn recalled the fire-type even before she heard what pokémon Glacia used next, for she knew that there was only one that could benefit from the wish, as Glacia couldn't call out Glaceon again. "Lucario, extremespeed!"

The fighting-type's mission was to take out weakened opponents, and the extremespeed move extremely important to close the distance and deal fast damage.

"Protect!" Glacia commanded when she heard that Lucario was up next. The last thing she wanted right now was to both lose a pokémon and waste the wish. It blocked the extremespeed, which gave enough time for the wish to take effect, sending a healing ray of light down at Walrein. "Now scald!"

"Aura sphere!" Lucario could have used it so that the moves would meet, but he'd have to overpower the scald, which would give Glacia time to recall it. Therefore he attacked so that both moves hit the respective target. Since his move was super-effective as opposed to Walrein's, he regarded it as a good trade, and as expected, the ice-type trainer recalled it to use it later again.

"Return!" Now she had a surprise for Dawn and the audience. "Regice, thunder wave!"

Legendary pokémon were rarely used by the Elite Four outside of battles against the champion. Most of them were kept a secret for such an occasion, and the fact that Glacia used this one against Dawn could only mean that she's extremely impressed, perhaps even afraid of ending up like Phoebe, for like most other members of the Elite Four, she's prideful. This particular regice had never been seen before in battle, so the challenger had no idea what to expect, but she knew that there were better pokémon to weaken it.

"Return!" He was already gone when lightning struck his position. "Pachirisu, tenacious storm avatar."

"Lock-on!" Pachirisu curled up again, and while she was coming towards Regice, it extended its arms, creating a sparkling orb between them.

"Move right through there!" There was little Pachirisu could have done versus a zap cannon under the effect of lock-on, and the safeguard was already over, so she simply flew through it, getting paralyzed in the process, albeit it was still better than taking the damage of a regular zap cannon outside the storm avatar form. She struck Regice with her tail, and followed up with a thunder wave to paralyze it as well, but she remained close to the ice-type. "Super fang!"

"Full power blizzard!" Pachirisu entered the storm avatar form instinctively, albeit she was too slow to avoid all the damage, and was exposed to it for some time. As soon as it was over, she moved onto its back, and used super fang on it. "Again!"

"Protect, then super fang again!" Boosted by the snowstorm, the blizzard pushed her back quite a bit, so that Regice was ready for the next before the electric-type could reach it. Furthermore, its wounds started to heal, which could only mean that its ability was ice body. "Storm avatar, then try again!" This time, she managed to remain close enough to jump onto its head, and use super fang after the blizzard.

However, this kind of blizzard around the ice-type was too much in the long run, and Pachirisu's speed and agility were useless if she couldn't get enough to the target. Now that it was weakened, though, others could take care of the rest.

"Return! Espeon, light screen!" Dawn shouted.

"Use ice mantle!" This move took a long time to complete, which was probably the reason why it hadn't used it earlier, but Dawn's change of pokémon and Espeon's usage of light screen instead of an offensive move gave it plenty of opportunity.

It was like tornado of ice with Regice at the center, and from the looks of it, it wasn't to be underestimated. A disturbing aspect was that its wounds started to heal faster than before, which gave Dawn the impression that this move increased the effect of its ice body ability. Although Espeon could hit it super-effectively with the perfected searing light, the hail weakened it, so there were better pokemon for this task. Espeon had already finished her part by providing her ally with protection against Regice's attacks. Reflect wasn't necessary, for its physical moves were weak.

"Return! Ninetales, start with fire shield!" Unlike the ice mantle, it was done quickly, and protected her from the snowstorm, albeit not completely, as this hail was stronger.

"Safeguard!" It looked silly, considering that it was already paralyzed, but protection from confusion was reason enough to use this move. "Now blizzard!"

"Flamethrower!" Under normal circumstances, the flamethrower would overpower the ice storm, but thanks to the hail, they were evenly matched. Neither pokémon was willing to back down, but they had to stop their moves to catch their breath eventually. Dawn realized that she needed to use stronger moves, or it would soon regain all of its health. "Heat wave!"

"Frost breath!" Using this move, Regice was able to stop the largest part of the flame wall spreading all over the field, and the rest was weakened further by the ice mantle, so that it did only enough to negate its regeneration for a moment.

"Try fire spin!" The fire-type tossed a few small fireballs at it, but they were shot down by its ice beam, and then it shot at her. Although she was too fast, and dodged it easily, she still had to find a way to inflict real damage. "Nasty plot, then combine fire spin and heat wave!"

"Lock-on, then zap cannon!" No matter how slow the orb electricity was moving, there was no way to evade it now, it could only be blocked or destroyed. Dawn gave her pokémon a nod, and she used protect when the orb was about to make contact. The moment her shield was down, an ice beam followed, but her resistance to the move combined with the fire shield greatly reduced the damage. Apparently, it attempted to freeze her to the ground, as she felt ice around her feet, but it quickly melted. "Focus blast!"

This move was easy to dodge, and she continued to prepare the combination. It looked like Regice was holding back with blizzards now, either to conserve its energy for future opponents, or a powerful combination. It sounded weird, but Dawn didn't expect Ninetales to defeat the ice-type, despite the type-advantage. Regice's defense against non-physical moves was simply too high for her to do any considerable harm, but she could at least prevent it from regenerating. Once the hail was over, it would be her task to create a powerful sunny day orb, one that couldn't be overcome by Glaceon without taking heavy damage in the process. Until then, she had to remain as healthy as possible, and the fire shield was the main reason had chosen it for this job.

Now that the tests were over, and the preparations done, she used a combination that could give her more time, and prove even more useful later. A wave of fire spread towards Regice, hiding small fireballs within the flames. The ice-type tried to fight them with frost breath again, but thanks to the nasty plot, they got further this time, and when one of the fireballs made contact, it turned into a vortex of fire. The damage was negligible, and Regice was already so slow that getting immobilized didn't make much of a difference, although it was good to know that it couldn't get any closer now, which would make the ice mantle much more dangerous. The important part was that it weakened the ice mantle and therefore the regeneration, similar to how a whirlpool was a perfect counter to the fire shield.

"Lock-on and zap cannon again, then focus blast!" This time, it didn't bother trying to freeze her feet to the ground, and simply used the most powerful move directly, but Ninetales evaded it easily after destroying the tap cannon orb with her fire.

Dawn eventually gave up on inflicting damage, focusing on the defense instead. The light screen helped a great deal, but it ended before the hail, leaving the fire shield as Ninetale's only remaining protection. Fortunately, Regice's attacks weren't too powerful, even when strengthened by the hail, so she was still able to continue after this long fight, having only taken moderate damage. When the hail finally ended, she needed all of her remaining energy.

"Fire spin on yourself, then sunny day, maximum duration!" The fire spin was simply another line of defense, and since Dawn was about to recall her pokémon anyway, she didn't care about the immobilizing effect. At least it wouldn't prevent her from recalling the fire-type, as opposed to when it was used on an opponent. Maximum duration in this context meant a little more than twice the usual duration, just enough to prevent removal by ordinary weather moves,. Anything more than that was nothing but a waste of time and energy.

"Focus blast!" No ice-type move could get past both the fire spin and the fire shield, at least not without the hail, and Ninetales was resistant anyway, so focus blast was the best choice. It managed to hit her with two moves while she was standing still, creating a bright, hot orb of light above the stage.

Whereas Glaceon's move was impossible to remove, Dawn believed that it couldn't simply overwrite her own weather effects without serious effort, and in this case, it'd take a lot of time to counter this sunny day. Depending on Dawn's pokémon on the field, it could mean sacrificing Glaceon for the effect. As soon as the orb was ready, Dawn was ready to take the initiative, and she needed to do it, for Regice was back at full health. Ninetales, however, had to take a break, as she had been heavily injured near the end.

"Well done, return!" She needed a physical attacker, but Lucario was needed for other occasions. Psyshock was the solution for this problem. "Espeon, light screen, then cold light!"

Since Espeon was a psychic-type, Regice could use ice-type moves effectively again, and unlike water-type moves, those weren't affected much by the sunny day.

"Blizzard!" Espeon was faster with the light screen, so she didn't take a lot of damage, and followed up with her first individual move.

Cold light was similar to sunny day in a way that it illuminated the field, albeit in this case, the light seemed to come directly from the ground, and unlike sunny day, it wasn't a warm light. Consequently, it didn't boost fire-type moves, but instead strengthened psychic-type moves, made dark-types vulnerable to them, and weakened their own moves. The reason why Dawn made Espeon use it was that sunny day and cold light were even more useful together, as they strengthened each other slightly. In addition, her main attack Regice was going to be psyshock, and a boost was always welcome. The move caused the ice beneath them to emit a weak light.

"Keep using ice beam!" Regice was so slow that Espeon had no trouble avoiding it entirely, but the frequent attacks were a bit more of a problem. In case she got hit, she could rely on light screen, her decent natural defenses, and morning light as a healing move, but she was afraid of getting frozen, which could prove a real problem, even under the effect of sunny day.

"Use psyshock when you can!" As soon as Dawn believed it to be a bit tired, Espeon started attacking, hitting the ice-type whenever the paralysis took effect, or when she simply felt that it was safe, and it was already so slow that there were many opportunities. Only the use of protect prevented worse, so that it was only hit twice.

It was enough for Dawn, though, as she wanted to finish it with a powerful combination. Given Regice's weakness to fire, the sunny day played a vital role in her plan.

"Psyshock through the sunny day!" Espeon released a large number of miniature psyshock-orbs, moving them though the large org above the stage with psychic. By doing that, she gave them a fiery aura, and like tiny meteors, they came towards Regice. On the way, she fused them together again, so they wouldn't be tossed to the side by the ice mantle, creating one larger meteor.

"Return!" It disappeared before the meteor hit, which left a large puddle of water behind.

Glacia needed a moment to reconsider her plan. In order to utilize the legendary pokémon to its full potential, she needed a snowstorm, but both the sunny day and the cold light prevented it. Therefore she needed to get rid of both Espeon and Ninetales, and since Espeon could heal the fire-type with wish, it made her the prime target. She was ready for seemingly desperate measures if it meant taking out this key piece of Dawn's team.

"Glalie, icy glare, then taunt!" The moment it appeared, it already started to turn into its mega form.

"Reflect!" Glalie's icy glare was a combination of glare and mean look, and it also made the target flinch and dealt a little damage. Then it followed up with a taunt extremely quickly. Even so, Espeon would've had enough time for her move, but the icy glare stopped her in her tracks.

Espeon's magic bounce reflected both moves, though, trapping Glalie, paralyzing it, and filling its mind with rage. Considering the importance of the hail to Glacia, it wasn't surprising that she'd use the mega evolution to take down Espeon. Now that neither trainer could recall the pokémon, one pokémon was sure to be defeated. Now Dawn was actually happy about the many blizzards and ice beams from Regice, as they kept the field so cold, that even the sunny day had trouble melting the ice.

"Looks like one of the pokémon will go down soon," Ash remarked.

"Why?" Serena asked, and the others looked at him expectantly.

"That move is called icy glare. Among other effects, it prevents escape, and since Espeon's ability is magic bounce, it got reflected. Understand now?" He was surprised when they gave him funny looks. "What? I looked it up yesterday. It's a common move used by Glacia."

"Looks like you're not that indifferent to Dawn's fate after all," Zoey said with a grin. "Otherwise you certainly wouldn't have bothered getting to know an opponent you'll probably never face."

"Shut up, or I'll never answer your questions again," he answered, visibly annoyed by her words.

He turned his attention back to the battle field, where the real fight was about to start.

"Earthquake, then icy glare and ice fang!" Glacia commanded.

"Searing light!" Espeon was able to release all of the six orbs before the icy glare stunned her. One of the main advantages of this move that Glalie could use it continuously to keep the opponent stunned, and reposition itself during that time. The only flaw was that it couldn't follow up with an attack immediately. The earthquake, however, was already on its way, and the icy glare ensured that Espeon wouldn't do anything to avoid it. At the same time, it approached for physical attacks, but got hit by the orbs of light on the way. Boosted by the sunny day, they proved extremely powerful, but it kept going, which was yet another proof that it wasn't to be underestimated. When it was close to her, she was still on the ground, recovering from the earthquake. "Get away, then searing light again!"

It was too late to dodge the ice fang, and when she tried to flee after that, it caught her again with icy glare. The next ice fang was evaded, yet when she tried to retaliate, it stunned her again. Glacia usually didn't let it use this extensively, which meant that she really wanted Espeon to go down. Their offensive capabilities were too much to allow for a long battle, and neither trainer had anything against it. The only question was who could deal the damage faster.

"Get away, then the same combination!" Glacia commanded.

She'd let it use crunch instead, but she knew about the effect of cold light, so she had to resort to ice fang. Something worried her, which was Espeon's growing resistance to icy glare. Pokémon exposed to it often got to fight the effect, which was another reason why she didn't like using it in abundance, but in Espeon's case, it happened surprisingly fast. Dawn also noticed it, and kept telling the psychic-type to use searing light, hoping that their special training against control effects could quickly render the glare ineffective. It was all the more reason for Glacia to end the battle quickly. Glalie gained a bit of distance while using icy glare, so it could stun her again before she could jump over the earthquake. During the earthquake, Espeon managed to use searing light again, before she was stunned again, and hit by the earthquake and the following ice fang.

Espeon was almost defeated at this point, but when she retreated this time, and got stunned again, she managed to release one orb of searing light. It hit the ice-type's right eye, interrupting the move, which allowed her to use the full move.

"Dark pulse! Give it all you got!" Glalie's trainer screamed, and before the orbs hit it, it released a burst of dark energy, which destroyed them. The range was short, and the price was high, but it may have very well prevented its defeat, and finished off Espeon, who was a bit too close. Glalie collapsed, breathing heavily, but it wasn't defeated yet.

"Espeon is unable to battle!" The referee declared.

Glacia won this fight, but she didn't look happy about it. Not only had the ice-type retained heavy damage, it was also severely weakened due to the last attack, and continuing the fight was almost certainly impossible. The mega form had to be sacrificed if it wanted to do anything else, and even if it got some rest in its pokéball, it would still be easy prey for Dawn's pokémon. On the other hand one of the sources of weather effects was gone, leaving only Ninetales.

"Good job, but a mega pokémon of this sort was just too much." Glalie was Glacia's main pokémon after all, so a defeat wasn't shameful in the slightest. The light screen and cold light ended while she was thinking about the next pokémon, which meant that the sunny day still lasted for a while. "Ninetales, fire shield!"

"Return!" Glacia was surprised that Dawn would call out Ninetales this early, and it made her believe that she still had a pokémon capable of a weather move. Dawn's real intention was to lure out the last pokémon. All the others were either too weak or too vulnerable to fight the fire-type, and she needed to know what pokémon it was. "Aurorus, ice lances!"

Although Dawn was at a disadvantage here, she still believed that she could deal enough damage to make everything worth it, especially because of the sunny day. She needed to be fast, though, and a special pokémon had to be on the field before it ended.

Aurorus created a few spikes with stone edge, and shot them at Ninetales with blizzard.

"Dodge them, then combine fire spin and heat wave!" The spikes were easy to evade, and the fire shield greatly weakened the blizzard. The fire-type attempted the same combination she'd used against Regice earlier.

"Blizzard!" This time, Glacia knew what to expect, and since she had no intention of letting her pokémon get trapped, she used a stronger move to counter it, strong enough to do the job despite the sunny day. "Now haze and frost breath on the ground!"

"Fire spin!" It seemed preoccupied with its moves, but Dawn soon realized why it didn't counter the fire spin. An incredibly cold mist was released from its mouth, and remained near it. When the small fireballs hit it, they were extinguished before they could turn into fiery vortexes. This was a simple defense, that made sure that Ninetales could only attack Aurorus directly, and not burn the ground or melt the ice beneath it.

"Ice lances again, use encore after a move that isn't fire spin!"

"Evade it, and get closer!" Ninetales was tired and injured, but still too fast to let herself get hit by the spikes. Glacia chose something more reliable.

"Combine ancient power with aurora beam!" It was a most curious combination, as the aurora beam caused the white ancient power orb to split into many small orbs of different colors. They charged at Ninetales from different directions. It was impossible to evade, and since Dawn had never seen it before, she didn't tell Ninetales to use protect, which could've helped. "Again!"

"Flamethrower, then fire spin!" The aurora beam and flamethrower hit the orb at the same time, causing it to explode. The fire spin was only there to prevent the use of encore, as she still needed it. "Use fire blast to jump onto its back!" By using it on the ground, she launched herself into the air, past Aurorus's head and onto its back. "Fire spin and overheat!"

Glacia hadn't expected Dawn to be this aggressive, almost reckless in this situation. It was not only uncharacteristic for the coordinator, but she had her reasons.

"Stone edge!" First, the fire-type trapped it with a fire spin that resembled a fiery cage as opposed to the usual vortex or tornado, then she unleashed her most powerful attack, which was boosted by flash fire and sunny day. The result was massive damage in a single attack, but in return she was unable to avoid several stone spikes that appeared all around the ice-type.

Aurorus was forced to its knees, but it could continue, whereas Ninetales was finished. She fell from its back, having been knocked out by the super-effective move.

"Ninetales is unable to battle!" Dawn didn't seem upset by the quick defeat, and people were about to find out why.

"This looks bad." Serena looked worried. "Two of her pokémon are down, and Glacia still has six."

"You're wrong. If she's smart, she'll stick to her plan, and she'll win." She was about to reply, but Ash was faster. "Just watch. She knows what she's doing." He pointed at the coordinator, who didn't seem worried at all.

"Well done, rest now. Lucario, aura sphere!" Glacia had feared this, as now she couldn't recall her pokémon, who couldn't move at all. The best she could do was deal some damage before the inevitable defeat.

"Earth power!" she commanded.

"Protect!" The move was too fast for the aura bubble, so he had to rely on protect.

Since Aurorus was busy with its move, it couldn't do anything about the aura sphere, and due the double-weakness, combined with the damage it had already taken, it didn't stood a chance. Its defeat was marked by the disappearance of the fire cage.

"Aurorus is unable to battle!" Glacia was a little frustrated, having called it out recently, and already lost it. She muttered something upon recalling it, and readied the next pokéball.

"Abomasnow, earthquake!" she shouted with a hint of desperation in her voice.

It was her only pokémon that could still stand up to Lucario's power. While she had more pokémon remaining, most of them were in a bad shape, and Dawn still could use a mega evolution. Lucario was the obvious choice here, so he needed to be weakened as much as possible. She also hadn't revealed her last pokémon yet, but once the shockwave from the earthquake had passed, she felt it was time.

"Return. Milotic, serenity!" As soon as she appeared, the water-type gained a beautiful, powerful, light blue aura. It protected her from moves affecting the mind like taunt, but the most notable effect was that it decreased the power of any pokémon successfully striking her, which was particularly useful in contest battles, when the opponent wasn't allowed to change pokémon. "Now rain dance, full duration!"

Another one of Regice's rampages could ruin Dawn's plans, so she needed to make sure that the weather move didn't end while Lucario was fighting the other pokémon. However, even with the rain dance in effect, Dawn didn't dare attack Abomasnow with Lucario just yet. It needed to be weakened, so that he could sweep through Glacia's team in one go. And there was no better pokémon for weakening opponents than Pachirisu.

"Combine razor leaf with icy wind!" The wind turned the leaves harder and more dangerous, but they couldn't prevent the rain dance.

"Return!" Dawn shouted as soon as it started raining. This was actually better than the sunny day, as it weakened its synthesis instead of strengthening it. "Pachirisu, cruel storm avatar!"

"Sheer cold!" Even in her storm avatar form, she was vulnerable to this move, but she managed to dodge the slow orb, even at full speed. "Wood hammer!" It punched Pachirisu when she attacked with her tail, and hurt her quite a bit, which made Dawn think that she should have stayed in her storm avatar form a little longer. It couldn't prevent the agile pokémon from climbing up its body to bury her teeth in its back. "Razor leaf!"

"Super fang again, then thunder wave!" The leaves came directly from its fur, so naturally, being on its back didn't provide any protection, but she endured the attack again. Abomasnow crird out in pain a moment later, which was a sure sign that she'd been successful. Then she jumped up, shocked him from above with thunder wave, and ran towards Dawn, who recalled her. "Good job."

With Abomasnow weakened, Dawn believed that she was finally ready for the last phase of her plan. Of all the remaining pokémon, Dawn only expected Regice to put up a real fight, but even if Lucario was defeated, Milotic and Empoleon could take care of the rest.

"Lucario, swords dance!" During the spinning movement, the fur on his chest grew, he gained more spikes, the appendages became longer, and his feet, hands and appendages turned red at the ends. The power of his moves increased , as well as his speed. Only his defenses barely changed at all, which was why he had to watch out.

"Return!" Glacia had no intention of letting Abomasnow get beaten so easily. "Glalie, icy glare and taunt!"

"Extremespeed, then drain punch!" Lucario charged at the ice-type, but stopped in his tracks when it paralyzed him with its stare. This provided it with enough time to use taunt.

It didn't have time for anything else, for he reached it with extremespeed almost immediately after that, and followed up with a brutal punch that smashed it against Glacia's tower. She'd tried to recall it, but hadn't been nearly fast enough.

"Glalie is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

"Thank you." Her main pokémon was defeated, but she wasn't willing to give up, no matter how dire the situation. "Regice, ice mantle!"

This actually put Dawn in a predicament. The move didn't allow anyone to get too close, or they'd simply get tossed to the side by the strong winds. Unfortunately, most of Lucario's ranged moves were special moves, against which Regice had a powerful defense. As a matter of fact, only two came to mind, earthquake and, to a lesser extent, bulldoze. Considering Regice's low speed under the effect of paralysis, and the fact that it wasn't any good at jumping, Dawn was convinced that it'd be enough, though.

"Get your staff, and keep using earthquake!" The fact that bone rush was technically an attack move, even if the staff was used defensively was most fortunate, as Lucario's other defenses were deactivated.

"Blizzard jump!" It was something Regice hadn't used before, so Dawn was caught off-guard when it used blizzard on the ground to launch itself at Lucario with great speed, bypassing the paralysis. This way, it also avoided his shockwave, but most importantly, it got close enough for the ice mantle to affect the fighting-type.

"Get back!" He hastily retreated before it could happen, and followed up with another earthquake, only to see that the ice-type used the jump attack again. Dawn realized that it might actually work in her favor, and gave a different order. "Ram the staff into the ice and hold onto it!"

"Full power blizzard!" Regice landed next to him, but by keeping one hand on the staff in the ice, he managed to resist the winds.

"Close combat and drain punch!" Even with only one hand, the punches were extremely effective, but it still managed to keep up its blizzard and stand its ground. This worried Dawn a little, for she couldn't imagine what could be worth remaining in melee range. "Low sweep, then low kick!" He held onto the staff with both hands, and kicked the lower part of its body with all his might, making it fall to the ground with its head facing him. This made the following kick all the more painful, and he managed to push it away.

Now that he didn't have to beware of the ice mantle, he could recover a little, but now he became fully aware of a side-effect of lengthy exposure to the ice mantle. He was shivering uncontrollably, and it felt like his insides were completely frozen. Moreover, he was taking damage over time, independent of his typing or defenses, although it was at least getting weaker. However, this attack had cost Regice dearly, as the super-effective physical attacks, combined with Lucario's adaptability, had left it seriously injured. Glacia didn't want it to get into melee range again, and let it regenerate in the distance again.

"Get away with blizzard!" It made another jump like before, but Dawn didn't intend to let it get away this easily.

"Throw your staff!" Lucario tossed his rotating staff at the ice-type, hitting it in midair. It crashed, landing on its back. "Earthquake!"

"Use protect!" The move shielded it from the shockwave, but it couldn't get up in time, and Lucario stomped on the ground again, hitting it with the next one instead.

It was obviously almost defeated, as it already had a lot of trouble getting up again, but Dawn didn't want to take any risks. Without Regice, Glaceon wasn't too dangerous either, and the other two weren't much a threat.

"Extremespeed!" Lucario ignored the ice mantle, hitting Regice with all the strength he could muster for this attack.

"Counter with ice punch!" Its trainer hoped that it still had the power to retaliate, but when she ice mantle ended, she realized it was over. Even so, the referee waited longer than usual, as declaring that a legendary pokémon was defeated was never easy for some reason.

"Regice is unable to battle!" he exclaimed.

"That's it. She's won," Johanna exclaimed.

"Yes, the others won't be able to stop her now," Zoey agreed.

Glacia also knew it, but she didn't look upset at all.

"That was an awesome first impression. They'll love you even more in the coming battles." Indeed, she was more than happy with its first official battle. "Glaceon, combine shadow ball with icy wind!"

"Get your staff back, and destroy the ball, then aura sphere and extremespeed!" The staff had fallen to the ground during the battle against Regice, and now it disappeared, only to reform in Lucario's hands. He then used it to destroy the shadow ball thrown at him with a swing, but it couldn't do anything against the wind. Then he threw an aura sphere at it.

"Mirror coat!" Its body glowed white, ready to take the attack, but Lucario overtook his own aura sphere, hitting the ice-type with extremespeed before pushing it so that it was struck by the sphere. The mirror coat was broken by the physical attack, so Glaceon couldn't reflect the damage, but still managed to shoot a shadowball at him while it was flying towards Glacia's tower.

"Now bulldoze!" Lucario was too slow to destroy the ball with his staff, and had to block it with his free arm instead, taking some damage in the process. His variation of bulldoze involved him slamming his staff into the ground, causing cracks to spread towards the opponent.

"Get away and use ice beam on its feet!" The ice-type was remarkably fast to get up, at least for a glaceon, and it also managed to run away from the cracks just before the ice beneath shattered.

"Extremespeed and drain punch!" He was about to charge, when he suddenly sank to his knees, looking pained.

"Blizzard!" Glacia wanted to take advantage of the paralysis, letting her pokémon use a stronger move, and since he was in no condition to dodge, it resulted in a direct hit. "Now ice beam!"

"Flash cannon!" His move worked again, and quickly overpowered the ice beam when they met. Glaceon was pushed back by the light beam, but remained standing, which was quite a surprise for Dawn, as she didn't know it was this resilient. "Spear of light!"

"Blizzard!" Glacia commanded.

Lucario infused his staff with the power of a flash cannon, making it glow brightly, and then threw it at Glaceon like a spear. Its blizzard did little to stop it, and Lucario got out of way of its move in time. The ice-type didn't try to block or dodge the spear, as it hit the ground in front of it. Upon impact, it released a blinding light, so that it couldn't see the aura pokémon approaching. Dawn didn't let it use extremespeed this time, as there were still two more opponents, and he needed to save a part of his strength for them . He was fortunate to be mostly attacked by ineffective moves, or he'd be defeated by now.

"Cross chop!" Dawn shouted.

"Endure, then wish!" Since Glaceon couldn't aim or evade properly in its current state, she might as well help another pokémon a bit. First, she channeled her remaining strength to take the next attack, and then formed a ball of light with it. The ball flew up, and the ice-type collapsed, having exhausted its energy reserves.

"Glaceon is unable to battle!" Glacia didn't even wait for the referee to say this, as she'd expected this to happen.

"Good job. Walrein, start with whirlpool!" It was called out far enough away from Lucario to create a large whirlpool on the tip of its nose. The orb from the wish moved straight through the water, healing it so that it could fight a little longer.

So far, Lucario's battles had been harder than anticipated, especially the fight against Regice, and Dawn feared that he wouldn't be able to finish it. Of course, Milotic, Empoleon, and Pachirisu could take care of the rest, but it still bothered her slightly.

"Use aura sphere and get another staff!" The aura sphere was absorbed by the whirlpool, when it was thrown at him. He had a little trouble getting away in time due to his reduced speed, but he was successful, and created a new staff while retreating. Dawn remembered that Glalie's taunt was over, and hoped to gain the advantage by increasing his strength a little, yet she feared that she might get caught by an encore more. "Nasty plot, then aura sphere!" The water-type was rather easy to hit, and Lucario was heavily injured, which was why she preferred ranged attacks now.

"Surf!" Even with the boost, the aura sphere was absorbed by the water again. The rain dance effect let it rise to great heights. "Now blizzard and ice ball!"

"Aura bubble!" The wave was slow enough for this move, and Dawn expected it to wash over Lucario, but Walrein froze it shortly before that happened. Then it curled up, and rolled through the frozen wave, shattering it in the process and causing the remains to come down on Lucario, who blocked all of the attacks with his shield. Walrein's charge was stopped, and it was pushed back a little. "Focus blast!"

The pokémon was still startled by the sudden halt, and the fighting-type made a direct hit. Without its trainer's command, Walrein used water pulse shortly after that hit. Under normal circumstances, he'd have dodged or blocked it easily, but the paralysis and exhaustion slowed him down, so that the water bubble enveloped his head, and pooped there, causing confusion. Both pokémon were almost down, but Lucario's confusion was an enormous liability.

"Now scald!" Lucario had the weird idea of throwing his staff at Walrein instead of protecting himself with it, which was no doubt the product of his confusion. Surprisingly enough, he managed to hit its arms, interrupting the move, but he also took the brunt of the attack.

"Use aura sphere!" He missed it by a long shot, and got hit by another scald.

A long struggle followed, during which he sank to his knees, and fell forward with a smile on his face. Although the result wasn't as good as Dawn had hoped, she was still proud of her partner, who had fought so bravely.

"Lucario is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

"That was awesome, my friend. Milotic, use serenity, then combine twister and dragon pulse!" Serenity was mandatory in all of Milotic's battles, and Dawn even went so far as to recall her whenever someone managed to disable or interrupt it.

"Hydro pump!" Milotic used her tail fins as a fan, pushing the dragon pulse towards Walrein, who fought back with a hydro pump. At first, it looked like it was superior, as it managed to push back the turquoise orb, which was mostly a result of the rain dance, but the exhaustion from all of its battles took its toll eventually. Now the stream of water got weaker until Walrein could no longer keep it up. By then, it was already too late to dodge, and the orb hit it in the face with great speed, followed by the powerful twister. It pushed back the water-type, until it was pressed against Glacia's tower. As soon as Milotic couldn't keep up the twister anymore, it slumped down.

"Walrein is unable to battle!" the referee shouted when it didn't move for several seconds.

"Good job." This result wasn't surprising after the fight against Lucario. Now Glacia had only one pokémon left. "Abomasnow, use razor leaf with icy wind!"

"Ice wall, then prepare the pulse combination!" Milotic quickly raised the wall with ice beam, blocking the incoming leaves, before merging a dragon pulse with a special water pulse. The result was indistinguishable from a regular dragon pulse, and she shot it in the air. The orb stayed above the clouds, only visible as a faint glow.

"Use earthquake!" As long as she was behind the wall, there was little it could do, but the shockwave could hit both.

"Surf!" Milotic waited a bit, and jumped off the wave when it hit the wall, jumping over the shockwave as well. "Dragon pulse!" For the last part of her combination, she needed to get closer for a good hit. Glacia saw this as an opportunity for a powerful melee attack.

"Use wood hammer!" It raised an arm while approaching the water-type, making it glow green, and upon reaching her, it slammed it into her body. In return, she shot it with dragon pulse, which activated the orb above the clouds. It started shooting energy missiles at Abomasnow, getting smaller every time. The glow made them look far greater than they actually were, which was a simple method to distract the opponent from more important matters. That didn't mean it could be simply ignored, though, as it still had the power of a large dragon pulse. "Keep moving and use razor leaf!"

Those weren't homing missiles, so moving was the easiest way of dealing with the combination, but the pokémon tended to not pay enough attention to Milotic, and this time, it wasn't different.

"Ice beam, then dragon pulse with twister!" A well-aimed ice beam froze its feet to the ground, leaving it vulnerable to the combination and further attacks. It used razor leaf on Milotic before trying to dispose of the ice, but leaves were blown away by the twister. Its attempts to free itself were slow, for it was tired, and the constant attacks didn't help. The water-type managed to hit it once more, and one attack was blocked with protect, then Abomasnow finally shattered the ice. The orb above the clouds had disappeared by that time, having exhausted its energy.

Now it was giving the impression that it couldn't go on any longer Synthesis wasn't useful here, as the clouds greatly reduced the effect, so that it would ultimately do more harm than good. Strangely enough, Milotic ceased her attacks, giving it a short break, but everyone who knew her was fully aware of her motives. She could feel when a pokémon couldn't fight any longer, and then she'd usually stop so that she wouldn't cause more pain than necessary. Dawn trusted her instincts in those situations, leaving the decision up to the water-type. After one last sigh, Abomasnow fell forward with closed eyes, and stopped moving.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle. The challenger is victorious!" the referee declared.

The applause wasn't as overwhelming as before, but after this struggle, Dawn was content with the result. The most positive aspect was that she'd been able to avoid using Empoleon, which could prove a major advantage against Drake and Wallace.

"Well done, Milotic, everyone. It's time to rest now." Dawn climbed down her tower, ignoring the commentator for now, and she was met by Glacia, who'd been there surprisingly fast. She offered the victorious trainer a charming smile. "Oh, hello."

"Greetings." She curtsied, a gesture which was repeated by Dawn as soon as she was on the ground. "I wanted to congratulate you on your victory."

"Thank you. You also did well," Dawn replied bashfully.

"Please, don't be so humble. You didn't need to use your sixth pokémon, even though I used Regice," Glacia told her.

"Yes, that was quite a surprise," Dawn admitted.

"Do you mind walking to your room with me? I'd love to talk to you a bit," the ice-type trainer offered.

"Of course, I gladly accept." They walked into the nearest corridor, where the noise wasn't nearly as bad. "I wonder, why did you use Regice today? Usually, you try to surprise the champion when you challenge him."

"Usually, yes. But usually, Phoebe doesn't get annihilated like this. It was a matter of honor, and I don't regret it." She smiled brightly. "But you managed to overcome this challenge. Just don't think Drake will be just as easy to defeat. He's on a different level."

"So I heard. Almost as strong as Wallace, but rarely challenges him," Dawn muttered.

"I don't really know why, but he lacks ambition. Either that, or he has too much respect for Wallace. Considering what he thinks of other coordinators, this seems strange." She shrugged. "He'll taunt you during the battle, so be prepared, and simply ignore him. And don't count on his arrogance to do the job for you. He might not think much of coordinators, but he's no fool. The fact that you've gotten this far can't be ignored, and he'll be well-prepared."

"Thanks for the warning. But why are you telling me this? It's like you want him to lose," Dawn pointed out. "Did he do something bad?"

"Well, he made fun of Phoebe, and while I don't believe he really wanted to hurt her, the effect was the same. He can be so horribly insensitive at times, and I can't deny that I'd like to see him taken down a notch." She nodded at Dawn. "I believe you have the potential to do this. Just be careful."

"Don't worry. I have a plan, and I'll stick to it," the coordinator replied. "Whether it'll work, that remains to be seen."

"Good. if your previous battles are any indication, you should be able to prevail." She pointed forward, where the door to Dawn's room could already been seen. It was like Glacia had planned this all too well. "I had a lot of fun today. Thank you, and good luck."

"Thank you, too. Bye." Dawn entered the room, closing the door behind her.

It was time to reflect on the day so far, and she took her time. Preparing for the next battle , which was more of a simple check-up, was rather quick, even with all the snow, so there was no need to hurry. Most importantly, she didn't want to run into Ash, or anyone else, and by leaving late, she could ensure just that. When she felt that the time was right, she returned to Johanna's house, and had a nice dinner before going to the lab.

The final preparations went smoothly, boosting her confidence. It was necessary, for she tried a new strategy, which involved a lot of field control and overwhelming the opponent with physical force. It was extremely uncharacteristic for both her and coordinators in general, which was one reason why she'd chosen this approach. In a battle like this, the element of surprise could make the difference between victory and defeat.

The rest of the day was spent reading, as she didn't want to drive herself crazy by thinking about it too much. There was no denying that the prospect of fighting Drake was both exciting and worrying. He was probably one of the oldest and most experienced Elite Four member. Compared to Karen, he was more predictable, but raw power and experience made up for this flaw. Before going to bed, she made a few exercises with Espeon and Alakazam, which made her calm down, and forget about her worries for now.

* * *

 **Now only Drake is left of the Elite Four. He can be quite a nasty opponent who taunts his challengers.**


	81. Earning Respect

**Now the last battle against the Elite Four, though will it be the last battle in total? Unlike Lance, Drake uses only real Dragon-types.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 81 Earning Respect

There was a lot less snow to be found next morning, and Dawn caught herself staring out of a window for a long time, almost as if she was mourning the loss. She was far more excited than before the battle against Glacia, mostly because today's opponent was going to be far tougher. It was also the reason why she left even earlier than usual. By the beginning of the battle, she needed to be completely calm, which she hoped to achieve via a few exercises she had learnt. Unlike the others, those could be done without help, and now they could prove invaluable. Everything about this challenge still seemed hard to believe, especially now after the break-up with Ash. More than once did she wonder why she kept going, but it was always the same answer. It was also because of Ash, albeit not because he wanted her to do it, but because she believed that he expected her to give up.

The longer she thought about it, the angrier she became, ruining her original plan that way. However, she welcomed it, as a little bit of anger could have a positive effect on her performance, as evident in a few past battles. The most important part was not to allow herself to get provoked into doing something foolish by Drake.

Once again, she didn't arrive until the very last moment. The field was the rocky variant, which was good enough for Dawn. Only pools of water could have been inconvenient. Drake was already on the other side, wearing his usual outfit of blue pants, black boots, a rugged, black coat, and a captain's heat. Instead of listening to the commentator, she had to talk to her opponent, who made his first attempt to taunt her right before the official start.

"I'm surprised you got this far, but it's over now. I won't let a coordinator get past me," he shouted.

"Go ahead and try to stop me," she replied, looking unimpressed.

"I won't just try, my dear. You aren't cut out for this, no matter how hard you try to be like your dear Ash," he told her. "Now be a good girl and lose quickly."

"I don't think so. It'll take more than this talk to defeat me. Prepare -" She stopped when she heard the referee asking the trainers whether they are ready, and hastily took out a pokéball before nodding. Then he stepped back, announcing the beginning of the battle. "Mamoswine, start with ice garden!"

"Garchomp, stealth rock!" Drake shouted.

Dawn had expected Flygon, who was a more common choice, but unlike Garchomp, it couldn't learn stealth rock. It was ideal for Dawn, since she could deal with the rock-type move easily, and she considered his flygon slightly more powerful. There was still the possibility of him using both, but it had never happened before.

Mamoswine shot numerous ice shards onto the field, which landed after Garchomp's rocks had burrowed into the ground. Whenever a shard hit the ground, it turned into a small obelisk of ice, and seemingly vanished, but the ice spreading from their positions showed that they were still active. The effect was simply, whenever an enemy got close to a shard, it exploded, only to reform about five seconds later, turning the stage into a regenerating minefield. Due to the icy nature, it was particularly dangerous to dragon-types, so Mamoswine was almost mandatory in this battle. Moreover, the ice spreading from the shards prevented anything from getting in or out of the ground, rendering the stealth rock useless. However, Dawn was unable to utilize stealth rock for the same reason. There were a few simply counters like sunny day, which could counter the secondary effect, or any damaging fire-type move, albeit the effect was only temporary in the latter case. A rapid spin could disable the whole move, but only for a few minutes at best.

"Ice? You have to rely on a type-advantage to fight me?" Drake shouted, laughing. "Garchomp, return!" Despite his confidence, he wasn't going to let Garchomp fight an ice-type. "Haxorus, inner fire!"

Haxorus's individual move was designed to protect it from ice-type moves, and it did a great job, turning the weakness into a resistance. It had even more potential, as it added fire damage to all of its attacks, which made it even more dangerous to Mamoswine.

"Return!" Dawn had another reason to recall him, though. "Flygon, use void curtain!"

For the first time, Drake showed worry. Void curtain imitated the air lock ability, removing any weather effect from the stage. Its original purpose was to counter Ash's lightning storm strategy, but it was just as powerful against Drake. The move looked a little out of place, as it belonged to a pokémon who benefited from a special weather move, but the dragon-type showed so much talent in this regard that ignoring it would be a horrible waste, especially since no other pokémon could learn anything similar.

Drake's salamence was capable of one move that overshadowed all the others. It was a weather move that created a huge, lasting tornado, which boosted flying-type moves, and raised its speed to absurd levels. Although it could be removed by any other weather move, it was better to prevent it before Salamence could take advantage of it, and there wasn't a more suitable move than void curtain, as it lasted for hours. The fact that Dawn couldn't use her own weather moves was a small price to pay in this case, so Flygon could save her a lot of trouble.

She rose into the air, flapping her wings, and released a turquoise orb, which turned into hundreds of tiny orbs. They spread, forming a ring above the stage, before moving downwards, leaving a turquoise trail resembling a veil. It glowed for a second, then it disappeared entirely, but the move was active.

"Rock slide!" Drake shouted.

"Dragon breath!" Several large rocks appeared above Flygon, and due to the inner fire, they looked like meteors. She was way too fast, though, and breathed green fire in return. Although Haxorus evaded the attack, it walked right into one of the ice shards. The inner fire greatly reduced the damage, yet Drake knew that his pokémon didn't have enough ranged power to win this fight.

"Return! Altaria, ultimate defense!" he commanded.

Next to Salamence, it was his most feared pokémon, but for different reasons. While the first was an incredibly powerful fighter, Altaria was one of the best supporters in the world, thanks to one move. Ultimate defense combined light screen and reflect, but couldn't be removed via brick break. That way his pokémon could last much longer than usual, and most opponents couldn't endure the pressure. Therefore taking it out was of uttermost importance.

Interesting enough, there was a simple, yet highly effective counter to the move, just like with all seemingly extreme moves like that. However, nobody knew about it even after two years, and Drake intended to keep it that way. A single move could smash it, and it was similar to brick break, but far weaker, and barely any powerful pokémon knew it. Rock smash, which was usually only known to the pokémon of cave explorers or amateur trainers, was, as far as he knew, the only move that could remove the ultimate defense. If someone were to find out, the move would become completely useless, as even a weak hit shattered the defense, and a lot of pokémon were capable of learning the counter. Unfortunately, Dawn had never bothered with it, so she had to wait for it to run out.

"Return! Metagross, use trick!" The steel-type didn't waste any time, and switched its held item with Altaria's, taking its dragon fang in exchange for a toxic orb. Unlike Metagross, the dragon-type wasn't immune, and the poison started raging in its body. "Now gravity!"

Altaria was done with its move first, creating a lasting protective shield, that would help all of Drake's pokémon. A red wall of light appeared around it, and disappeared again. The gravity move was felt by everyone within the stadium only moments later, but Drake's pokémon was more affected than anyone else, for it forced the pokémon to the ground.

"Return!" It was weak when it wasn't in the air, and Drake wanted to reset the poison effect anyway. "Garchomp, earthquake!"

"Return!" Metagross wouldn't stand a chance due to its weakness to ground-type moves, and earthquakes were almost impossible to dodge under the effect of the gravity move. Mamoswine was an option, but Dawn considered the price too high. There were two pokémon who were less affected thanks to their low weight, and it was time for one of them. "Buneary, ice beam and get closer! Use bounce to evade shockwaves!"

Bounce wasn't part of her normal move set, which had been rearranged by Dawn for this fight. Various tests had shown that there was no other move to let her jump high enough to avoid a powerful earthquake under these conditions. Buneary proved her right when she did exactly that, and hit Garchomp with an ice beam in return. The increased gravity made their movement slow, but Dawn hoped that the small pokémon wouldn't be affected as much as the large and heavy dragon-type.

"Jump on its head and use arctic kiss!" she commanded.

"Earthquake, then rock slide on yourself! Follow up with dragon tail!" The first part went just as planned for the coordinator, but even before Buneary landed, a large rock appeared above Drake's pokémon. She had to retreat, but Garchomp only took a step back, and hit the rock with its tail, sending it towards her. Fortunately, it quickly lost speed, falling to the ground before it reached her. "Earthquake!"

She was too slow this time, and got caught both by the earthquake and the rock, which was hurled towards her by the same shockwave. By now, it was rather obvious that Drake knew exactly what to expect from Buneary. Most importantly, he knew how dangerous the arctic kiss was.

"Use earth quake again!" he shouted.

"Bounce, then blizzard!" She managed to jump over the shockwave again, and countered with a blizzard. Thank to Altaria's move, the damage wasn't too serious, despite the double-weakness. "Push it with bounce!"

Garchomp expected another attempt to freeze it, so it was startled, when she bounced off its head again, pushing it backwards into several ice shards. They were more dangerous than the blizzard, and she also prevented it from executing the attack with the rock, which fell on the ground where it had stood a moment ago.

"Now get there and use arctic kiss!" Dawn told Buneary.

"Get it with dragon claw!" The normal-type dodged two swift attacks with her spin move, moving past its head. From its shoulders, it jumped on its back, and she managed to kiss her paw, making it glow, but its tail struck her before she could touch the dragon-type. It was possible to make the kiss beforehand, but she'd have to touch the target within two seconds, which wasn't always possible when she was up against a pokémon like Garchomp. "Now earthquake!"

She was still on the ground when its foot created another shockwave right next to her. The damage was nothing less than brutal, and only the increased gravity prevented her from getting flung across the whole field. The referee looked like he was ready to declare her defeated, but surprisingly enough, she got up again. Dawn considered recalling her, but a single arctic kiss could bring victory, and this thought made her keep going. After all she could've already recalled Buneary after the first failed attempt. Now she was unwilling to let all the effort go to waste. It was a dangerous way of thinking, one that could cost her everything.

In Buneary's current state, another direct arctic kiss attempt would be madness. She'd have to wait for a good opportunity instead of endangering herself while trying to force it. Since her ranged ice attacks weren't that powerful, Dawn decided to try something different.

"Kick the ice shards!" she commanded.

"Keep using earthquake!" Buneary jumped over the first, got closer, and managed to kick two of the ice shards over the next shockwave before jumping over it. They hit Garchomp's face, but they were just the beginning.

She repeated this thrice, until Drake was worried that his pokémon would get too tired from the constant earthquakes. Buneary, however, was faring far worse, barely able to jump properly anymore, yet still trying to maintain a strong appearance. Training under the effect of a gravity move was one thing, but real battles were entirely different. Even if Dawn recalled her now, the pokémon wouldn't be of much use, and only an arctic kiss could prevent utter defeat.

"Bounce and arctic kiss! Directly!" Using the remaining strength in her body, she jumped towards Garchomp, kissing her paw on the way.

"Dragon claw!" It tried to strike her down, but with her old spin move, she managed to get past its arms, but when she tried to touch it, it leaned to the side, and the kiss's effect vanished. She landed behind to the dragon-type, who turned around and attacked her with dragon claw again, but in a last attempt to hurt it, she used bounce again, jumping towards its stomach. She managed to hit twice with ice punch before a dragon claw tossed her to the side, and this time she failed to get up again.

"Buneary is unable to battle!" the referee shouted after a short pause.

"Sorry, it was my fault," Dawn admitted, recalling her fallen partner.

"Is that all?" Drake taunted. "Well, it's not like I expected much from a coordinator. Why any pokémon would fight for your kind is a mystery to me."

His words affected her more than she was willing to admit, and the fact that she'd just lost Buneary only made her angrier. This anger was directed at her, though, as she felt that she could have done much better instead of clinging to her idea.

"Carbink, use reflect!" During the move, the gravity returned to normal, and Drake reacted.

"Well done, Garchomp. Return for now. Dragalge, use toxic spikes!" Without water, it was slow, and the gravity move would've made moving on land almost impossible. Now it shot glowing spikes into the air, but when they landed, the ice coming from the ice shards encased them, rendering them harmless. This effect had never been seen in an official battle, so Drake was surprised.

"Beacon!" Using the full name took too much time in an important battle, so Dawn used the short term. Carbink repositioned itself so that the opponent was between it and one of the ice shards, then it shot the ray of light, which penetrated the dragon-type before getting reflected by the ice, and hitting it a second time. "Now safeguard, then light screen!" Unlike Drake's other pokémon so far, Dragalge was more proficient in special moves, and its poison was even more dangerous.

"Use surf!" Drake commanded as soon as he'd regained his composure.

Dawn had to hold out until the ultimate defense wore off, and Carbink's powerful defensive abilities made it ideal for this. The type-advantage might even allow it to deal some serious damage to the dragon-type. The problem was that Dawn had never seen this particular pokémon, therefore she didn't know what to expect. Right when her pokémon was about to use light screen, the wave was approaching.

"Moonblast on the wave!" Carbink interrupted the light screen to blast the center part, letting the rest go down next to it. Dragalge jumped off before that happened, landing not far from the fairy-type. "Beacon again!"

"Hydro pump!" The light passed right through the water, resulting in a hit for both pokémon. "Now toxic whirlpool!"

Unlike the normal whirlpool, which was easy to evade by anyone who wasn't either absurdly large or extremely slow, this was a fast-moving, small orb of compressed water. As soon as it hit something, it expanded into a full-size whirlpool, which also dealt extra damaged to poisoned targets. The name suggested that anyone struck by it was poisoned, but that only referred to the secondary effect to poisoned targets. Being a lightweight with low attack power, Carbink had no way of escaping.

"Use light screen!" Dawn could only hope that it was able to endure Dragalge's attacks until the end of the whirlpool, as she couldn't recall it in this situation.

"Sludge bomb barrage!" The dragon-type shot countless small sludge bombs into the air, and they fell into the whirlpool. They not only exploded on impact, but also dealt extra damage to Carbink, as the remains were carried to it by the water.

"Try to attack with moon blast!" It was moving way too fast to aim properly, though, resulting in a big miss. The fairy-type was at Dragalge's mercy.

"Keep using ... wait, use scald on the lower part!" Drake noticed that the cold from the ice shards was turning the whirlpool to ice, and he wasn't going to let it happen. The hot water took care of the problem, but now Dawn was desperate enough for another move.

"Use gravity!" Even inside the whirlpool, Carbink managed to pull it off, causing it to collapse, and the same happened to the dragon-type, whose body wasn't to fight under these circumstances. "The beacon!"

The fairy-type had less trouble, and immediately shot the ray of light at it, dealing decent damage, as its horrendous offensive capabilities didn't matter. Drake thought about trying something else, but decided against it.

"Return!" He had a few options, and Garchomp was probably the best one, but he wanted to preserve it for what he considered the bigger threat, especially Metagross and Empoleon. "Haxorus, use earthquake!"

"Use the beacon, then evade it!" The reflect move and its extremely hard body prevented the worst, and in return, she managed to hit it super-effectively. It was a battle of attrition, as neither pokémon was fast enough to dodge the moves. "Try to use the ice shards!"

"Keep moving! Use protect when you can." By adjusting its position, Haxorus could prevent that, and keep using earthquake the entire time.

The use of protect prolonged the fight considerably, but the constant use of beacon of the deep was exhausting, more than Haxorus's earthquake. Carbink suffered from bad luck when its reflect ended right before a shockwave hit it. Having been hit super-effectively throughout the fight over and over, it was almost done, but it had also done decent damage to Haxorus in the process. Now Dawn regretted not having recalled it, as its talents could have been used much better, and now her other pokémon were missing its support, whereas Drake's still had the ultimate defense.

"Use reflect!" Dawn shouted, hoping it could last a little longer.

"Earthquake again!" Carbink managed to finish the move, but it was still knocked out by the shockwave. At the same time the ultimate ended, as shown when a red dome appeared, and then faded.

"Carbink is unable to battle!" Dawn heard it, and wasted no time recalling it.

"Return! Empoleon, aqua ring!" He spread his wings, causing a ring of water to appear at his feet, going up his body before disappearing above the horns.

"Not good. Not good at all," Serena muttered, sounding slightly panicked.

"Relax, she'll find a way," Zoey told her. "She didn't get this far to lose now, one step before the final battle."

"Then she better starts soon, or she won't have enough pokémon left to change anything," Ash remarked.

"Look at the reactions to Empoleon. It's like they've never seen one," Serena said, looking around.

Indeed, the whole stadium got louder when he was called out. After all it was the first time he was seen battling in his new form, and all the people were thrilled to see what had changed, and whether he was used to his new body already. Others were simply astonished, probably because they hadn't even known about his evolution. In any case, they were watching closely, especially Wallace, who'd have to battle it in case Dawn won this battle.

This was the moment of truth for Dawn. She knew she hadn't been doing well so far, partly because she'd been too stubborn, but mostly because she'd allowed Drake to taunt her, which made her want to defeat him too much. Bad matchups were the result, and now two of her pokémon were down, having paid the price for her mistakes. Taking a deep breath, she tried to clear her head, and banish every unwanted thought. A victory was of the essence now, and Empoleon was the perfect pokémon for it.

"Return!" Even with inner fire, Haxorus couldn't win against him in its current state, at least not without ultimate defense. Using it now that Empoleon was on the field was risky, but he needed it if he wanted to use his usual strategies. Besides, it could be much worse, as Mamoswine could quickly eliminate it, but against Empoleon, he had a chance of getting away. First, he wanted to taunt his opponent a little more, though. "Another one down, huh? Doesn't look good for you. Well, let's draw it out a little longer. Altaria, use ultimate defense!"

He assumed that Empoleon couldn't reach it in time with the increased gravity, but he didn't know that Empoleon was used to train under those conditions. Therefore he had much less trouble moving than expected.

"Ice aqua drill!" Using aqua jet, drill peck, and ice beam at the same time, he managed to gain some altitude, and crashed into Altaria, causing a massive, icy explosion. It pushed him back, leaving only a cloud of ice and snow. Most importantly, it happened before the ultimate defense was active. However, he couldn't stop the move itself, as evident when a red wall of light appeared around the icy cloud and vanished. The cloud did the same, revealing a heavily injured Altaria. There were icicles on its wings, its body was covered by snow, and it clearly couldn't go on much longer. In fact, even one attack might be enough. "Blizzard!"

"Return!" Drake still had a hard time believing that a pokémon like Empoleon could reach his side of the stage so quickly. "Garchomp, use earthquake!"

"Divine aqua jet!" Using the same combination with flash cannon instead of ice beam, Empoleon moved right through the shockwave, evading quite a bit of damage due to reflect and the protective effect of his combination.

"Intercept it with dragon claw!" Having lost too much speed due to the shockwave, he went down before reaching the target. It turned out to be a blessing for him, as a bright flash blinded Garchomp, and he was out of its reach. It took a few steps back, slashing the air around it, and walking into a few ice shards. "Use earthquake!"

"Ice beam on the feet!" Focusing on the lower body, he quickly covered it in ice, preventing the earthquake. "Now blizzard! Full power!" An ice storm of massive power raged in front of the dragon-type, who could merely attempt to shield its face with its arms.

"Use outrage!" Drake saw no other way of quickly breaking free. Garchomp actually managed to break the ice, surrounded by a red aura, but it failed to get closer, getting pushed back by the storm instead. It tripped eventually, and didn't get up again.

"Garchomp is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"Now that looks much better. I knew my girl could do it," Johanna exclaimed, beaming proudly.

"She still has a long way to go here," Zoey pointed out. "But I agree, the situation has improved a lot. Just look at Drake, he's angry."

"Damn it, not good. Don't get overconfident, girl," he yelled. Even at this level, it was astounding how quickly the tides of battle could change. "Haxorus, start with inner fire!"

"Return!" Empoleon needed his well-deserved rest, even if it meant wasting the lasting effect of the divine aqua jet. Dawn doubted that the gravity move would last much longer, so it was safe to call out a flying pokémon. "Flygon, use earthquake!"

"Protect!" While the shockwave was passing over the field, gravity returned to normal, and Drake immediately felt it. "Return! Dragalge, use your toxic spray!"

Since Dawn had two steel-types in her team, there were only two potential opponents left for Dragalge, who needed its poison for its full strength. Unfortunately, both of them could hit it super-effectively, but it was still better than fighting them without using its greatest weapon. Drake was even willing to let it fight until it was defeated, as it wouldn't be of much use against the steel-types anyway.

Toxic spray was a combination of twister and toxic, which increased the range of the ordinary toxic move, and covered a large area. Flygon was fast enough to gain considerable altitude, and watched the poison drop onto the ground, freezing the moment they touched it. The poison was the reason Dawn didn't want Flygon to get too close, but her ranged capabilities were limited. Earth power, which would be one of the most useful moves in this fight under normal circumstances, was impossible due to the frozen ground, and an earthquake would bring her too close to the ground.

"Combine dragon pulse with dragon breath!" Flygon formed a dragon pulse orb, and pushed it towards the opponent with dragon breath, turning it green in the process.

"Dodge it, then use the poison meteor combination!" The distance was so great that Dragalge had no trouble getting away in time, but the orb left behind cold, green fire. Then it raised its head, and shot a purple orb into the air. It exploded, sending countless tiny orbs like meteors in every direction. Dawn had never seen this move, and Flygon was already too close to avoid it, getting badly poisoned when several of them hit her. The only downside was that its power was decreased, just like with every draco meteor. "Get it with toxic whirlpool!"

"Dragon rush!" There was no more need to hold back, as she was already poisoned, and the sheer power of the move interrupted Dragalge's move. "Now earthquake!"

"Dragon pulse!" Flygon rose high enough to evade the orb, then she came down with force, sending a massive shockwave in all directions. "Use twister!"

Dragalge was pushed back, but managed to use twister, pushing Flygon back as well as preventing her from following up with another move. Dawn had to hurry, as the poison was growing stronger with each passing second, so Drake could focus on the defense, and the active ultimate defense move made it twice as hard to hurt his pokémon.

"Toxic whirlpool!" Drake commanded.

"Dodge it, and use dragon rush, then outrage!" She flew to the side, letting the orb of water fly past her, before charging at Dragalge.

"Dragon tail!" Sensing that this might be too much for the poison-type, Drake wanted it to remove Flygon from the battlefield for now. It blocked the dragon rush with its tail, but when Dragalge swung it for the move, it got hit by Flygon's outrage. It still managed to finish its move, though, hitting the dragon-type with its tail, and forcing her to return to her pokéball. In return, Mamoswine was called out, which wasn't too bad for Drake, as he could poison the ice-type as well. "Toxic meteor combination!"

"Ice shard dome!" Mamoswine was only startled for a moment, then he caused one of his ice shards to expand rapidly, creating a protective dome around himself. The meteors didn't have the power to penetrate the ice, and turned into purple liquid, which quickly froze on the surface. "Now the shatter combination!" He slammed his tusks into the ground, smashing the dome, and shooting the remains at Drake's pokémon with a shockwave.

"Twister!" The trainer hoped that the move could stop the ice, maybe even send it back, but the uses of the combination with draco meteor had weakened its power considerably. Compared to its original power, it was a weak wind, unable to affect the ice in any way, so that Dragalge got hit by the full combination.

It had taken so much punishment over the course of this fight that Drake doubted it could go on much longer. Still, even with its power drained, it was extremely dangerous to Mamoswine, for even one drop of poison could cause terrible harm. Since Flygon was already poisoned, and Dawn's other two pokémon were steel-types, he didn't recall it. Dawn on the other hand hoped to finish it off quickly, as Metagross was needed against Salamence, Empoleon needed to recharge, and Dragalge would fight even more defensively against Flygon, something Dawn wanted to avoid at all costs while she was badly poisoned. It simply meant she had to be more careful than usual.

"Poison spray!" Drake didn't want to use another toxic meteor combination, so he went with a different approach.

"Use blizzard, then earthquake!" The blizzard froze the spray in midair, and Dragalge was already too tired to avoid the following shockwave, but it wasn't defeated yet. However, it fell to the ground, and needed time to get up again. "Resonating wave, then earthquake!"

The wave strictly required ice garden to be active, and was a weak variant of earthquake. Mamoswine released a deep sound, which caused the ice shards to resonate and glow brightly, before they all shattered simultaneously, leaving behind a beautiful, glittering, icy mist. It quickly crystallized beneath Dragalge, forming a prison of ice around its lower body. The following shockwave did not only damage Dragalge, it also destroyed the ice prison, dealing even more damage with its explosion. The dragon-type collapsed next to the remaining shards a moment later.

"Dragalge is unable to battle!" The announcement came quickly, and it wasn't surprising for anyone.

Drake only regretted not having been able to poison Mamoswine as well, and Dawn was a bit disappointed that it was over already. Since she was confident that her pokémon could have prevented getting poisoned much longer, and Dragalge hadn't tried anything else, she could have prolonged it a little, so that the ultimate defense would run out sooner for the others.

"You think I'm impressed?" he asked, recalling the fallen pokémon. "Think again. Tryantrum, heavy step!"

His last pokémon was revealed, and it was a truly terrifying opponent. Its most prominent move was a buff that caused a miniature earthquake with limited range every time its feet touched the ground. Fortunately, it was heavy and slow, so it usually took some time until it reached the opponent. Mamoswine was also tough, and with the type-advantage, he had a chance to win despite the ultimate defense. First, she wanted Flygon to weaken it a little, though.

"Return! Flygon, dragonquake combination!" First she created a fire on the ground, and then she dropped on it, sending a wave of green fire in all directions.

"Rock polish and block the attack!" It leaned forward with its head, using it like a shield. Whereas other pokémon were often vulnerable there, it was Tyrantrum's strongest point, and it took greatly reduced damaged. The rock polish move made its body flash, then the dragon-type could move faster, but its weight was still so great that it didn't help much in terms of agility. "Now rock slide and stone edge!"

"Dodge it, then dragon pulse!" Evading all the rocks falling from the ceiling in addition to those thrown at her by Tyrantrum proved difficult, but the levitation ability combined with her speed made it possible. During a spinning movement, she threw a dragon pulse at the rock-type, who crushed it between its jaws. "Try to get it with dragon breath!"

Drake clearly wasn't interested in a normal fight, relying on the poison to do the job for him. It was a sensible decision, for Tyrantrum's options for ranged attacks were limited, it was still under the effect of ultimate defense, and its strong head could be a powerful defense. Paralyzing it might prove worthwhile, though, and make future fights a lot easier.

"Dodge it!" Thanks to the rock polish, it was actually fast enough to evade the fire entirely. "Now stone edge!" The purpose of the attack wasn't damaging Flygon, as it wasn't effective anyway, but to distract her, keep her from attacking.

"Combine dragon breath with dragon pulse!" Tyrantrum dodged it as well, but the orb exploded next to it, causing some damage, and pushing it into an ice shard. "Return!" Dawn refused to try anything else, as the poison was growing too strong for her liking. Mamoswine had to finish the job. "Mamoswine, start with earthquake!"

Tyrantrum took it headfirst again, but Dawn's intention was to slow it down a bit. Since it was already at the center of the field, she couldn't prepare for the fight as well as she'd like.

"Use head smash!" It lowered its head, and increased its pace. Because of its rock head, it didn't need to worry about the recoil.

"Empower your tusks, then avalanche!" Ice on the tusks made them longer and gave them sharp spikes, making any attack with them much more painful for the opponent. Then a mixture of snow and ice shards appeared behind him, following him when he charged Tyrantrum.

His tusks met its head, but Tyrantrum's attack was far superior, and Mamoswine was pushed back considerably until the avalanched hit the dragon-type from above, almost covering its entire body. Having small and weak arms, it took a few steps back to escape, and prepare for a new attack.

"Resonating wave!" The shards all around the stage exploded again, and the icy mist started attacking Drake's pokémon by trying to form a prison around it.

"Use earthquake, then rock slide and head smash!" The shockwave pushed back the mist, so that it crystallized far away, leaving a ring of ice.

"Use the ice dome and shatter it!" The ice had no chance of withstanding the heavy rocks that fell on Mamoswine, but the remains could still be used. He shot them at Tyrantrum, who was about to charge, and he managed to hit all parts of its body, even cutting its legs. "Avalanche!"

The move came too late, as the dragon-type hit him with brutal force, almost pushing him back all the way back to Dawn's tower. This was where the heavy steps true potential became obvious. With every step, it dealt decent extra damage, and there was no way for him to avoid it. Only his tusks, which blocked most of the attack, prevented a worse outcome. Furthermore, it had walked through a lot of ice shards on the way, but ultimate defense also reduced the damage from those sources. Dawn hoped that it would end soon, but she feared that Mamoswine wouldn't last until then. There was a way to deal some decent damage, but there had to be some distance between them . Right now the dragon-type was charging at him again.

"Use superpower!" The ice-type charged at the opponent, placing one his tusks between its legs. Tyrantrum slammed its head into his back, then he lifted its heavy body by raising his head, and threw it backwards towards Dawn's tower. "Gain some distance!" Mamoswine was a surprisingly fast walker, faster than Tyrantrum for sure, and he quickly reached the other side of the field. Now if it wanted to get in melee range again, it'd have to run across even more ice shards. "Icicle crash, then earthquake! Make them hit at the same time!"

"Rock slide, then get there with head smash!" He endured the heavy rocks to execute his own attack. Huge icicles appeared above Tyrantrum, but when they came down, it lowered its head to avoid most of the damage from the earthquake, and the ice hit the more vulnerable parts. Since the distance was great, there was a lot of opportunity to hurt it.

"Ancient power!" Dawn said once it was getting closer. It was an old variant that made the orb of the move circle the pokémon, strengthening him. It looked like he was ready to take the attack directly. "Dodge it!" He stepped to the side, letting it run past him, before it turned around, facing him again. There was no way to evade it altogether, but he at least managed to slow it, as it couldn't reach its full speed again.

They met again, and Mamoswine kept dropping icicles on its back, while he was being pushed back. The ice on his tusks soon shattered, leaving him more vulnerable to its attacks. They kept going, and even though it looked like both pokémon were unaffected, their conditions worsened considerably. When Mamoswine collapsed, it didn't come as a surprise to the trainers. In the end, it was the heavy steps move that made the difference, along with its powerful physical defense, and the fact that Dawn had been a little too slow at finding a good way of penetrating it properly.

"Mamoswine is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

"You were great. Take a good rest now." Dawn was reminded of the main reason for Drake's victory only moments later, when a wall of red light appeared around the field, and vanished again. He was likely to try reestablishing it, even if it meant Altaria's defeat, and Dawn had to prevent it at all costs. "Flygon, combine dragon breath with earthquake!"

Without the ultimate defense, there was no way Tyrantrum could hold out long enough for the poison to finish off Flygon, but Drake refused to recall it. Its massive weight didn't allow it to fight under the effect of a gravity move, and since Dawn had shown no intention of using it anytime soon, he figured it'd be smarter to use it now. If he was lucky, her dragon-type would soon be defeated, and she'd have to call out either Empoleon or Metagross. As long as they were both able to fight, calling out Salamence was too dangerous, for the combination of gravity and ice attacks was simply too much, but against one of them, it'd stand a chance. He had to get rid of this annoying pokémon first, though.

"Block it, then rock slide!" It used its head again, but without Altaria's support, it was a painful experience.

"Keep using dragon pulse for the area effect!" Dawn noticed that its condition was already horrible, and she hoped that Flygon could preserve most of her remaining strength for the others.

By not aiming directly at the opponent, she prevented it from blocking the orbs with its head, but she was still hit lightly by the explosion. It could walk away, but then it'd walk into the ice shards, which would probably even worsen its conditon. Flygon dodged all the rocks in midair, attacking whenever the opportunity arose.

About one minute later, after a monotonous but intense fight, Tyrantrum couldn't keep standing anymore, and fell to the side. The impact was so great, it was like an earthquake move, but fortunately, Flygon was in the air, way out of its reach.

"Tyrantrum is unable to battle!" Drake was only surprised that it had been able to fight for such a long time.

"Good job. Now, Altaria, use ultimate defense!" Although he didn't like reducing his pokémon to a single move, it was enough to make Altaria's presence invaluable.

"Dragon rush, then outrage!" Getting close was risky, yet it was nothing compared to the risk that came with another ultimate defense, and Dawn wanted to make absolutely sure it didn't happen.

"Ice beam!" Drake knew that he couldn't possibly do it again because Dawn would do anything to prevent it, and he intended to use it against her.

Alataria covered a large part of Flygon's body in ice, but the ice beam did nothing to slow her down. She crashed into the dragon-type, and the ice dealt even more damage than the actual move, knocking out both of them. The icy mist from the crash disappeared after a few seconds, revealing them to be lying next to each other.

"Both Altaria and Flygon are unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

The trainers weren't surprised in the slightest, and even if one of them had endure the crash, the poison would've finished the job. Now they both had two pokémon left, and they even still had access to a mega evolution.

"Good job, my friend. Haxorus, inner fire!" Drake commanded, calling out the next pokémon.

"Thank you. Now, Empoleon, start with aqua ring!" Dawn shouted, doing the same.

It wasn't the best matchup for her, as Empoleon didn't have any super-effective move with the power of ice-type moves reduced. However, she needed Metagross against Salamence, so there was no alternative.

"Use earthquake!" It was the best move available to Haxorus in this situation, being super-effective as opposed to its dragon-type moves.

"Ice aqua drill!" Empoleon launched himself into the air, over the shockwave, and charged right at the opponent. Using ice beam while spinning made it look like a huge ice bolt was flying towards the dragon-type.

"Dragon claw!" It shattered the ice with a quick strike, and prepared for a second attack on Empoleon himself, but he wasn't there. Looking up revealed him to have left shortly before the impact, and now he was using flash cannon, striking it with a beam of light from above before landing gracefully somewhere between Haxorus and Drake's tower."Earthquake!"

"Iron defense!" Always dodging the shockwave was too tiring, as he couldn't simply jump over it, and using aqua jet took too much energy in the long run. Iron defense greatly reduced the damage, and also helped against the following attacks. With glowing horns and wings, he took the shockwave directly. "Now flash cannon, then metal claw!"

The beam of light came immediately after the earthquake, but Haxorus was fast enough to use protect, but when the light was gone, and it could look at Empoleon again, he was already right in front of it, slashing its chest with metal claw. Then it caught his wings during the next two attacks with its own claws.

"Drill peck!" He rammed his horns into Haxorus's upper body, and started his spinning movement, dealing considerable damage until it struck him with its head. He fell on his back, being restrained by Haxorus, whose claws pinned his wings to the ground. "Flash cannon!"

"Guillotine!" The blades on the sides of its head glowed briefly, but it couldn't finish the move, as the bright beam of light coming from Empoleon forced it to retreat, covering its eyes."Earthquake!" The move worked even with its eyes close, as it didn't need to aim, but Empoleon was faster this time.

"Divine aqua jet!" He managed to get away, flying over the dragon-type in a bright orb of glowing water. He could've aimed at Haxorus directly, but then he'd have to move directly through the shockwave.

"Earthquake behind you!" It turned around and stomped on the ground, hitting the water-type, who had just landed.

"Flash cannon!" His horns and wings usually glowed brightly after this combination, but the hit had taken a lot of the energy, so they were much duller. He used the remaining energy for his attack, making it brighter and stronger.

Empoleon looked worn-out after the last attack, but Haxorus looked as strong as ever. Dawn knew it was another advantage of inner fire. It made the pokémon ignore the pain and exhaustion from battle, making it last longer, and making its defeat always look surprising.

"Get in there with aqua jet and use metal claw!" He quickly closed the distance, ramming the dragon-type with his head, and slashing its chest with his wing. It blocked the following slashes with its claws again, and attempted another attack with its head, but he backed down in time. "Use flash cannon!"

"Earthquake!" They hit each other directly, but they still had the strength to go on. "Again!"

"Into the air with aqua jet, then drill peck!" Hr rose into the air, and shot down again, but Haxorus blocked his attack with its claws. "Ice beam!" He was pushed back a little by the move, and encased its arms. "Now metal claw!" Those attacks often increased his power, and Dawn hoped that they'd make a difference in the end.

"Guillotine, then dual chop!" The ice was easy to brake, as it was also being weakened by the inner fire, but it wasn't enough to intercept the metal claw. He slashed across its chest with both wings, then he rolled to the side, evading its move. However, it lunged at him, and struck his chest. He was pinned down again, but this time, his wings were free, and made a brutal slash across its face. Not even inner fire could make it ignore this kind of pain, and it had to take a few steps back, holding its face.

It was a short moment of respite for Empoleon, who was almost completely drained, but he knew that it couldn't last long, for Haxorus didn't need to rest. It was impossible to tell how much more it could take, so he simply had to hurt it over and over, hoping that it'd collapse.

"Use earthquake!" It caught him a little off-guard, but he managed to use iron defense before. "Again!"

"Ice beam on the feet! Then flash cannon!" The ice didn't last long, but it gave him enough time to unleash his own attack. By focusing on its head, he used the full potential, as the wound made it particularly effective, and it couldn't even concentrate on the ice.

Utterly exhausted, Empoleon had to cancel the attack eventually. He expected a devastating counter-attack, only to watch it struggle removing the ice, and then it couldn't even raise its foot. Its breathing became calmer, and it maintained eye contact the whole time, until it suddenly fell forward. Dawn's pokémon wasn't in much better condition, but he remained standing, and the aqua ring could help him regain at least a little strength, although she knew that if Salamence managed to defeat Metagross, he wouldn't be much of a problem.

"Haxorus is unable to battle!" the referee declared after a long wait.

"Great performance out there." He recalled it and then addressed the coordinator. "I must say, I didn't expect you to come this far, and I hope you don't take my words too seriously. I just enjoy testing mental strength as well. You earned my respect, but will you earn the right to face Wallace? Let's see. Salamence, rush!"

"Return!" Empoleon probably wouldn't be able to do a lot in his current condition, but Dawn was confident that Metagross could deal with Salamence without help, for she had a surprise ready. Only had seen it several months ago, and now it was time to use it. "Metagross, use light gravity!"

Salamence tried to intimidate it with its ability, which failed due to Metagross's own ability, then it proceeded to attack. Its move was so fast, it resembled extremespeed. The difference was that it struck Metagross with its wings while passing it, and was too far away for a counter-attack. Few pokémon could do anything against this move, especially when it was combined with the other individual move. With the increased gravity, it was crippled, as it couldn't move far without touching the ground. Metagross on the other hand was not only extremely strong, but it also lacked soft body parts, which often got hurt by the pressure of a powerful gravity move, and all of this made it ideal for this kind of fight. This scaled gravity move had about 80% of the usual power for a little trick.

While using the move, Metagross's legs became arms, the cross on its face turned gold, and a spike appeared below the cross. It could float without magnet rise, but the increased gravity negated that ability. Obviously, it wasn't fit to fight under these conditions, yet it managed to stand by using two of its arms as legs. Since they weren't made for this, it had to use a mixture of magnet rise, and its psychic powers to retain balance and move at an acceptable pace. It also had to focus on the battle itself, but for a pokémon like Metagross, concentrating that many tasks at the same time wasn't an issue. In the end, it only took a part of its special power, and its physical strength was superior anyway,in particular with its new ability, so it wasn't a big loss. Having no legs in its mega form, Salamence couldn't keep up in this situation, as it would only cripple the dragon-type.

"I'd like to see mega Salamence trying to move here without legs." Ash grinned when he imagined the scene. "Oh well, maybe Drake would even find a way to do that, just like Dawn did."

"It's a bit too late for that," Zoey replied.

"Well, at least it wouldn't use earthquake in that form," Johanna remarked. "It's like they're trying to tear the whole place apart."

"What do you expect with so many ground-types and physically strong pokémon?" Ash asked, shrugging.

Before Dawn started the attack, she wanted to strengthen the defenses a little.

"Use light screen!" Even though Salamence's physical attacks were more threatening, Dawn trusted Metagross's steel body to be able to handle anything Drake's pokémon could throw at it.

"Flamethrower!" Salamence was so slow, the light screen was active when it hit the steel-type with its fire.

Another problem for Drake was that he couldn't use dragon dance, which was one of his favorite moves. Metagross's individual move was called data transfer, and although it sounded boring compared to other moves, it could be extremely useful . With the move, it could transfer stat changes to enemies, allies, or itself within a moment. Lacking moves like swords dance, it was its only way of boosting its own attack power, but it could do so much more like increasing an ally's defense with its own iron defense. Naturally, every trainer who knew about it abstained from using such moves as long as it was on the field.

"Fire blast!" A fiery star was shot at Metagross, who stopped it with its psychic powers.

"Get there and use meteor mash!" It made the fire hit the ground instead, and moved quickly towards the dragon-type, causing the ground to shake with every step.

"Dragon claw, then fire fang!" Salamence intercepted Metagross's orange glowing arms with its claws, and then attempted to bite the steel-type.

"Zen headbutt!" The cross on its face glowed brightly, then it smashed its head into Salamence's. The moves were evenly matched, but Metagross's defense made it take less damage, and the dragon-type was pushed back. "Meteor mash again!"

Standing upright, Drake's pokémon grabbed its arms again, but the steel-type pushed so hard this time that it was pushed almost all the way back to Drake's tower, and the ice shards on the way hurt a lot.

"Damn it, use flamethrower!" the Elite Four member commanded.

"Flash cannon!" An x-shaped ray of light hit the stream of fire between the two pokémon, resulting in a bright explosion that made both pokémon back off a little. "Earthquake!" It slammed its arms into the ground, sending a brutal shockwave towards Salamence. It crashed into the tower, but got back up almost immediately.

Nobody in the arena truly believed that it still stood a chance, not even Drake. His pokémon wasn't used to fight on the ground, having always used its extreme speed and agility in the air to overcome its opponents, and now neither it nor its trainer were sure what to do. Drake, however, knew that he'd lost the battle when he lost Gachomp, and Altaria got heavily injured.

 _Salamence ... Altaria ... maybe I've come to rely on you and your moves too much,_ he thought to himself. _Maybe I've become too predictable._

Dawn also wasn't completely happy with the result so far, even though she'd managed to turn the tides after the horrible start. Something like that against Wallace would lead to certain defeat, and she couldn't prepare for his pokémon as much.

"Bullet punch grip!" she commanded. The steel-type complied, moving swiftly towards the opponents.

"Combine fire fang with flamethrower!" It was a brutal combination for a close-range stream of fire, but the dragon-type didn't get to use it, as one of Metagross's arms pressed its throat against the tower. "Fight back with dragon claw!" The same thing happened to its arms and wings, when Metagross changed its position, using only the one remaining leg to stand, and using two arms to pin down one arm and wing with each.

"Flash cannon!" The light beam hit Salamence's belly, where it was well-protected, but the continuous attack was dangerous nonetheless.

"Dragon tail!" From this position, the move couldn't force a recall, although it was still better than doing nothing, and Drake couldn't think of anything else.

"Use psychic, and try to restrict it as well!" Drake's pokémon managed to hit it once, then the steel-type took control, and what it did next caused everyone in the stadium to cringe. Jumping was difficult with its immense weight and the increased gravity, but using everything it had at its disposal, it jumped just high enough for the psychic move to slip the tip of Salamence's tail beneath that arm. Not even Dawn had thought of that, but Metagross always considered every possibility, and it tended to underestimate the pain it inflicted. "Oh ... meteor mash on the belly, then throw it back at the center!"

It released the two arms holding Salamence's wings and arms, and punched its belly with both of them. Then it returned to its usual position, moving off the tail, much to Dawn's relief, grabbed the dragon-type's arms again, and threw it towards Dawn's tower. It didn't get far due to the gravity move, though, and crashed quickly. Despite the beating it had taken, it got up again. It was quite resilient for its kind, but under the conditions, it couldn't utilize its offensive potential, at least not against this opponent.

"Use fire blast!" Drake shouted.

"Bullet punch!" Before it had even turned around, Salamence was punched in the face, pushing it into another ice shard. "Meteor mash!" Metagross closed the distance, and hit its back, but was pushed back as well when it was struck by the dragon-type's tail. It wasn't strong enough to force a recall, but it reminded Dawn that she needed to pay more attention. "Earthquake!"

"Fire blast!" Metagross took a step back, which made Salamence turn around and shoot the powerful move at it. Then it slammed the two arms into the ground, sending another shockwave towards the opponent.

It was pushed into an ice shard yet again, but unlike last time, it couldn't get up again, and collapsed during the attempt. Of course, it was still hard to believe that this pokémon could get beaten like that, so the referee took his sweet time checking on its status.

"Salamence is unable to battle," he finally declared, pointing towards Dawn. "Drake has no pokémon left, therefore the challenger is victorious."

The applause surpassed even that after the victory against Phoebe, making the stadium shake almost as much as an earthquake move. Whereas Dawn gave a sigh of relief, Drake looked a bit disappointed.

"Not your fault, friend. It's time to rest." He recalled Salamence before turning to the coordinator. "After that incident with Phoebe, I didn't believe the same could happen to me."

"Hey, you practically defeated five of my pokémon, that's hardly comparable," she shouted back.

"It feels like it, though," he replied. "I guess you're never too old to learn a few things. Anyway, we both have things to do, so good luck against Wallace."

"Thanks, I'm going to need it." She addressed her victorious pokémon, who could float again after having removed the gravity move. "Good job, that was awesome. You all earned a good, long rest."

Dawn recalled it, and listen to the rest of the commentator's speech, which was almost over already.

"- second try within a short amount of time. Will she be successful as well?" She could only guess that it referred to Ash's victory. "We'll find out tomorrow, and perhaps it'll be the most beautiful battle for championship ever. I hope to see you then. Have a great day:"

There was no reason to stay, so Dawn returned to her room, but didn't stay there for long. After this difficult battle, she was extremely hungry, so much that she was willing to risk running into Ash on the way home. Since he could return right away, though, he was much faster, so she was worried for no reason.

The final preparations went smoothly, so that she was done after only two hours. She'd always considered a battle against Wallace an honor, though he'd always been too much of a idol for her to believe that she could win. Now things were different. The fact that she'd defeated Drake gave her a lot of confidence, and now she wanted to go all the way. She was daydreaming when a familiar face showed up at the lab.

"Well, well, who's the lazy bum?" She was startled by the voice, but relaxed when she recognized it as Zoey's. She turned around to see her friend standing there with a big grin. "Are you that confident that you can afford spacing out like that?"

"Hey, I'm tired. You know those battles are exhausting," she complained.

"Well, I've never tried the big stuff. Only a few gym battles for testing purposes," Zoey replied.

"It is exhausting, trust me. Gym battles can't compare," Dawn told the fellow coordinator. "Actually, I didn't think I'd get this far, but now I can't turn back."

"A Sinnohnian living in Kanto becoming the champion of Hoenn, that'd be ... interesting." They laughed at the absurdity, but Dawn became serious again.

"Well, unless something happens soon there's no real reason to stay in Kanto anymore," she said with a gloomy expression.

There was an awkward silence, during which they both looked away. Zoey was the first one to snap out of it.

"You know, if you really think it's the best idea, you should do it. Otherwise, work on the solution." She gave Dawn a pained smile. "You know I only want the best for you, no matter what it means for me, but you're being impossible right now. This conflict, is it so important that you're willing to let Ash go forever? You don't want to, I can feel it. But if you want things to change, you must do something."

"I know." She lowered her head. "I know. But I want him to make the first move. He has to apologize."

"I don't know what you said to each other, but did it ever occur to you that he has similar thoughts? If nobody begins, things won't change," Zoey reasoned. Dawn knew her friend was right, yet she was hesitant to make any promises. "Come on, you don't want this situation to last forever, do you?"

"No, I guess not." Dawn sighed. "But this is not the time for such thoughts. I hope you remember I have to fight Wallace tomorrow."

"True that," Zoey agreed. "There's still time after that, just don't forget about it. I hope you're ready. My advice is not to treat it like a contest battle, as tempting as it may be. Don't forget, he isn't there without a good reason, he's defeated Steven Stone, and several challengers."

"I know, and I'm prepared. I even have a nice surprise for him." She pointed at Empoleon, who was practicing slashing moves nearby. "His new move should prove useful. And it's given me a lot of ideas."

"Hopefully, you're right. I should leave you to your training now." She turned to leave, but remembered a request. "By the way, if you make it, I hope you'll support my efforts to establish a similar elite system for coordinators."

"Of course," Dawn reassured her. "That would be like a dream come true."

"Great. Good luck tomorrow!" They waved at each other while Zoey was running away. "And don't forget about Ash!" she added.

Dawn sighed again when she was reminded of that problem again. A snowflake landed on her nose, and she looked up to see more of those falling, It wasn't nearly as strong as the heavy snowfall a few days ago, but it was a pretty sight, which had a calming effect on her. Even some pokémon stopped to take a look. Dawn watched the sudden serenity, enjoying the view. They'd gotten far together, and now there was only one last step to take, albeit it was the most difficult one. Regardless of the result, she also had to do something about Ash, just like Zoey had said.

Two of Wallace's pokémon were considered particularly dangerous, but she was willing to take extreme measures against them. She could only hope it was enough.

* * *

 **In the end it looked easier than it actually was, but it could've gone completely wrong if Dawn had abandoned her strategy after the early losses. But she was so well-prepared for this opponent that she managed to render his strongest fighter mostly harmless.**

 **Now only Wallace is left. He may lack Lance's raw power, but he's less predictable and his pokémon are notoriously resilient.**


	82. Tides of Battle

**I enjoy battles indeed, though writing so many full battles in such a short time is exhausting. I was glad when this one was finished.**

 **Since I'm pretty sick this week, I have a little more time for this. This one marks the end of the official battles. The last arc will start soon.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 82 Tides of Battle

The next morning, Dawn woke up to find a beautiful winter scenery outside. It had snowed a lot during the night, and she got lost in her thoughts just by looking at it. There was still much time left, and she wasn't going to make herself and her pokémon nervous by doing any unnecessary training until the beginning of the most important battle of her life, so she could afford this. Besides, it helped calm her mind, distracting her from her excitement.

Her mother, who was aware of the importance of that battle, had simply left her a huge breakfast in the dining room, and only joined her daughter briefly to wish her good luck, for distractions or long talks were the last thing she needed. It was astonishing how calm she looked, though, which was probably a good sign. Dawn left soon after, and the others followed mere minutes later. The stadium was horrible when crowded, and they needed to get there soon unless they were ready to get through large numbers of people. It was pretty clear that it wasn't made for battles, which attracted countless people, like this one, but it was still the best Hoenn had to offer in that regard. In addition, it was the best at providing unique stages, although most of the options were rarely used. In this case, there was a huge pool that covered the whole field, with only a single, round island at the center.

Thundering applause could be heard when Wallace arrived, waving at the crowd. For his standards, his outfit was simple. He was wearing light blue shoes, a white suit with light blue ends, and a white cape with a stylized light blue tree on it. Strangely enough, he wasn't wearing any hat, which was often the most exotic part of his outfits. The applause for his challenger was far less impressive, although she also had her fair share of supporters. Most of them didn't notice, but there was something different about her, and it wasn't only the outfit, which had changed for this battle. It consisted of a simple, strapless, white dress with white shoes, white gloves, and her aura stone.

There was something else, something about her attitude. A conversation with her pokémon on the previous day had made her realize that she shouldn't try to suppress her emotions to remain calm, but that those emotions made her strong, at least as long as she controlled them instead of letting them control her. Whether it would really help her remained to be seen, but she was strangely optimistic.

"I can't express how please I am that you made it this far." Wallace shouted before the official start. "You might not believe it, but I rarely get to battle those I want to battle, and you're on that list."

"You know, I've asked you for a battle on more than one occasion," she pointed out.

"Indeed, but ... well, let's talk about it after the battle. I have a small confession to make," he said, waving it off because it wasn't the time to discuss those kind of matters. It sounded so strange that Dawn told herself not to forget about this. "You know, I've always hoped for fellow coordinators to challenge me here, even if it was just a silly unofficial title. Yet nobody worthy even bothered trying, until now. Let's show them all that coordinators can be strong as well."

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the commentator started talking before Dawn could answer, but then again, there was no real need for that. "Yesterday, we've seen her beat Drake, but will the challenger overcome the champion as well? Will Dawn take his place, and be the second coordinator in a row in this position? Her former boyfriend won in Kanto, now let's see whether there's a change in Hoenn as well. The standard rules apply, and I should remind you that this isn't a contest battle, no matter how much you'd like to see it. But enough of this, you didn't come here to listen to me, but to watch the battle for the championship. Now let it begin!"

The referee stepped forward, giving her a reproachful look, probably because he felt it was his duty to announce the battle, not hers.

"Are the participants ready?" He looked at them, and raised his arms when they nodded at him. "Battle, begin!"

"Politoed, pure water!" the champion shouted.

"Kabutops, stealth rock!" Dawn commanded at the same time.

Politoed was bad news for any challenger, for it was considered his most dangerous pokémon after Milotic. It may not be the most powerful pokémon in a direct battle, but it was surely the most slippery, and its support abilities were amazing, albeit maybe not as extreme as Drake's ultimate defense. Taking out this pokémon was of uttermost importance, and Dawn had a pokémon ready for this task alone. Pure water was its first individual move, a modification of rain dance that healed Wallace's pokémon over time, and removed status effects. Its second individual move was even more dangerous, though. It recalled Politoed even under the effect of mean look or spider web, healed it a little, and also healed the pokémon he called out after the move. There was only one ability that could prevent its escape, which had been discovered by Phoebe about a year ago. Her mega gengar's shadow tag had been able to counter the move, but it had lost the following fight, as the second move showed a strange behavior when used under these conditions. It was like the pokémon was recalled and immediately called out again, so it received both heals, giving it remarkable sustain. Thus a pokémon needed to be really strong if it wanted to have any hope of defeating it.

Its drizzle ability made clouds appear above the field, and with an active weather effect, it only needed to modify it instead of using a real rain dance. A wave of its hand was enough to make a rainbow appear as well, and the raindrops emitted a weak glow, making this easily the most beautiful weather move in existence. Meanwhile, Kabutops shot a few sharp rocks on the island, hoping they could counter the healing.

"Slippery escape!" As opposed to an ordinary recall, it looked like it turned into glowing liquid, and was sucked into the pokéball. "Tentacruel, toxic wave!" The next pokémon appeared within an orb of water, which dispersed a moment later, right before rocks shot out of the island, hitting the water-type.

"Get away with aqua jet, then ice beam on the pool!" A wave merged with a toxic move was moving towards her, but she launched herself into the air with aqua jet, and froze the pool to prevent Wallace's pokémon from escaping into the depths.

Both pokémon benefited from the weather effect, with Kabutops receiving a great speed boost due to swift swim, and Tentacruel regenerating due to its rain dish ability in addition to the effect of pure water. Combined with Its good speed and defenses, it was ideal for a toxic strategy.

"Rapid spin, then toxic spikes!" Tentacruel had been caught in the ice, but a rapid spin shattered it, and the water-type proceeded spreading poisoned spikes all over the field.

"Ice extensions, then combine aqua jet with rapid spin!" A layer of ice around her scythes greatly increased her range, and she needed it for the following combination. Similar to Empoleon's aqua drill, she started spinning, but not to create a drill. Instead, the dangerous area was at the sides, where her scythes tore everything to pieces, and that's why it was sometimes called helicopter blades. This way, she could fly by a target, and still inflict heavy damage, which was particularly effective when used with a rain dance to increase her speed. Few pokémon could catch her in this situation, and Tentacruel got to feel her blades when it tried to grab her with its tentacles. "Get back to the center and use rapid spin!"

While the opponent was still recovering from the brutal attack, she landed on a spot without spikes, and started spinning again, creating a tornado, which pulled all the spikes towards her. Her scythes made short work of them, so that Dawn could call out her pokémon without fear of them getting immediately poisoned.

"Use your arms!" The red body parts glowed brightly, and additional tentacles spawned among the old ones, but they were made of poison mixed with water. They not only poisoned the target badly upon touch, they could also be extended to ridiculous lengths, yet moved like real tentacles. Now they were approaching Kabutops with great speed.

"Get back here, then rock jet!" Dawn knew that the extended tentacles required a lot of energy, so she tried to force it to reach all across the stage. Tentacruel moved towards her to minimize this effort, but she was faster, so it had to reach far. On the way, she counted the number of tentacles, and then prepared a suitable number of rocks. They were shot at Wallace's pokémon, each with its own little aqua jet, penetrating and destroying the poison tentacles. "Swords dance!"

"Intercept them!" They were too slippery to grab, so it tried to block them with its numerous real tentacles, but even so, a few got through. "Now attack!"

"Combine rapid spin with aqua jet again!" With the power of a swords dance, it looked far more impressive, like a living tornado. Under the effect of swift swim, she was also incredibly fast and agile. Now countless tentacles were closing in, but she managed to evade them all by moving between them, and making them touch each other, which resulted in both of them collapsing. In the end, it looked like she intended to move through the mess of real tentacles, which would hurt Tentacruel a lot, but it was too risky in the end, and she move upwards, flying past its head instead. "Return!"

Dawn seriously doubted that her pokémon could evade the tentacles every single time in a longer battle, and if she fought more carefully, the damage would be healed soon. There was only one way of stopping the healing, and that was defeating Politoed. She only had to hold out until the rain was gone, and call out the counter as soon as it was back to renew it.

"Togekiss, safeguard!" A green shield appeared for a moment, blocking any status effect for a while. Without its poison, Tentacruel wasn't nearly as dangerous, and Togekiss's defenses were strong enough to withstand most of its regular attacks."Use light of mercy!"

"Rapid spin!" Tentacruel moved onto the island, and create a tornado similar to Kabutops's, which sucked the stealth rocks into its core, where they were destroyed. "Return! Sharpedo, taunt it, then aqua aura!" It failed to taunt her in time, resulting in the whole stage getting illuminated by her healing light, but without her status moves, she was much weaker. The aqua aura was its individual move, a permanent aqua jet, that allowed it to fly and move as if it was in the water. In addition, it allowed for a few defensive combinations, which were critical to its success, given its miserable defenses. The biggest threat was its speed boost ability, which made it go faster with time. "Now dark aqua jet!"

This was its signature combination, a technique older than ice aqua jet, and its primary defense move. Using dark pulse with aqua jet turned the water black, and made it absorb moves directed at it. This increased the power of the aqua jet massively, making it both a offensive and a defensive tool. Therefore it was smart not to attack it with special moves during that time.

"Dodge it!" Sharpedo charged at Togekiss from below, but she gracefully moved to the side, avoiding it entirely. It turned around, and attacked, only for the attack to get evaded again. Dawn knew that her pokémon couldn't keep it up forever, as Sharpedo was getting faster.

"Use air slash on your aura sphere!" When it charged at her again, Togekiss threw an aura sphere at it, and sliced it with air slash right before it could hit the water-type. It was cut into two pieces which exploded in front of Sharpedo, throwing it off balance, and causing it crash. "Now dazzling gleam!"

"Dark aqua jet again!" It was too fast for her, activating its defenses to absorb the pink ray of light. Blue sparks came from the water, showing that the move had been successfully absorbed, so Dawn had to be particularly careful now. It charged at Togekiss, and managed to hit her side, almost making her crash, but she managed to regain her balance above the ground. It took so long, however, that Sharpedo had enough to time to turn around and hit her directly while she was trying to maintain some altitude. "Use ice fang!"

"Dazzling gleam!" They fell to the ground, and Wallace's pokémon was about to bit her, when she caused a burst of light, which blinded and damaged it. The water-type tried to bite her again, but missed her, letting her fly away.

"Dark aqua jet!" It also launched itself into the air, protecting itself with its combination until the eyesight was back to normal. Then it attacked again, with even greater speed.

"Aura sphere and air slash again, then use extremespeed to get to the other side!" As expected, Sharpedo gained enough altitude to avoid the explosion of the aura sphere, and Togekiss used this to move straight through the explosion to the others side, so that it couldn't finish its attack.

"Scald!" Its physical attacks were stronger, but moves like scald were also dangerous, especially under a weather effect.

The stream of water got weaker before it reached her, a sign of the ending rain dance. It needed to be renewed, even if it meant wasting the speed boost, as without it, Togekiss would be much more dangerous. Dawn was also ready, expecting Wallace to call out Politoed soon, and she was right about it.

"Return! Politoed, pure water!" he commanded.

"Return! Gengar, shadow ball!" Dawn said at the same time.

Wallace didn't look surprised when part of Gengar's body sank into the ground, a third, yellow eye appeared on her forehead, spikes grew on her hands, and the spikes grew larger. Her new ability was more important than the physical changes, being the only known direct counter to the slippery escape. Politoed endured the powerful shadow ball to finish its own move, which would eventually heal it wounds.

"The mega evolution this early? Isn't this a bit too much?" Serena looked worried, which was to be expected from someone who didn't know this pokémon.

"Don't underestimate Politoed," Zoey warned her with her gaze on the water-type. "It may not be his most famous pokémon, but definitely comparable to Jellicent or even Milotic. This reaction is more than justified."

"That depends on whether it works out for her," Ash pointed out, pointing at Wallace. "He doesn't look surprised."

"That was to be expected. I hope your gengar is stronger than Phoebe's, or it might suffer the same fate," the champion said to Dawn. "Use surf!"

Every advantage came at a price, and the mage form of Gengar was no exception. Although it could move even faster, the missing levitation was dearly missed in situations like this one.

"Protect!" The wave washed over her, and the water-type landed nearby.

"Encore!" It clapped loudly, sending a ray of light down on Gengar. Dawn knew she'd be in real trouble if it hit.

"Dark ward!" The ghost-type surrounded herself with an aura of darkness, which absorbed the light, and grew in size. "Now black hole!" She extended an arm, which held an orb of pure darkness.

Dark ward was one of Dawn's favorite moves, because it was both versatile and powerful. It could absorb any special or status move, and use the energy in many different ways. For example, she could give a decent boost to her next attack, heal herself a little, or prevent damage via an energy barrier. There were two more extremely popular choices, one of them being called dark nova, which was a shadow ball containing all the absorbed energy, and black hole, which could pull pokémon and objects into its core. Wallace was fully aware of its power, and decided to focus on physical attacks, although water attacks like hydro pump were also good, as despite being classified as special moves, Gengar couldn't absorb the water. Another reliable way of countering it was overcharging the ward, which usually caused it to explode.

"Use hydro pump!" The move was interrupted when Politoed felt a powerful force pulling it towards Gengar, and no effort could save it from that fate. The pull was strong enough to prevent it from using any move, and as soon as it was finally close enough, Gengar formed a shadow ball in her other hand, and punched it with the move empowering the melee attack. It flew far away, but got up quickly. Now Gengar needed to absorb another move to use black hole again.

"Slippery escape!" Wallace commanded.

"Disable it!" It looked like the water-type turned into liquid and back again, and it received a good amount of healing. Disabling this move was critical to Dawn's success, and her opponent helped a little by not covering it with protect or a similar, fast move. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do that for a long time, and preferred to use protect when it was really needed instead. Without slippery escape, Politoed's sustain was greatly reduced, though, so he needed to distract her from attacking by launching his own offensive.

"Use surf!" Strengthened by the rain, his pokémon approached on a huge wave.

"Counter with psychic!" She extended her arms again, and pushed the whole wave back towards Wallace's tower.

"Hydro pump!" Politoed jumped off in time, and shot a large stream of water at the ghost-type, who dodged it easily, but it kept going.

"Shadow ball!" Gengar's move cut through the stream easily, forcing Politoed to roll to the side, but then it suddenly clapped with its hands. A ray of light shone on Gengar, who was too slow to activate her defense in time. As a result, she had only shadow ball left.

Dawn already knew that it wasn't going to be a pretty battle, and she was a little angry because of it. On the other hand, denying the opponent's combinations was just as much part of battles and contests as using the own, so she couldn't blame Wallace. Her biggest concern was slippery escape, which would be available again eventually, and since it was likely to use encore again to prolong her forced usage of shadow ball, it could use the time to heal a lot without fear of getting stopped. The only real solution was defeating it before that could happen, and it required an extremely aggressive style. Of course, she'd have to take risks, and even more damage, but Gengar had access to pain split, which could then cripple Wallace's next pokémon.

Despite this problem, Dawn was feeling incredible. This was unlike any of the previous battles, and she leaned forward to feel the excitement even more. If she managed to take down Politoed, things would look much better for her, and then she could begin with her actual strategy, as everything so far had only led to this particular fight.

"Alright, no holding back anymore. I want it to go down. First a ranged attack, then get close!" she shouted. Gengar extended her arms, shooting two small shadow balls at the target, who jumped over them. It did a spin in midair, and gracefully landed, ready for an attack, but it noticed that Gengar was already approaching at an alarming rate.

"Waterfall!" A pillar of water rose at its position, taking it out of Gengar's reach. She shot a shadow ball right at its base, though, causing it to collapse onto her along with Politoed. It managed to use scald on the way down, but got brutally hit by a powerful shadow ball, and sent flying across the stage.

"Attack from the distance, then get close again!" Melee attacks were more risky, but also reliable, and she didn't care too much about the risk right now. Phoebe had been too careful back then, having allowed it to heal back up, which had been the main reason for her defeat.

"Use scald!" Gengar used shadow ball again, attempting to hit Politoed while it was trying to get up. It proved extremely agile, though, dodging the move and getting in position for a counter-attack at the same time. The ghost-type was too fast, though, and evaded the stream of water until she was close enough. "Protect, then waterfall!"

The attack still packed a punch, pushing back the water-type, who then rose on another pillar of water. It was destroyed by another shadow ball, but this time, Politoed jumped off in time, and even tried to hit her on the way down. Gengar dodged it again, though, and waited for it on the ground.

"Hydro pump, full power!" Wallace's main intention wasn't to damage Gengar, as she was too fast anyway, but his pokémon was to use the recoil to gain distance. He expected the encore to end soon, and wished to renew it. With the help of the rain, it was successful, and got away, even dodging the shadow ball thrown at it. "Get down and use surf!"

"Hit both the wave and the pokémon!" It landed, and immediately raised a huge wave. Dawn's pokémon shot a small shadow ball at the water-type in an attempt to shoot it down, and another one at the wave itself, causing to collapse. Politoed jumped off again, and the remains of the wave washed over both of them. Gengar then managed to punch it with her empowered fist, sending it flying once more.

"One more ranged attack, then stay in melee range!" While she was preparing the shadow ball, a beam of light appeared for a moment, which was a sign that the encore move was finished, but she was too busy to activate her defenses, and when the light reappeared, she knew it was too late. At least she finished her own move, hitting Politoed, who was clapping on the other side of the field.

Wallace looked happy with the result until he noticed that the rain was growing weak. Now his pokémon wasn't only injured, it also had no access to healing, for the pure water move without an active rain dance left it an easy target for far too long. Dawn's reckless tactics had given him a lot of opportunities to hurt Gengar, but now he had to hold back, or his pokémon would be unconscious soon. Without the rain, the water-type moves were also weaker and slower, severely limiting its mobility.

"Waterfall!" His fears were confirmed when the pillar of water failed to rise high enough, allowing Gengar to destroy it with one fist, and strike Politoed with the other. It used protect just in time, and got only pushed back slightly. "Again!" A shadow ball followed the pokémon, who used its shield again, but then it had the to face the approaching Gengar again. It was too late for a waterfall, and another protect move was likely to fail, so it tried to use scald instead.

"Don't push it back again!" In order to avoid it, and stay in melee range, she made her shadow balls weaker, but increase the number of attacks in turn. The water-type was already so weak that it didn't put up much resistance, obviously hoping to hold out until slippery escape was available again.

"Counter with hydro pump!" Every attempt was met by a punch, and it was already too weak to finish its move under these circumstances. The punches themselves were harmless, little more than touches, but she channeled her shadow balls through her hands, making them extremely potent and painful. Since the strength of the punches didn't matter for that reason, she could focus entirely on speed, and only had to watch out for the energy she put into the shadow balls, or she might easily drain herself. "Protect!"

Even the shield was only a brief relief, as the ghost-type continued to attack relentlessly like a berserker, giving it no chance to catch its breath, let alone recover. With each successful strike, it got even more tired, and its slower movement showed. Escape wasn't an option, for Gengar was much faster, and would probably knock it down on the way. It was struck more and more often until it simply couldn't defend itself anymore, and soon after that, it sank to the ground. Gengar was surprised to see it trying to stand up again, but it failed, and, after letting out a croaking sound, it collapsed again.

"Politoed is unable to battle!" the referee shouted after a few moments.

Its defeat was nothing less than a disaster for Wallace, whose other pokémon suffered a major loss of sustain, because while they all could use rain dance, only Politoed could turn it into a healing move. Now they had to rely on their own healing and defenses. Nevertheless, Wallace was determined not to change his tactics, believing that they were more than capable of doing it without its help. For some reason, he didn't look upset, though. In fact, he was smiling as if he remembered an old joke. Dawn was also smiling, albeit her smile was far less mysterious. Having taken out Wallace's best support pokémon, she could finally begin with her plan.

"Now I can see how Phoebe could lose that fight," Dawn admitted.

"Yes, Politoed did a marvelous job. It's a shame you had to remove it from battle so soon, but it was to be expected." He sighed, recalled the water-type, and readied his next pokéball. "Sharpedo, use aqua aura and taunt!"

Dawn believed that Gengar couldn't win this fight without her defensive moves, as Wallace's pokémon was almost as fast as hers, and with time, it'd be even faster. Finally, there was the type-disadvantage, so that she didn't have a real choice, even if it meant giving up the mega form. Losing it was still better than losing the pokémon.

"Well done, but return for now! Togekiss, reflect!" Her next pokémon needed some protection, preferably against both physical and special attacks, but she doubted that Sharpedo would allow it. Indeed, it used taunt, provoking her right after she was finished with the reflect move. "Return! Galvantula, use storm web!"

The idea was simple. Galvantula ensnared the opponent with her web, which also prevented a recall for a while, and a suitable ally finished it off quickly. This was the main reason why she had been so eager to defeat Politoed, for its healing moves could make them last way too long for Dawn's other pokémon to finish their job. If everything went according to plan now, Dawn would be able to pick off the rest of Wallace's team, one by one. However, he wasn't willing to make it that easy for her.

"Return!" He was faster than the web, and recalled it in time. "Swampert, start with mud grip!"

This pokémon was new to Dawn, and she was even more alerted as soon as she noticed Swampert's body changing. It became a lot bulkier, especially the upper part, the orange parts turned red, and it gained a third fin on its head. Now it not only looked much stronger, but it actually was in almost every aspect. During the transformation, it slammed one of its arms into the ice, making a large amount of mud emerge from the ice right behind Galvantula. It formed a fist, and struck her from above, covering her in sticky mud. There was no need for a storm web against a mega pokémon, as he couldn't recall it without losing his advantages.

"Return!" There were better to pokémon for this task, but for some reason, it didn't work. "What?"

"What goes around, comes around. I also have a few tricks up my sleeve. As you have already noticed, the move prevents recall, but you have to find out the rest on your own." Now he displayed the same smile he'd shown after Politoed's defeat. "Maybe you should have used a few pokémon twice, or gotten more of them. It was pretty simple finding out which ones you're going to use. Anyway, use rain dance!"

"Use gastro acid!" Galvantula was only superior in speed, and Dawn wanted to keep it that way. Gastro acid was used to disable its swift swim ability, and there was no way to remove it without switching the pokémon. Galvantula sprayed it with the clear liquid while it was busy with the weather move.

The chances of her winning this fight were slim, as her only hope was Galvantula's extremely effective giga drain, which was usually channeled through her strings and nets. Dawn would soon find out that the mud grip did more than merely preventing escape, it also slowed down the target, and made jumping much more difficult. Of course, the best way to take advantage of it was using earthquake, and Swampert was perfect for that, both because of its typing, and its strength. When the rain started, Wallace was ready to launch his offensive.

"Use earthquake!" he shouted.

"Disable it!" Doing this could enormously prolong the battle, and since Swampert couldn't heal itself without help, this was likely to Dawn's advantage.

"Protect!" Swampert smashed the ice in front of it with its massive arms, sending a powerful shockwave towards her, and followed up with the protect move to prevent Galvantula from disabling the earthquake. "Now scald!"

"Protect!" There was no way of disabling earthquake this time, so she decided to at least avoid the move. The shield protected Galvantula, and then she dodged the stream of water. "String shot and giga drain!" She shot a string of silk at it, attempting to strengthen her giga drain by draining energy through the string. However, she got pulled towards Swampert when it grabbed the string.

"Brick break! Then earthquake and protect again!" It smashed the defense, rendering her vulnerable to the following earthquake.

"Disable!" This time, Dawn didn't make her back off, and disabled the protect move. As a result, the next earthquake was going to be Swampert's last for a long time, which would make things much easier for the challenger. Of course, the price was getting hit by one of the most powerful earthquakes she'd ever seen from a relatively close distance. "Combine energy ball with signal beam and get away!"

The signal beam made the orb change its color several times every second, which was obviously quite distracting. She threw it into the air, and used string shot on it.

"Bulldoze, then the shatter storm combination!" It slammed its fists into the ground, causing the ice all the way to Galvantula to crack. She moved to the side, pulling the string so that the energy ball flew downwards, missing the water-type when it rose on pillar of water, and leapt towards the electric-type

"Use the cocoon!" Dawn could guess that the next combination was going to be extremely dangerous, so she was going with her most powerful defensive technique.

She hastily created a cocoon with her silk around herself, and filled it with a thick liquid to dampen the impacts. They were sure to come, as Swampert landed nearby, crushing the weakened ice, and creating a huge wave of snow and ice, that took its shape. People couldn't see the pokémon, but they heard its roar, and then were was a massive amount of ice shards coming from the cloud towards the cocoon. They were razor-sharp, yet failed to pierce the cocoon. Then the cloud looked like it leapt on it, covering it in ice and snow. Now Swampert was visible again, standing in a huge crater and breathing heavily. While it was recovering, several red orbs shot out of the pile of ice, having left a tunnel, from which Galvantula emerged. The cold wasn't good for her, but otherwise, she was fine.

"Prepare a strong net, but for now, use energy ball!" Others could only see that she was weaving something with her front legs, but it was too delicate for their eyes. The energy balls were flashier anyway, and much more of a threat to Swampert.

"Use surf, then water punch!" It evaded the energy balls by riding a large wave. Its fist was surrounded by a large bubble that resembled a water pulse.

"String shot on the tower!" She hit the Dawn's tower, which was nearby, and retracted it again, pulling herself towards it, and over the wave, evading both it and the pokémon altogether. Then she let go, and walked down the tower, but Swampert was already on its way back. The mud, that was still on her body, made it much more difficult for her, and she fell down, meeting the water-type's fist. She was punched further towards the center, where she was too far away to use the string shot trick on the towers again, and the ceiling was also out of reach. The net was ready, though, which could prove extremely useful. She gave her trainer a signal by raising one of her arms. "Use it, then giga drain!"

She threw a bundle into the air, and then used bug buzz, causing it to unfold into a huge net with several strings attached to her mouth. Wallace immediately noticed a faint, purple color, which hinted at the web being coated with poison. It was way too large to be evaded, and protect couldn't help either.

"Use blizzard!" It took a deep breath before unleashing a powerful ice storm, which froze the poison and the sticky liquid on the strings, rendering both harmless. The web was as strong as ever, though, and when it attempted to tear it apart, it got entangled. Galvantula activated the giga drain, making the whole net glow green. Swampet was in extreme pain while its energy was being absorbed, but it was still able to realize that its energy was transported in the strings, so it grabbed those connecting the web to Galvantula, and after a few seconds of agony, tore them apart. The glow ended, and so did the pain, but Swampert was still trapped.

"Keep using energy ball!" It was simple, but the most effective move available to Dawn in this situation. She considered another combination, but it was probably too late for it, as she expected the water-type to free itself any second now. The first one hit it, but then the web was destroyed, and Swampert countered the second orb with an ice punch, and dodged the third. "Prepare another web!"

"Use surf!" It rode on another large wave towards her, ready to have its revenge.

"Energy ball!" She shot the orb at it, only to watch it jump backwards, letting the wave do the job. The towers were too far away, and she couldn't jump properly with the mud on her body, so Dawn saw only one option. "Protect, then string shot and giga drain!"

The wave washed over her shield, and she immediately shot a string that wrapped around Swampert's right arm. It was about to tear it apart, but Wallace had a better idea.

"Pull it towards you!" Before Galvantula could use giga drain, she felt herself getting pulled towards the opponent. "Icy punch!"

Wallace didn't misspeak, it was a combination of ice punch and water pulse, that created icy spikes on its fist. They added a lot of damage to the punch, and exploded upon contact, leaving behind a beautiful, icy mist. Galvantula was pushed back, and took a lot of damage, but it was only the beginning, for the champion really wanted to finish the fight now.

"Use the ice spike combination!" It looked like Swampert combined bulldoze with ice punch, making the ground crack all the way to Galvantula. In addition, large ice spikes shot out of the cracks, glowed briefly, and then exploded, sending ice shards in all directions. The electric-type tried to escape, but the ground was shaking and uneven, so she got hit by several shards. "Now the world throw!"

"Combine energy ball with signal beam!" The web wasn't ready yet, so she had to do something else.

The shimmering orb hit the pillar of water that rose at Swampert's position, sending the energy up in form of a ray of light. The water-type didn't let itself get distracted by the unexpected attack, and raised it arms to form a huge orb of water with muddy water before freezing it with an ice beam. Most people didn't notice, but it resembled the planet, with the dirty parts representing the land, and the clear parts representing the water. It was far more than a mere demonstration of power, though, as it was also extremely dangerous. Swampert threw it at the opponent, who gained some distance, yet was still struck by ice shards and pieces of frozen mud, which were unleashed after a bright explosion.

The rain subsided a few moments later, and the waterfall pillar couldn't support the pokémon's weight anymore. This also meant that the disable wasn't going to work much longer, a fact that could very well mean the end for Galvantula. Swampert leapt at her, hoping that she was weakened from all the previous attacks. Although it was right, it didn't go as planned, for she used her imperfect web to catch it in midair, causing it to crash in front of her. Of course, Dawn hadn't given this order, but all of her pokémon were allowed to make their own decisions in an emergency situation like this one, albeit they rarely used the privilege. In this case, her legs had been heavily injured by the ice shards, slowing her down considerably.

"Signal beam and energy ball again!" The web wasn't finished, so it'd be quickly destroyed. Therefore she was sure that a giga drain wouldn't pay off, and she chose a faster, more volatile combination. As soon as the orb hit the web, it started glowing with changing colors until Swampert was suddenly surrounded by a bright, green aura, and it looked like the light was entering its body. Obviously, it was in a lot of pain, which was to be expected from a combination involving a grass-type move. Then the web burst, freeing Wallace's pokemon, and allowing him to continue attacking.

It had already taken a lot of damage, much more than anticipated, and Galvantula was still standing. Despite the mud, she'd shown great speed and agility, so that even the most powerful combinations had been inefficient, and now Swampert was tired. There was no doubt that it would win, but the price was high. For several moments, both pokémon were merely looking at each other, catching their breath.

"Bulldoze!" Wallace commanded with slight frustration in his voice. His pokémon needed to preserve the rest of its energy for other opponents, so he chose simple attacks now.

"String shot and giga drain!" The ice beneath her shattered and sank down, resulting in her getting trapped in a large hole. "Get out of there with string shot!"

"Again!" He certainly didn't want to risk another super-effective hit, and chose the safe variant. Galvanutla attempted to escape, only to fall down when the ice, on which she was standing, shattered. "Now hydro pump!"

He shot the water in a wide arc, so that it entered the hole with full force, hitting the pokémon inside as hard as possible. The hole was soon overflowing, and revealing the electric-type floating on her back, her legs pointing upwards. People were sure she was unconscious, but the referee waited a little before making the announcement.

"Galvantula is unable to battle!" he shouted.

"He did to her what she did to him," Johanna mumbled before sighing. "Now they've both lost key members."

"Yes, and now they'll fight even more desperately. So far, they seem evenly matched, though," Zoey said to the others, looking at Dawn. "I wonder whether she'll be able to deal with this loss. Don't forget, it's her first battle against Wallace."

"So what?" Ash asked. "It was also my first real battle against Lance, and I made it. It was close, but I made it. And so can she, unless I gravely overestimate her abilities ... and character." The last part was only a whisper that the others didn't hear. To him, it wasn't even important whether she won or lost, it was about how she did it. Right now, she looked more frustrated than anything else.

"You fought well. Take a rest," Dawn muttered. This was a bitter loss that ruined her entire plan. but she was confident that the storm web wasn't needed to win the battle. "Hydreigon, chaos lightning!"

"Return!" Wallace quickly recalled the water-type, before it could get hit. Losing the mega form was acceptable in this case, as it was unlikely to hit the agile dragon-type in its current state, but now he had to decide on his next pokémon. Most of them weren't suitable, including Sharpedo, as unlike many other pokémon, Hydreigon rarely used status moves, so taunt wasn't going to work. "Milotic, water palace!"

This move was one of the most powerful and interesting moves Dawn knew. It created a huge, stable cube of clear water on the stage, and while most moves could only leave it, pokémon could only enter it. Therefore Milotic was almost invulnerable as long as the opponent was staying outside, and many pokémon were at a disadvantage inside. Whereas there were many ways of forcing a water-type to fight outside the water, this was the only known way to force others to fight in the water. Although it could be removed via any weather move save for rain dance, most of them were difficult or even impossible to use underwater, and Dawn's canceling move didn't work at all. It was partly her fault, as after her and Ash's move became more popular among powerful trainers, Wallace worked on a counter, just like Ash and Dawn.

The consequences were simple. Most pokémon had a hard time fighting there, some of them couldn't do it at all, so if the challenger happened to have only those left, it was an automatic loss. Dawn had been smart enough to choose her team with this move in mind, and almost all of them could fight underwater. Of all the remaining pokémon, only Togekiss had to stay outside. Apart from the obvious effects, the water rendered fire-type moves completely useless, and using ice-type moves was often a bad idea, which usually resulted in the own pokémon getting frozen. Water-type moves were buffed even more than during a rain dance, at least those that still worked, which was why it was widely regarded as a super rain dance. In fact, it was even stronger than mega Kyogre's ability, and considered Wallace's masterpiece.

"Now aqua ring, then surf!" Even though Hydreigon could remain underwater for a long time, like other dragon-types, Dawn had no intention of letting her fight there. She watched Milotic using the first move, which was without any visual effect inside the water.

"Return!" The water couldn't be frozen from the outside, but Milotic could attack from its position, so she had to recall the dragon-type before that could happen. Taunt was one of the few moves that still worked, and Wallace was astonished that she wouldn't use it against a prime target like Milotic. "Empoleon, use aqua ring, then dark water!"

"Deep twister!" This was Milotic's second individual move, a variant of the classic twister, which was much more powerful underwater. Using its tail fins as a fan, it sent a massive underwater tornado towards him. He entered the water, and was still far enough away to avoid the attack. He could use aqua ring without danger, and then he could proceed with his new individual move. Dark water was short for dark water crescent, a crescent-shaped, homing projectile of darkened water. He swung his wings, releasing two of them.

"Dodge them, then deep twister again!" They followed the water-type, though, hitting it without dealing any damage. The deep twister missed again, as for some reason, Empoleon preferred to stay behind.

Only moments later, Wallace found out why, when Milotic let out a cry of pain. Something was hurting her, and he had good reason to believe it had something to do with the dark water. There was even purple lightning around her body, a sure sign that the move was working correctly. He suspected that it was some kind of degeneration effect, similar to poison, but it couldn't be a status effect, for marvel scale was inactive. Whatever it was, the effect was strong enough to negate the healing from aqua ring, and before Milotic could lose even more health, he decided to recall it.

"Return!" Water palace was unique in the sense that it ended as soon as it was recalled. The water simply vanished, making Empoleon drop onto the ground. "Swampert, use muddy grip!"

"Return!" Since she knew what to expect, Dawn was fast enough to avoid Swampert's move. She needed him against Milotic, so she wasn't willing to let him fight against a ground-type. It wasn't easy to decided on another pokémon, though, as Wallace would simply recall Swampert if she called out Gengar, Hydreigon, or Togekiss. On the other hand she badly wanted it go down, and since it had already taken major damage, she believed that Kabutops could finish the job quickly, despite the type-disadvantage. "Kabutops, swords dance!" Another fist of mud rose behind the rock-type, striking her during the move. "Now combine aqua jet with rapid spin!"

Something unexpected happened when she rose into the air. The water of the aqua jet, usually clear, was dirty because of the mud on her body, making it impossible for her to see where she was going. Unfortunately, most of her combinations included aqua jet, so this sudden turn of events limited her choices. Kabutops instinctively landed again, pointing at her closed eyes. Dawn could only guess that her eyes were hurting badly, which was probably the result of the mud. It was too late for a recall, though. She'd fallen into the trap, so now she had to deal with it.

"Earthquake!" Wallace ordered with a smirk.

"Get out of there!" Kabutops was too distracted by the pain, and even if she wasn't, she'd have to use aqua jet. This would renew the burning pain her eyes, and Dawn saw just how bad it was when the rock-type opened her eyes for a moment. They were bloodshot, so using another aqua jet was out of the question, at least not in this form. "Stone jet combination, and try to get closer!"

"Earthquake again!" Kabutops aimed during the few moments of open eyes, and the small aqua jets belonging to the rocks were clear, as there was no mud on them. However, a few rocks still missed badly, whereas the shockwave hit her with full force. Her powerful physical defense allowed her to take a few of those hits, and now Dawn was glad that most of the field consisted of ice. Earth power, which was far more threatening, didn't work on this terrain, requiring rocks or earth for the eruption. "Again!"

"Close your eyes, then rise with aqua jet!" It was a risky endeavor, for she couldn't see where exactly she was going. She might even crash into Swampert, which was probably the worst case scenario. Fortunately, she held back, and landed somewhere between her original position and Swampert. "Stone jet, then get in melee combat!"

"Earthquake again!" Even the famed coordinator Wallace wasn't too proud to resort to simple attacks when it was necessary, especially when so much was at stake. Besides, it wasn't even a contest battle, although he liked to fight like every battle was one. This time, both attacks were direct hits, but Swampert's was far more effective. "Combine hammer arm with water pulse!"

"Dodge them with swords dance, and slash it!" Dodging the attacks wasn't too difficult, as it was already exhausted, and the evasive movement was also used to power her next attacks. A few precise slashes at its arms rendered it incapable of retaliating properly, so it threw some wet mud at her face. Her eyes were still sensitive, so this was extremely painful, causing her to interrupt her attacks.

"Push her on the island!" While she was covering, it used hammer arm to throw her onto the only part of the stage where a certain move worked. "Earth power! Full power!"

"Use stone jet!" The eruption destroyed the island, and dealt heavy damage to the rock-type, who released lots of rocks in return.

"Protect!" Swampert created a shield to block the rocks, but Kabutops managed to keep her eyes open, and diverted them until the shield dissolved. As a result, it was hit from several directions, and simply collapsed after a short struggle.

"Swampert is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

Despite the victory, Dawn was far from happy, for the price was high. In a short time, Kabutops had sustained extreme damage, and was almost defeated as well, all because Dawn had underestimated the muddy grip. Still, it could have been far worse, as she could still fight, and Empoleon didn't have to deal with the annoying mud, which now fell off.

"Very well done, I'm proud of you." This was actually its first official battle, so Wallace hadn't been entirely sure whether it could handle the pressure, but it had proven worthy of his trust. "Tentacruel, use toxic spikes!"

If Kabutops tried to remove them or use stealth rock, which had been the original plan, he'd have the chance to finish her off, so Dawn decided to change the pokémon. Kabutops and her eyes in particular needed some rest. In order to avoid the toxic spikes, she could either call out Empoleon, which wasn't an option for her, Togekiss, who could also protect others with safeguard, or Gengar, who could absorb the poison without any negative consequences.

"Return!" As expected, it worked again now that the mud was gone. "Gengar, use disable, then fly through the spikes!" She had no intention of allowing Tentacruel to renew the spikes, let alone spread another layer. Gengar was actually happy to be in her normal form again, preferring the agility of the levitation ability to the increased power.

"Return!" Wallace didn't care about the spikes, as there was only one pokémon in Dawn's team, who was directly affected by them. "Sharpedo, use aqua aura, then taunt!"

Dawn had already recalled Gengar once when she up against the dark-type, and she wasn't going to let her stay now. Most of the spikes were already drained, and since they were too delicate to deal any significant physical damage like those generated by a regular spikes move, they no longer posed a threat. Apart from Empoleon and Kabutops, who still needed time to recover, there was only one pokémon who could defeat the dark-type without taking terrible damage in the process.

"Hydreigon, use taunt!" The pokémon provoked each other, and they both succeeded. Neither relied on status moves, so the trainers let them stay. Wallace also had no other pokémon capable of dealing with the current opponent, except for Milotic. However, he trusted in the dark aqua jet to absorb most of Hydreigon's attacks. "Use dark aqua jet!"

"Chaos lightning!" A grey bolt struck the approaching Sharpedo, turning green on contact. Unlike many other moves, this one couldn't be absorbed, reflected, or blocked, for it was pure destruction. It was startled by the sudden damage, so that it didn't notice when Hydreigon moved to the side, grabbed one of its fins with her right claw, and as soon as the dark pulse effect vanished, she punched it with the left one, empowered by a dragon pulse.

"Does that count as a punch or a headbutt?" Serena asked, slightly confused.

The others were unsure, and Ash only answered hesitantly.

"Well, the heads on the arms don't have brains, so I don't regard them as real heads. On the other hand she can eat with those, so ... well." He shook his head, more confused than before. "Better don't think about it."

"It's not your pokémon, so how do you know about it?" Serena asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Books. She may not be my pokémon, but I've fought against her kind on several occasions. It's good to know your opponent, and it's impossible to experience everything about them by yourself," he explained, raising a finger. "Many books were written by experienced people, and there is no shame in benefitting from their knowledge."

"Ash, the bookworm. I never thought I'd hear something like that from you," Zoey exclaimed, shaking her head with a wide grin.

"Well, my boy has grown up a lot." Delia beamed proudly. "Now let's watch the battle."

They turned their attention back to the stage, where Sharpedo was about to fight back.

"Ice fang burst!" A beam of light blue light came from its mouth, moving around it and Hydreigon, and leaving a trail that turned into solid ice. It blinked rapidly for a moment before exploding, pushing the pokémon apart. "Ice aqua jet!"

"Dragon rush, then point-blank draco meteor!" They clashed in midair, and Hydreigon grabbed the fins of its side. Then she opened her mouth, revealing a small orange orb that split into about a dozen even smaller orbs, that rapidly grew in size when they approached the opponent, though. It managed to activate the dark aqua jet combination just in time, absorbing all of them, and automatically used the energy to hurt Hydreigon with the dark pulse move that surrounded it. It was fortunate that she was so close to it, or it would've had time to utilize the energy for an ice fang, which could've dealt far more damage. "Chaos crunch!"

Despite the damage, Hydreigon didn't loosen her hold on Sharpedo. Instead, she opened her mouth, revealing colorful lightning between her teeth, and bit its nose, sending the chaos energy through its body.

"Ice fang burst again!" The water-type tried to comply, but failed miserably when Hydreigon used her technique with her arms as well, effectively tripling the damage, but also the price. Its defenses were puny, and due to the damage it had already taken, it fainted after several seconds. As soon as Sharpedo stopped struggling, she simply dropped it.

"Sharpedo is unable to battle!" Neither trainer looked happy when they heard it.

"Thank you. Rest now." Wallace felt he should've recalled it after the counter to draco meteor, but the damage had come too quickly. Now he blamed himself for underestimating the offensive capabilities of a powerhouse like Hydreigon, and he'd lost an important pokémon as a result. He had to admit that Dawn knew when to be aggressive, though, a quality that he didn't see too often in coordinators. All she needed was a bit more patience. One of his other partners could correct his mistake, only that it wouldn't be able to do anything else after that. "Tentacruel, use rain dance!"

"Return!" Dawn believed that Hydreigon could've taken far less damage, but at least Sharpedo was down, and she could use Togekiss's full potential without fear of a taunt move. So far, she'd stalled Wallace until the first pure water move was over, and helped Gengar by providing regeneration during the fight, but she could do so much more. Her first task was to provide regeneration again, protect others from possible poison attacks, and restore Kabutps and Gengar as much as possible. "Togekiss, start with light of mercy, then use safeguard and light screen!"

"Toxic burst combination!" Tentacruel canceled the weather move to shoot countless, thin tentacles of pure toxin out of its body while its red parts were glowing brightly. Those tentacles were extremely long, and actually looked more like strings, that were now covering almost the entire stage. There was no way to avoid all of them, as they were everywhere, and those that touched her first poisoned her badly, and then froze, encasing her wings in the process. She fell to the ground, where she was immediately grabbed by Tentacruel's real tentacles. The remaining poison strings turned dark before collapsing. They were harmless now, and this huge combination had consumed all of the remaining poison, so at least the other pokémon didn't have to be afraid of it anymore. "Now blizzard!"

"Psyshock!" Tentacruel held her close to its face, so that the blizzard hit her directly. This also left it vulnerable to Togekiss's attack, and it got hit in the eye. From then on, it held her so that her face was facing the ground.

Dawn had never seen the toxic burst combination, which was a sign of desperation. Now she was close to losing her support pokémon, which would weaken her, just like losing Politoed had weakened Wallace tremendously. Still, he'd managed to recover from this loss, and he still had an unknown pokémon, who could cause a lot of trouble. For now, she somehow had to save Togekiss without recalling her, for the wrap move prevented escape. The light of mercy helped her to endure the damage, but it wouldn't be enough in the long run. Moreover, the poison would eventually get her, so it was probably better to defeat Tentacruel, who was already weakened from its fight against Kabutops at the beginning.

"Try to use psyshock again!" Its defense against special moves was amazing, and Togekiss's physical strength was pitiful, so psyshock was her best option by a long shot. By using psychic to move the orb, she could hit Tentacruel without facing it, albeit the hits weren't as good as they could be, for she didn't see where its main body was.

The battle raged on, with Tentacruel using almost all of its tentacles to keep Togekiss constricted, while blasting her with blizzard. By obstructing her vision with its remaining tentacles and moving around, it hoped to make the psyshock miss. It didn't work every time, though, and one of them hit its eye, which was devastating due to its weak physical defense. Both trainers were leaning forward, shouting the same orders over and over again. It was Dawn who prepared for the aftermath first when she realized that even if Togekiss won the battle, she would soon succumb to the poison.

"Use wish!" An orb of light rose into the air before, just as suspected, Togekiss fell unconscious. Tentacruel, who was extremely close to defeat as well, felt it, letting her fall to the ground. Its tentacles were hurting so much, they could barely support it anymore, but it had won. However, it was unlikely to have any larger impact on the battle anymore without its poison.

"Togekiss is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"Thank you, Togekiss." If she had known about Tentacruel's combination, she'd have called out a different pokémon like Gengar, or at least used her more often for smaller buffs. "Kabutops, aqua jet and rapid spin!"

Tentacruel finished the rain dance it had started shortly after Togekiss's defeat only moments before the rock-type, who was healed by an orb of light in midair, crashed directly into it. This was more than enough to finish it off, leaving Wallace with only two pokémon, albeit they were almost at full health, as opposed to Dawn's.

"Tentacruel is unable to battle!" Nobody was surprised to hear this, and everyone was dying to see either Milotic, or his sixth pokémon.

"Good job, my friend. Now, Jellicent, water image!" Wallace shouted, calling out a blue jellicent.

All this time, Dawn had hoped that he wouldn't use this particular pokémon in this battle. While his attack power was mediocre, he was a pain to defeat, and in combination with Politoed, he was almost invincible. Now she had to defeat him on his own, which was difficult enough thanks to his individual move. It automatically created a tough substitute, and every time it was destroyed, another one replaced it within a second. The special part was the fact that the real pokémon could still be seen, so there were two jellicents on the stage almost the entire time. In addition, the substitute could use its own attacks, albeit they didn't have any effect, with only a few exceptions, with water-type moves being able to activate the real jellicent's water absorb ability being the most notable one. Once again an aggressive strategy was needed.

An large orb of water left his mouth, taking his shape within a second, and after glowing briefly, it looked entirely identical to the original. They merged for a moment and parted again, so that it was impossible to tell which one was real. Whenever, the real jellicent was hit, two thirds of the damage were transferred to the substitute. Still, it was better than attacking the substitute directly, for it took only half the normal damage. Area attacks were probably the most effective approach, as they preferred to stay close in order to confuse the opponent.

"Return!" Kabutops was needed in case Empoleon failed to take down Milotic, so Dawn wasn't willing to let her stay even for another stealth rock. Hydreigon was the most obvious choice, as she couldn't fight underwater properly, and unlike Gengar, she didn't lack physical strength to bypass Jellicent's strong special defense. The type-advantage was a welcome bonus, though Dawn doubted she'd win with her injuries from the fight against Sharpedo. Taunt would be the usual approach against a pokémon like this, but the substitute blocked these kind of status moves. "Hydreigon, get there, and combine charge beam with dark pulse!"

"Icy wind and confuse ray!" One of the jellicents created a golden orb, and the other one shot it at Hydreigon with a wind carrying small ice shards. Dawn's pokémon was still far enough away to evade both attacks easily. Her arms pointed at her head, shooting small dark pulses at a sparkling orb in her mouth. Numerous dark lightning bolts were released, but only a few of them actually hit the targets, as the combination was highly inaccurate from this distance. Those that hit, though, increased her power for future attacks. "Use mirror of pain!"

It looked like a silver veil fell on the pokémon, giving it a faint glow. This veil reflected a small portion of the damage he took back to the source. Long battles weren't unusual when he was involved, and that's when the move showed its full potential, especially if he was able to use recover several times.

"Dark pulse!" Hydreigon shot at both jellicent, using her arms until the substitute moved in front of the real one, who was using mirror of pain. Once the real target was revealed, she shot the dark pulse directly from her mouth, yet failed to take down the substitute despite the direct hit.

Dawn looked a little helpless, almost desperate, for she didn't know any of effectively dealing with this kind of substitute. Utilizing brute force seemed like the only viable strategy here. Empoleon's dark water might be effective, though she doubted that it worked, as it had never been successful with an active substitute before.

"Use the black star combination!" It had improved a lot since the battle against Zoey, both the way it worked, and its efficiency. A dragon pulse orb was formed in front of her head, then she used dark pulse at it with her arms, turning it black.

"Ice beam!" The jellicent tried to flank her, shooting at her from two sides.

"Flamethrower with the arms!" Due to the type-advantage, the fire from the arms was enough for the job. The ice beam by the substitute was immediately overpowered, but the move wasn't strong enough to destroy it.

While the other arm was busy countering the real ice beam, the head prepared the dragon pulse. As soon as it was ready, she shot it into the ice, leaving a pattern that resembled a star with the black orb in the center. It reacted to the movement of non-dark-type pokémon, shooting weak, moderately accurate, but extremely fast energy bolts at them. Every shot depleted its energy a little, and once it done, or Hydreigon was gone, it simply disappeared.

"Reunite!" Jellicent and its substitute merged near the ground beneath her, and tried to split up again.

"Chaos crunch!" She shot down, and bit one of them with everything available to her.

"Icy wind!" Hydreigon realized that she'd only gotten the substitute when she felt the chill of the move by the real pokémon, but she finished it nonetheless. It turned into water upon destruction, but on the way down, it reformed , turning into a new substitute. "Reunite!"

"Keep them apart! Dark pulse!" By using three dark pulses at once, she was able to create a wall of dark energy between the jellicent, who stopped in their tracks. "Now dragon rush and chaos crunch!"

"Blizzard and water absorb!" The ice-type move was effective while she was approaching, and the substitute used hydro pump to heal it. Hydreigon moved so that she was in the way, and tried to bite it. It took a few attempts, as it dodged her several times, and she also had to adjust her position to prevent more hydro pumps from hitting the water-type. "Protect!"

Her latest attempt was met by a shield, which pushed her back a little, but she recovered quickly, and hit it with her next bite. To make sure that it didn't escape, she used both her head and her left arm, leaving the right arm to deal with the substitute in case it decided to heal the master.

"Icy wind, then protect!" While she was using chaos lightning, Jellicent blew a chilling wind at her face, hoping that it'd slow her down. The substitute approached them because the dragon-type kept getting in the way, but was destroyed on the way by the transferred damage. The protect move allowed it to escape for a moment, but it was quickly hunted down again. "Again!"

This time, the substitute got so close that Hydreigon grabbed it, and held it so that it couldn't hit the real Jellicent with hydro pump or any other water-type move. This ended when it was destroyed again, and fell down as water, only to reform on the way. Wallace's pokémon slowed her down again before escaping with a protect move, and unlike last time, she was too slow to catch it.

"Blizzard and let the substitute heal you!" Wallace commanded.

"Counter with fire blast, then dark pulse!" Dawn shouted in return.

The star-shaped fire projectile was stronger than the blizzard, but took some time to completely overpower it, and Jellicent used the opportunity to gain distance. Hydreigon tried to follow, but the substitute got in the way in an attempt to stall her when she tried to hit it with a dark pulse. It got destroyed, but the ghost-type was far enough away to begin with a powerful combination.

"Glacial burst!" It started spinning, creating an icy tornado with it at the center. Blocked from vision, a huge ball of ice was formed in the upper part.

"Dark pulse, full power!" Three beams of dark energy were shot directly at it while she was approaching it. The substitute tried to get in the way again, but got grabbed by one of arms, and tossed far away. Hydreigon was already too close when the tornado disappeared, revealing the massive ball of ice. Dawn knew what was about to happen, and she thought there was a way of using it to her advantage. "Eat it with dark pulse!"

"Use ice beam!" Wallace knew that Hydreigon was already too slow for the move, and tried to deal a bit more damage while she was distracted by the orb. She used a dark pulse, which got wider with distance, acting like a funnel. The ball of ice became smaller the closer it got to her, and when it was in front of her mouth, it could be easily swallowed. However, when she tried to do it, there was an overwhelming explosion, which made her fly against Dawn's tower, and even pushed back Jellicent. Since it was resistant, it didn't receive nearly as much damage as the dragon-type, though.

She made a few attempts to get up again, yet couldn't find the strength to do it, and collapsed eventually. Jellicent was still able to fight, albeit it had taken more damage than anticipated.

"Hydreigon is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

"Good job, Hydreigon." Dawn was happy with the result for once, and now she had good reason to believe that Gengar could finish a weakened Jellicent. It would require Gengar's defeat, but since she was unfit to fight against Milotic, it wasn't a big issue. The water-type could control the currents, that could easily carry away the ghost-type, so she entrusted Empoleon and Kabutops with this task. "Gengar, shadow face combination!"

"Combine ominous wind with shadow ball!" The jellicent spread out, and both used ominous wind on a shadow ball to empower and accelerate it. The wind was a little faster, and as soon as Gengar felt it, she extended an arm towards the source, creating a dark vortex in her hand. It absorbed the remaining wind and the shadow ball, but the ghost-type didn't use the energy yet.

She created a shadow ball in front of her, and made it expand rapidly until it covered half the stage. Although it looked scary, it was harmless, for the energy was spread out so much that Dawn felt barely anything when she got engulfed by it. The main purpose was to block the view on Gengar.

"Are you willing to do it?" Gengar knew what it meant, and nodded without hesitation. "Alright, let's start."

Jellicent was staying as far away from the huge orb as it could, observing the surface to notice any change quickly, and using the occasional ominous wind. Fearing that she might be waiting for the water-type, Wallace refused to let it enter the orb. Most importantly,ite used recover twice to regain some health. Something changed when the orb suddenly looked like Gengar's face with a malicious smile. It wouldn't have the usual effect of a scary face because of Jellicent's substitute, that's why Dawn counted on the distracting effect. Inside the shadow ball, Gengar used the energy from her dark ward for a dark nova, a volatile orb of darkness with a bright red center, no matter from where it was observed. By doing that, she turned herself into a bomb, which could be used via the explosion move. Unlike the regular move, this one was a ghost-type move, which dealt both physical and special damage. The red glow from the center of her body gave it away, though she was able to suppress it for a while by using the darkness of her body.

As soon as she was ready, she shot out of the orb, surrounded by an aura of darkness. Jellicent tried to stop her with another combination of shadow ball and ominous wind, which got absorbed by Gengars dark ward. The dark aura didn't stop when she did, continuing to fly as a huge shadow ball.

"Now black hole!" Now she flung an orb of pure darkness at the ground between the two jellicent. It turned into a black vortex upon contact, pulling the water-type and his substitute so hard that it was incapable of using any move. With a psychic move, she parted the large shadow ball she had used previously, and hit both jellicent.

Then it was time for the final move. Gengar spread her arms, glowing red all of sudden, and Wallace could already guess what was about to happen. Moreover, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it, as the black hole's pull prevented a recall. Of course, it only lasted for a few seconds, which was enough for Dawn's plan, though. Gengar seemingly exploded, sending a huge, purple wave of energy in every direction.

"Protect! Quickly!" Jellicent missed most of it, for it was busy fighting the pull of the black hole, and only noticed the massive attack when its substitute was annihilated by it. It braced itself for the impact before it was consumed along with its shield. The explosion left a lot of smoke, that needed to disappear for everyone to see the result.

The center was clear first, and revealed the unconscious Gengar on the ground. Several seconds later, Jellicent could also be seen, albeit he was still able to fight. it didn't only endure the massive blast, it was also incredibly close, for there was no substitute. This happened whenever it didn't have enough energy left, for every substitute cost him a part of it, like the regular move. The difference between defeating and almost defeating Jellicent was huge because of its pain split ability, which could be used to weaken the next pokémon, and let it fight a bit longer. Therefore Dawn felt like she was utterly defeated.

"Gengar is unable to battle!" She didn't need to wait for the announcement, and recalled the ghost-type quickly.

"It didn't work, but thank you." She looked at Jellicent, who looked like one attack could knock it out. Although she could try to knock him out before it could use pain split or recover, she preferred not allow a pain split. "Kabutops, aqua jet and rapid spin!"

"Return!" Since Kabutops was in a bad shape too, pain split wouldn't do much, and there wasn't enough time for a recover move. "Milotic, use water palace!"

"Stealth rock!" While the huge cube of water was taking shape, Kabutops shot large rocks into the ground at the center. "Return! Empoleon, aqua ring, then dark water!"

"Use aqua ring!" Both pokémon used aqua ring at the same time, but what followed was different. Whereas Empoleon's approach was offensive, Milotic had to make sure that Jellicent wasn't defeated the moment he left his pokéball, and it meant removing the stealth rock. This required an unusual approach, for it lacked the proper moves. "Remove the rocks with deep twister!"

Miltoc shot the tornado directly into the ice, and redirected it, trying to destroy the rocks. It took a few attempts since the water-type only knew the approximate position. One of the tornados hit it from below, pressing them against the cube and crushing them in the process. In the meantime, it was hit by a flash cannon and several dark water crescents, which caused the same degeneration effect as before. It was so strong that Wallace already wanted to counter it with more healing.

"Recover!" The red lightning, which had been little more than sparks so far, grew massively in size, and Milotic looked worse than before. This made him realize that the dark water didn't cause damage over time, but turned healing into damage. Needless to say, it was extremely problematic for a pokémon like Milotic.

Before Empoleon's forced evolution and Leafeon's death, she had chosen Flygon to prevent the water palace, and take down Wallace's main pokémon with raw force. It was her work with Empoleon and his new move that had made her find this new, and arguably more elegant solution. With dark water, she could turn one its greatest strengths into a major disadvantage by turning any healing into damage for about thirty seconds after each hit. In addition, the move corrupted status changes, so that a swords dance weakened an opponent instead of helping it. It was also easy, fast, reliable, and cost little energy, but dealt almost no damage by itself. There was a solution to this issue, but it wasn't without its problems.

Now that Wallace knew how it worked, he had to get rid of the aqua ring, which was like poison to his pokémon. The only way was risky, though, as he had to call out Jellicent.

"Return! Jellicent, use pain split with maximum area effect!" he shouted with fear evident in his eyes.

"Earthquake!" The water vanished, making the move possible again. Dawn hoped that Empoleon could dodge it, or that the shockwave would hit the ghost-type before it could finish his move. Her hopes were destroyed when a large area around Empoleon glowed purple, a result of Jellicent forcing all of his remaining power into this one move to increase the area effect. It hurt Empoleon a lot, and healed Wallace'd pokémon enough for him to endure the shockwave, and create another substitute. "Divine aqua jet, then pin him down!"

"Combine giga drain with constrict!" Wallace commanded, leaning forward almost a bit too far.

The pokémon was too exhausted from the overcharged pain split, though, and could only watch Empoleon combine aqua jet with flash cannon. He was above Jellicent when the aqua jet burst with a bright flash. It also made Empoleon's arms and horns glow as he descended with a drill peck. The substitute got in the way to protect its master, only to get pushed aside, and the steel-type hit it perfectly. Jellicent was pinned to the ground, unable to escape while being mercilessly attacked by Empoleon's horns, which looked like they were about to drill a hole into its body. Dawn feared it could get away, but her pokémon had hit the center flawlessly, and after only a few seconds, the substitute was destroyed by the transferred damage, and the original followed mere moments later.

"Jellicent is unable to battle!" Wallace gritted his teeth when he heard it, for he knew it could've gone much better for him. On the other hand, he'd already been lucky when the pain split hit just in time, and Empoleon had taken considerable damage.

"Leave the rest to Milotic. Water palace!" He had to be careful not to let it use aqua ring out of force of habit. "Follow up with deep twister and dragon pulse!"

"Use divine aqua jet, and make sure dark water is active!" The water quickly rose again, and he used it to close the distance rapidly, although it was difficult, as the currents were trying to slow him down. When Milotic used deep twister to accelerate a dragon pulse orb, he dodged it, but had to correct his route slightly, and got caught by an unexpected current, which pushed him towards the water-type. It grabbed him with its tail, and held him in front of its face, so that it could directly hit his face.

"Deep twister again!" He ended the divine aqua jet to gain the defensive buff, but it was soon depleted by the continues tornado coming straight out of Milotic's mouth.

"Escape with drill peck and aqua jet!" It was difficult, as the grip was strong, but by using a lot of strength, he managed to get out, moved past Milotic's head, and even struck it with his wings on the way. "Metal claw, then gain some speed!" He moved down her body, slashing it on the way before gaining some distance for a new, more forceful attack. The last thing Dawn wanted right now was him getting grabbed again.

Without its healing and a status effect to activate the marvel scale, Milotic could be defeated with physical force quickly, but actually hitting it wasn't easy due to the currents. The fact that he had only drill peck as a moderately effective move didn't help either. Only the dark water worked properly, as he could hit it about every ten seconds without breaking a sweat.

The next attack went smoothly, almost too smoothly, and as soon as Empoleon was close, a current pushed him into Milotic's next deep twister. However, he was so close to its head that he tried to fight it instead of escaping. This twister came from its mouth, but when a second twister from its tail fins joined, he was pushed back with great force all the way across the water cube, and pressed against the invisible wall.

"Now dragon flurry!" In this position, the deep twister from the tail fins was enough to keep him there, and the mouth created numerous small dragon pulse orbs. They were shot directly into the twister, which threw them at Empoleon with enormous force. It also used its power over the currents to keep him pressed against the wall, and only his resistance to dragon-type moves prevented an early defeat. Milotic had to stop eventually, utterly exhausted from its continuous attacks, and Empoleon immediately tried to renew the effect of dark water. Wallace saw the chance to gain some healing. "Dodge it! Use protect if necessary!"

"Keep using dark water until it hits, then divine aqua jet, and don't get near its face!" The dark water crescents were quick to react to movement, so there was no dodging them, and protect only gave it a few seconds of respite. In the end, it was unable to hold off the projectiles long enough for the effect of the last hit to end, and healing was denied to it once more. Even worse, the crescents had kept it so busy that Empoleon was already dangerously close. The divine aqua jet was activated, releasing a blinding light, and providing some protection to him. However, he used it to make the following crescents deal damage. With every swings of his wings, he released a purple glowing projectile, and his wings and horns glowed weaker in return. "Now aqua drill, and keep low! Don't forget the wings!"

He tried to attack it from below because he didn't want to get caught by two deep twisters again. It would mean his end, for the previous assault had been devastating, and even a few weak combinations could finish him off unless he managed to gain some more healing via his aqua ring. Milotic saw the chance to end it, and used wrap on him again. He was prepared, however, having learnt from his past mistake, and spread his wings. By using metal claw, he not only hurt Milotic when it closed in, but also rapidly gained attack power through the repeated slashes. This technique also slowed him down considerably, so he only used it when it was truly needed. The cries of pain were disturbing, yet also hauntingly beautiful in their own way. Empoleon didn't let them distract him, proceeding with his attack and using drill peck on her neck while slashing her upper body with his wings. Only the drilling part was truly effective, but they were strong enough to deal considerable damage and prevent her from immediately countering the attack.

"Iron tail!" Wallace shouted loudly, and his pokémon complied, pushing him back with a crude strike. It was just in time, for Empoleon had almost defeated her with his boosted attack, and now he wanted to finish his work.

"Dark water and drill peck!" With a quick swing, he shot a crescent at the opponent before launching his next and, hopefully, last offensive.

"Protect, then dragon pulse!" The projectile hit it, but the shield blocked Empoleon. Milotic responded with a powerful dragon pulse, which not only pushed him back, but also knocked him out. In the end, the damage from the pain split had been too much of a liability for him.

"He's defeated!" Dawn exclaimed quickly, as she knew that he was done, and she didn't have the time to wait for the referee's announcement.

This was valid, although only few trainers took advantage of it. In this case, Dawn had to call out Kabutops immediately, before the effect of dark water ended, and Milotic could heal itself again. This was to be avoided at all costs, and the rock-type was the right pokémon for the task. Being physically strong, she could deal a lot of damage in a short time to Milotic, and her swift swim ability made sure that she'd get there in time. However, she had to watch out, for she wasn't resistant to Milotic's moves, so it could go either way.

"Kabutops, arc stone jet, then move in with rapid spin and aqua jet! Watch out for the currents!" Her voice, though loud, was remarkably controlled, although she was fully aware that this might be her last command in this battle. Leaning forward, she almost fell off the tower.

"Don't let it get close! Deep twister!" Wallace couldn't keep his composure anymore either, the excitement and suspense was simply too much.

There was no holding back anymore. Kabutops started by launching as many rocks as possible, each with its own aqua jet. They moved in a wide arc, so that they'd hit Milotic from behind or the sides whereas Kabutops charged at it directly. Wallace's pokémon used both the tail fins and the mouth for the deep twister, sometimes simultaneously, but the rock-type evaded them every single time, even when hit by a strong current, mostly because of her ability. She had to retract her arms, and swim between two powerful twisters, when a current pushed her into one of them. Even so, it wasn't enough to defeat her, and she got closer.

"Protect!" Wallace shouted when he noticed that the rocks were closing in from all sides. Kabutops didn't have enough power to control all of them, so a few hit the shield, but a lot of them turned around in time and returned when the shield dissolved. "Deep twister on the rocks and Kabutops!"

Milotic did its best, trying to destroy as many rocks as possible, and at the same it attempted to prevent the opponent from getting closer. Even though it was able to remove many rocks, there were more than enough left to hit it from different angles. Kabutops seized the opportunity by slashing it with her scythes when she swam past it, right before it could hit her with its tail. Then she turned around for her next attack, only to find Milotic floating there, her tail directly in front of her. It had only missed her by a few inches. The water palace was disintegrating already, which a sure sign of its defeat. The referee waited for all the water to disappear, though, and didn't speak up until it was lying on the ground.

"Milotic is unable to battle!" he shouted, the excitement clear in his voice. "The champion has no pokémon left, therefore the challenger wins!"

Without the pressure, Kabutops suddenly became aware of the weakness in her legs, and simply dropped. She took a lot of time to catch her breath before she used aqua jet to get to her trainer.

Unlike many others, Ash neither stood up, nor clapped, but merely smiled. He was happy for her, but he wasn't willing to show it openly, at least not right now. On the other hand, he felt a bit of fear, as now there was no excuse for not trying to talk to her. He'd have to do it soon, lest he might risk losing her forever. Whether he'd be successful was a different matter, but they both deserved another chance. On this day, though, she was to celebrate her victory, and forget about all her troubles.

"Look how happy he is," Delia said to the others, making everyone look at him.

"What?" He looked a little embarrassed, but retained his composure. "Just because we broke up it doesn't mean I can't be happy for her?"

Although he wouldn't admit it, he hadn't expected her to do this well on her very first try, but then again, she'd had a lot of time to prepare. Contrary to many predictions, the battle didn't resemble a contest battle, as both participants knew that it was too important for such games. Most spectators agreed that the passion and power made up for the lack of elegance, and Ash was one of them. He was proud that his former girlfriend was able to fight on the highest level, and defeat an opponent like Wallace, who was much stronger than Ash had thought. In fact, he was definitely on the same level of skill as Lance, so nobody could disagree anymore if Ash called her an equal again.

"Thank you ... Kabutops ... everyone." The victorious challenger had trouble expressing her feelings and gratitude, for she was completely overwhelmed.

 _Coordinator champion. I'm the coordinator champion._ Even though it was only an unofficial title given to Wallace by his fans, this was all that was running through her mind. She closed her eyes in an unsuccessful attempt to ignore the noise, and calm herself a little.

"Kabu?" She opened her eyes again to see Kabutops stting in front of her with a slightly worried expression.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just got carried away. We'll have a proper celebration later. You should rest now." She recalled her pokémon before shaking her head and flashing her brightest smile. "Coordinator champion."

The responsibilities and duties weren't even important right now, for she was too thrilled to waste even one thought on them. There would be plenty of time for it later. For a few seconds, she was looking for Ash in the crowd, only to remember that they weren't together anymore. Instead, she turned to look at Wallace, who had already left his tower, and was now talking to Mr. Goodshow next to it.

"I guess it's time ..." Dawn muttered with a sigh, and climbed down her tower to meet them.

* * *

 **After all those years of preparation for a battle against Wallace, it's won, though it was different from what she'd expected. Now the question is whether she's actually preprared or even aware of the consequences. Also Wallace still has something that she might not like to hear.**


	83. Potential for Disaster

**Now it's time to reap the rewards, and possibly the unexpected duties. There might also be some ... disquieting revelations.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon and its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 83 Potential for Disaster

"Oh my." Mr. Goodshow approached Dawn with a microphone in his hand. "I don't believe I've ever had to do this twice in such a short time. Please return here at noon for the rest," he told the audience before putting away the microphone, and addressing Dawn. "Congratulations, girl. I wasn't sure whether you could defeat our dear Wallace, but you did it."

"Thank you. It was quite the experience," she admitted while he was shaking her hand frantically.

She looked exhausted even though she tried not to show it. Her dress was still fine, but her hair was a mess, so much that Wallace made an unusual suggestion.

"Why don't we let her fix her hair before beginning? I don't think she'd like to be remembered like this," he added with a soft chuckle. Dawn looked at them questioningly, especially when Mr. Goodshow laughed heartily.

"I guess you're right," he finally said. "Oh well, we have enough time. Let's go to your room."

"Enough time? You've obviously never waited for me to do this before." They laughed at her comment, although it was only half-joking. Dawn became serious again after a few seconds. "So what's this about? Although I wouldn't like to get my trophy like this, there's something else, right?"

"You'll see. Let's go," the president of the pokémon league urged her.

She listened to the conversation between Wallace and Mr. Goodshow on the way to the room. The former champion sounded less enthusiastic than usual, and there was a hint of sadness in his voice, though he was good at hiding it. He'd been the champion for a long time, so he had to get used to the new situation. They waited outside her room for her to get ready, and when she returned, the president called out an abra, who teleported them to a wondrous place.

It was a dark chamber containing numerous holograms of trainers with a full team of pokémon each. Dawn couldn't see how big it was, for the walls were dark, and there were no conventional light sources. Out of all the trainers there, only Wallace was known to her.

"Impressive, isn't it? Every champion of Hoenn with their winning team," Mr. Goodshow said, nudging Dawn from the side. "And now you get your own hologram, and can count yourself among the best trainers in the world. Please follow me."

He gave her a sign, and she did as she was told, admiring her predecessors on the way. As far as she knew, only Wallace was also a coordinator, and now there was a second coordinator champion in this hall. The president led her to a machine that looked like a large computer with a capsule next to it. He turned around and extended an arm.

"I need your pokédex and pokéballs for this. Then please enter the capsule and stay the way you want to appear in this chamber. I'll take care of the rest." She gave him everything he needed, and slowly walked towards her destination, thinking about her pose. "Tell me when you're ready."

It took her some time to make a decision, but he had enough to do with the pokéballs to complain. Dawn spread her arms slightly, so that she looked like she had them around a pokémon, and her expression was a motherly smile. It wasn't impressive, but she felt it was more appropriate than a victory pose.

"I'm ready," she shouted. "Can you place the pokémon so ..."

"Don't worry. I know what you want. Just give me some extra time to deal with clipping issues," he told her. "Alright, you can leave now."

She stepped outside, and proceeded to watch him design her hologram. Her arms were around Empoleon's and Kabutop's back, and the other pokémon were placed around her. It looked far more impressive as a real hologram next to Wallace's. This was probably her greatest, and most lasting achievement so far, even though only few people were ever going to see it. Mr. Goodshow walked up to her, handing over the pokédex and pokéballs, before watching the hologram with her.

"A bit unusual pose, but it looks great in this case." He suddenly realized that he still had some explaining to do. "My abra can take you back here whenever you wish, just contact me. It would be better to have a psychic-type with you, that can remember the location, and take you here without my help. As you may have already guessed, teleportation is the only way to enter."

Instead of answering, she merely nodded, and continued to look at the holograms in silence. She gained a sort of inspiration and serenity from them, and simply stood there for a while, mesmerized by the display. Then she remembered that Ash was also champion, but in Kanto.

"Wait, is there something similar in Kanto?" she asked, turning to the president, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yes, he has his own hologram in Kanto's hall of champions. It's a bit more crowded there, though I don't know why. Perhaps they're simply more competitive there. No idea." He shrugged. "Anyway, I also have to ask you not to talk to anyone about this, except for Ash and your pokémon. Showing this chamber to unauthorized people is reason enough to lose the champion title immediately."

"I understand," she replied with a nod. "Did someone ever lose the title because of this? Just asking."

"Only one." Mr. Goodshow looked slightly angry when he remembered the incident. "The fool was wasted, and for some reason, he thought that this chamber was the perfect place for a party. So he invited his friends and they ... well, I won't reveal any details. It suffices to say that it wasn't pretty. Fortunately, most of them were too drunk to remember anything, but it didn't save the title. The predecessor was reinstalled, but it was a huge scandal. Some people still know that the hall of champions exists, but not where or why."

Although the thought of a party between the holograms of champions was amusing, it was also a lesson. Champions represented the league, and they had to be careful not to make bad impressions, especially since the media was watching them, waiting for small issues that they could turn into a scandal.

"You seem to understand. Good." He motioned for Wallace to come close before calling out his abra again. "We should leave. As mesmerizing as this place is, there's still much to do, and you can always return later."

They nodded at him, and the psychic-type teleported them in front of Dawn's room. Mr. Goodshow quickly said goodbye, but Dawn refused to let Wallace go yet, as there were still matter she wanted to discuss with him.

"You've been awfully quiet," she said casually.

"True," he answered with a monotonous voice. Several seconds of silence passed before he spoke up again. "I can't say I'm happy. And I'm not sure what will happen. Perhaps I've grown too accustomed to this position." He sighed and shook his head. "At least now I can focus my attention on the Wallace Cup." Suddenly, he smiled again. "And who knows? Maybe I'll reclaim my position."

"You can try, but I won't make it easy for you," Dawn replied with a grin. She'd love to be challenged by him, especially since she wouldn't have to get through the Elite Four. "Now I need some time. I'll see you later." She turned to leave, but stopped before her hand touched the doorknob. Even Wallace felt that something was wrong, and didn't leave yet. "Wait. Before the battle, there was something you wanted to talk about."

"Well, that's quite an exaggeration." She didn't even turn to face him, which was a sure sign that she wasn't content with his answer. "You want to hear it now, don't you? I guess it's better that way, for I don't favor lies and deception."

"Please go on." Her voice was calm, but there was also a hint of fear and also disappointment. Now it was too late to back off, and he had to finish it.

"I must admit, it was Ash who persuaded me not to accept your challenges," he told her.

The words felt like daggers in her heart. He'd deceived her the entire time, and she had no idea why, In any case, she didn't appreciate it, she felt anger and disappointment, and it showed when her arm at the doorknob started shaking. Although she wasn't aggressive, let alone violent, Wallace had a bad feeling when he saw her like this, so he chose his next words carefully.

"He believed you had the potential to win, but also claimed you were content with something unofficial. He convinced me that by refusing the challenges, you'd take the official route. As you can see, he was right about it. But I must admit, I also hoped you'd do it, as there are too few coordinators to get this far. All I hoped for was a real challenge." He couldn't tell whether Dawn was made at him, at Ash, or whether she could understand their decision. However, he had a bad feeling because she refused to turn around for almost half a minute. "Are you alright?" he asked, sounding worried.

"I'm ... fine." Disappointment and exhaustion were clear in her voice. "I need some time to think about it. I don't blame you since you told me this voluntarily, but Ash ... he'll have to justify his actions. I'll see you later."

Without another word, she opened the door, and slammed it shut behind her before he could answer. Wallace was aware of the fact that he might have caused a lot of trouble for Ash, but then again, perhaps it was better for Dawn to find out now than later, when her enthusiasm about her new title was already gone. Ash could've tried to keep it a secret, though Wallace believed that big deceptions like this one were bound to be discovered sooner or later. With a sigh, he went to his own room to relax a little, and prepare for the next hours.

Dawn's pokémon had been partially healed in the hall of champions by the computer, which also included a small health station, so that they wouldn't miss the celebration. Apart from Hydreigon and Dawn herself, they didn't hold back, and celebrated like there was no tomorrow. The coordinator knew that it was going to be a long day, so she was saving her energy for later.

Ash and the others returned before noon. Remembering the day he'd become Kanto's champion, he decided not to talk to her on this day, and give her some time to get used to it, or he might catch her while she was still easily irritable. The light went off, interrupting his thoughts, and turning his attention to the only illuminated place at the center. Mr. Goodshow was waiting there with a large trophy next to him. It looked similar to the one Ash had received, only a bit less massive, and the handles looked more elegant. The president soon took a microphone, and cleared his throat, making the whole arena go silent.

"Thank you. This is the second time in a row that a coordinator claimed this position. People called me crazy when I told them it was possible, but to those I only have to say: This is Hoenn! People here make impossible things possible." The audience cheered loudly until he gave a sign to calm down a little. As soon as it was adequately calm again, he continued. "You didn't come here to listen to an old man, though. You're here to watch the rise of another, new champion, the second within a short time. It's like they've done this on purpose."

The audience's laughter turned to cheering and clapping when Wallace appeared on the stage, and stood beside the president. His fans were loyal to him, even in defeat, but the applause was even more impressive when the victorious challenger and her pokémon appeared.

"You've showed every critic that Wallace isn't the only coordinator capable of keeping up with the best trainers in the world. Perhaps your success will encourage others to try it as well." He really hoped it would happen, though he wasn't too confident. Prejudices were still strong, and time was needed to destroy them. "No matter how desperate things looked, no matter what others said, you kept going, and showed everyone your determination and skill. You're an amazing trainer, a worthy champion, and your pokémon are among the best of the best. And now it's time for your prize. Congratulations!"

The champion picked up the trophy, and carried it towards the new champion. He carefully placed it in front of her, before bending his knee.

"You have earned the right to championship with all its privileges and responsibilities. Do you accept?" he asked, lowering his head.

"Yes, I do," she replied after a short moment of hesitation.

He stood up and lifted the trophy again, handing it to her. People were surprised to watch her lift it like it was nothing, but they soon realized that Togekiss helped her with a psychic move, or Dawn wouldn't be able to hold it. The applause reminded her of the time she she'd won her Ocean Ribbon, but strangely enough, it felt even better. The fact that the whole arena was dark, except for the place where she was standing, made it only more memorable. Mr. Goodshow approached her with a microphone once it had died down a little, and gave it to her, obviously expecting a speech from her.

"If someone had told me that this would happen only a few weeks, I'd have laughed, and frankly, it's still a bit hard to believe." She shifted nervously, which was considered adorable by many. "I'll do my best to become a worthy successor to Wallace and a true champion of this wonderful region. Right now, I'd like to thank my friends, my family, and everyone who ever helped and encouraged me on this path. And I'd like to thank all of my pokémon, who made all of this possible. They're just as important as the trainer. Thank you."

Like in Kanto, the fireworks started, and in the darkness of the stadium, they were even more impressive, but it was over quickly. Dawn was still like in a trance when this part was over, and Togekiss carefully placed the trophy next to her. It was Mr. Goodshow who told her and everyone else about the next phase. This was the signal for Ash and the others to leave, as there was nothing else for them to see, and Dawn wouldn't return until later that day. They went to Pallet Town, where they stayed at Johanna's house to watch the conference in Hoenn, and have a good time. Only Ash chose to go to the lab instead, preferring not to meet his former girlfriend until the next day, and the training could distract him.

When Dawn finally arrived, the others weren't surprised to find her in a uncooperative state. Exhausted from the questions, she wasn't in the mood for talking, but still polite enough for a small chat. In turn, they only bothered her for a short time. The new champion left Empoleon , who was more than happy to talk about his fights with one of Zoey's psychic-types as a translator. Ash on the other hand only watched Dawn's arrival from a distance before returning home to plan his approach.

* * *

The bar in the northern part of Viridian City was full of people, who wanted to have a good time. Only a few looked miserable, and Thomas and Dan were among them. They'd barely talked or done anything but drinking and staring into nothingness. Unlike Thomas, who had been drinking barely anything at all, Dan was extremely drunk, although it failed to make him more talkative.

The recent troubles had given them so much work that there was little time left for such activities. They used to do it more regularly, and often with other friends, who were equally busy right now, but those times were over. This was the first time in a month that the two of them both had time to simply relax, so the fact that they'd barely done anything so far was even more disappointing. They left earlier than usual, or rather Thomas carried his friend outside, because he didn't want to see him like this. He also welcomed the cold air outside, which was a sharp contrast to the warm air inside the bar with all its smoke. After only a few steps, Dan suddenly hugged him, and held him so tightly that it was almost painful.

"Why? Why does life have to be so damn unfair?" he sobbed. "One day, they ... they make a childhood dream come true, and the next day -" He suddenly raised his arms, and proceeded with a louder voice. " - wooosh, everything blown up. And then there's fire everywhere. And snow. Burning snow! Because it's winter, you know?"

The obvious intoxication made it difficult for Thomas to understand anything, especially because what he said didn't make a lot of sense. However, he felt that his friend was extremely miserable, so he wasn't going to simply ignore it. At least Dan tended to be more open in this stage.

"Hey, it's alright, you drunken fool," he muttered, patting his back. "Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

"No, no, nothing's alright. He wants me to make it rain fire. Wait, no. No rain. It comes from the ground. Like, inverse snow." He started laughing, but it quickly turned into sobbing. "Why me? I hate fire. Too warm. And they won't like it. Not at all." He embraced his friend again. "Please do it for me. Then I won't have to press the button."

Although Dan was drunk, this talk about fire was extremely disturbing. Thomas dragged Dan to his care, and made him enter before driving him to his home. On the way, he wanted to hear more of this.

"What fire? What button?" he inquired.

"The big button for the bombs in Pallet Town of course," Dan replied casually, staring out of the window.

"What?" His friend hit the brakes hard, making the car come to a complete halt. "Hey, look at me. Bombs in Pallet Town? Are you sure?"

"Huh? Wombs? You drunk?" He shook his head in confusion, whereas Thomas sighed in frustration. "I said bombs. Boss told us to observe the trainers in Pallet Town, and we did it. Thought they were kind of a bait. But enemies , they stopped us every time. Couldn't intervene. And then boss is like screw it, and makes us plant big bombs everywhere. The next time an enemy leader shows up ..." He raised his arms in a dramatic way. "Boom! Like firework, only the bad kind." Suddenly, he was silent, but looked extremely miserable. "I don't want to push the button. Don't want to turn them to ashes."

Thomas was simply sitting there, his mouth open in disbelief. Although he knew that Max Wright was willing to use dirty methods, sacrificing innocents, let alone an entire village went too far in his mind. There was no cause that could possibly justify such measures. Even worse, his best friend was part of this, even though he clearly wasn't happy about it. Thomas expected more, and the fact that he only told him about this in his drunken state was disappointing. Now his faith in both his friend and his boss was shaken.

Without another word, he drove off to Dan's house, while his friend, having already forgotten about their conversation, started singing a crude song. Thomas dropped him off when they arrived, and then left to confront his boss. No matter how late it was, no matter how low the chances of success were, he had to make Max realize the madness of his plan. However, if he failed to do this, he'd have to inform everyone about the bombs before he could use them. Getting to his boss took some time, but at least he was still working in his office. As usual, Max was brooding over some files, a weak light on his desk being his only source of light in the messy office. He didn't look up when Thomas entered, only acknowledging his presence by speaking up as soon as his subordinate was already close to his desk.

"You're off-duty right now. Why do you bother me?" he asked with a monotonous voice, which was the result of a long day.

"I know about the bombs in Pallet Town," Thomas stated, slamming his fists onto the desk. Max didn't flinch, but carefully put down his pen, and looked up, leaning back a little.

"And?" he asked, looking unimpressed.

"And? Is that all you have to say?" The indifference in Max's voice made him furious, so much that he actually wanted to hurt his boss, but his discipline was stronger. "You're willing to sacrifice a whole town for what? For a quick victory?"

Max merely sat there, looking at Thomas for a while. Then he spoke up, his voice slow, but strong.

"Not just a quick victory. A decisive victory, one that can save countless lives. The way I see it, every moment of hesitation costs lives. We may kill dozens, if not hundreds, but in the long run, we'll do a lot of good this way." He took his pen again, and started writing down something, looking back at the documents. "Now, is there anything else?"

The fact that his boss seemed to ignore his concerns, and act like they were nothing only enraged him further. They were talking about lives of innocents, yet Max refused to acknowledge the direness of the situation. Thomas on the other hand refused to leave without a resolution, which, in his mind, could only mean the removal of the bombs. In order to achieve this, he was willing to take drastic measures. First, he had to gain Max's full attention, though.

"Look at me!" When there was no reaction, he became more forceful. "Look at me, you fucking asshole! Don't act like the lives of those people aren't worth discussing. I won't leave until you order the men to remove the bombs."

"Is that so?" Even now, he sounded bored, which made Thomas snap.

He grabbed Max by the collar, and delivered a brutal punch. The boss didn't fight back, he only gave Thomas a look of pity, which only served to make him even angrier than before.

"You have the guts to sacrifice an entire town, but you can't fight back now?" the taller man taunted. "And to think I considered you a friend. Fight back, you moron!"

"I know 'm no match for you," Max simply replied. "I also know you think I'm a monster. Perhaps I am. Perhaps I deserve all of this. Someone has to be the monster, though, or other monsters will do much worse." Although Thomas wasn't sure whether his boss was being earnest, he had himself under control again. "Don't think I like doing this, but at least I know that it has to be done. You know as well as I do, that we have to make sacrifices in our line of work, or others pay the price for our mistakes."

"Easy for you to say. You aren't among those being sacrificed," Thomas pointed out. He was still angry, though it wasn't as bad, now that Max was paying attention to him.

"So what? That doesn't mean it's easier for me." He gave Thomas a challenging look. "Or do you think I don't care? Do you think I enjoy sacrificing others?"

"No, but you've forgotten how it feels to lose someone, or you wouldn't condemn others to this kind of suffering so easily." The taller man was astonished when Max suddenly laughed. It was neither loud nor weird, but extremely unusual, and he almost let go of his collar.

"You have no idea," he suddenly whispered, becoming serious again. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Tell me, have you ever seen your family getting slaughtered by thugs right in front of you, while they're begging for help and mercy? Those monsters laughed at me, laughed at them, laughed at their pleas. That day, I sacrificed everything for my work. My family paid the price for my effort to take down Team Rocket. But others were saved because Team Rocket was weakened because of everything I did. Still, the faces of my family have haunted my dreams ever since that fateful day, reminding me of everything I've lost. So don't tell me about suffering!"

The last sentence was spoken with such malice that he barely recognized Max anymore. He'd always heard that this event had happened while Max was at work, but this was far worse. Still, it was no excuse for his plan, and Thomas was determined to stop it by any means necessary.

"And what gives you the right to inflict the same suffering on others? If anything, you should know better than anyone else not to do it." His voice was calmer, but no less furious. "I think that event made you cold and cruel. You don't care about others, only about your power. I've been blind not to notice it earlier, but now I can rectify that mistake."

"I don't care what you think. I do what I think is best, regardless of moral complications. It's an expression without meaning. You know what they say, history is written by the winner, and people won't care or won't even know about the means." He turned his attention back to the documents again after giving him a provocative look. "Anything else?"

Thomas wasn't sure what was worse, his boss's plans, or the reaction to his protests. It was hard to believe that this person used to be a friend, even an idol for him, as right now, he wasn't so different from the people they'd been fighting for so many years.

"You're disgusting. The end justifies the means, huh? Well, I don't think any end justifies the sacrifice of innocents." He shrugged and turned around. "But since your opinion differs, you'll surely understand that I have to talk to a few people to stop you."

Max dropped his pen without looking up, and went for his pokéballs. Others had already questioned his methods, yet none had ever dared threaten him like this. This called for more drastic measures, as he thought that Thomas wouldn't stop until the bombs were gone, and he simply wasn't willing to let it happen. An alakazam appeared next to him, waiting for his orders.

"Stop him." Its eyes glowed blue, and Thomas stopped in his tracks, surrounded by a blue aura. He tried to call for help, but couldn't open his mouth. Max stood up, and slowly walked up to him with his hands behind his back. "Did you really think I'd let you just walk away like nothing happened? How naive. But then again, what can you expect from a fool like you? Let me tell you something. There isn't only right and wrong, good and evil. Sometimes you have to do something questionable to achieve true victory. If you aren't willing to do it, you can't consider yourself a protector of the people." He nodded at Alkazam. "He may talk. The room is soundproof."

Thomas felt that he had full control of his head again, but the rest was still paralyzed. His boss was right, he'd been foolish to come here without a backup plan. Perhaps he'd wanted to believe that this was merely a misunderstanding, a mistake that could be easily corrected.

"And what now? Will you kill me? People will find out about my fate, and you know it," he said with a tired voice. "But who am I to tell someone like you what to do? Do what you must."

"I won't kill you. Despite your attitude problem, you're still one of my most competent officers, and you're right, your underlings will try to find out what happened to you. You're too popular for them to ignore you." His voice was calm and controlled, without the slightest sign of panic, which made Thomas believe that his boss had everything under control, or at least believed it. "There is a simple, yet elegant solution to our problem. No death, no injury, nothing. Only your memory will take some damage, but the pain will soon be forgotten as well. Alakazam, there's no more need for him to talk. I want to know who told him about the bombs, and what he's been doing today."

The psychic-type knocked him out by hitting his head, and grabbed his face as soon as the body collapsed. First, it checked his mind, and extracted the desired information before sending it to its master via telepathy. Max wasn't surprised about Dan having told him, but he wasn't willing to get anyone else involved in this.

"I see. I'll find a proper solution," he muttered, looking unhappy. While he was listening to the events of the evening, he nodded a few times, and then gave his final orders. "Turn this into an ordinary evening with too many drinks. He went to my office in his drunken state, tripped over his chair, and was knocked out when his head hit the ground."

His pokémon started working on his mind, and Max went back to his desk, leaning against it until the psychic-type told him that the job was done. He picked up the phone, pushed a button, and waited for the person on the other side to reply.

"I want Dan and Michelle in my office as soon as possible. I don't care whether they're in bed at home, lying on the street, or in a strip club. Get to work!" His tone was calm, yet demanding, and since he didn't tolerate protests, he hung up immediately after the command.

He was tired, both physically and mentally, yet his determination was as strong as ever. The progress had been slow recently, but at least there hadn't been any major catastrophic events, and with Team Plasma gone for good, he could focus on other enemies. However, being a pessimist, he believed that it was only a momentary relief, or maybe even the calm before the storm. The next big event was the Pokonvention, where new inventions and products concerning pokémon battles were shown to the visitors. Max could only hope they'd make tangible progress until then.

* * *

 **Not really good news. I can already tell that Dawn is angry, really angry. In the next chapter you'll see what she's thinking about all of this.**


	84. Last Straw

**Not a very good chapter if you expect improvment. More details are at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 84 Last Straw

The beginning of the next day was so beautiful, it was like the weather was encouraging Ash to fix his broken relationship. Not only was it remarkably warm, but also the sun was shining, offering some respite from winter's grasp. He didn't waste much time, and walked to Johanna's house, ignoring his hunger for a hearty breakfast for now. It was all for nothing, for she'd already left for Hoenn, where she had to meet a lot of people, and learn more about her new position. He was disappointed, but didn't let this dampen his spirits. After all he knew that it was only a matter of time, having gone through the very same process.

Therefore he returned home, caught up on his breakfast, and then it was time for training. It wasn't nearly as hard as hard as before the great battles, yet the intensity was growing with each passing day, so that he wouldn't get caught off-guard by next challenger. Besides, he had to work hard to give the impression to young trainers looking for a role model, that often happened to be the champion.

During the training, the weather got progressively worse, with the temperature dropping significantly, and clouds covering the whole sky. It even started to snow eventually, which made the training a bit more challenging, but he kept going. Staraptor was sent to Johanna's house to warn Ash in case Dawn returned from Hoenn earlier than expected. This didn't happen, though, and Ash was already done with the training, and waiting near the house, when she finally appeared nearby with Alakazam at her side. She looked exhausted, but Ash had no intention of backing down now. She recalled the psychic-type, and Pikachu had been left at home, so they were alone when he walked up to her.

"Hey," he simply said first, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, it's you," Dawn replied coldly. Ash was taken aback by the hostility, but it was already too late to change his mind. "What do you want?"

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"What's wrong? Oh nothing. Except maybe for my terrible headache. Or this annoying trip to Hoenn, where I've learnt hardly anything. Or the guy trying to talk to me right now." There was a lot of frustration in her voice, so maybe this wasn't a good moment. "Are you done gawking or can you finally tell me what you want?"

"What have I done to deserve this crap?" She was about to speak, but he was faster. "No need to remind me. I know I've said bad things, and that's why I'm here. I'd like to ... apologize."

His pride made this difficult, but it seemed to have the intended effect, as she looked pleasantly surprised. When she motioned for him to enter the house, he was optimistic that this could be a new beginning. It felt good to get out of the cold and the snowy weather, so it was a welcome change in that regard as well. She closed the door behind them, and addressed him with a neutral expression.

"So you want to apologize? Is there anything else you'd like to talk about? Something you wish to confess?" He looked confused, which only angered her further, and she showed it.

"What are you talking about?" Indeed, he was genuinely confused, and had no idea what he'd done wrong.

"Too bad. I'd have considered listening to you if you had confessed to me, or if you'd told me before Wallace could've told me." He hadn't expected this kind of hostility from her, but then he suddenly realized the reason for her anger. "Oh, now you remember?" she remarked when she noticed his reaction.

"You're talking about ... it's not about Wallace declining your challenges, is it?" She gave him a reproachful look, and he sighed in defeat. "Fine, it was because of me. I told him not to accept them because I believed you should try to do it the proper way."

"Proper way?" she exclaimed furiously, making him back off until he was with his back to the door. "Tell me, who are you to decide what's best for me? Who are you to force me to do it your way?" At every sentence, she poked his chest with a finger. "I didn't want to battle Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, and Drake. I didn't want a six-on-six battle against Wallace. I wanted a contest battle. Nothing more. Yet you, of all the people, denied me that. And now you expect me to forget about your lies? Just like that? Forget it!" She turned around, so that her back was facing him. "I suggest you go. Now."

"Come on, I only did what I considered best for you." His pleas fell on deaf ears, but he kept trying nonetheless. "Your success proved me right, didn't it? You did it."

"Yes, I did. And now? I never wanted this position, but I simply couldn't bring myself to declining the offer. I guess I'll have to wait for a worthy challenger to appear." She raised a finger. "But what's worse is that you made me do this. Am I not good enough without a champion title? Would you have come here today if I had failed? I've been trying to fulfill the expectations of my mother, my friends, and you. This, however, is different. Their expectations involved something I wanted to do anyway, although I admit, the pressure made it more difficult. Yours made me do something I didn't want, by preventing something I desired deeply."

"You know I'd be here even if you'd lost against Sidney." He extended his arms towards her when she turned around for a moment, but she quickly gave him the cold shoulder. "Come on, I meant well."

"You could have simply asked me to do it," she pointed out, still refusing to face him.

"I did! I tried to tell you that you could do it, but you wouldn't listen!" he replied a bit more forcefully. "I saw no other way. You really needed a bit more ambition, or the world would've never seen how great you really are."

"Oh yes, the Wallace Cup and the grand festivals are completely worthless," she answered sarcastically, finally turning around to face him again. "Why don't you just say that coordinators are useless? Would have saved you a lot of trouble."

The fact that she really said he'd ever think something like that hurt him a lot, and for a few seconds, he was speechless. It took some time for him to regain his composure.

"You know I'd never think anything like that!" he protested, trying to take her hand, only for her to slap his. "Hey, I even enter the Wallace Cup regularly."

"Yes, for fun. I doubt you take it seriously." She went to the stairs, and sat down, tired of the argument.

"Well, I don't claim to be a coordinator," Ash replied, approaching her slowly.

"But you expect me to be a regular trainer as well? I should've never let myself be tricked so easily, that's my fault. It doesn't mean I'll forgive you anytime soon." Dawn looked like there was something important on her mind, but before Ash could ask her about it, she already started. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are? A nobody grown to become a legend." He wanted to say something, but once again, she was faster. "Yes, a nobody. No one expected anything great from you. You were allowed to develop the way you liked. But I never enjoyed that luxury as the daughter of a famous top-coordinator. My mother, my friends, everyone, they all expected me to live up to her reputation, maybe even surpass her. Fortunately, I also wanted to be a coordinator, so at least I could do what I truly wanted. Or did I want to become a coordinator because of the things they said?" She shook her head. This was a painful thought, and not really appropriate right now. "In any case, I felt obligated to follow this path, and I had to do it in a way that wouldn't disappoint them. Yes, I know, I shouldn't let their opinions have such an impact, but I couldn't help it. I had to live up to her legacy. The pressure was enormous, and I can't say I didn't feel like giving up at times, but in the end, I was successful. But you, you used this ... pressure to make me do something I didn't truly want because ... I don't even care why. You deceived me. You lied to me. How am I supposed to trust you anymore?" She looked directly into his eyes. "Go. I'm too tired to argue."

"Oh no, you'll listen to me now. I've had enough of your crap." He made himself look as big as possible in front of her, and started when she looked up. "A small lie for something great. Is it that horrible? I admit, I'm not proud of it, but if I could travel to the past, I'd probably do the same again. I mean, you're a champion, and beat Wallace in a full battle with half the world watching. What's not to like? It was unorthodox, but I had good intentions, and if you can't accept it ... well, that's your problem."

Ash leaned against the wall, and sighed, There was a long silence between them, during which they only looked at the ground. Having said everything they had to say, they didn't know what else to do. Dawn eventually spoke up again, her voice little more than a whisper.

"It's too late. I'll move to Hoenn." She took a deep breath, needing a lot of strength for the next sentence. "It's over."

It was worse than Ash had anticipated. Now it looked like all his hopes and efforts were for naught, and she didn't sound like he could persuade her easily. However, he wasn't going to let her go like this. There simply had to be a way to succeed, there always was. Although he usually preferred to solve those problems without provoking her, he was willing to take a risk now.

"What happened to the courageous Dawn I love so much? Who replaced her with this coward, who isn't willing to work on simple problems like this one." She got up with a furious expression, but he didn't allow her to speak yet. "I'm disappointed. Alright, I admit I've been kind of an asshole during the preparation for my battles, and I came here to apologize for that. But you -" He pointed at her. "-make only more accusations. If I had known, I wouldn't have bothered coming here."

"Yes, I make accusations, and with good reason. You betrayed my trust!" she yelled at his face. "I'm tired of this. Go and get a new girlfriend. I'm sure there are more than enough gold diggers for you out there. They'll do whatever you want without complaints. No complaints, no drama, much more simple, right?" When she saw his face, she realized that she'd finally done it. She sat down, waiting for his reaction, but not without making a final remark. "Is that enough for you? Get out of my sight!"

"It's quite enough," he replied with a threatening voice. "And I won't take any more crap from you."

Without another word, he turned around, opened the door, and slammed it shut behind him as hard as he could. On the one hand, she was glad that it was over, on the other hand she'd never intended to be so rude, but the stress and the eagerness to finally end it made her do it.

"I guess that's it. No turning back," she muttered with sadness clear in her voice.

She was fortunate that Empoleon was asleep inside his pokéball, or he could've made the argument a lot more interesting in a bad, unpredictable way. The day had been extremely boring for him, so much that Dawn considered leaving him at the lab. It was still preferable to him remaining inside his pokéball. Dawn sighed, and stood up to finally go to her room, but froze when she noticed Johanna standing upstairs. There was a mix of worry and regret evident on her face, albeit Dawn didn't know why. She could only guess it had something to do with the way she'd treated Ash, but she was astonished to hear what really followed.

"I'm sorry." This stunned her completely, and she was unable to say anything for a while.

"You're ... sorry? But why? Shouldn't I be the one who's sorry after I treated him so badly?" she asked, visibly shaken.

"I heard everything. Including the part about pressure and expectations." Dawn immediately realized the meaning, but Johanna refused to let her speak until she was finished with her explanation, and raised a hand. "Please, let me speak. You must believe me that I had no idea just how difficult my own achievements made your journey. If I had known, I'd have told you that your success doesn't matter." She walked down, and embraced her daughter. "Never forget. I'm your mother, and I love you, no matter how successful you are. I'm sorry I never made this clear enough."

Time flew by in this position, and Dawn had no intention of letting it end early. Being loved unconditionally felt good, especially after a horribly stressful day and the argument with Ash. It was Johanna who eventually led her upstairs, so they wouldn't have to keep standing on the stairs.

"There's no need to apologize," Dawn said, feeling guilty for Johanna's guilt now.

"Please, if your ever think it's too much, you know that you can always come to me. Whether it's help or advice, I'll do everything I can." She looked down at the place where Ash and Dawn had argued. "I know it's none of my business, but if you wish, I could talk to Ash."

"No, that's not necessary." Dawn shook her head frantically. "I think it's too late anyway. Now ... please let me rest. I'm so tired."

She'd love to spend more time with her mother, who'd return to the safer location the next day, along with Delia, yet wasn't in the right state. Her head was spinning a little while she was going to her room, for the stress had been too much. More than anything else, she needed a lot of sleep right now, to wash away the guilt and regret. The talk with her mother had cleared her head at least a little, and now she was aware of the fact that she might have destroyed her last chance of ever reconciling with Ash again. Moreover, they might not even become friends again after her outburst, but her fury told her that it was better to do it this way than doing it slowly, because she was still angry at him. Even though she wasn't one to hold a grudge for long, she wasn't so sure in this case. Now she could only hope that a long rest could help her.

Meanwhile, Ash was on his way back home. It was already extremely cold, and the snowfall didn't make it more pleasant, yet his fury made him ignore those problems. After all the hopes he'd put into this meeting, he was more than merely disappointed, and his emotions made him blind to what happened around him. Thus he was startled, when a familiar voice called him.

"Hello there. I thought you'd never show up." It was Nathan Sorlan, who was standing in front of his house. Merely looking at him made Ash shiver, for he was wearing only black shoes, a full, black business suit with a white shirt, and a red tie. Strangely enough, he didn't seem to mind the cold, or he was adept at hiding it. Next to him, his hypno was standing, equally unimpressed by the weather. "Is something wrong?"

"Well ... aren't you ..." he said, pointing at the clothes.

"Cold? You're damn right. That's why I'd be grateful if we could finish this quickly." He looked at the psychic-type. "Hypno here doesn't mind the cold as much. He waited for you to show up, and brought me here. By the way, any news about you and your friend?" he asked, scratching his chin.

"I'd prefer not to talk about it," Ash replied with a gloomy look.

"No need to worry. I won't press you." Dawn's catchphrase made Ash wince, but Nathan didn't seem to notice. Instead of talking about it, he go straight to the point. "There's something on my mind. Have you heard about the Pokénvention?"

Ash had to think about it for a while. The name was known to him, as someone had mentioned it to him at some point, but he couldn't recall the details. Nathan guessed his thoughts, and offered an explanation.

"You see, it's basically an event for companies like mine to present new inventions or improved products involving pokémon. Pokéballs, healing potions, and items that boost the strength in battle are the most common products, but there are often great surprises as well. You can probably guess one of our items, the regeneration balls we gave to you. By the way, thank you for testing them," he added with a wink. "It's in Saffron City this year, despite the recent attacks on the city. As a champion you're ... encouraged to be present."

"Encouraged?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not obligatory. Let's call it ... tradition. No champion has stayed away so far, and I hope you won't be the first one." He spread his arms. "There's a whole new world waiting to be discovered there. By you. And others. But I'd be particularly pleased to see you at our stand. And if you meet Dawn, please tell her about it as well, just in case she's already forgotten about it."

"Alright." The trainer knew it wasn't going to happen, but he wasn't in the mood for a discussion, especially in the cold. "Is that everything? It seems weird you come personally for a little reminder."

"Actually, it is. But I sure won't throw away a chance to meet the new champion of Kanto in person." He nodded at Hypno. "Anyway, we better go now before my balls turn to ice. I hope to see you at the convention."

He vanished with a flash of light, eager to escape the cold and return to his warmer office. Ash hadn't known about the importance of the convention, but he'd planned to take a look anyway. Only Dawn's presence could make it difficult for him, and if they were to meet there, it was surely going to end in a disaster. Right now, he had enough worries, though, and finally entered his house, where he was immediately greeted by Pikachu, who had been waiting for the result of Ash's attempt.

"It didn't go well," Ash immediately told him, as he wasn't one to give false hope. Then he realized what he'd said, and shook his head. "No, that's an understatement. It went horribly. I have no more hope of winning her back, since she doesn't seem to want it."

"A few difficulties have never stopped you before," Pikachu said directly inside his head via the aura link. He also climbed on Ash's shoulder, where this kind of communication was easier for him. "Hey, what's the matter?" he asked when he had a closer look at Ash's face.

Instead of answering, Ash took off his coat, and sat down on the couch in the living room. He let out a deep sigh before answering.

"It's over. She'll move to Hoenn. No discussions. It's that simple." He laughed bitterly, and shook his head. "Oh, it's never that simple. She won't let me go this easily, but occupy my thoughts and haunt my dreams."

The remark provoked a powerful thunderbolt, which made him fall to the ground afterwards. When he tried to look up, he saw Pikachu standing in front of him with his arms crossed, and a furious expression his face. The voice in his head only strengthened this impression.

"And you're just going to let it happen? What about Buneary? You want me to leave her? What about the others? Do you want to separate them from their friends as well?" There was no answer, as Ash felt even more miserable when he was confronted with his problem, and he already knew there was no easy solution. "Well?"

"You know, I wasn't the one who ruined this day." He got up, and pointed at his chest. "I apologized. I was willing to forgive her. I didn't want it to end this way. And I certainly won't be the one to come begging for forgiveness. Forget it!" He turned around so that Pikachu was facing his back.

"Someone has to make the first move, you stubborn fool, and why let someone else do it when you're perfectly capable?" the electric-type reasoned, but Ash shook his head again.

"No! I won't. If she comes to me, and asks me to forgive her, I might consider it, but until then, she's dead to me." He turned around again, and walked past his pokémon, towards the stairs. After a few steps, he stopped, and addressed his partner again. "If you really want to change something, talk to her, for I won't make the first move, and you may tell her I said that."

Then he rushed up the stairs, and moments later, Pikachu heard him kick open the door, only to slam it shut afterwards. Pikachu gave a sigh of disappointment, fearing the worst for all of his friends. Ever since the trap at Team Rocket's base, things had been going downhill in almost every aspect. Not even the championships could make up for all the trouble, as they certainly couldn't mend broken friendships. Their first attempt to return everything back to normal had failed spectacularly, and now he had no idea what could possibly be improved. In any case, Pikachu was going to talk to Dawn's pokémon to form a proper strategy, preferably before Dawn could move to Hoenn.

What scared him the most was the fact that Ash was back to normal, yet the situation still had gotten a lot worse. Still, it was far better than him remaining in his previous state, as now he was at least willing to listen properly. Perhaps he simply needed time, though it was impossible to say how much, and whether Dawn had the patience to wait. They might tell her when to make her move, assuming she was willing to do it of course. Right now, he was helpless, though, and he could only go to sleep, and hope for the best.

"Do you feel that too?" He turned around to see Lucario staring out of a window with a strange smile.

"What?" he asked.

"I'll take that as a no. It's not an enemy. Perhaps it's a mythical being, but it's so much more. I haven't felt it before, but it's like it's been with me ever since my birth, around us the entire. This doesn't make much sense, does it?" He sighed. "There's so much sadness ever since the argument. But you know what? Things will work out. I know it."

How he could be so confident remained a mystery to Pikachu, but he sure hoped that Lucario was right. However, he hoped it would work out with help from outside.

* * *

It was already late when Dawn finally got up again. She'd been lying on the bed for hours, having changed the position countless times, and tried every trick about falling asleep known to her, yet she couldn't get any rest. Too many matters were on her mind, too much worry, regret, and even anger prevented her from relaxing, and now she considered taking a walk. Only when she was already next to the stairs, and looked out of the windows, did she realize that it was a bad idea. The intensity of the snowfall had increased tremendously since the last time she'd checked, and it certainly wasn't warmer than before. It was still a beautiful view, even in the darkness, and she was tempted to spend more time there to calm down a bit more. Disappointed by the futility of her plan, she was about to return to her room, but then she heard a sound downstairs. It was some kind of music, though there were also voices, which changed every few seconds.

Dawn guessed that her mother had forgotten to turn off the TV, so she snuck downstairs, careful not to wake her up. As expected, commercials were running, but when Dawn turned it off, she noticed her mother sleeping on the couch. This was a major shock to Dawn, who remembered this only happened when Johanna was either extremely worried, or was feeling bad for some reason. In this specific case, the reason was easy to determine, as she'd shown to feel guilty about all the pressure on her daughter. At least no alcohol was involved, though it was already bad enough.

The coordinator remembered how she'd always woken up in her bed after having fallen asleep anywhere inside their house in Twinleaf Town. Everything was so much easier back then, and in times like these, it was tempting to spend time in this fantasy world called memories, where she didn't know worries or obligations. However, she was an adult now, and had responsibilities. She grabbed one of her pokéballs and called out the pokémon inside.

"Empoleon, please be quiet or you'll wake her up." He looked around, surprised about the place and time. He'd hoped to leave his pokéball the moment she arrived at home, but now it was already late. Johanna was the only reason he didn't complain right there. "Can you please take her to her bedroom? You know I'm not strong enough, and I promise to answer all of your questions tomorrow. There's a lot to discuss."

Although he was a little angry at her, he nodded, picked up Johanna, and carefully carried her upstairs. Dawn remained in the living room, thinking about how she was going to explain everything to him. This inevitably made her think of Ash again.

 _Did I do the right thing?_ she asked herself, walking to one of the windows, and staring at the scenery- _Or did I overreact? Would the others have acted differently?_

She almost jumped upon realizing that there was a comparable case. Drew had lied to May, and manipulated a match in order to make her feel better. Ash had also meant well, but compared to May and Drew, they had already been on bad terms, so her reaction had been even worse. Without much thinking, she rushed to the videophone, and called the pokémon centers in Kanto, hoping to reach them that way. The fact that it was already late didn't even matter, for she needed advice.

There was actually little hope of actually reaching them, but she tried it anyway. If they happened to stay at one of the centers, they'd probably be asleep by now, but at least they'd hear about her call the next morning, and hopefully call back. However, there was no need for that, as they were really in the entrance hall of the center in Fuchsia City. May told Drew to go to their room when she was told about the call, and answered it without him. She looked exhausted and sleepy, but not unhappy.

"Hey, Dawn. Haven't talked to you in a long time. You caught us after a nice walk in the dark. The stars are so beautiful when you're out in the wild to watch them." She shook her head, and smiled brightly. "Anyway, there's a reason you called at this untimely hour, am I right?"

"Yes, you are." She shifted nervously. "Do you remember when Drew confessed his deception?"

"No, I've totally forgotten about that," May replied sarcastically, her mood immediately destroyed. "Seriously, it was such a great day. Why do you ruin it now by reminding me of that?"

"Well, I'm looking for advice. You see, Ash did something similar. Maybe not as bad, but I still got pretty mad." All of sudden, May's anger was gone again, and replaced by curiosity. She leaned a little forward as if she could hear better that way. "You see, he was the reason Wallace refused to accept my challenges. He wanted me to do it the hard way. No, he forced me to do it the hard way, and never told me anything about his plans."

"I already wondered why Wallace wouldn't fight you." May scratched her chin. "But for Ash to be responsible? I didn't expect that. So ... what did you do when you found out?"

This was the big question, and she was eager to hear about the reaction. Judging from the way her friend looked right now, and the simple fact that she'd bothered calling at this time, it probably wasn't good.

"Well, I found out after the battle with Wallace. He told me, not Ash. It was only a few hours ago that I told him that I knew." She sounded nervous, which wasn't a good sign either. "You probably know that we've broken up recently, and he was there for a new beginning, but I was so exhausted and cranky, that I ... got angry." She looked down in shame. "I fear I overreacted a little. Actually, I'm sure. I mean, he didn't even apologize, but merely insisted that he had good intentions. And now I don't know whether I can trust him anymore. So ... what about you and Drew?"

"Well, it's almost back to normal. I'm glad I gave him another chance, but I make sure he remembers not to deceive me again. So far, he's been very eager to make it up to me." She sighed contently. "Sometimes a little too eager. Anyway, you looking for more specific advice? I'm kind of tired."

"Oh, yes, I'll get to the point. Do you think I should give him another chance after all the trouble, and how should I try to win him back?" Dawn asked.

"The second questions tells me that you've already answered the first," May pointed out, laughing softly when she saw Dawn's face. "But if you're not sure, wait a bit longer, and then decide whether you're willing to continue living like this or not. No matter how mad Ash might be, I doubt he'll deny you if you ask him to return. Just don't count on him to make the first move now," she added, pointing directly at the screen. "And if that happens, make sure to remind him of his mistake regularly, so he'll never do it again. Sure, he'll be annoyed, but he has to learn. You can stop after a few weeks, but a regular reminder doesn't hurt. Apart from that huge lie, was there anything else?"

"Well, there were a few other issues, which led to the first break-up, but those might already be resolved," Dawn told her, remembering a few things his pokémon had told her several days ago. According to those, he was pretty much the old Ash again, though she couldn't be sure whether it wasn't merely an attempt to get them back together.

"I see. Well, if you need my advice again, give me another call." May was ready to hang up, but Dawn still had something on her mind.

"One more thing." She looked down in shame again. "I'm sorry about ... you know. I should've told you. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course. Otherwise I'd be a hypocrite after this advice." She gave a warm smile that made the younger coordinator feel better.

"Thank you," she said, sounding relieved. "And thank you for the advice. Now I don't want to keep you from sleeping any longer. To be honest, I'm also pretty tired." She yawned, which also made May yawn in return.

"Damn, that's contagious," she remarked, making them both giggle like little girls. "Alright, i better go now." This time, it was May who had almost forgotten something. "By the way, congratulations on your new title. Maybe I can convince Drew to try the same. I think he's a little envious, but you didn't hear that from me."

Dawn was about to protest, but May really hung up this time. The thought of Drew challenging her was interesting, though she didn't know whether he'd get through the Elite Four. It didn't really matter right now, for she had other problems, which needed solving. At least she could return to her room, and go to sleep. The next few days were going to be difficult enough without a lack of sleep.

* * *

 **I agree, it was uncharacteristic of Dawn to react this violently to the deception. Under normal circumstances she'd scowl him a little, then laugh about a few hours later. These aren't normal circumstances, though. After weeks of Ash acting like a douche and changing his personality apparently overnight a few times, she's not sure what's the deal with him or who he really is. Besides she's just getting to know what being a champion really means, which confuses and frustrates her further. She needs someone who can help her sort her emotions and let her calm down.**

 **Her worst fear right now is that he regards her as some kind of trophy and that he deceived her because of this. Of course it's absurd, but in her current state she's inclined to believe anything, and Ash's timing was really poor in that regard.**

 **So all in all it's a lot of unfortunate circumstances coming together. However, I can already tell that it won't stay like this for long. There will be a lot of movement starting in Chapter 86, which is a preparation for the final arc. They might get help from old friends.**


	85. Accusations and Deception

**This a chapter mostly for background information on the characters. But there are also a few hints of things to come in the near future.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 85 Accusations and Deception

Calls from Divine had become more frequent recently for Seth, and far less pleasant. Obviously, his boss didn't care about his loyalty anymore, for he was much more vicious and provoking than before, openly taunting him. Divine probably didn't consider him useful anymore as je didn't receive any new orders, but didn't simply get rid of him either. Seth was a plaything now, to be praised and scolded as his boss saw fit, and it worried him deeply.

In this case, he'd been called for a some advice, although Seth doubted he was really interested in that, but probably merely wanted to show him something. He was slow at following this order, taking his time to walk to Divine's office, but he couldn't keep doing it forever. Eventually, he had to enter the office, and wasn't surprised to find Divine sitting behind his desk, on which two essence gems were placed. There had been a lot of those in the past, mostly experiments with limited use.

"About time you showed up. Sit, sit." Divine sounded troubled, which could mean that this meeting was different. His appearance also suggested that, as he looked exhausted.

Seth closed the door behind him, and walked to the desk. On the way, he had a closer look at the gems, which looked different from the others. The first one looked like it had a miniature storm raging inside it, with lightning of different colors striking regularly. The other one only looked completely normal at first glance, but even then, it gave a feeling that something about it was just plain wrong. Although it was clear, Seth had the feeling that he couldn't truly see through it, that what he saw wasn't real. Even after blinking several times, he couldn't get rid of the feeling that this wasn't normal. Divine watched the reaction.

"Interesting gems, aren't they? They might be even more powerful than the gems of light and darkness." He waited for Seth to sit down in front of the desk, then picked up the first gem. "I call this one the gem of chaos. We got it from the essence of a hydreigon, and tested it with ... catastrophic consequences. As it turned out, this power is extremely hard to control. Even though we believe it can be controlled with enough training, all the test subjects killed themselves, and one of them even blew up an entire training hall." Divine held it directly in front of his face, and stared into its core. "Isn't it fascinating that such a small thing of beauty can hold this kind of power? But then again, it is the essence of destruction, and controlling chaos ... that's a contradiction."

"I see. But that's not why you called me, right? I assume it has something to do with this one," Seth said, pointing at the clear gem. "There's something wrong with it. I can't even look at it without feeling sick."

"Then you shouldn't touch it. I did, and ... well, it's hard to describe, but I can assure you, it wasn't pleasant. I felt empty, emotionless, apathetic. It wasn't right. That's why I won't touch it without gloves ever again." He put down the gem of chaos, and shuddered. "It's made with the essence of a shedinja. That alone should tell you that it isn't like the others. However, even after several tests, it's still a mystery. We managed to cause some kind of implosion and an impenetrable shield, but that's pretty much everything. We call it the gem of the void."

The name was certainly fitting if a mere touch could have such scary effects. Seth still failed to see what he could possibly do to help.

"And what does this have to do with me?" he asked.

"Simple. You're an intelligent man, and also much more creative than those possessed fools." Divine showed a sly grin, and pointed at his underling. "That's why I want you to test it as well, and find out everything you can about it. I can accept that a power is uncontrollable right now, but this mystery really bugs me."

Seth didn't like this one bit. There was something inherently wrong about this gem, and he wasn't too keen on discovering its powers, no matter how useful they might be. In his opinion, some powers shouldn't be used by mankind, and this gem was a prime example. Looking at it was enough to give him a feeling of utter exhaustion, and yet, despite his knowledge, he couldn't help but take a peek every now and then. It was like the gem wanted to be watched, touched, and used, as if it hungered for those actions. The mere thought was disturbing.

"I'll send a safe, usable glove to your room," Divine said after a short pause. "I expect results within a month."

He dropped the gem of chaos, which had a corrosive effect on the skin if held for too long. Seth stood up, and turned to leave without a word. When he reached the exit, and opened the door, Divine spoke up again, making him stop.

"By the way, why do you treat Eileen so well, even though she resents you? I wonder, is it because of another young female you used to know?" Seth showed no reaction, but his boss knew that he was furious. "What's the matter? Bad memories?"

"No. Eileen isn't Illaya or a replacement for her," he replied. He sounded calm, yet there was a bitterness that was hard to miss.

"I see. You miss her, don't you? It's a real shame you can't go back to your family. A convicted murderer on the run." Seth knew that Divine only said this to provoke him, but he was too angry not to answer.

"I'm innocent!" he hissed, taking the bait.

"Of course you are." Divine replied, making it sound like it was obvious. "I never said otherwise. But-" He raised a finger. "- they found you guilty. Whether you actually did it doesn't matter to them. You'll be hunted for the rest of your life. Besides, you've done a lot of bad things since your escape, enough for the police to observe your family's home around the clock. Therefore you can't return to them, unless you want them to run away as well, of course."

He knew it wasn't an option for Seth, but mentioned it simply because it annoyed the psychic.

"I know that," he muttered just loud enough for his boss to hear.

"Could you repeat that? You know my hearing isn't the best." This was an obvious lie, but Seth didn't dare oppose him.

"I said I know." Divine snickered when he heard it, and went even further.

"Good. I'm glad I don't have to remind you of every little detail, -" He looked up, and scratched his chin. " -like what would happen should you fail in your task. Now that would be a real shame. Anyway, you may go now."

Seth refused to show his anger, left without another word, and even had enough self-control not to slam the door shut. However, once it was closed, he showed clear signs, like clenching his fists. He was also tempted to stomp on the ground or punch the wall, but didn't let his fury get the better of him in the end. When he was about to go to his room, he heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Is it true? Do I remind you of your daughter?" Eileen was standing right next to door, and Seth laughed when he saw her. His rage had truly blinded him, or he would've noticed her immediately.

"I guess so. Your hair is similar, only a bit darker and longer. Eyes are similar. Even your personality is remarkably close," he replied.

"Can you tell me about her?" She sounded so innocent, yet he couldn't help but wonder whether this was Divine's doing. Usually, he was good at finding out things like that, but the Okcha in her body made it difficult for him.

"Alright." The words left quickly, without warning, and even he was surprised by them. This girl certainly had a strange effect on him, perhaps because she was really some kind of replacement for his daughter. It was then that he realized just how little he knew of his real daughter. All he had left was a memory, and for all he knew, she might be completely different right now. Nevertheless, he tried to tell her everything he knew. "She's kind, compassionate, a friend to all living beings. She loves harmony, and has the ability to bring it to the most unlikely places. Even great enemies stop arguing when she gets in between. At the same time she carries a great pain ever since her biological father left her mother, although she tried not to burden others with her troubles. Although she's not my daughter by blood, I feel a stronger connection to her than to my real children. And in turn she was the only one to show interest in psychic powers, so much that I trainer her myself. She's an angel, there's no other way to describe her. At least -" He gave a heavy sigh. "- she used to be."

"Used to be?" Eileen tilter head, and motioned for him to come with her. They might as well walk while talking.

"I simply don't know. I haven't seen her in years. And I doubt I'll see her anytime soon," he admitted. She noticed his sad tone, and looked at him with those innocent eyes of hers. He recognized them as Illaya's, but they weren't the reason why he felt such a connection to her. "Please don't look at me like that. I've come to live with this fact."

"Why did you leave her?" she asked bluntly.

"Do you want the long or the abridged story?" He hoped she'd chose the abridged version, for he couldn't recall all the details.

"Long story," she replied, much to his dismay.

"Very well." He took a deep breath. "It may sound ridiculous, but I used to be a magician. My shows were part of birthday parties, greater shows, and other events. My psychic abilities, which I've been training ever since I was a small boy, helped me a great deal. They allowed for shows that normal magicians couldn't reproduce with their tricks. I was the best. But my rivals didn't like how successful I was. Although I can't prove it, I'm sure it was one of them, who murdered another rival, and made it look like I was guilty." Eileen was shocked to hear this. It was beyond her imagination how anyone could do something like this for minor reasons. "I wasn't afraid. I believed in justice. I was a fool. They found me guilty, and sentenced me to many years of prison." Seth sighed. "As you can see, I wasn't ready to let them do this to me, and escaped with my powers. It doesn't matter who really committed the crime, for that life is already over. I had to leave my family, as they were watched by the police, and even now they're being watched. If they knew where to find me, I'm sure the police would attempt to get that information from them by any means, so I send them the money I earn indirectly."

"So that's why you can't visit. I'm sorry." For some reason, he was convinced that she was being earnest, and forced a weak smile. "What happened then?"

"I tried to find some work because my family needs support. Honest work was out of the question, but illegal activities were possible. However, nobody trusts a psychic. They fear I might invade their thoughts, gather information, and use it against them to help their enemies or usurp their position. Criminals are particularly distrustful, so I never got the good jobs, and they refused to work with me for extended periods of time." Then his expression turned cold and dark. "Then I met Divine. He made an offer I simply couldn't refuse. It was already hard enough to find work, but he paid so well that I didn't have to think for long. Sure, there had to be a catch, but I was desperate. Besides, the things he made me do weren't worse than some things I've done for my previous employers. He also quickly made clear that he knew about my family. Even though he didn't threaten me at that time, I was already sure he'd kill them should I ever betray him."

"That's terrible," Eileen muttered, looking at the ground.

She didn't know what else to say. Seth had always been a traitor and liar to her, the man who was partly responsible for Catelyn's death, but now she realized that he was also another victim of Divine. Maybe he wasn't even so bad, but his new position forced him to be cruel, for the sake of his family. She'd always tried to understand people before judging them. In this case, however, she'd hated him before knowing him properly. From what she'd heard, he didn't deserve this kind of treatment, and even if his deeds were horrible, she didn't consider him irredeemable.

"That's my story. I keep working for him to support my family despite his recent threats. It's not like I have choice," he added shrugging.

"I'm sorry, do you think you'll ever see them again?" They arrived at his room, but he didn't enter yet, as he was thinking about the question.

"I don't think so," he finally replied. "I can't see how that could happen. If I really went to their house, the police might think they know where to find me, and their methods might be ... drastic. I don't want to put my family in danger."

"I pity you. You have to do bad things for a man you don't like to support a family you can't see, and which maybe doesn't even appreciate your efforts because you've been away for so long that they don't know you anymore." It was weird and painful to hear what's wrong with his life in one sentence from a child. "I don't know a good solution, but something must change, or you'll remain this miserable. You can ask me, if you need my advice, but now I must go to Divine."

Seth was glad this conversation was over, for he felt uncomfortable receiving advice from a teen. The fact that she was right only added insult to injury, and it was even worse for a prideful man like Seth. He opened the door, and stepped inside, before addressing Eileen again.

"I'll think about it. See you later." He didn't give her enough time to say bye. The fact that a girl like her could embarrass him like this shook him to the core. Having always felt intellectually superior to people around him, he felt this was a most humiliating experience, even if it wasn't meant to be like that. Strangely enough, not even Divine had been able to have such an effect on him. Perhaps he really had to think about his life, but right now, he had another problem. He immediately spotted a glove with a clear gem attached to it. It was the same gem he'd seen in Divine's office. Now he could only hope it was safe to use the glove. "Alright, let's have a look."

Eileen also had a lot of things to consider. Seth had been surprisingly willing to share his story, and she was grateful for that. Fortunately, Divine had told her to come to his office, but not to hurry. Her feeling was already bad enough. She didn't need to force it by coming early. It took a while to get there, and when she entered the room, her eyes immediately fell on two gems lying on the desk. There was something disturbing about them, or rather about the clear gem, and she couldn't look at it without feeling a little sick. Divine laughed when saw the look on her face, and motioned for her to sit down.

"Interesting items, aren't they? Be glad you aren't the one to discover their powers." She sat down, and waited for him for her orders. "No mission this time," he quickly said, as if he could read her mind. "I've heard huge lies are pretty popular right now, even in your family. I have some information for you. In the name of truth, of course."

Divine knew about the most recent conflict between Ash and Dawn. He'd been hoping that they'd get back together, so this break-up was most inconvenient. His plans needed them together, and if they weren't going to get back together on their own, he'd have to help them somehow. It might require a lot of force, but this time, he'd take no chances by sending one of his minions. The possessed guards weren't too witty, and talking to his chosen all the time got repetitive quickly, yet he refused to let real guards work in this base. The operations there were critical to his success, and he couldn't take unnecessary risks like that at this point. He'd have a lot of time for that later, for now he had to reveal something to Eileen.

"What is it?" She looked worried, and he knew his words would have a big impact.

"Let's get straight to the point. You're the victim of a terrible lie. You family has been lying to you for your entire life. I'm sure they meant to protect you, but I believe you're old enough for the truth. I hope you're prepared for a nasty surprise." Contrary to his own words, he didn't get straight to the point, and it made Eileen only more worried. Of course, it was intentional, and Divine relished her uncertainty. "Do you remember your mother?"

"My mother?" She was surprised to hear this, and made no effort to hide it. "What about her? I ... don't know much about her. She died in a car accident when I was still an infant."

"A car accident?" Much to her worry, he looked amused. "An interesting story. But sadly untrue."

"What? Then how did she die?" she asked, sounding desperate.

"My dear girl, it's not about how. Well, it is. Kind of," he added, correcting himself. "But it's not the most important part. The most important part is when it happened."

"When? What do you mean?" Suddenly, she was confused. "Did she die later? Or earlier? Or before my birth? Wait, that doesn't make any sense. Is she maybe not my real mother? Am I adopted?"

Divine rolled his eyes before standing up and slowly walking around his desk. It was most amusing how she had so much trouble comprehending the situation, and he was in no hurry to do something about her confusion. Eventually, he decided to end it.

"She died neither after your birth, nor before it. She died while giving birth. Simple." No matter how obvious it was, the news were shocking to her, but Divine wasn't done yet. "Ironic, isn't it? The girl who dedicated her life to maintaining balance and harmony among your family is the reason why there was trouble in the first place."

"You ... that's not true. You're lying!" Eileen cried, trying to deny it.

"Oh, please. I don't need to lie when the truth hurts so much more. Tell you what." He placed his hands and her shoulders, and moved his head close to hers. "Show me a photo of you and your mother together, one single photo, and you can call me a liar as often as you like. If I'm wrong, there are surely a few of those around."

It was a sensible request, one that would be easy to fulfill if he was indeed wrong. However, she'd never seen a photo like that. There were those with Eileen, her father, and her siblings, and there were others with the rest of the family, but none with the desired attributes. Therefore she had to assume that he was right, no matter how unbelievable it sounded to her. Besides, it explained quite a few things, like her father's resentment towards her, or the others' hesitance to share information on her first years.

Now she felt something else arise inside her, a feeling of overwhelming fury. It wasn't the first time she was the victim of a lie, but this one was far worse than anything she'd ever heard. Despite everything her father had ever done, she'd mourned his death, but now, for the first time in her entire life, she was glad that someone was dead. In fact, she even felt something more dire, a burning hatred for those who'd wronged her. This included her siblings, although she didn't resent them as much as her father. Divine was pleased with the impact so far. She was so much easier to mold to his liking in this state.

"I'm sure they meant well, but do good intentions justify all of this? I don't think so. They caused so much pain, so much grief. You're right to be angry," he said, clenching a fist in front of her face. "They must know. Or rather, your brother must know, and pay for it." He walked behind the desk with his hands behind his back. "I'll honor our bargain, and not hurt him, but I won't prevent you from doing it. He deserves it, but that's your decision, not mine."

"How do you know about this?" she suddenly asked.

"Really? You should know by now that I'm quite capable of gaining information of any kind. This one was easy to get, and I did it for you. Aren't you grateful? Well, I can understand if you aren't too happy about it. In any case, that's it. I'll leave you to your thoughts. Use the information any way you want. And return to me tomorrow. I might have something else for you to do." It was her signal to leave, and she did it without hesitation.

Her rage slowly made place for guilt. According to her family, her mother had been loved by everyone, so her death had been a huge blow. It ultimately resulted in bitterness, indifference, and cruelty in the family, but without Eileen, it might have been much worse. Now, as Divine had said, she couldn't help but think that she was the one responsible for all the trouble, even though it was unintentional. Nobody could truly blame her for her mother's death, yet she still felt that if she'd never existed, the family would be so much happier. Now only her brother was left, and judging from what she'd heard, he didn't care about her anymore.

Part of her wanted him to suffer, but another part wanted answers. She needed to know whose decision it was not to tell her truth, whether he blamed her for mother's death, and what the others had thought. Unless he'd told someone else, he was the only one who could provide the answers. As long as Divine kept his promise, she'd have a chance to talk to him.

The longer she thought about it, the more she wanted Marcus to know that she knew about his secret. Most importantly, she wanted him to regret having ever lied to her, and she knew someone who was good at that kind of treatment. Although it pained her to ask him for help, as she regarded any agreement with him as a deal with the devil, she needed Divine. After minutes of hesitation, she finally decided to approach him with a suggestion, only to find the door to his office locked already. Knocking yielded no answer, so she assumed that he was on some kind of business trip, which wasn't unusual for him. Since she had no idea when she'd meet her brother again, there was no need to hurry, yet she feared her mood could change significantly soon. Therefore she wanted do something now.

"He's gone?" Seth was nearby with a large bag in his hand.

"He is," she simply answered, but then her eyes narrowed. "Wait, have you been following me?"

The whole affair had left her highly suspicious of everyone around her, and Seth was no exception. In fact, their previous conversation made him all the more suspicious to her. Not it was up to her to find out whether he truly was in league with Divine in this matter, or whether it was only a coincidence. In any case, she had to be careful, for Seth was a psychic, and thus capable of manipulating her mind. He didn't need those powers to determine that something was wrong, though.

"What's wrong?" he asked. It was strange how the girl had changed within such a short time.

"What's wrong? Everything! I discovered that my whole life was a lie, one big lie! Do you understand what that means? Do you?" He remained calm, and looked at her with sad eyes, which had a calming effect on her in return. "Divine revealed something terrible. It made me ... angry, hateful. I never wanted to be this way." She looked down, but her mistrust grew again. "Do you know about it? Did you have something to do with it?"

"I have no idea what you mean. Why don't you tell me?" He sounded sincere, yet one could never be sure. As a psychic he could be extremely convincing.

At first, she wasn't sure whether to trust him, but then she remembered that he'd told her about his past, his family, and his mistakes earlier. Thus it was only fair that he got to hear about this. Telling the story didn't take long, but she needed to add some background information, so that it'd actually make sense. Seth listened patiently while they were slowly walking back to her room. As soon as she was done, he made a risky move.

"Some people say ignorance is a bliss," he remarked. "In your case, it certainly was."

"Are seriously defending this lie?" she asked incredulously, taking a step away from him.

"No, I only say you were far happier without this knowledge. Whether the lie was justified or necessary, that's not for me to decide." This made much more sense, and she calmed visibly, allowing him to continue. "However, you should try to understand their motivation. If you had known , how would your life have changed?"

"What? I ... guess it would've been pretty miserable at the start, but I would've gotten over it eventually," she replied, looking confused now.

"And I'm sure you'll get over it soon enough. Perhaps your family, or whoever was responsible, thought you'd have an easier time dealing with the revelation when you're older. And perhaps they even intended to tell you later. I think only your brother can tell you the whole truth." It was easy for him to say, but she needed to find a way to not only speak to him, but also make him reveal the truth about everything. "What's on your mind?"

She didn't answer immediately, for she was lost in her own thoughts. However, there was a reason she'd come to Divine's office, and it came to mind quickly.

"I went to his office because I wanted to request help. Because I can't get near him without his approval, and ... " She sighed, and continued with a slightly embarrassed look. "I want him to ... be aware of how I feel. I want him to regret his actions, and beg for mercy." She realized how cruel she sounded, and pressed her hands against her mouth, but it was too late to stop those words. "I'm sorry," she eventually muttered, looking at the ground again. "This just ... makes me so mad."

"It's understandable. But how can you be sure he knows?" Seth inquired. Eileen looked at him with confusion, as if the answer was obvious. However, she realized that it wasn't, and thought about it.

"He does," she said eventually. "We definitely talked about the car accident at some point, so he knew. At the very least, he was part of this conspiracy."

"I see. In any case, I have something that might help. You see, Divine gave us several Okcha for ... personal usage. The gengar are particularly useful. They can remain undetected, and affect minds in different ways." He remembered what Divine had told him. "Paranoia, nightmares, the ... permanent urge to ... pee even though they don't have to go." She looked at him like he was crazy, but he simply shrugged. "What? That's what the boss told me. I don't even know whether he was serious about that, and frankly, I don't want to know. I've never bothered using them, but you might find them useful. I'll send one to your room. Just tell it what to do, and unless it goes against the rules, it will do it without question. If you don't want it, just send it back."

"I'll think about it. In any case, thank you for listening " He seemed like the most trustworthy person in the whole base, and she needed someone.

The proposition was interesting, and it was also relatively safe, as the Okcha couldn't disobey any order. He didn't need an answer, and walked to the storage room that contained the Okcha he'd mentioned. Eileen on the other hand entered the room, and waited patiently for something to happen. It took about ten minutes, then she heard a knock on the door. Opening it revealed a gengar, that had to be the requested Okcha. It entered the room, which cooled down due to its presence. Then the girl heard a warped voice in her head.

"Its wish is our command," it said.

She could only guess that it meant the Okcha was at her service. Any command that didn't go against Divine or Seth was valid now. Eileen was ready to punish her brother for his involvement in that terrible lie.

* * *

Shortly after Seth had left Divine's office, a strange figure entered by levitating sideways through the door. It was a metagross, albeit in a bad shape. The front right leg was missing entirely as well as the right eye. In addition there were a few holes in its metal body, some of them going rather deep. It was of little use in battle, but its mind was actually of more use to Divine than that of a normal metagross.

"The body's ready. Only the power gems are still missing, so you better hurry up," it told him telepathically with a rough voice, that sounded less robotic than most Metagross' voices. In fact, it sounded strangely human. "What's the matter? Stress finally getting to you, human?"

It was probably the only human or pokémon allowed to talk to him like this, because more than even his own pokémon, he considered it his equal. Originally it had been a normal pokémon belonging to a former partner, who conducted an experiment that was supposed to make it more useful by inflicting it with a virus. While it succeeded in changing its mind to allow for more creativity and other thoughts normal Metagross would never have without diminishing its overall thinking power, it also did serious damage to its body. Within a few days, one of its legs had lost its function, and damage spread to one of its eyes eventually.

As a result, it became almost humanly cruel and hateful towards its owner, yet unable to fight him. It was at this time that it vented its frustration and fury by coming up with the idea of the soul ripper. Even though it already knew that the pokémon used in the process was likely to be killed, it kept quiet about this little detail.

In the end it was Divine, who decided to do something about its predicament, and made sure that his partner had a little accident. Naturally, Metagross was distrustful of others, especially humans, and didn't change his mind until after Divine came up with a counter the virus, that basically cured it. He'd specifically created it for Metagross, and this was something the steel-type would never forget. When asked why he'd done it, he only said that its fate reminded him of his own and that he felt obliged to do it.

By now they were even friends, who had similar plans and thoughts. Unlike Divine, it remained in the background, taking care of technical details. In fact, none of Divine's chosen knew of its existence, let alone its actions. After all, Divine liked to make them think that everything was his own doing, and Metagross was happy to keep it this way. In reality there was little he actually did himself. Shira and others in his organization had gotten the money, Metagross and the scientists had done the research and constructed the soul ripper, the Okcha calling machine, and the means to create bodies or power gems. His own mission was to find connections between the different technologies and ways to use them to further his goal. Others had to actually make it happen. At the same time he had to decide which ideas were worth pursuing, as Metagross had many of them, some even too disturbing for him.

"Those battles were simply too thrilling. It'll take days until I can sleep again." He laughed, but then stopped abruptly. "But in all seriousness, I'm kind of worried. The Okcha Prime, it's way too ... passive. I simply don't know where it is or what it's doing."

"Then why don't we lure it out of hiding?" Metagross suggested, locking the door behind it.

"And how?" Divine scratched his chin. "It possessed Victoria at some point, so it probably knows about the magnitude of my plans and how close I am, so ..."

"Show it just how close you are." The steel-type levitated upside down in front of him. "Show it that waiting any longer would mean its defeat. Show the entire world."

Although he wouldn't say it like this, he had something similar in mind. A daring show of force could make the Okcha reveal itself and make it act their way. However, it had already shown to act against their predictions, so maybe it was foolish to believe it could be manipulated.

"I'll think of something. Perhaps it can be combined with the other problem. You know, those two idiots that somehow broke up again. Even more than before. Perhaps the duo can take care of this." Divine leaned back a little. "By the way, are the armors ready?"

"Almost. All the remaining metals have gone into their production. It's going to be amazing, I can already tell. All my calculations suggest that they can replace entire teams with those boosts." It didn't sound like it was kidding. "If you insist on honoring them with your presence, be careful. I don't want to find your corpse in a nameless grave later. Or maybe I do and I'll laugh at it."

"If I let that happen, then I deserve it." They laughed about it together. "No worries, my friend. Now to a different matter ..."


	86. Fire, Ice, and Guardian Angels

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 86 Fire, Ice, and Guardian Angels

Both Ash and Dawn had grown increasingly depressed after the last argument. Although they'd both come to regret their words, they were way too stubborn to admit it, expecting the other to do it for them out of hurt pride. Despite her words, Dawn hadn't wasted one second looking for an apartment in Hoenn. The waiting game lasted for a few days, then Ash woke up in the morning, feeling that something was wrong. The others didn't seem to think that way, but he knew something big was about to happen. No matter how quiet it had been so far, the bad feeling wouldn't go away. In addition, he saw an unusual shadow occasionally, which gave him the impression that he was being watched at all times. In order to be prepared for anything, he changed his team to be ready for a fight. Lucario was added for a second aura shield, Infernape and Reuniclus for their firepower, Serperior for support, and Staraptor for more physical strength.

At Oak lab, where he exchanged his pokémon, he met Dawn, who immediately looked away, when she noticed him.

"I knew I should've gone earlier," she muttered. "As if that feeling of being followed wasn't enough already."

Similar to Ash, she'd seen shadowy figures, but unlike him, she guessed that they wanted to be seen, as their movement looked clumsy at best. Now she was here to prepare her team for anything that could happen. Espeon had to be included for teleportation, Ninetales and Gengar for ranged firepower, Mamoswine for physical strength, and Togekiss for support.

"Be careful. I know we're being watched," Ash told her, looking away as well.

"It is correct about that." They both took a step back and looked around for potential dangers, yet there was nothing. "We're not here to fight them, but to tell them that their mothers are in danger. They should gather their strongest allies and go help out the international police before it is too late."

For a moment they just stood there utterly surprised, then they quickly gathered to discuss the plan.

"My team is ready. Do you know where they are?" Ash asked, forgetting about their current problems altogether.

"I don't. The international police always teleported us there, yet never told us where it was. But Espeon has been there for interrogation, so she should be able to get us close." Dawn looked at the psychic-type, who nodded. "Alright, let's go."

If it was anything like the incident at the Oak lab, then there was no time to waste. Delia and Johanna had to be found and taken to safety before anyone could harm them. Ash felt his decision to stay at home justified now, as their mothers obviously weren't safe with the international police either, yet he didn't gain any satisfaction from it. Their lives were more important than anything else, and the memory of Oak's death was still fresh.

Espeon teleported them right outside of a tall building in Cerulean City. However, everything looked quiet, and there was no sign of fights whatsoever, which made them consider that they were tricked for some reason. Just when they wanted to talk about it, hell broke loose.

Countless Okcha were teleported near the building, others emerged from hiding spots, and together, they blasted a hole into the building. More of them entered it this way or were teleported directly inside. A powerful snowstorm started raging at the top of the building, causing ice to slowly spread downwards all over the building. If anyone wanted to get inside quickly, now was the time to do it, unless they wanted to get rid of the ice first.

"Let's get in there," Ash said, speaking for Dawn as well.

Since the main entrance was swarming with guards and people getting out, it was more convenient to use the hole in the third floor with Staraptor's and Togekiss's help. The Okcha had already moved on, and the defenses of the international police were already overwhelmed at this position, so they were in no immediate danger. Shortly after, a wall of ice blocked further access through this hole, which wasn't a bad thing for them, for now no reinforcements could attack them from behind.

Following sounds of battle, they saw an Okcha getting petrified by a signal beam coming from behind a door and falling to the ground next to other statues. There were clearly defenders in that room with fingers on the trigger, so Ash and Dawn had to be careful not to be instantly annihilated when showing themselves. They went close to the door and started a conversation.

"All those things are destroyed. Please don't shoot," Ash shouted.

"We'd like to ask you some questions. We're searching for our mothers," Dawn added.

At first there was only, probably because the defenders discussed their situation, then one of them spoke up.

"If that's true, then slowly walk to the door with your hands up. No pokémon, no weapons, no sudden moements." The voice was rough and dominating, but also desperate and tired.

They followed his instructions, approaching slowly, so that they wouldn't give any reason for a hostile reaction. Upon entering the room they saw several officers behind tables, that served as barricades, and one of them behind some kind of large turret. Behind the officers, several unarmed people were cowering. The remains of several Okcha were on the ground, but no sign of any casualty on the other side.

"You!" One the officers exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Trying to find our mothers," Ash explained. "They should be in the building. Can you please tell us where to find them before those things get to them?"

"Lower levels," the officer answered. "I don't know how you got in here, but as long as you destroy the invaders on the way, I don't care. Are there any of them outside?"

"It seems they moved on. The last one we saw was the one you destroyed here," Dawn replied.

"Alright." He stood up and shouted to all the others. "Get ready to move on! We'll try to reach the exit. As for you ..." He addressed the two trainers again. "Be extremely cautious out there or my colleagues might mistake you for enemies. Take care and good luck."

They could consider themselves lucky that this officer cared more about the lives of the other people than rules, as they were technically intruders as well. Now they could only hope that the others would be just as understanding or this could end badly.

The further they moved into the building, the more damaged it appeared. There were not only cracks in the wall, and icicles appeared on the ceilings. In the distance screams and explosions could be heard, yet they didn't meet anyone else on their way. Only a few Okcha roaming the corridors could be seen, though they didn't show any interest in the trainers. When they finally reached the stairs to the lower levels, the building was shaken with such force that they lost their footing, albeit without further consequences. However, it showed that they had to hurry before the building would collapse.

The journey to the lower levels was rather uneventful, until they heard a scream that sounded like Delia's coming from even further below. In order to follow it they had to go all the way down to the cellars. As soon as they entered the corridor after stair room, the ceiling behind them collapsed, blocking the way back. This left only the elevator, but they wanted to think about the return later. First they had to find their mothers.

Ash was particularly nervous since he'd heard his mothers scream, which made him push the others relentlessly forward. Anything or anyone getting in his way would feel instant wrath. Dawn was just as concerned for Delia, yet she was even more nervous about the lack of sounds by Johanna. At least they could be sure that Delia was still alive. Another one of Delia's screams came from behind a door, which they immediately opened. It led to a dark storage room with crates at the sides. Someone or something had drilled a tiny tunnel to the surface, though it wasn't large enough for anyone, not even tiny pokémon to use it. In fact, it probably wasn't even noticeable on the surface. The ray of light that came through this tunnel shone on the center of the room, where the body of a woman was located. She was lying on the belly, not moving or showing any signs of being alive.

"Mom!" Ash immediately exclaimed, recognizing his mother. However, when he tried to rush to her, he felt Dawn's arms around him, preventing him from moving. She certainly had a lot of strength or she got help from the pokémon. "What the hell? Let me go!"

"Look ... behind her," she replied, barely able to hold him back.

Upon having a look, he immediately stopped, for a large pokémon was standing there. Judging from the body shape, it was an emboar, though it was clad in a massive armor. Intricate plates of steel covered its entire body with only a single, large, red gem on its chest. Unlike the power gems he'd seen before, this one was the size of a melon. Smoke was coming from its helmet, which had two holes for its eyes and several vertical holes for the mouth. Several spikes on the rest of the armor made it look even more threatening.

"A wise decision. We don't want my boy here to get nervous and crush Delia's skull by mistake, do we?" The voice was all too familiar by now, and sure enough, Divine stepped out of the shadows, accompanied by two gardevoir and a strange Metagross with a missing arm and eye.

"Well, I wouldn't be too sad about it," it told everyone telepathically, with its inactive eye suddenly blinking red.

"Before you ask, she's only unconscious," Divine added, answering the unasked question.

"Let her go!" Ash shouted angrily.

"And tell me where mom is!" Dawn added with venom in her voice.

"Oh my, such anger. I will certainly not let Delia go yet, as you'd only attack us. As for Johanna, she's near the rooftop and I've told my pokémon not to let any harm come to her. And I promise, after we're done talking, you'll get them alive and well. So, do I have your attention?" He looked around expectantly.

"How do we know this isn't a trick and you won't simply kill them?" Dawn asked.

"I solemnly swear that I'll hand them over to you. No tricks, no deception. Besides, if you don't agree, I'll simply kill them right now. Not much better, is it?" As much they hated it, they were at his mercy and nodded reluctantly. "Good. Then let's come down to business, shall we?" He rubbed his hands together in excitement.

"One question first. How did you find them here? I thought they were safe," Ash asked.

"Oh, we didn't find them. We didn't know they were here until you teleported to this building." It was not the answer he'd expected. "I had all of them observed and only started the attack until you showed us which was the right one. Thank you for that by the way." He made them feel guilty by pointing out that it was at least partially their fault. Their reckless act endangered not only their mothers but also others inside this base. "Now to something else. First off, about the things you said about pokémon last time ... I brought some examples. If you consider me evil, you'll also consider dear Metagross evil. It is directly responsible for some of the most ... hideous deeds. I believe that's what you'd call them."

Metagross moved to its left next to Emobar, so that only the side with its defective eye was visible.

"And I made this magnificent armor. It's more than just metal protecting his body. There's a lot of technology in here, but you'll find that out soon enough." The eye started blinking rapidly, and everyone heard some kind of laughter in their heads.

Something about that metagross felt wrong. It was too human-like for a pokémon of its kind, and that eye only added to the creepiness.

"Emboar and his friend are also prime examples, you'll see." Divine laughed again. "But enough of this. This is not what I wanted to discuss. Instead I wish to tell you something about the world I desire and why I believe that it's necessary. I'll try to make it as quick as possible. You see, there is a problem with this world. It's lacking something, or rather life itself lacks something."

"At least for individuals," Metagross added.

"What's the meaning? Is there a meaning? Philosopher and idiots have spent years to find an answer to those questions, yet the result isn't worth mentioning. Frankly, I think our supposed goal is to reproduce so that our genes remain in the world. Simple evolution of mankind." He didn't sound happy with it. "Is that all we're supposed to be? Temporary vessels for future improvement? Do we only live for future generations? The problem is that we can't get better. We can't improve. Pokémon can, though only in a limited fashion. Still, it's better than what humans can achieve. We grow up, create new humans, and then die. Only our species benefits."

"That might be great for those that regard themselves as part of something big, but individuals who think as such, they long for more, yet they are left with nothingness. The very thought is disturbing. Even if you're the smartest, strongest, most charismatic being on earth, one day you'll die due to biological processes, and there'll be nothing left." Metagross sounded almost sad. "Many great minds have broken over this simple truth. There is no meaning for individuals."

"The drones of society might not mind. They'll keep following their rules, but the rest deserves something better, much better. As I see it, there are three problems." He raised a finger. "Firstly, the conditions are too punishing. One mistake and you're gone forever. Actually, you don't need to do anything wrong. Sometimes it's just something you can't influence. It's unforgiving and unfair. Secondly, there's no way to improve. You can train but that's too limited. Sure, you can become a cyborg by enhancing yourself with technology like this one over here." He pointed at Emboar. "But that's not what I truly want. You could learn psychic or aura powers, but those are limited as well. And finally, there is the matter of age. Why should you improve at all if death is going to take it away from you anyway? Mortality only serves evolution of a species, not the individual."

"Life is pain without meaning. We intend to change that." Somehow Ash and Dawn could already guess that they wouldn't like that solution. "Mortality and things like cancer or diseases will be removed. In theory, anyone could live forever. Of course, this won't happen. The way to improve is by killing others and absorbing part of their power. You'll be able to grow stronger in different ways, but the stronger you are, the more likely you are the target of others, who are envious of your power. Those killed are reborn somewhere else with reduced strength, otherwise life itself would be gone eventually with only one powerful individual remaining. However, if someone dies repeatedly while being weak, he'll die forever. Our world has no place for weaklings."

"I see." Ash already had something to say about this. "Then I guess the easiest way to grow strong is to commit the most vile crimes. Murder. Child slaughter."

"Ah, now that's quite a topic. Of course I wouldn't want anyone to die before they could get a chance to use their potential. Therefore children will be an exception, they can be killed, but not absorbed, and they'll always be reborn. After all, the world needs a steady supply of humans and pokémon," Divine explained. "But you're right about murder. If someone pulls it off, then her or she definitely deserves it. There will be no moral barriers or laws to prevent it. Those have only served to maintain an unfair order anyway. Backstabbing, deception, slaughter, or the traditional hunt, those will be the tools to become powerful. Some might even form a team to take down enemies together and protect each other, though it might not last if they become too powerful due to jealousy and discord. Those who are ruthless and strong will become more powerful than they can imagine. If they are good enough, they might even become gods. The rest will either die or remain mediocre, at least until pain teaches them enough lessons to become hunters instead of the hunted. But go ahead, try to found a society in the traditional sense. What if enemies try to destroy it to become stronger? Will you have the courage to consume your companions to stop them or will you let them not only destroy you but also become stronger in the process and do the same to others? Think about it."

"That sounds like you got the idea from a video game," Dawn told him with contempt clear in her voice. "There will be no meaning for most, only death and pain."

"Exactly, but unlike you, I don't regard it as a bad thing. It will be the greatest survival game ever. And the best players are usually rewarded, aren't they?" Divine asked with a grin. "The intelligent already see the world as what it is. Pain without meaning. I'll be happy to provide meaning."

"You make it sound like you're some kind of god." Ash folded his arms, stating the obvious. "But you forget you're just a human. And a human can't make all those changes you mentioned."

"What if I am a god? Or rather, what if I will be?" They looked at him with obvious doubt. "But frankly, whether it happens with or without me doesn't really matter. It will come true."

He was about to say more, only to be stopped by a large explosion on the upper floors shaking the entire building. While they'd been talking, fight had been raging, leaving the building in a damaged state. It was part of Divine's plan, though the main reason for his speech was the need to communicate with someone who might not like his idea and point out potential flaws. The fact that they hadn't come up with any real issue, at least in his opinion, was a good sign, though the lack of time might have been a problem. In any case, it was time to get to the more interesting part.

"Well, wisdom cannot be forced onto the fool. Let's get to next part," Divine said merrily.

"As you may have noticed, a layer of powerful ice is or was making its way down the building. By now it should be all the way down and escape is only possible via rooftop. There you will find Emboar's ally. You will find defeating both of them ... difficult. Your task is to escape, plain and simple. You can make this more difficult for yourself by dragging your mothers along or you can leave them behind for a faster escape." Metagross's eye started blinking again upon seeing the horrified looks on their faces. "Don't be like that. It's only a choice."

"Enough time wasted. We're not needed here anymore," Divine finally exclaimed.

With a flash of light they were gone, leaving only Emboar. It grabbed Delia before Ash or Dawn could react. They already feared the worst, but it simply threw her towards them, and Ash caught here before activating his aura shield. At least Divine had kept his word and not killed her instantly, though Johanna was still in danger. Before they could get to her, however, they had to deal with this enemy. Since it was a single pokémon, they didn't believe it could be too difficult.

Emboar began by blasting the ceiling with a fireball. Cracks appeared and it glowed red. In addition, the head it radiated increased tremendously, so that every step cause the ground beneath it to glow as well. The trainers called out every single one of their pokémon.

"Attack!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu used thunderbolt, Reuniclus attacked with psychic, Serperior shot a solar beam, Lucario threw an aura sphere, and Infernape used his inferno punch on Emboar, whereas Staraptor held back, feeling that he heat was too much for him. Similarly, Dawn's pokémon attacked as well. Espeon used searing light, Ninetales used dark pulse, Empoleon used hydro pump, Gengar attacked with shadow ball, Togekiss used air slash, and Mamoswine attacked with bulldoze.

The ranged attack hit Emboar first, pushing him back. As if the armor was aware of the danger, a second layer was deployed, shielding the power gem. Then Infernape hit his face directly, only to retreat immediately with a badly burnt fist. The heat he radiated was too much even for a fire-type. Furthermore, the attacks didn't seem to have any effect on him.

Then he prepared his own move, a massive overheat. Lucario quickly created his own aura bubble, and everyone gathered behind it. Togekiss added light screen and reflect for protection. The fire move covered the entire room, setting the walls ablaze, and it almost broke both aura bubbles. Even inside, everyone felt that massive heat. Then Emboar roared, preparing a charge attack on them. They immediately jumped to the side, so that he crashed into the door behind them.

"Thunder wave!" While the others were attacking him from a safe distance, Pikachu paralyzed him.

From now on burning parts of the ceiling started falling down, so that there was no safe spot in the entire. They had to watch not only Emboar, but also the room itself. Emboar charged at Mamoswine, who tried to block him with his tusks. However, the pain was obviously so great that Dawn recalled him immediately, which caused Emboar to crash into the wall behind Mamoswine. The crash left a crater in the wall, and it caused the fires to spread, limiting mobility even further. Ash and Dawn already had to keep moving all time to avoid falling debris, so they didn't know how much longer they could survive like this. More than anyone else, Ash was getting tired since he was carrying Delia the entire time.

The armor seemed absolutely impenetrable, showing almost no sign of getting damaged, even though the pokémon kept throwing everything at it while Emboar was dazed from the impact. They tried different moves and combinations, yet nothing proved to be effective. In fact, fire moves only served to strength it even more. Only when Empoleon's ice beam hit it together with Infernape's stone edge and Lucario's aura stone did the metal plate protecting the gem fall off. This didn't help them much, as Emboar charged straight at the trainers now. Espeon teleported them to safe spot just in time, and the fire-type crashed into another wall, though this time, it was hit by the ceiling crashing down on it.

"Let's get out of here!" Ash shouted. It was already difficult to breath, so they had to get away as quickly as possible.

"Put out the fires with hydro pump!" Empoleon cleared the way for them, and they immediately left the room, not looking back the trapped Emboar.

They didn't see a yellow fire coming from his mouth, spreading slowly all over the room, and shortly after, Emboar managed to free itself, slowly walking towards the exit to pursue his enemies.

"We have to get up with the elevator!" Dawn shouted while they were running away.

"Are you crazy? In this building?" Ash replied. "But we can't use the stairs ..."

"And if we fly up the elevator shaft?" she suggested.

"That might work." Since there were no alternatives, they followed the signs to the elevator. "Open it please."

Infernape and Lucario proceeded to tear open the steel door to the elevator shaft. Looking inside revealed that the elevator itself was only a few floors above, possibly at the first floor. The problem presenting itself now was the narrowness of the shaft, which didn't allow their flying-types to get up. A solution was found quickly, as Espeon could use telekinesis to make them levitate to the upper floors and then follow them via teleport. First she did it for Lucario and Infernape, so that they could open the door, then she slowly made Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, and Delia rise. All the other pokémon were recalled for this. Lucarion and Infernape then helped them to get safely on solid ground again.

Suddenly Espeon heard something coming from behind and teleported to the upper wall on the opposite side of the door, and from there to her trainer. It happened just in time, for a stream of fire hit her previous position half a second later. Ash looked down to see Emboar standing at the door now, using flamethrower on him. Fortunately, he moved out of the way in time, so that the fire hit the elevator and everything above instead. The fire-type proceeded to climb up the elevator shaft.

"Use rock slide to stop it," Ash told Infernape.

Several rocks appeared in the shaft, falling onto Emboar, who couldn't hold on any longer and fell all the way down on his back. However, the rocks disappeared. Then cracking sounds could be heard from above. Before anyone realized what was going on, the elevator rushed downwards, seemingly crushing Emboar at the bottom. Now they could've used the elevator shaft to get even further up if it wasn't for Emboar's fire up there making it impossible. Even worse, a strange yellow fire was spreading from below now at an alarming rate.

"Run to the stairs!" Ash shouted.

Not waiting to find out why, they made their way through the corridors, following the signs. The fire appeared behind them soon, and sometimes even in the side corridors. It appeared to follow a sinister intelligence, following them instead of spreading everywhere.

The stairway was found soon after. The chamber was quadratic and led all the way to the 15th floor. Not wasting any time, they proceeded to walk upwards with the fire following closely behind. Now that they had opportunity to have a better look, they were shocked to see tormented faces in the flames, and visages of burnt skeletal hands trying to grab them. This only confirmed that this wasn't a normal fire, for the hands only appeared near them and always shot in their direction.

At first it looked like they were much faster than the fire, but they soon got tired. Especially Ash, who carried his mother, got exhausted quickly, so much that Dawn told Espeon to help him out with her psychic powers. It made the rest of the trip a bit easier for him, though there still so many floors left. The first sign that the fire wasn't the only danger was a huge icicle falling down in the center. As long as it didn't hit any stairs, they were safe, but there was likely to be more than one icicle. It wasn't until they almost reached the 13th floor that they showed.

All of sudden they heard something coming from above, and sure enough, a huge icicle tore through the stairs right in front of them, taking the stairs with it into the fire. Now there was a huge gap in front of them. Since their legs were already tired and heavy, jumping was out of the question. More icicles fell down, taking other segments down. This time, the solution was simply. Espeon teleported them onto the part right in front of the door, which was still unharmed, and they quickly stepped inside. The situation there wasn't much better, though, as hug icicles were blocking the way and the floor was mostly destroyed already. While he was watching more icicles tearing down the rest of the stairs, Ash had an idea.

"Staraptor could probably fly up without the stairs," he muttered.

"And the icicles? They'll tear him apart without protection," Dawn protested.

"We'll protect him with the aura shield," he replied. "Unless you have a better idea?"

"No, let's go." The fire was already getting close, so they couldn't afford to waste time.

Ash called out the flying-type in the center, jumping onto him along with Lucario and Dawn before they activated their aura bubbles. Espeon and Pikachu were light enough to join them, only Infernape was recalled. It was quite difficult for Staraptor to carry them, but he managed to do it, gaining altitude slowly. However, when an icicle hit the shield, he lost it immediately again.

"Try to avoid them!" Ash shouted.

It was easier said than done, though, and more importantly, it cost a lot of time. He regularly moved to different sides to avoid the icicles, careful not to hit the wall. It got even difficult with time, as the approaching fire caused them to fall them more frequently. Espeon helped by pushing them to the sides with psychic, though she couldn't get all of them. Eventually there was no more ice, but in turn there was now a lot of smoke having gathered there. Holding their breath as long as possible, they jumped off Staraptor against the door. It was opened by the force, and they quickly closed it again after recalling the exhausted staraptor to prevent the smoke from getting inside. Then they stayed like that for a few seconds, catching their breath.

However, they weren't at the top yet. A large part of the floor was gone here as well like on the floor above. Right above that, the ceiling carried numerous icicles again. Signs on the walls suggested a path along steel carriers, which meant that they had to retain their balance.

"Espeon, try to stabilize Ash," Dawn told her partner. "Let's go slowly and carefully."

She held onto him while he was moving forward, correcting his movement before he could lose balance. Somehow, he felt much safer this way. Halfway to the exit, the yellow fire got through the door and spread all the way over the floor below them. The heat going up caused the first icicles to fall down. Although most of them missed them by a large margin, some got dangerously close or even hit the carrier, making it shake and therefore the trainers almost lose balance. Together they managed to stay, and they eventually reached the exit, even with the smoke making them cough all the time. The stairs at the exit led directly to the rooftop. On the way, they found a woman's body leaning against the wall.

"Mom!" Dawn cried, checking the pulse immediately before giving a sigh of relief. "She's alive."

"Not for much longer if we stay here." The fire had been climbing up the walls the last time he checked.

"You're right. Espeon, please help me a little." With Espeon's psychic power, she could carry Johanna on her own.

She was the first to reach the rooftop, looking left. Ash looked the other way and noticed a large ice spear approaching quickly. He immediately retreated and pulled Dawn back as well, holding onto her so that she wouldn't fall down the stairs. Lucario rushed past them to create an aura bubble at the exit for a small safe zone. Once the others were there, they finally noticed how cold it was outside, which was no surprise, given the raging snowstorm. It was still better than the stairway, where the yellow was burning brightly. At least it didn't spread onto the rooftop, probably because it was too cold. The place directly at the exit was the best since the hot air from below helped against the cold. However, a powerful dark field coming from below now prevented escape. To prevent escape via flying, huge claws of ice rose from the edges of the rooftops, uniting high above to form a cage.

Their enemy was levitating to the center of the snowstorm. It was a forslass, albeit clad in an armor similar to Emboar's. The most prominent feature was the helm, which looked like a skull mask. There was no trace of a power gem, though it could be hidden in the armor.

"About time you showed up. I was getting bored." It was without a doubt her voice in their heads. "I'll finish what Emboar started".

She threw several snowballs into the air. Those grew larger while they were flying until they started falling down like comets. When they met the rooftop, icy explosions occurred, and only the aura shield prevented more damage. The trainers called out all of their pokémon in response.

"Mamoswine, stay here and protect Mom and Delia." His fur protected them against the strong winds. "Togekiss, light of mercy, reflect, and light screen!"

"Take her down!" Ash told his pokémon.

The lighter armor didn't look as strong as Emboar's, so Ash hoped that they could take it down quickly, only to realize that none of the attacks managed to hit her. Her snow veil ability protected her well in the snowstorm, so much that she blended in perfectly. They didn't know where she was, only icy spears coming towards them gave away her position for a moment.

"Attack her!" It would take way too long to call out every single attack, so only did if for specific moves.

Even so she evaded them with ease, becoming one with the snowstorm again. She followed up with a rain of ice shards until Ash had enough.

"Damn it! Hit the whole thing! Area attacks!" he shouted.

Every pokémon used the most powerful area attack available to them, and for a moment, it looked like it worked. However, the snowstorm took the shape of Froslass's head and she retaliated by unleashing a powerful blizzard on them. The wind was so powerful that it not only froze them to the bones, but also pressed them against the ground, preventing them from doing anything. Eventually it subsided, yet now they could hear her laughter in their heads.

"Pathetic! How could Emboar lose against you weaklings?" she wondered.

She showed herself briefly, moving out of the snowstorm, but retreated again when she noticed that they could still fight back. Staraptor had been knocked out by the blizzard, so Ash recalled him before the cold could do any more harm.

With time, their limbs were getting heavy and numb, every breath was painful, and their movements were slow. The snowstorm had weakened them considerably, though they refused to give up. Light of mercy allowed them to last much longer than normal, yet even like this, their strength was nearing its end. Constant ice shard rains, blizzards, and ominous winds were taking its toll, and at the same time they were unable to deal any significant damage to their enemy. Every attempt to remove the snowstorm was futile.

A final blizzard rendered them almost unable to do anything, but Froslass believed they were finished and approached them. Pikachu was the first to jump up and towards her, only to get tossed aside casually by a psychic move. The same happened to Infernape despite his activated blaze. She wanted to draw it out as much as possible to avenge her fallen ally.

All of sudden, three white lightning bolts hit her from above, which Ash and Dawn recognized as future sight moves. At the same time, two extrasensory moves hit her from the side, while an unknown force, possibly a psychic move, tore open her chest armor to reveal the power gem. Now they knew that they had to do.

"Strike the gem!" Ash and Dawn exclaimed simultaneously.

Using the last bit of strength, the pokémon hit the surprised ghost-type, who wasn't protected at this position, damaging the gem substantially and pushing her back into the snowstorm. They expected another attack, only to see that the snowstorm was dispersing while the gem was blinking rapidly. She tried to get rid of it, only for her arms to get frozen to it. She was struggling and screaming as her body was getting completely frozen until she was a statue of ice, and without a warning, she shattered violently, sending ice shards and parts of her armor in every direction. The skull helmet landed right in front of the trainers, frozen mist still seeping out of the eye sockets.

"Recall all of your pokémon. Quickly!" Ash had heard that voice before when he'd banished the other voice from his mind.

"We'll get you safety." This one was familiar to Dawn, who'd heard it after the assassination attempt on her.

The identities were revealed when the lake guardians, Azelt, Mesprit, and Uxie moved towards them from the skies. The gems on Azelf and Mesprit's tails and heads were glowing brightly. Not wasting any time, the trainers recalled their partners, even Pikachu, and held onto each other.

"Good. Now don't move." The third voice was deeper than the other ones and had to belong to Uxie.

They soon found out why, as the ice claw cage shattered a few seconds later as well as the ice layer on the walls. It happened to give the building its stability, though, so now it was about to collapse. The rumbling at the base increase until they felt the ground slip away, only that they were floating midair, kept there by the guardian's psychic powers. It was necessary since the dark field was still active, preventing an escape via teleport, and their flying-types were too weak to carry them anymore. Slowly they moved towards the ground, where a huge cloud of dust was gathering around the collapsed building. They landed at the side, near some ambulances.

Delia and Johanna appeared to be in stable condition, though they were in dire need of some warmth. Ash and Dawn refused to leave them until noise from the collapsed building caught their attention. Something was making its way through the rubble and they didn't have to wonder what for too long as a few seconds later, Emboar burst free.

Its armor was missing a few parts, and the body beneath was heavily scarred. Blood was flowing from various parts, including the helmet, but the most noticeable change was the large crack running diagonally across his power gem. However, since it lacked power, it wasn't in any danger of exploding. He roared loudly before coming towards the trainers. The officers nearby tried to shoot it down, only for their bullets to melt when they got too close. It was like a match of paintball for the fire-type.

They immediately called out their pokémon.

"Attack the gem!" Azelf told them.

They didn't need to be told twice and focused their attacks on the source of his power. In return, he covered it with his arms, blocking them with the gauntlets. Even like this, it proved almost impenetrable.

"No, with fire! Overload it!" Uxie protested.

It was a dangerous game, for this would inevitably boost Emboar's power as well, yet Ash complied by making Infernape use flamethrower. Even with blaze active, it was rather weak, for he was utterly exhausted, but Emboar removed his arms to let it hit the gem. The visual change was instant. It glowed much stronger than before, though it eventually started blinking and red sparks shot out of the crack. It seemed the officers understood as they let their arcanine use fire moves as well.

When Emboar tried to power up a move, it finally happened. The gem burst, burning a gaping in Emboar's belly. His entire body caught fire. First the armor melted, then his skin was burned completely, followed by his flesh. Releasing a final roar, he fell forward, while the fire was making its way to his bones. After a few seconds only the skeleton was left, which turned to ashes eventually.

It was a gruesome view, which made Dawn immediately turn around. Instinctively, Ash put an arm around, looking away as well. As brutal and cruel as it was , it was still a pokémon, and this looked like it hurt beyond imagination.

"We'll meet you at your home," Mesprit suddenly said and the lake guardian's left without warning.

When Ash noticed that his arm was around Dawn, he retracted it and offered an apologetic look.

"It's ok," she just muttered. "I guess we'll have some explaining to do now."

The international police only had to clean up the rest now. They'd lost some members and one of their bases in the unprovoked attack and Max Wright wanted to know why. Unsurprisingly, Ash and Dawn were called to him and had to explain their presence to him. Needless to say, he was less than pleased, berating them for their reckless behavior. They could've simply called the police for a teleport directly into the base, and Divine wouldn't have found out which one it was. Still, this was no base for punishment, so he had to let them go eventually. The real reason why he forgot about their involvement so quickly, however, was a new find shortly after, which required all of his attention.

First they went to the hospital, where their mothers were already awake and grateful for their rescue. The joy was endless especially because it had been so extremely close. The reunion didn't last long, for as soon as they were sure that Delia and Johanna were fine, they left to learn the truth at home.

They returned there together to meet up with the lake guardians. Only Azelf and Mesprit were waiting there, as Uxie had left for another mission. It was then time to hear why the lake guardians had saved them, what they were doing, and why they were awake in the first place. After all they were usually asleep at their respective lakes. There were several things they learnt during a long discussion.

The guardians had been watching their respective chosen for a long time now, though they usually stayed in the background. In fact it was Azelf who'd helped Riley's Lucario in freeing Ash from the Okcha Prime. Now they decided to stay with their chosen since their own search for answers had been rather fruitless and they had a feeling that something big was about to happen.

By now the guardians were convinced that it was one or more galactic bombs that had disturbed their sleep, for they still remembered the last time. This time, however, it was almost certain that they weren't the target. The bombs had caused a major disturbance of time and space, that could be felt all over the world, though the purpose was still unknown, if there even was a purpose. The lake guardians had a few theories, but no proof. The most sound theory was that someone simply wanted to use the chaos created by the bombs for his own goals. In that there would've been easier and less expensive ways, though.

The role of the Okcha Prime was also still unknown to them. According to Uxie's knowledge, it had already been on this world thousands of years ago, only to get banished by the aura guardians. Its true nature and goals were still obscure. They currently believed that the enemy that had dropped the galactic bombs had also summoned it for an unknown reason. Perhaps they were simply unaware of the threat. Whatever the case, they didn't consider it was important as the other enemy, since it was only one creature.

The most pressing question was how they should proceed now. Since they were unlikely to find more answers in the near future, Azelf and Mesprit decided to join Ash and Dawn respectively, at least for the time being. Although they didn't want to get caught, they'd train with the other pokémon to prepare as if they were truly part of the teams. What they'd do after their enemies defeated and the mystery of the disturbance solved, that they couldn't answer. Perhaps they'd go back to sleep or stay a bit longer. After all, they'd already been asleep for a long time.

Dawn returned to Johanna's house after the discussion alongside Mesprit. On the way, she was confronted with another issue that was another reason the lake guardians had revealed themselves.

"I can feel your sorrow and loneliness. You long to be together with him, but you fear he might deceive you again or turn into the same Ash that ignored you," Mesprit told her with sympathy in her voice. "This is neither healthy nor will it serve anyone during the coming battles. You'll need to work together to prevail and you saw it today. Just let go of your pride and let him back into your life."

"You're making it sound so simple," Dawn muttered, shaking her head. "Who guarantees that things will work out?"

"Nobody can do that. There's always risk. And you've been living together with that risk for a long time, haven't you?" Memories of times before this trouble flooded her mind, making her smile. "See? Why is it so hard to believe that it could be like that again?"

"I ... don't know." She was at a loss. "Every time I want to give him a chance, I remember the way he was before and after the challenge. He ignored, he ignored the pokémon, he was like an entirely different person."

"Because he was under a dark influence," Mesprit said almost casually.

"What?" Dawn stopped, looking at the psychic-type incredulously. "I thought he wasn't possessed anymore."

"He wasn't possessed, but he was definitely not himself. Azelf said that something from another dimension was trying to use him for its own purposes. The same creatures that the enemy uses against you before, albeit not under his command. What they wanted with him, that I don't know. But I know that Azelf helped Ash banish the influence and he returned back to normal after that, didn't he?" It was hard to believe, yet it sounded convinced. "And are you truly one to deny someone who truly regrets his actions another chance? He suffers, just like you and your pokémon, and you can feel, am I right? Don't allow your emotions to control you. You have the power to end it."

Dawn felt she could trust the pokémon, even though they didn't exactly know each other well. There was simply a strong bond she couldn't explain. This bond probably also made it feel the same, so it knew exactly what to say, and its own hope and compassion were contagious. If it truly believed that Ash wouldn't revert, then she believed it. As a matter of fact, their mothers had also urged them to reconsider their position, so she wouldn't feel good denying this simply request. Nobody else should feel bad because of her own selfish stubbornness.

"But what about his deception? I don't like people forcing me to do things their way." She sounded resolute, but in reality, her resistance was crumbling. After all, Mesprit only said things she'd been thinking for a long time already.

"Talk to him about it. Make clear that you won't accept such behavior. You've always talked about almost everything. Why not this time?" The psychic-type was right. They could discuss it and if he did it again despite a promise, she'd dump. On the other hand she thought that this was already enough of a lesson to prevent it from happening again. "What do you think? Will you do it, for your pokémon, your family, and for yourself?"

"Alright! Fine! You win!" she finally replied, making everyone else in the room feel relieved. Perhaps there was no need to move to Hoenn after all. "I'll talk to him tomorrow. At the Pokénvention. I just hope he's willing to start anew as well."

For the rest of the evening she was in a strangely optimistic mood, which was transferred onto the pokémon. It was time to end all of their suffering and her own feelings of guilt, even if it meant having to jump over her own shadow. The new pokémon in their team was particularly interesting to them. She'd have to introduced it to everyone at the lab eventually.

Ash had a similar conversation with Azelf, though first there was a matter that bothered him. Pikachu was with them, holding back for now.

"You called us your chosen at some point. That voice also called me its chosen. What is the reason for this? Is this destiny?" he asked, fearing the answer.

"Don't be ridiculous. Destiny cheapens your accomplishments. Do you want to achieve something because you worked hard for it, because you're good at something, or simply because you were born? I didn't choose you because you happened to be born on a certain day under specific circumstances. I chose you because of your actions and the person you've become due to your decisions. You're headstrong and you have a good heart. Perhaps it was destiny, but we'll never know." Its words helped Ash a great deal. At least he wasn't destined to be a puppet to other forces.

"Thank you. I feel honored that you felt I was worthy of your attention," he told it. "I feel a bit better now."

"Then we should immediately proceed with a different matter." Ash looked at Azelf in confusion. "If you are to stand a chance in this conflict, then you need to work together. And not only the way you did today. You need a stronger bond. The one you used to have."

"What?" Ash was clearly caught off-guard. "Are you ... not this again. I admit I was much happier back then, and yes, I'd love it to be that way again, but I haven't forgotten what she said to me. I tell you what I already told Pikachu. She'll have to apologize first."

"And if she thinks the same way? Nothing will ever happen." Azelf protested.

"Then so be it." Ash's tone was slightly more aggressive. "I won't be anyone's fool."

"You already are at the moment." He froze, looking at the psychic-type questioningly. "People suffer because of your pride. Your pokémon suffer. Your mother suffers. Dawn suffers. You suffer. You were a family. You raised those pokémon together. Do you want to throw all that away?"

For the first time Ash was hesitant to answer. It was true that this didn't affect only him and Dawn, but others as well. They didn't deserve to be hurt by their foolishness.

"I guess not," he admitted. "But what ..."

"Ash, willpower isn't about never giving up. You have to know when to let go and have the courage to start anew. This is one of those moments. Don't let your greatest strength destroy you." Ash could relate to this. Sometimes he felt a pokémon should be able to defeat another one, yet it couldn't because of an unforeseen reason. Sometimes he'd not switch because of his pride and it usually led to defeat. Perhaps this was like one of those situations. "So what do you say?"

It took Ash a long time to an answer, for he was struggling internally. It was difficult for him to overcome hurt pride. Yet in the end he couldn't deny that he wanted this situation to end and someone had to make the first move.

"Alright, I'll do it. I'll talk to her. No promises that it'll work out, though." Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder and rubbed his cheeks against Ash's head. The trainer hadn't seen him this happy for a long time now. "But not today. I need to rest now. She should be at the Pokénvention too, so I guess that's when I'll do it."

The others were also delighted when Ash informed them of his decision, which made the future look so much brighter than before. Now all that was left to do was to wait.

* * *

 **Now those that helped them in the past are revealed. They won't be captured, but accompany their chosen for the time being. And they're needed. The next big event takes place in chapter 88, the end of this arc, then the last, shorter one begins.**


	87. The Surviving Grunt

**This is the last chapter before things get out of hand (more so than before). All the different factions will move out of the shadows and fight. In this chapter the cause for this described.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 87 The Surviving Grunt

The direct attack on the international police was outrageous to Max Wright. If they couldn't defend themselves, then he couldn't blame people questioning their ability to defend others. However, he didn't expect something even bigger to happen. He was still busy when he got a call from one of his officers. Apparently, they'd received an anonymous call from someone who claimed to know the whereabouts of the only living Storm Raider member. Considering how long the police had been looking for that individual, this seemed hard to believe, yet had to follow any clues, especially when it was this important. Their knowledge on Shira's doom was still extremely limited, and the survivor could add a lot to it.

Much to Max's surprise, the hint was actually correct, and his men had been able to arrest the fugitive, who'd been hiding in a basement in Lavender Town. It looked like he had friends or family willing to help him out, which was the main reason why he'd been able to remain undetected for such a long time. Now it looked like one of them had betrayed him, resulting in his capture, and thus the first big breakthrough in this case. Naturally, he wanted to be present at the interrogation. He remained hidden at first, but was always ready to step in.

The man, whose name was Hodges, looked desperate and nervous. On the opposite side of a large desk in a closed room, two officers were asking their questions. Having already revealed the identity of Shira's supposed boss, he had to explain a few things now.

"Are you absolutely sure?" one of the officers asked.

"I am," he replied forcefully. "I told you it's him. I recognized his voice. It was on TV all the time after the raid. There's no way I'm wrong."

Max Wright nodded at one of his men nearby, which was his signal to make preparations for the Pokénvention. Their target was not to be underestimated, and meeting him on his own territory wasn't a good idea, but he was likely to appear at the convention. The police could prepare a trap there, and put an end to his machinations. For now, he wanted to hear what exactly had happened to Shira and her organization.

"Very well. Now tell us what happened when Shira met her end. Everything you can remember," the other officer commanded, leaning forward.

"Alright." He took a deep breath.

Flashback

"Come on, hurry! Let's finish this crap!" one of Shira's lieutenant's yelled. "We don't have much time left, and those mortars must be ready"

Transporting the components had taken more time than anticipated due to a small storm. It not only made maneuvering pretty hard, but also hampered progress on land due to the wind and rain. The uneven, rocky terrain on the small island east of Lavender Town made this even harder, turning carrying the components into torture, but their leaders made them keep going until they collapsed from exhaustion. Their mercilessness wasn't without reason, though, as Shira had made clear that their future depended on this operation. Although she hadn't been specific, they trusted her enough to follow the orders without complaints.

More and more boats arrived, the last ones carrying the ammunition for the mortars. It consisted of five heavily modified Galactic Bombs, which were treated with uttermost care. Shira watched all of it from the center of the island, giving her men instructions on occasion. Her job was to make sure that everything was in order. The proper places for the mortars had been marked, so at least they knew where to go. As soon as everything was at least near the destination, Shira allowed a short break, which was used by humans and pokémon alike to regain some strength. It was uncomfortable due to the wind and rain, but it was still preferable to the hard work.

"Alright, time to build up this crap," Shira finally yelled, signaling the end of the break.

This task was even more difficult, as it required some dexterity. The wind was a big problem, and the workers were afraid that a huge wave could push them off the island, even though none had made it close to them so far. Nevertheless, they managed to do it quickly, mostly due to the large number of workers, and five mortars were ready to fire. They were all near the center, but aiming in different directions all around the island. Shira made sure the mortars were operative, loaded, and ready to fire, but didn't use them just yet. They still had some time left, so she made them take another break.

With only their coats to protect them from the weather, the waiting was horrible. There were no umbrellas, as Shira didn't want anyone to spot them too easily. Although they didn't expect an attack, they were ready to use their weapons at the first sign of trouble. The entire organization had gathered on this island for this operation, so they couldn't fail without losing everything. Whereas most of the members remained calm, one of them showed signs of extreme nervousness.

Hodges, having listened to Shira's conversation with Divine, feared the worst. Because of Shira's popularity, he hadn't told anyone about it, and fleeing was also out of question. Now he was afraid the boss might punish her for her failure at the base, or risk the entire organization. Shira's refusal to tell them any details about this job only served to increase his fear, and he remained near the water, ready to jump into a boat and get away in case there was real danger. For now, he could only wait, which was already bad enough under these circumstances.

Everyone else was dying to watch the show, hoping for something that might make the waiting worthwhile. Shira eventually stood up, looked at her watch one last time, and nodded at the grunts manning the mortars. They didn't waste any more time, activating their weapons immediately. The bombs flew in wide arcs into the water surrounding the island. As soon as they touched the water, they changed, losing the outer metal frame, revealing a large steel core with lots of tentacle-like wires attached to it. Those had smaller, sparkling metal orbs at their other end, which formed something like an electric barrier around the core. Despite the waves, they remained at their places, and when they looked like electric orbs, the next phase started. A horribly high-pitched noise was released, and a huge maelstrom formed at each location.

The bombs didn't sink, though, they remained floating slightly above the maelstroms. The rain stopped suddenly, and when they looked up, they knew why. The clouds had been pushed away, revealing a clear sky, that was now gradually darkening. Then the really creepy effects began. All of sudden, they were extremely close to the mainland, with the sea between them looking like an unmoving river, and then it looked like the island was much larger than before, and they were in the middle of an endless desert. Massively oversized waves could be seen in the distance, some of them moving extremely fast, others looking like they were standing still. Other, less spectacular effects also occurred, like some grunts suddenly increasing in size, or others talking extremely fast before freezing completely. As if it wasn't enough already, there was a cracking noise coming from the bombs, and a visual effect followed, which was like the breaking of glass in the air. Large rifts were all over the sky, and with an ear-shattering sound of breaking glass, the dark sky disappeared to make place for pure darkness.

The bombs shot blue beams of light into the sky. At first, it looked like they were absorbed by the darkness, but then the sky grew grey instead, and reverse maelstroms formed up there, like mirror images of those in the sea. The creepiness was increased further when the rest of the sky changed as well, looking like a reflection of the real world, only that it lacked color, and there were countless crystal shards in the air.

"It's like there's a whole world up there," one of the grunts muttered, and the others could hear him, for it was relatively silent right now.

"That doesn't look right. Not right at all," another one remarked.

Naturally, they were concerned, wondering whether this was really what Shira wanted. If it was truly intentional, they couldn't see the purpose. Shira was just as clueless, though, and she couldn't help but think that either things weren't unfolding as planned, or she'd been betrayed. Hodges was particularly worried, as the boats had been destroyed by the maelstroms. The timing was most unfortunate. A huge portal appeared above the island, and as soon as he saw something leaving it, he tried to escape. Hodges didn't even bother looking at it, as even a moment of hesitation could lead to his death. Without the boats, he had to swim, which was exactly what he did, despite the maelstroms.

He tried to remain underwater as much as possible, only resurfacing when he needed air. During this, he heard Shira shouting orders, grunts screaming and complaining that their weapons didn't work. He was lucky that the Galactic Bombs were destroyed early on, which allowed him to escape, and the resulting waves even pushed him further towards the coast. With time, he could hear less voices, and eventually, he was sure that most of his former allies were already dead. Expecting something to hit his back any moment, he swam as fast as he could, and wasted no time by looking back. The distance to the coast was huge. It even seemed to change frequently, but fear made him keep going.

It took a long time and a lot of energy to reach the coach, and when he did, he just sat there, catching his breath. This was his opportunity to look back, but the island was too far away for him to see anything. Whatever killed his organization, it was apparently gone. Checking his pokéballs, he found them to be malfunctioning. There was blood inside, but no pokémon. Apparently, they'd been crushed when the balls were affected.

Although he couldn't be sure, he was sure that he was the only survivor. However, the fact that Shira had a master made Hodges wonder whether he wouldn't be hunted by him. If the police found out that he was still alive, they'd surely do the same, so he had to find a good hiding spot. Lavender Town wasn't too far away, and he had a few friends there, who could hide him. The only problem was that they didn't know he was a member of the Storm Raiders, and since he doubted they'd help him if they did, he had to get rid of his uniform and think of a good explanation.

When he was finally ready , he looked up to see that the clouds were returning, albeit the strange world could still be seen wherever they weren't large enough. The rain started again, something he didn't mind at the moment. On the way to the town, he hid the uniform, hoping that nobody would find it. Given the alarming amounts of destruction here, the police wouldn't give up looking for him anytime soon if they found the uniform. Therefore he mentally prepared himself for a long time of hiding.

End of flashback

"And you really didn't get a look at the killer?" an officer asked Hodges at the end of the story.

"I said I was terrified. I feared for my life," he explained desperately.

"Very well. You said there was a portal?" The police had believed that the monster had come from the depths.

"Yes, a portal. I only saw some movement there, so it might have been a distraction," he admitted. "But I'd say it came from the portal."

"No noteworthy sound it made?" the other officer inquired.

"No, I only heard the waves, screams of my friends, and the sound of explosions. Nothing else."He leaned forward, taking a deep breath. "Look, there's nothing else I know about this thing. It probably came out of a dark portal. That's it. Nothing else."

They usually knew when someone was lying, which wasn't the case here. Hodges was desperately trying to get on their good side by cooperating. As long as they didn't forget to ask the important questions, he'd tell them everything they wanted to know.

"Did Shira look like she knew what she was doing?" The question made Hodges thing for a while.

"Well, if you ask whether I believe the operation was her idea, then I can only say that Shira's main goal was money. Something without obvious profit was unlikely to attract her attention in the first place. So yes, I believe her boss made her do this. And either it went horribly wrong, or he never wanted her to survive." Hodges, leaned forward, and looked around nervously, as if he was afraid of an enemy listening. "Listen, that guy's dangerous. I doubt he'll just let me live after having let most of my companions die. Please don't let him kill me. I didn't hide for such a long time only to get slaughtered in your custody."

"We always protect our prisoners. I assure you that you won't come to harm," an officer told him. "Now, what do you know about the ammunition that was used in the operation?"

"Those strange things fired by the mortars? Nothing, except for that they looked like balls of lightning. And the stuff about the beam of light into the sky. I already told you everything important," he tied to make clear.

"Let us decide that," the other officer told him, looking at his notes.

Max had heard enough, so he left with one of his men following. This revelation made his work a lot more simple, and now they could finally do more precise strikes against the enemy, who in turn wouldn't be able to attack from the shadows as easily. In fact, if they were lucky, everything might already be over in not even 24 hours. There were a few open questions like who'd given them Hodges's location, but those could wait until after the Pokénvention.

"I want snipers on every nearby rooftop, men available to block any possible escape route, and a massive dark field with several sources. Recall everyone who isn't working on a top-priority mission to Kanto. We need all the available manpower for this," he commanded while they were making their way towards Max's office. "But try to hide the movement. He's not a fool, and he'll get suspicious if hundreds of agents suddenly go to Kanto. Oh, and bring those new signal guns. I want to be prepared if he uses those UEC2 again."

"Yes, sir." The officer turned to leave, but felt something hold him back. Max had something else to say, something that couldn't wait.

"One more thing." The look on his face was scary, which could only mean that the matter was extremely important. "If anyone but our own men get to know about this, whether it's a civilian, an ally, or an enemy, I'll hold you responsible. And believe me, you don't want that. So don't mess up, or I'll have your head."

"Yes, sir," the underling repeated nervously.

He knew enough about his boss to take this seriously. Max wouldn't simply let someone else hunt him down, he'd do it himself without hesitation. However, even without the threat, he'd proceed with uttermost care, for it wasn't merely his own life and career that was at stake here. Having witnessed a few attacks on the cities, he knew that failure could lead to countless more deaths. There was nothing more to say, so he left for his preparations.

Max watched him go, and then returned to his office. Soon there would be a full report on the interrogation on his desk, but even without it, there was so much to do. While writing a few messages, he had time to reflect on the situation. It was strange how things had improved in such a short time. They'd been completely clueless to almost everything concerning this enemy, and now with the capture of a single man, they not only knew the identity of their enemy, but also had the means to capture or kill, thus ending the threat forever. Whether they'd be successful remained to be seen, though. They didn't have much time to prepare, so despite the sheer manpower of this operation, a lot of risk was involved. If their target dared fight back, it might lead to casualties, yet he was willing to sacrifice a lot more to prevent an even worse outcome.

Then his men could finally take a small break. Max wasn't going to do that, though, even if the world was finally at peace. Someone had to remain vigilant, someone had to do what had to be done, and since he considered himself beyond redemption, there was no doubt he had to be that person. He needed new, reliable people for the most critical missions, as both Dan and Thomas had proved too soft for those. As long as they weren't drunk, they were reliable, which was the main reason why Max hadn't gotten rid of them already. All in all, they were still suitable for other kind of jobs. Max also considered looking for a possible successor, as Thomas didn't seem like a proper choice anymore, and his activities were bound to cost him his life eventually.

These thoughts were banished from his mind when he realized that he shouldn't waste precious time. After all, victory wasn't assured, and he needed to prepare for the most important operation of his life. It was almost a relief when the report of the interrogation arrived to keep him focused. There wasn't anything truly interesting to see apart from the things he already knew, so he didn't keep reading for too long, and soon called his most trusted men to discuss the details of the coming operation. It didn't end until much later, when most of them went to sleep, hoping to get at least some rest before the big event.

* * *

Back at Divine's base, Metagross entered the main office with important news. There was something different about it, for there was a hole in the center of the x-shaped part of its body, and a blue gem was inside. Divine was holding a small stone that looked like a pearl next to his head with closed eyes. Whatever he was doing, Metagross knew it and didn't disturb him. When he was finally done, he put the stone in a small box and placed it next to a larger box.

"Your armors were amazing. Almost too amazing," he added. "The lake guardians' appearance was quite the surprise. But the Okcha Prime hasn't shown any sign of getting active. We'll have to try something else, perhaps at the Pokénvention."

"I have good news. The sigil stone was successfully created as well as the chaos stone. The secret facilities are finished and dormant. Everyone having worked on them was destroyed. We're ready," it told him.

"Very good. The memory stones are also finished. Get one of the ampharos and make the final preparations. I'll leave the rest to you." Divine sounded almost sad when he said it.

Metagross used its psychic powers to make the boxes float above it and left. With this out of the way, Divine could look forward to preparing the next event. The people had already received the orders, so now it was time to answer possible questions. Naturally, most of his chosen were less enthusiastic, especially Seth, who believed that it was a complete waste of time. Wraith was inclined to agree, though she didn't say anything. Eileen was the odd one, for she was actually looking forward to it, hoping that Marcus would be there. Then she'd finally get the opportunity to talk about certain matters. Hopefully, he was already affected by the insidious gengar she'd sent his way. Of course, this hadn't gone unnoticed by Divine, who had yet to make a comment on it.

"So glad you could make it." He beamed at them once everyone was gathered, spreading his arms. "I admit, the operation isn't crucial to our success, but that doesn't mean you can take it lightly. Because I don't," he added, his eyes narrowing dangerously. There was no arguing with him in this matter, unless one was suicidal. "I trust everyone knows what to do by now?"

"Yes," Wraith simply said. Ever since her fight in Pallet Town she'd been even quieter than usual.

"I know my mission," Seth muttered in a vain attempt to sound at least a little interested.

"Ready and willing," Eileen added, making everyone but Seth look at her. This sudden enthusiasm in her voice was more than suspicious.

"Good." Divine sat down, and put his feet on his desk. "I expect you to prove it tomorrow. Until then, you're free to do what you want. After all I want you to be in perfect condition. Now go."

Just as Seth and Wraith had expected, this meeting was a huge waste of time, so they left quickly. The next day would consist of a lot of waiting for a signal that might or might not appear at a seemingly random time. Naturally, they weren't too thrilled, but they had little choice. Eileen was far more motivated. No matter how small the chance of her meeting Marcus was, she was looking forward to it.

"Just a moment. I'd like to have a word with you," Divine told her. She kept sitting, and waited for the others to leave, then he spoke up again. "Your progress was faster than I could have hoped. I heard you sent one our pets to influence your dear brother." He laughed when she looked horrified. "Did you seriously believe I didn't know? The Okcha presence is stronger than ever before. Nothing here happens without my notice."

At first, she was afraid that he might be mad at her for using an Okcha like this, but then she remembered what kind of man he was. If anything, he was probably proud of her for moving against her brother in such a sneaky fashion. And since he didn't look angry, she deducted that she was safe for now.

"There's really no need to be alarmed," he reassured her quickly, as if he could read her mind. "It was Seth's Okcha, but since he doesn't seem to find them useful, you may use his if you like. It's better they do something amusing than nothing at all." He waved it off. "But let's not talk about this anymore. I want to tell you story. You can learn a lot from it, so listen up and pay attention."

This situation wasn't new to her. He seemed to enjoy telling her anecdotes with messages he considered important, yet longer stories were rare. Eileen enjoyed many of them, even though she didn't agree with all the messages. Paying attention was a must, for Divine could get furious if he felt that his words were underappreciated.

"I wasn't always like this. It took me a lot of lessons to become who I am, and this is one of them. You see, when I was sixteen, I spent a year abroad for studies. Although that year was interesting by itself, it's not important for this story. What is important, however -" He raised a finger "- is the trip back. I was in a plane with about 50 people, far above the ocean, when it crashed. The pilot managed a decent emergency landing, which gave us enough time to gather in the boats, and take some provisions with us. It took some time, but we miraculously all reached a large island. Perhaps a pokémon took pity on us and helped us from the depths, but that's not important." He shook his head. "Anyway, we got there, and immediately started looking for food and water. There was a small lake with drinkable water near the center, but food was a problem. Wild pokémon attacked anyone invading their territory, and the parts not infested with those contained next to nothing edible."

"How did you survive this? And what happened to the others?" Eileen asked with a curious face.

"No interruptions." He raised a finger. "Let me speak, and ask your questions later. Now, as I said, there was only one source of fresh water. It was only logical to stay there, although it wasn't a very good place for a camp. The ground was muddy, the air was thick, and pokémon often appeared to drink. We soon made weapons, usually clubs, but also a few spears, to drive off the more aggressive ones. We lasted a few days like this, but atmosphere was ... toxic, to say the least. It wasn't only due to the shortage of food, but also due to the horribly uncomfortable camp, and the wildlife. Some people believed that the provisions wouldn't last much longer, unless the group ... was made smaller. Several factions formed."

This sounded like they had fought each other. It was a bit difficult for Eileen to understand how people in such a situation could be so selfish, but then again, maybe desperation had driven them crazy. Judging from what she knew about Divine, he'd been the one to start the fight.

"I was part of one group, and thanks to my arrogance, I actually believed I could take them on, all of them. There were a few who believed they had to be the voice of reason," he said with contempt in his voice. "Those fools tried to stand between the groups, and thus were the first to perish. My group lacked weapons, so we were quickly overwhelmed. I managed to flee, but most of my companions were either killed or driven off, into hostile areas." He spread his arms in a dramatic manner. "There I was. Alone, without provisions, and the only source of water blocked by a particularly nasty group. Those guys were ruthless, they didn't even let the children stay with them, and threatened to kill them, should they get too close to the camp. My only advantage was my spear, which I'd taken from a fallen guy. But my greatest weapon was my wit," he added, pointing at his head. "No matter how physically strong you are, an intelligent adversary will find a way to overcome you. The guys at the camp were strong brutes, incapable of anything but a direct fight, which was the reason why they'd won the first confrontation. I'd been foolish to try it this way, and now I had to try something else. Unfortunately, my resources were limited. How do you think I got out of there alive?"

"A pokémon maybe?" she asked. It wouldn't be the first time someone in trouble got saved by a wild pokémon.

"Indirectly. A wild chansey came out of a hostile area, offering an egg to those at the camp. Nutritious and delicious. They were so busy devouring the egg that those fools didn't even notice her leaving again. Frankly, I don't blame them, though," he added with a shrug. "I watched the scene from afar. It took a lot of self-control not to go there to steal something from the camp. Others lacked the discipline, and got hunted down once the group was done with the egg. I, however, followed the chansey until I met a few hostile pokémon, who drove me off again. She left another egg on the next day. I had to do something, for the thirst was driving me insane."

Eileen didn't like the sound of that. He'd probably done something gruesome to the poor chansey.

"I couldn't wait another day, or I might become too weak to do anything else. I also couldn't let her live, or she'd provide those fools with even more eggs. I might have held her captive for the eggs, but she could be quite strong, and a spear wasn't good enough for anything but a surprise attack. On her way back, I drove it through her," Divine told her nonchalantly. "She even made a gesture, as if she tried to offer another egg, but her hands were empty. I drank her blood, ate her flesh. I know, it sounds brutal, but I had to do it to survive. You can't imagine how tender it was." He shook his head with a blissful look on his face." Then I hid the remaining flesh, except for a few bones, which I left near the pokémon. The next day, my enemies were surprised that she didn't come with another egg. They quickly found the bones, and then the fun started." He grinned at her. "It was a cheap trick, yet they were so desperate that it actually worked. Those idiots blamed each other, and started fighting again. I easily killed the sole survivor in an ambush, and claimed the remaining supplies for myself. Then I moved to the beach where we'd landed, as I couldn't fight the pokémon at the water source without help. There wasn't much food left, but the corpses of my enemies were still fresh ..."

Eileen paled, looking like she was about to throw up, but Divine merely laughed, and walked behind her.

"Don't worry, I didn't actually have to do it. But think about it. Either you do what has to be done, or you perish. Simple as that." Although he wasn't wrong, eating human flesh was still a sickening thought, and she shuddered when his hands touched her shoulders. " If you were close to death, wouldn't you do it to save your life? No need to answer, just think about it. Anyway, a scout plane noticed me soon, and help arrived shortly after. As far as I know, I was the only survivor, and I admit, it was a bit difficult to explain the massacre on the island. My father was an influential man, and thanks to him, the official story is that I was the only one to survive the plane crash. No killing at all."

"Are you finished? I don't feel so good," Eileen muttered, clutching her mouth.

"Almost. As you can probably imagine, this little adventure changed me. I learnt a few important lessons." He went back to his seat, and leaned forward, raising a finger. "No matter how strong you are, a direct confrontation is not always a good idea. Sometimes it's better to manipulate your enemies in such a way, that they turn on each other. If you're good, they can do all of your work." Divine raised another finger. "Secondly, the methods don't matter in dire situations. You either live or you die. There's no middle ground, and if you win, nobody will care about how you did it after a while. Honor is meaningless, honor can't outweigh a life." Another finger was raised. "Thirdly, never underestimate your enemies. This almost led to my death. At the same time, don't overestimate your own abilities, and most importantly don't overestimate your allies' abilities. Which leads directly to the final lesson. If you want something important done, do it yourself. Don't count on others. The matter won't be as important to them, because humans are selfish. You should be, too. You can always get new friends, but you can't get your own life back. Treasure it. Selfishness can be the greatest virtue."

Eileen couldn't say that she liked those lessons, believing them to be specific to Divine's dire situation at that time. The last part was interesting, though. She'd always been trying to find compromises with others so that everyone could be happy, but usually ending up making only the other one happy. The more she thought about it, the more she got the impression that everyone only used her. Of course, this included Divine, but at least he'd never told her otherwise. However, she was also feeling slightly sick and disturbed, so she wanted to go away.

"May I leave?" she asked with a tired look.

"Yes, go to your room and prepare. And think about the lessons." She wasted no time, leaving without another word. Divine knew that his words had left quite the impression, so now he only had to let them sink in. "Ah, young people. So malleable. She'll come to realize the truth eventually." Although it looked like he was alone, he was actually talking to his invisible absol. Others would've called his activity corrupting the youth, but he'd learnt to ignore others' opinions a long time ago. "Yes, she'll be a magnificent addition to our team."

Divine was looking forward to the next day. With Eileen's help, he might finally get through to Ash and Dawn, who were bound to be at the convention. At the very least, he'd weaken their resolve, and show them the foolishness of their ways. The second objective was to make them get back together, which was usually accomplished by placing them in grave danger. Whether it was going to be successful or not remained to be seen, but he was optimistic. After all he had an entire army of Okcha at his disposal. Right now, he could only wait for the big event.

* * *

 **As always, one shouldn't simply believe Divine's words. Although he rarely lies outright, he often doesn't tell the whole truth. The killer from the grunt's tale will soon be revealed.**


	88. Enemy Revealed

**A lot will happen in this chapter. And after it the previously hidden fight will become an open one. It already starts here, though the result is not as expected.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 88 Enemy Revealed

The beginning of the Pokénvention was eagerly awaited by many people, and several groups, including the international police and Divine's organization. There were numerous officers from every region, albeit most of them were well-hidden. Some of them were on rooftops with sniper rifles, some were waiting in nearby buildings, others were waiting undercover among the crowd, and the rest was stationed around the city to block any potential escape route. Clearly, Max Wright didn't want to take any chances, and catch his enemy, preferably alive, though he wouldn't mind if Divine died in the process. This was his priority, for which he was willing to pay any price. The trap was set, now all he had to do was to wait for the prey to take the bait.

Little did he know, Divine had his own plans for the event, although they were far more enigmatic, even for his own men. Similar to Max Wright, he wasn't going to accept failure as an option. Ash and Dawn, being guests of honor at the convention, were caught between the fronts, they just didn't know it yet. Therefore they were the only ones who weren't prepared for the coming onslaught.

The convention itself was held in an old shopping-center. Dozens of companies had large stands to present their newest products to a large audience. No company that had anything to do with pokémon dared stay away from this, and they all tried to make themselves look better than the others. Most of the items there were pretty impressive, but then again, maybe it was merely the presentation that made them look more interesting that they actually were. For once, the weather was fine. It was still cold, but the sun was shining, so there were a lot of visitors, making moving around the building a little difficult. Max Wright wasn't happy about this, fearing more casualties in case his target didn't surrender immediately. However, he couldn't allow Divine to get suspicious by preventing people from coming.

Max himself was waiting in a nearby building for his scouts to report Divine's arrival. Most of his underlings didn't even know the target yet, and he wouldn't tell them until the actual process. The less people knew about it, the better. Otherwise, the information might spread quickly, endangering the entire operation. They'd already been waiting the entire morning, without any news. Unbeknownst to them, Divine was also waiting for something. His own plans required Ash and Dawn to be present at the same time. Since he couldn't simply take this for granted, a few men stood ready to convince one of them, should the other appear without him or her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash was practicing a new technique at the lab. The Pokénvention was merely there for his talk to Dawn, at least in his mind, but he wanted to go a bit later, for he was still imagining their reunion in his head. Besides, the weather was simply so nice that he couldn't resist working with his pokémon. At least the convention drew the attention of his fans away from him, so he didn't need to worry about them. Dawn was currently having dinner at Johanna's home. When he was about to leave for his own dinner, he suddenly heard a strange, deep voice in his head.

"The Pokénvention is under attack. Everyone is in danger, even your friends there," it said, making him freeze. He'd learned to shield his mind from outside influences, so this one had to be strong. "You must hurry, or they will all perish."

HIs pokémon stopped, looking at him with great concern. There was something in his expression that made them worry a lot, but he didn't notice until Pikachu climbed on his shoulders.

"Perish ... damn it." He shook his head, thinking about the words. This wasn't the same voice that had influenced him back then, but more of a messenger. "Someone ... a voice in my head told me that the Pokénvention is under attack. Aren't Serena and Marcus supposed to be there?" Pikachu nodded, still confused about the situation. "This could be a trap," Ash murmured.

On second thought, the location was far from optimal for an ambush with thousands of people nearby, including security guards. Nevertheless, voices from nowhere had always brought only trouble so far, so he was hesitant to believe it. On the other hand it couldn't be ignored, and if his friends were really in danger, he needed to do something. Those were the conflicting thoughts that made him hesitate. If he made a mistake, there would be a heavy price, so he needed some time. In the end he decided to go there, as his friends were there, and he needed to go at some point anyway.

A proper team had to be chosen in case there was real danger, though. Of course, Pikachu was part of it, but were also Infernape and Floatzel due to their relatively small size. Since they might have to fight in a crowded building, this was a major advantage. Ash also Latios for support moves, and for his speed, should the attackers try to escape. Reuniclus would take them to the city, and use his psychic powers for various tasks. Azelf would stay outside the building so that they wouldn't attract too much attention. Finally, there was Lucario, who was still far better at the aura bubble than Ash, and thus could expand it to different levels in order to protect a much larger crowd if necessary.

* * *

Dawn was on her way back to the lab when she heard the same voice Ash had heard. Empoleon looked at her with worry when he saw her eyes widen.

"The Pokénvention is under attack. Ash is already on the way. Hurry, or they will all die," it told her.

For all she knew, this could be a trap, yet she had to wonder whether she could really take that risk. Her thoughts were remarkably similar to Ash's, and the news that he'd be there as well made her even more determined to take the risk. Of course, she couldn't be sure whether it was true, so she asked Ash's pokémon at the lab, who confirmed that he'd left hastily only a few minutes ago. The reason for the departure was unknown to them, though, and they'd only heard him muttering something about danger.

This erased her last doubts, and she prepared a team for a large-scale fight, which was to be expected at such an event. Espeon and Carbink were her supporters, and Espeon could teleport them to Saffron City. Metagross's task was to draw the attention of assailants, and crush them if possible. Lucario could protect her and many others with his aura bubble, which was reason enough for her to take him. Zoroark's shadow diver move had often been useful in the past, so he was part of the team once again, leaving Empoleon as the sixth and final pokémon. Mesprit told her it'd stay hidden outside, like Azelf.

Espeon took Dawn as close to the desired location as possible. Since it neither looked nor sounded like the old shopping-center was in any immediate danger, she could relax a little. A lot of people were entering or leaving the building, which told her that there indeed a lot of people at this event. Dawn might as well enter it now, albeit she'd have to stay alert. Ash was already inside the building near the entrance with Pikachu and Lucario. Even though he couldn't detect any threat, he was sure that something was wrong. All of sudden, he felt a massively dark field, but tried to investigate, only to freeze when he heard a familiar voice.

"So glad you could make it." He turned to see a smiling Nathan Sorlan approaching with an ampharos. "I was worried when you didn't show up in the morning. But now we only need to wait for Dawn, then I can give you a small tour."

"A tour?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow. It was strange that someone like Nathan would offer to be a guide for him. "Don't you have more important things to do? I mean, you're the president of a huge company. And why wait for Dawn?" He looked around, worried by the dark field.

"She was just outside the building when I arrived. And no, I don't have anything better to do right now. My employees take care of our presentation here." Ash was glad that Nathan didn't seem to think he was too rude. He was about to say something when his head turned towards the entrance, and Ash looked there as well. "Look, there she is."

Indeed, she'd just entered the building, and now she was standing at the entrance with Empoleon and Lucario, looking around as if she was trying for spot potential dangers. It made Ash wonder whether she'd heard the same voice telling her that Saffron City was in danger. It would certainly explain Lucario's presence outside his pokéball. Nathan motioned to her, asking her to join them. She complied for a moment, but then she noticed Ash and hesitated. It took a bit more encouraging by Nathan till she was willing to get closer.

"Hey Dawn," Ash said with a nod. He'd wanted to discuss their relationship, but the circumstances didn't allow it.

"Hello, Ash," she answered hesitantly. Just like Ash, she didn't consider this the right moment.

"Oh my, aren't you the most passionate couple I've ever seen?" They looked offended, but he kept going. "Seriously, you've achieved greatness, yet instead of celebrating together, you argue over trivial matters. It makes me sad. Are you really this stubborn? Both of you?"

While he was rambling, Ash got a really bad feeling. Not only did her hear small items, which turned out to be darts, fall to the ground, but they were also suddenly separated from the rest of the visitors by a group of people that prevented others from getting through. Naturally, being surrounded like this after having received a warning made them extremely nervous. Their pokémon were also on edge, only Nathan kept talking like he wasn't aware of this. Instinctively, Ash and Dawn moved closer, especially when several men drew their guns and attempted to incapacitate Nathan with their guns or weapons that shot poisoned darts, anything to take him out. Ash and Dawn were too slow to react, but the projectiles were blocked by an invisible shield around them. Max Wright went past them, speaking up before anyone else could say something.

"Nathan Sorlan. You're under arrest," he exclaimed, much to Ash's and Dawn's shock. They immediately moved away from him, but were pushed in different directions by an unknown force. Several houndoom were called out in front of Nathan.

"Oh how nice." He addressed Max, who commanded the houndoom to take down the shield with dark pulse. "You really thought I wouldn't notice a dark field of this magnitude? Or the snipers on the rooftops? Or the massive movement even before the event? How sad for you."

The people surrounding them caught Ash, Dawn, and their pokémon, and tried to get them out of there, but they resisted. They needed answers, and they needed them now. Nathan looked different now, there was something cruel and dangerous in his eyes. Even though all the people were aiming at him, he didn't look impressed in the slightest. Instead, he put his hands in the pockets, and looked at them smugly. This wasn't the Nathan Sorlan they knew, or maybe they didn't know the real Nathan.

"Get them out of here," Max commanded, making his men pushing Ash, Dawn, and their pokémon outside their circle.

It would've been a good idea to run, it would've been the sensible thing to do. They weren't sensible right now. They stayed, and thus had to face the consequences.

"Tell me, what have I done?" Nathan asked innocently.

"Theft, murder, large-scale destruction, take your pick. We have proof, and unless you surrender now, we'll open fire." Max didn't sound like was bluffing, but Nathan wasn't impressed.

"Is that all?" he asked, laughing loudly.

It was the same laugh they'd heard before, Divine's laugh. Divine was an old man, though, so it was hard to imagine them being the same person. Suddenly, Ash remembered Victoria's device, which had been used to mask appearance and voice. Considering that he was her boss, and that he could probably easily acquire another one, it made much more sense.

"You can't escape. Raise your hands. NOW!" It was clear that Max wasn't going to wait much longer.

It looked like the target was alone, surrounded, and cut off from any form of reinforcements. Four dark fields overlapped at this place, rendering any form of teleportation impossible. The ability to pass through solid objects was also disabled, so there weren't any gengar to come out of hiding either. Only the shield around him prevented them from going straight for the kill. It was clearly visible by now, and it looked like it could last against heavy weaponry, but dark pulses were effective. Max's greatest hope was that the four overlapping dark fields were strong enough to prevent Nathan from teleporting, which wasn't certain, as he'd shown to overcome them in the past. Several officers opened fire, yet all projectiles disappeared.

"Excuse me for a moment." Nathan grinned maliciously. "I need to call a few friends."

He was gone with a flash, leaving everyone nearby flabbergasted. All their precautions had been for naught, and now they didn't know what to do. Even worse, Max didn't know what he could've done better. If such an opportunity presented itself again, he wouldn't be to do anything because it seemed this man had tricks that the police didn't fully understand yet. Max didn't get to think about it too much, for Nathan reappeared a few moments later in the company of Seth, Wraith, and Eileen, each with their own ampharos. He summoned the same protective shield he'd used before, Seth created a strange sphere of pure blackness around himself, Wraith caused black claws to emerge from the ground, enveloping her, and Eileen protected herself with a glowing energy shield. Nathan also carried a rifle with a large, blue gem above the barrel.

"Sorry for the interruption. It was a quick change of plans." He addressed a short, chubby man with brown hair and a large beard, who'd followed him into the building. "Sorry, David, but it looks like we won't be able to strengthen our business relations. Unless you wish to start some illegal business. Now, let's get this party started." He showed a bunch of tiny, black crystals in his right hand before throwing them upwards. "Show me your determination. How far will you go to defeat me?"

The crystals dissolved into black dust upon touching the shield around Nathan. The dust turned into small, long, worm-like creatures of darkness, that immediately spread, moving into various officers and pokémon nearby. Their eyes glowed green for a moment, then they turned on their former allies. Some of them even attempted to attack civilians, who were still being evacuated. However, there were so many of them, and the building was so large that the police couldn't have completed it in time. Ash was about to intervene, when he and his pokémon felt a strong pull moving them to the side. As good as it was to get away from the chaotic fight in the center, he was horrified to watch walls of darkness rise around him.

"Infernape, I choose you!" The fire could help combat the darkness around them, but it wasn't enough. It looked like they were inside a dome made of strange, black material, and they weren't alone. Seth was also there, having imprisoned all of them. "You again. Don't think for one second that I forgot what you've done to Dawn."

Seth might have been the least active of his enemies so far, yet Ash had no trouble recognizing him. He was wearing a dark grey uniform, and a simple, long, white coat. Only his right glove stood out, which had a clear gem attached to it. Something felt wrong about this gem, and it looked like it went completely black from time to time. Seth's face showed no emotion.

"Wait, this isn't right yet. A bit too strong. We want at least the light to get through, right?" he said, raising the arm with the gem. The darkness around them vanished, giving them a clear view of their surrounding, though Ash suspected that there was still some kind of wall around them. "I apologize, I'm still not used to working with this thing."

It didn't look like he used pokémon, so at least Ash had the advantage of numbers. The psychic wasn't to be underestimated, though, as his abilities could prove devastating.

Dawn was also pushed aside by an unknown force. Claws made of a strange, black, bark-like material rose all around her and Wraith, creating some sort of arena around them. They could still hear the fighting and screaming from outside, but for now, they there alone with the exception of their pokémon. Her dark-grey uniform was similar to Seth's, with only the size being different. Her right glove was the most remarkable part, as it had a gem on it, that looked like it contained a black cloud. Whenever the glove was used, the gem turned completely black.

"This will be interesting," the girl muttered.

She got ready for a battle, making Dawn do the same. As long as Wraith could use her glove, Dawn was at a disadvantage, so it was her first target.

Meanwhile, Eileen, whose outfit consisted of the same grey uniform, chose Max as her target. As with the others, the right glove was the most important feature. The clear gem on it glowed every time she used it. While he was busy coordinating the fight, she aimed at him with her glowing arm, and shot a concentrated beam of light at him. The light instantly burned through his shoulder, cauterizing the wound. She showed no reaction when a few of his men tried to get him away, and launched a counter-attack on her. Her energy shield was capable of taking a lot of punishment, so she took her time aiming at him for another beam of light.

She wasn't to kill Max outright, but only injure him badly. After all Nathan enjoyed having Max around as an enemy due to their similar attitudes, and only Max's lack of humor was extremely annoying to him. Eileen was about to fire the second shot, when she was distracted by a familiar voice.

"Eileen, what the hell are you doing?" Her eyes widened in surprise, and she turned around, ignoring Max for now. Marcus and Serena had separated from the fleeing crowd, approaching her now. She immediately fire a warning shot at them, before turning to her boss.

"Go ahead," he said with a nod. It was good to see that she still retained some discipline even in this extreme situation. Besides, Max was already injured, and he wasn't that important anyway.

"What the hell? I've been trying to ... wait, are you with him?" Marcus exclaimed in shock. "Please tell me this isn't true. Please ..."

"Save your breath," she spat with venom in her voice. "This has nothing to do with him ... or her," she added, pointing at Serena. "Go away, this is between my brother and me."

"No way!" She wasn't willing to back off now, getting a little closer to Marcus to show her support.

"Suit yourself!" Eileen raised her arm, erecting walls of light around them. The chaos of the battle was left outside. "Now we can talk."

"What did he do to you? Why are you fighting for him after all he did?"Marcus was fuming, and Serena had to hold him back. "We've been looking for you ever since he kidnapped you. Answer me!"

"You're mistaken. He didn't kidnap me, I surrendered myself to him. I sought him out on my own initiative." Marcus's anger subsided, being replaced by shock. Both he and Serena were looking at her, unable to do anything. "Is it so hard to understand? I wanted to save you, so I offered my service for your safety. It's worked so far, but we can correct that mistake." Marcus was about to protest, but Eileen cut him off, raising her voice considerably. "You lied to me. Father and Cat lied to me. Because you wanted to protect me from a truth I couldn't handle? Do you really think I'm that weak? Of course you do. I do. I've been nothing but a stain in the family, right?"

It was pretty obvious what she meant, and Marcus wasn't going to deny it. Although he couldn't understand her anger, he was shocked to see her, the sweet, little sister, like this. The amount of frustration in her voice was astounding, and he couldn't claim that he was entirely innocent.

"I guess you found out about mom's demise." Upon mentioning it, he looked away in shame, so that he didn't have to look at her furious expression. To him, it felt like she was using it to burn into his skull. "Look, I'm not proud of it, but you must understand I wasn't the one to make that decision. I was still too young. I think it was Cat's idea, or maybe dad's, I don't know. What matters is that they did it for you."

He still didn't dare look up, and with good reason. Serena wondered whether she should interfere. Judging from her tone, Eileen was unlikely to believe Marcus, so his friend might have to step in.

"Please listen to me," she pleaded. Both Marcus's and Eileen's eyes were on her, making her even more nervous than before. "I don't really know what you're talking about, but let me assure you that your brother cares for you. He's been trying to find you for weeks now..."

Eileen's laughter interrupter her. It sounded bitter, the kind of laughter that sent shivers down her spine. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Is that so? It must have been tough. So tough that he needed distraction, maybe in form of champion battles? I know you watched them. I don't blame you. I never meant much to you." She sighed and lowered her head. "And to think I surrendered to save you. Cat may have cared a little, but she never took me seriously. And father ... he hated me." She raised her head again, and her new, demonic expression was extremely unsettling. "Yes, you heard right, he hated me. And now I know why. He blamed me for mother's death, didn't he? He locked me in the darkness, he ridiculed me, and even hit me when you weren't around. All for a mistake I couldn't even remember."

Marcus couldn't help but feel bad for her, despite her hostility so far. Their father had always been some kind of hero to him, so all of this was hard to believe. However, there was no reason for Eileen to lie to him, and it would explain a few things. Their father had been bitter ever since their mother's death, but taking it out on Eileen was too much.

"I see," Marcus muttered. "I guess he never was the person I believed him to be. He may not be a traitor, but this ... this is just as bad. Why didn't you tell us? We ... could have helped."

"And bring even more misery to a family that was already falling apart? I believed it could still be saved." She shook her head in disgust. "I was a fool. I even believed that I deserved this treatment for having done something wrong. But now I know he's simply a very bad man."

"And that's why you join someone even worse?" Marcus barked, feeling his anger rising again. "Father was nothing compared to the bastard over there," he said, pointing at Nathan.

"This man has done more for me than my family, even in such a short time. Isn't that a little embarrassing for you?" Suddenly, she looked away. "I know Divine's not a nice person. And he'll probably end up discarding me like a used tool. It doesn't matter. My life is over. But at least I'll have the opportunity to have my revenge." she looked up, holding her right hand in front of her face. With a creepy smile, she caressed the gem on the glove. "You may not have started this lie, but went along with it. You could've told me a long time ago, yet you didn't. I've been repressing my feelings and needs all the time, but now it's time to let them out." She raised her arm, summoning a ball of light above the gem. "Feel the light, that reveals the truth, and burns the flesh of my enemies."

What sounded like the part of a meaningless poem turned out to be dangerously accurate, when the intensity of the light increased considerably. At first, Marcus and Serena were merely blinded, and felt a warm sensation on their skin, which turned to a searing pain. They got the impression that their bodies were on fire, and, unable to control themselves, they fell on the ground, rolling around to put out the imaginary flames. The pain was excruciating, and Eileen kept going, looking at them impassively while they were groaning on the ground. Finally, she ceased her attack, allowing them to recover from the searing light. Marcus was the first to stand up. Though he was still in a lot of pain, and also couldn't open his eyes yet, he refused to let his little sister see her like this. Serena followed, flailing around blindly in an attempt to get a hold of him.

"This was only the first taste." Eileen threw three pokéballs, calling out a gengar, an arcanine, and a magnezone. "Shadow ball, flamethrower, and thunderbolt!"

"Goodra, block it!" Serena had no idea where to call it out, but the dragon-type knew what to do, and got in the way of the attacks.

They couldn't see that the moves were fairly weak, so they assumed the worst. As soon as Marcus could open the eyes again, he went past Goodra, glaring at his little sister.

"You ... you tried to kill us! Your own brother!" he yelled.

"Those moves weren't strong enough to kill anything. I don't want you to die, only to suffer a little." She raised her arm, creating another ball of light. "Now call out your pokémon or I'll let you burn again." She wouldn't rest until she humiliated them by defeating all of their pokémon as well. "You have no idea what I'm capable of. I also sent a gengar to mess with you. I'm not the harmless girl you knew."

"You did that? I thought I was going crazy." He was clearly mad now, and called out his staraptor, magmortar, and liepard. "I don't know what he did to you, but I'll beat his influence out of you if I need to."

He was finally ready to fight, much to Eileen's delight. She had to vent her frustration, and this was the perfect opportunity.

Max Wright soon found himself inside his very own protective bubble. It looked like Nathan refused to let him die yet, but wanted to talk instead. After all Max was one of the few people who could truly understand and appreciate the magnitude of his work.

"Forget about me! Keep fighting!" Max yelled at those who were still under his control.

"Ignoring me even now? I'm so hurt by your indifference," Nathan said, pretending to be in pain. "Oh, my heart. Why can't I get the attention I deserve?"

The answer was a nasty glare, that did nothing but made him giggle. Max found it hard to focus on any conversation with the fighting all around him, but then Nathan created another, soundproof barrier around them, so that he couldn't give any more commands, and basically forced them to talk, as there was nothing else they could do. Despite his behavior, Nathan actually had quite a bit of respect for Max's ruthlessness.

"You know, I've been waiting for a long time to talk openly with someone who can understand how important my work is. And in return, you may ask as many questions as you want. That's fair, isn't it?" He gave Max an encouraging smile, but frowned when there was no answer. "Come on, if you don't say anything, I'll get bored, and if I get bored, I'll have to crush that fragile, little body of yours. Then you're not only dead, but also without answers."

Nathan was perfectly capable of it due to his belt, which had a void gem attached to it, and Max knew that he wasn't bluffing. Even so, he was hesitant to accept the conditions. However, there was one question, that couldn't wait.

"Tell me, were you the one who killed Giovanni?" he asked with a remarkably calm voice, although he already knew the answer.

"Of course. I had him killed for raising his prices against our agreement. I tricked our two trainers into doing the dirty work for me, and then I gave you -" He pointed at Max in an accusatory way. "-the chance to do the rest. But your ... sense of duty prevented it, so I had to finish it myself. I know, it was a disappointing end, but that was your own fault for not following your own guideline. Do what you must for greater good, isn't that it?"

"I won't let someone like you lecture me about the greater good. You, who's never done anything not in his own interest." Nathan laughed when he heard this.

"Own interest? Please, I did everyone a favor by killing him. Everyone knew he deserved death. Everyone knew he was too dangerous, even in a prison. Yet nobody had the guts to do anything about it." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh well, if he'd escaped and killed people, it would've been their blood on your hands." His eyes narrowed suddenly. "But maybe it wasn't a moral question, but something more practical. This whole deal damaged your reputation quite a bit. And a quick death was way too good for someone like Giovanni, wasn't it? A life in prison, isolated, powerless, that would've been far more fitting. It's a shame he was far too dangerous for that."

Max couldn't say that Nathan was entirely wrong, so he didn't say anything at all. This whole discussion already made him feel foolish, but there were still so many open questions.

"Now tell me about your involvement with Shira." As long as it sounded like he was commanding his enemy, it wasn't too degrading for Max.

"Well, that requires a bit more explaining. My father wanted me to take care of the family business since my brother was a moron, so I've been working there for a long time, meeting important people. One of them entrusted me with a secret project for a ruthless client. Poison has always been a part of the company, but it was usually used against bugs to protect plants. This client hired us for something against humans as well. It was easy to keep it a secret from my father, as he was too busy with other, important projects like the essence ripper. Too bad he abandoned it when it turned out we had to sacrifice pokémon to use it. Silly man, pokémon were more important to him than his own family." He shook his head, and smiled mischievously. "Well, just another project for me to continue in his stead."

"Get to the point," Max demanded.

"Impatient, are we?" Nathan laughed. "Well, my partner soon died, and a friend of my father discovered our little ... operation. This fool thought it was a brilliant idea to blackmail me. The nerve!" He shook his head in disgust. "He could've easily destroyed all of my work, so I had to act quickly. Shira had already done a few jobs for me by then, but this was her first big mission. It was time to show the face of the illegal part of my little empire. Alright, I admit, it wasn't really an empire back then. Her first task was to eliminate the blackmailing prick along with my father. That way, I got control of the full company, and most of the old leadership was destroyed in the process, so nobody could tell me what to do. I could put almost all of the resources in more important research, which pretty much ruined my company by now, but it doesn't matter anymore. She also took the recipe for the poison I mentioned earlier for her own uses. The raid was a good explanation for how she got something like that. The following operation was mostly her doing, but then she got a little too ambitious for her own good."

"So you sent her on a suicide mission," Max pointed out. "Isn't that right? You never wanted her to return from the mission on that island? Just what did you intend to do there?"

"That, my friend, will remain a secret for you. Suffice to say, it led to the development of this baby." He lifted his rifle, laughing softly. "But don't worry, you'll see it in action soon enough. It's one of my greatest creation. But about Shira, yes, she wasn't meant to return, and I daresay, she did a marvelous job. You might also wonder why I kept attacking the cities with Okcha, or whatever you call them. The first attack was a distraction to get back the materials you stole from us, the others were merely shows of force."

It was hard to imagine that someone would waste so many soldiers only to frighten people, but then again, Nathan couldn't be expected to act logically. Either he could produce the creatures in large numbers, or he didn't value their lives a lot, or perhaps both. Without the signal beam gun, those attacks could've been much more dangerous, and now Max feared that Nathan would increase the attack power in case he escaped today.

"What else is there to confess? Those mysterious deaths were also my doing, albeit not the resurrections. Don't ask about them, I won't explain anything. I had several people kidnapped so that they could work for me as guards. Oh yes, I drove a bit too fast yesterday. What can I say? I enjoy fast cars," he added, shrugging slightly.

"Don't waste my time with this nonsense!" Max retorted. "Why did you pose as your father?"

"To mess with you of course." Nathan made it sound like it was obvious. "I even had his body removed from his grave to add to the illusion."

It looked like Nathan's amulet had an amazingly large energy storage, being able to maintain those barriers for a long time. It was actually not the storage capacity, but the regeneration that made the amulet this useful. A strong connection to the Okcha's home world drained the required energy from there, so there was no need to charge it externally. Nathan even believed that they could create more monsters like the Okcha Prime, but one of them was already enough trouble. Therefore he limited the usage of this knowledge to augmenting his and his allies' abilities.

Ash was stuck in an invisible dome with three of his pokémon. Seth was standing at the other side, waiting for Ash do something. Despite feeling slightly weak, Ash didn't hesitate, calling out the rest of his team. He'd seen the power of the abilities used by his enemies before, so he knew what to do. The gem on Seth's glove had to be destroyed by any means necessary.

"Aim for the gem. Thunderbolt, aura sphere, flamethrower, luster purge, psyshock, and water pulse!" As a powerful psychic, Seth could easily take control of most moves, but Ash thought that he couldn't stop six moves at the same time. Although he was right, Seth didn't need his own powers, using his glove instead to create a smaller version of his dome around himself, which made the attacks simply was still standing there without a scratch. "What the ...?"

"You didn't actually think I'd make it this easy for you, did you?" Seth remarked with a calming voice.

Thrusting his right arm upwards, he made Ash and his pokémon feel a strong pull towards the center. It was too strong to resist, and when they got close it, they were suddenly pushed back against the invisible barrier by strong winds. It wasn't a physical barrier, as they felt nothing but another push upon reaching it. They fell, and while they were lying on the ground, they saw strange, dark smoke rising around them. Ash's head felt weird. It was like not only his strength, but his will was being drained, and from the looks of it, his pokémon were in a similar situation.

"Attack in alteration so that he can't block all of the attacks at once!" Ash managed to say.

It seemed to work at first, as Seth didn't get the opportunity to retaliate from inside his shield. Unfortunately, the continuous attacks didn't seem to weaken his defense in the slightest. The pokémon didn't give up, though, and Seth eventually ran out of patience. He made the shield expand rapidly, and burst to push the pokémon against the barrier. Then he kneeled, pressing his right hand against the floor. Ash immediately felt his consciousness slipping, and even though he tried to focus as much as possible, it wasn't enough.

Suddenly, Ash was in a narrow, dark, long corridor with a strange light at one end. Although Ash couldn't see the walls and the ground, it was most unsettling, for it felt soft when he stepped on it. In fact, he got the impression that it was alive. All around him, he could hear voices, most of them too quiet to be understood, but a few of them were loud enough, and he recognized familiar voices. He'd already heard the things they said at some point.

 _Can't get enough of blood and violence, can we?_ _You should've never left your small, cozy world to play among the important people. I'll show you the cruelty of the real world._

There was a growl behind him. Ash immediately tried to turn around, yet he couldn't do it. Something was draining his courage, his will, and fear overtook him, so he ran towards the light.

"How long can you keep running before you're emotionally exhausted?" a strange voice asked him. It was different from the others. At first, Ash thought it belonged to Seth, but he got distracted by the other voices.

 _I was tired of running away. Tired of struggling. He took my freedom, but also my responsibilities. It was a decent deal._

Although he couldn't hear whatever was behind him, Ash was sure he didn't want to let it reach him. It didn't look like he was making any progress, as the light was further away than before, whereas the sounds from behind were getting louder. Ash felt his energy and motivation running low.

 _Smile, smile, smile. No matter the problems, a smile can make everything better. That's what I keep telling myself whenever I feel down._

This did little to motivate him, as a smile couldn't protect him from anything, let alone a monster, yet he couldn't help but comply. Strangely enough, it worked, making him run faster than before, and the sound of the thing behind him got more distant. In the distance, he could see people dancing, but then he heard lamentation and cries for help form the sides, even though there clearly wasn't anything.

 _You should've stayed in the city. But of course you had to interfere, and be the heroes again. Can't you think for yourselves once? These people ... you owe them nothing._

"They're only distracting you." It was Seth's voice again. "Keep going."

This time, Ash felt neither pity nor regret when he kept walking. In fact, he felt nothing but utter exhaustion. The others simply had to help themselves, they'd be just fine, at least that's what he told himself in a vain attempt to justify his actions. Once again, it was like the voices knew what he was thinking.

 _A small lie for something great. Is it that horrible? I admit, I'm not proud of it, but if I could travel to the past, I'd probably do the same again._

The closer he got, the more beautiful the light looked. Deep inside, he knew it was only an illusion, though.

"So what if it's not real? Your emotions are real." Seth's voice was more penetrating than ever, making Ash's head hurt. "Don't you deserve some happiness. Don't you deserve to be selfish from time to time?"

 _He gave me chance, and I took it. Those moments of peace may have been a lie, but they were the best of my life._

"Join us. You know it's the sensible decision. So what if you have to lie to yourself, if you have to forsake your own principles. Those bring neither safety nor happiness, and in the end, only those matter. You might even say, you're fooling yourself by clinging to them." The more Seth said, the more Ash was inclined to agree.

Nathan was about to win this struggle, and if he did, neither Ash nor his friends or family would ever be safe again. They'd be hunted down mercilessly until there was no opposition left. Now the light was getting closer, and the growling form behind was almost gone.

 _A perfect world. For me, for you, for everyone. That's not such a horrible goal, is it? You could live there, without a worry in the world. No war, no pain, no responsibilities._

Ash's resolve was slipping. He wanted to reach the light, to live happily, and forget about all the endless struggles. In his opinion, he'd already done enough for this world, and if it couldn't protect itself without his help, maybe it wasn't worth the trouble in the first place. Most importantly, he'd have the chance to enjoy life with his friends. His family, all of his friends, maybe even with Dawn. Suddenly, their conflict seemed so childish, so unimportant. He was determined to apologize again, and this time, he wouldn't let anything or anyone get in the way.

 _Sometimes I dream of better times, together with him, and when I wake up, I wish that Cresselia could extend those dreams. Those seem like the only times I'm happy nowadays._

This made Ash stop abruptly, and almost immediately, the light vanished. The last voice had been Dawn's, and she 'd said it only recently at the lab while she was resting. Considering the current state of their relationship, she couldn't talk to Ash like that, but she'd confessed this to her pokémon. Ash merely had been nearby, listening to her. However, there was more to it, but of course, Seth didn't want him to remember it.

"She also said that she isn't willing to let others suffer by ignoring the reality," Ash muttered, hoping that the psychic could hear him. "If she can be strong, so can I. You won't fool me that easily."

Even though he knew he had to, turning around was still difficult. The noise from behind was growing louder and fiercer, until it sounded like a wild pokémon was right next to him. However, when he finally looked at the other side of the corridor, he found it empty with the exception of one man standing in the distance. Now he could move freely again, and noticed all of his pokémon nearby. They were clearly exhausted, but otherwise, they looked fine, and when they saw that Ash was back to normal, they took a fighting stance.

"It's not too late to change your mind," Seth told them. "Who says the world will be worse off under his rule?"

"Ask his victims and you know the answer. But this isn't about him, this is between you and me." Ash pointed at himself and Seth. "So why don't we forget about any help like pokémon or that strange gem, and settle this like real men? Only our natural abilities, no tricks, no distractions. An honest duel. Do you accept or are you a coward?"

"Very well. Call them off, and we'll start," Seth replied, pointing at the pokémon.

The energy stored in the gem was running low, and the connection to the Okcha world couldn't keep up with the demand anymore. He'd simply put too much energy into his mind trick, which he should've used to cause some serious injuries to the pokémon. Therefore this challenge was most welcome, as he could let the gem recharge without being in any real danger. No matter how much Ash had learned about his powers, he couldn't be a match for a psychic like Seth, at least not without help. That's why Seth kept an eye on the pokémon.

"Alright, stay behind," Ash told his pokémon before addressing his opponent. "Let's start!"

He began by charging towards the psychic and throwing an aura sphere on the way. Seth took control of it, throwing it against the barrier with a wave of his hand. Then he created a long, purple glowing blade in his hand with psycho cut. Ash dodged the first swing at him, retaliating with a quick punch, which got blocked by Seth's free hand. The psychic then dodged the next punch, and used his power to crush Ash's hand with his own. A blue aura surrounded their hands, and Ash cried out in pain. A vain attempt to free his hand with the other one followed, only for that hand to get cut by Seth's blade. Ash suddenly felt himself getting lifted into the air, before he came crashing down with force.

Seth lowered his guard when he saw Ash face down on the ground, and thus he was too slow when the trainer looked up, shooting an aura sphere at him. This pushed him back a bit, before Ash tried to take advantage of the situation by following up with a kick. However, he didn't even get there, as Seth immobilized him with his psychic powers. Ash's right leg was stretched, and his opponent forced the lower part upwards with force, causing incredible pain. Then he let go of Ash, who fell to the ground, clutching his leg. The pokémon were terrified, but they didn't dare interfere, for even in this situation, Ash could get angry if anyone of them ruined this duel. Moreover, they feared Seth would kill him off if he saw them approaching. The psychic cut Ash's other leg with his blade before grabbing Ash's throat, and lifting him , supported by his powers.

"I won." He merely stated a fact, he was neither gloating, nor mocking Ash. The defeated trainer noticed that the gem was extremely close, but when he attempted to damage it, he suddenly found himself drained of all strength. Although he couldn't be sure, he was convinced that it was the gem at work here. "Not one step closer, or he'll pay for it." He could only guess that his pokémon were trying to save him. Ash tried to say something, only to resign after a few seconds, because the grip on his throat was too strong. "Did you actually believe an aura used like you could defeat me? With the gem, I could erase your memories, your personality, everything about you in an instant. You'd be nothing but a husk, a creature without his own will, without a personality. Broken, empty, at peace."

The pokémon were even less inclined to attack, now that Ash's life was basically in Seth's hands. A look around revealed that thing weren't looking better elsewhere. The situation among the common officers looked especially grim, as their possessed allies outnumbered them at the moment.

Dawn's opponent had a less potent power at her disposal, but unlike Seth, she had pokémon at her side, and wasn't afraid of using them. Banette and Froslass were circling their trainer, ready to destroy anyone who got too close to her. Dawn called out her entire team, but she refused to advance just yet, for she knew how dangerous Banette's dark path move was. They had to stay together, and protect each other, or they'd all fall victim to this threat.

"Use the aura bubble," Dawn whispered to Lucario.

"Get ready." While both ghost-types were moving towards Dawn, Wraith thrust her right arm upwards.

Two claws made of black crystal shot out the ground, enveloping the aura shield before breaking it by closing the grip. They were also destroyed in the process, but Banette used the lack of defense for a dark path on Lucario. It rushed into his body, completing the powerful move before being ejected again. Dawn's other pokémon retaliated, dealing only moderate damage, though, as Forslass covered its retreat, and Wraith created a wall of crystal to block the attacks. Carbink attempted to heal Lucario, only to be held back by Dawn.

"You can't help him now," she said with a sad voice. Unlike the fairy-type, she knew that the move couldn't be stopped at this stage. Without Lucario, she and the others were vulnerable to Wraith's attacks. "Return!" She knew that the dark path would finish off Lucario even inside the pokéball, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her primary objective now was to make sure that the same didn't happen to the others, so she kept an eye on Wraith and her pokémon.

What she saw was a little surprising, as it looked like Wraith was in a lot of pain. Now Dawn actually remembered that it was similar to their battle at the lab, only less obvious. Back then, the coordinator had thought it had something to do with Wraith's emotional pain, but there was no reason for her to be upset right now. There had to be another reason, and Dawn intended to find out more about it.

"What's wrong with you? I've seen the same reaction at the lab," she pointed out, making Wraith stop her pokémon to answer the question.

"That's a question I'll gladly answer, even though I doubt you'd approve. The move doesn't draw its power only from Banette, but also from me. It uses my life force to remain active even while the pokémon is inside the pokéball, and this power also makes it much stronger than normal," she explained with her usual, calm voice.

"Something like that ... it must require a powerful bond for a pokémon to draw actual energy from its trainer," Dawn had to admit.

Of course, such a move would be forbidden in any official battle, but the mere thought of creating such a move was fascinating. It could easily surpass anything ever seen before, though the pain wasn't too appealing. Wraith didn't intend to talk about it at first, but the Okcha inside her forced her to do so. After all Nathan had told it to make sure that she was more talkative and persuasive than usual.

"It takes more than a simple bond. Much more." Banette climbed on her shoulders, flashing its most sinister smile. "Banette is the vessel for my hatred, my first pokémon, and a reflection of my ... aggressive side. In a way, we are one, for my dark emotions created it. We share our pain, and that's the only thing that made my life bearable."

It sounded similar to the bond between a psychic and his pokémon, only more extreme. The shared pain could actually help at becoming a better trainer, as it prevented overworking, unless the trainer was willing to go through just as much pain.

"And Froslass?" Dawn asked.

"Although the connection isn't as obvious, I like to think her as my softer, more cautious side. Mind you, that doesn't mean she won't kill you in a most gruesome way if I command it." Dawn had no reason to doubt her words, especially when the ghost-type gave her a peculiar look."It's good to have loyal companions, no matter whether they're pokémon or humans. It's a shame that you threw Ash away like this."

"He brought it upon himself," Dawn argued, but Wraith shook her head.

"It was a trivial argument. Don't fool yourself more than you already do. Or are you scared? Of what? Your enemy? The future? Pathetic." Her expression softened a little. "There's a simple solution, though. Join us."

Dawn had expected this matter to come up eventually, yet she still felt insulted when it did. Accepting this request would be like betraying Ash, her pokémon, her friends, her family, and her principles, all at the same time. It was outrageous, and Dawn didn't hesitate to express her anger.

"Impossible! No way!" she exclaimed furiously, taking a step forward and shaking her fist. "If you think I could do that after everything I've gone through, then you're sadly mistaken."

"Don't you believe it's never too late to do the right thing?" Dawn was about to argue, but Wraith was too fast. "Besides, what if Ash and the others decided to join us? Would you still resist?"

There wasn't any simple answer to this question. Dawn remembered a dream about Ash trying to convince her to join Shira. She'd rejected him back then, and she was sure she'd do the same now.

"Why is it so wrong to be a little selfish from time to time? You know you want peace, love, safety, so why do you hesitate accepting it? This world isn't fair, and Divine wishes to correct that mistake, to create something better. For you, for me, for everyone." Dawn still had a hard time believing it.

"For Victoria as well?" she asked calmly.

"Victoria had more than enough chances. In the end, her incompetence was dangerous to his plans, so she had to go. And since her knowledge could help our enemies a great deal, she had to die. It's simple." Wraith shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, she's not important ..."

"That's where you're wrong," Dawn said, interrupting her angrily. "We might've been enemies, but every life is important. Your disregard makes it rather easy for me to decide. Maybe Nathan should've sent that psychic, Seth. He was far more convincing."

"I see. You prefer permanent conflict and blood to peace and happiness. I'll gladly provide." However, before she could do something, Dawn raised an arm.

"Wait! Just one more thing." She tilted her head to the side. "Why do you follow him? You know what happened to Victoria, and it's like the same will happen to you. Are that arrogant, or just incredibly naive?"

"It's ridiculous that you call someone else naive. But I'm not here to discuss my allegiance to Divine." She extended her right arm towards Dawn, creating about a dozen oversized daggers made of black crystal. "The time for words is over."

Dawn's pokémon got ready to fight, and since their trainer was pretty much defenseless, they tried to shield her with their own bodies. Espeon used reflect for some additional protection. Wraith's projectiles, however, not only moved incredibly fast, but also highly erratically. Some got past the pokémon, others moved far away, but all of them exploded, shooting sharp shards in all directions. Dawn turned around just in time, so that several long shards only met her left arm instead of her chest. Still, the pain was incredible, and made her cry out in pain. She sank to the ground, clutching her arm.

The injury looked brutal, as the shards were easily as long as her upper arm, and one of them even made it all the way through her arm, showing up on the other side. Her pokémon hadn't been hit nearly as hard, and they watched in horror as she attempted to pull out the shards. Despite the horrible pain, she forced herself to keep going, fearing that the shards might have a vile effect as long as they were stuck in her flesh. Empoleon and Metagross defended the others, who tried to help her out, and it was vital, for she already launched her next attack. The largest shards was removed when a barrage of smaller shards came from above, but this time, Metagross shielded the others from most of the damage. Meanwhile, Empoleon kept an eye on Banette, hoping to prevent another dark path, even though he had no idea how he could possibly manage it.

"It hurts, yet it's but a fraction of what I can inflict," Wraith muttered, kneeling and pressing her right hand against the ground.

Dawn and her pokémon immediately felt a powerful force pushing them against the ground, similar to an overcharged gravity move. The horrifying part was that there were countless shards everywhere, which ,made it far more painful than normal. Only Carbinks use of its healing move on everyone around it made this somewhat bearable, though it was still a horrible experience, one that seemed to last forever.

As soon as the power of Wraith's attack decreased, Espeon lifted Dawn with her psychic powers, Metagross pulled out the remaining shards with its own abilities, and Carbink healed the worst injury. Zoroark helped her stand, as she was too weak to do so on her own. They looked at Wraith, who, surprisingly enough, looked like she was in a lot of pain as well. In order to maintain the increased gravity, the Okcha inside her had transferred her own life force into the gem. Without this trick, the effect couldn't have lasted nearly as long. Although she wasn't in any danger of dying from it, she had to be careful, or Dawn's pokémon could knock her out easily. Metagross and Empoleon got ready to attack, when something unexpected happened. First, Wraith's ampharos used light travel without a signal or order, something that shouldn't happen, considering how the Okcha worked. Then a large explosion destroyed part of the dark cage around them.

Reinforcements from all around the city arrived, slowly overwhelming Divine's forces. Azelf and Mesprit were also inside now, having fought through hordes of Okcha. His chosen realized that they couldn't stand against so many enemies, and prepared to leave. Wraith, having lost her ampharos, slowly approached Seth, so that she could use his instead. It was still better than asking Eileen to use hers.

"Looks like fun time is over. The excitement isn't good for my heart anyway." Nathan took quick glances at Ash and Dawn, looking slightly disappointed. "Get him in line," he shouted at Seth, who tossed Ash aside, so that Dawn was almost between him and Nathan. Then he aimed at Ash with his large rifle. "Just one last present. Say cheese."

The gem on it glowed briefly, then he shot a small, black orb at Ash, who was still recovering from the fight, and thus had no idea what was happening. Empoleon was the first to realize what was about to happen, and attempted to get in the way, only to be hit by a dark path, and pushed back by Froslass's shadow ball. Dawn had no time to think, and she didn't need it in this case. Ignoring the pain, she immediately broke free from Zoroark's grip, getting in the way of the orb in order to protect Ash. Her pokémon, and even Ash's pokémon tried to push her away, but Ash's were stopped by attacks from the side by Nathan's allies, and only Pikachu, being smaller and harder to hit, managed to get to her when the orb made contact. Everyone but Nathan expected it to act like a shadow ball, or something similarly destructive, but it simply expanded, engulfing the group. There was nothing to be seen behind the veil of darkness, and when it retreated again, nobody was left. It was like Dawn, Pikachu, Espeon, Zoroark, Carbink, and Metagross had simply vanished.

Ash only saw the last part, but when he did, he tried to reach them. However, he was way too slow due to his injured leg. It was hard for him to believe that she'd protect after everything that'd happened, especially since he was so far away that his pokémon could've pushed him out of the way, which made this sacrifice look foolish. All he knew right now was that he'd lost both her and Pikachu, maybe because they were dead, maybe it was even worse, but in any case, he felt a terrible rage rising.

"You ... what did you do to them? Give them back!" he yelled at Nathan, limping towards him.

He wasn't only furious, he was ready to inflict pain until his enemy told him a truth he was willing to believe. His enemy merely laughed, though, and gave the others a signal. Without a word of explanation, he and his chosen left via light travel, leaving the rest of the fight to the possessed policemen, who were quickly subdued. Ash reached the point where Dawn and the pokémon had been standing, and broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. They were gone. He had lost them. It was that simple.

* * *

 **Not this was a fight that everyone considers a defeat, except for one being. Chapter 90 will show what happened to those hit by Nathan's gun and it will answer some other questions in the process. Their fate may come as a surprise (or maybe not, there have been a few minor hints) and gives a new way of fighting their enemy.**


	89. Renegade

**I decide to switch chapters 89 and 90 since the old 90 was technically set before 89, and there was no real reason for them to be in that order. This one is released earlier since I want to finish this. Regard it as a kind of small Easter present if you wish.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 89 Renegade

There was a black orb coming towards them, enveloping them in darkness, and pulling them towards its core. Then it was like they moved through an incredibly long tunnel, whose walls threatened to tear them apart by pulling their bodies away. In reality, this feeling only lasted about a second, then it was already over, and they hit something hard from the side. At least the way down wasn't long, and they were on the ground again soon.

Dawn, Pikachu, and the others were surprised that they hadn't been killed, but instead sent somewhere else. The dark, rocky terrain was only the beginning, for when they finally got up, they were amazed to see that the landscape was unlike anything they'd ever seen before. The ground was dark and hard, there were strange, crystalline structures everywhere, which had roughly the same size as the buildings in Saffron City. The one in front of them resembled the shopping center, albeit it lacked an entrance. The sky was grey, and there was no visible sun, nor another light source, yet it was strangely bright. It was also quiet, apart from the occasional thunder, which came from above. However, the most distinctive part was a huge number of floating crystals. Some of them were huge, but most were tiny, but they all seemed to defy gravity, either standing still in midair, spinning, or moving around.

"What the ... this isn't Saffron City," Dawn mumbled, stating the obvious. "That orb was a portal?"

This world looked menacing, yet there a strange beauty to it at the same time. The floating crystals in particular added to the scenery, although Dawn didn't feel comfortable when one of them went past her, yet she couldn't resist looking at it. A closer look revealed something inside, which looked like a magikarp at first, but was obviously merely the image of a magikarp. Dawn flinched, when it suddenly moved directly towards her, as it looked so real. It also caused her to drop the crystal, making her panic until she realized that it stayed in the air.

"Be careful with that," Espeon hissed. "There's something wrong about those things. They hold power ... somehow. I'm not sure what's so important about them, but ... I can't describe it. It's like ... they're alive."

"Alive?" Both Dawn and the other pokémon looked at her in shock. "Isn't that a little ... farfetched? I mean, yes, the image is pretty lively, but in the end, it's just a rock."

"Just be careful," the psychic-type told her.

Dawn was overwhelmed by the strange, new world, so that she'd completely forgotten about the battle in Saffron City only a few minutes ago. When it finally hit her, she let go of another crystal in her hands.

"The fight! Where are Ash, Empoleon, and the others? Where are we? How did we get here?" Suddenly, there was panic clear in her voice, and the others couldn't blame her. They were in an unknown world, taken there by unknown means, they were probably about to face unknown foes. In fact, they knew absolutely nothing about anything around here, and could only rely on their instincts, which seemed to only tell them that they were lost. "Anyone has an idea?"

The pokémon had a look around, only to give up eventually, because they couldn't see anything but endless crystal structures, and countless floating crystals everywhere. There wasn't a single, living being, nor anything that resembled one, apart from the images in the crystals.

"If you don't say anything, we'll simply have to wander until we find something noteworthy," Dawn told them, sounding desperate. She needed more time to cope with this new situation, and the pokémon couldn't blame her for that. All of this was just as strange to them, and they didn't have any proper idea either, so they followed her without a word. "Don't worry, Pikachu. We'll find Ash somehow. Even if it's the last thing I do."

"Pika pi..." He didn't sound reassured at all, something she could understand all too well. She harbored similar feelings, though she felt that she had to appear confident for the others, no matter how she really felt.

The landscape didn't help to make her more optimistic. The longer they wandered, the more colorless the bleak landscape looked, and the more desperate she got. In addition, it made her aware of what she'd lost due to her own stubbornness and stupidity. She was likely to die soon, but she didn't want to as long as her relationship with Ash was such a mess. The least thing she could do was to tell him how sorry she was, and that she loved him dearly. Now it might already be too late, and Ash would remember as the person who'd broken his heart, and taken his starter pokémon with her. She felt also bad for Pikachu, who'd never get to see his trainer because he'd tried to protect her.

 _No, that's no proper way to think,_ she told herself. _As long as there's at least a tiny chance that we might make it, I have to pursue it. I owe them that much._

The first thing that her gave her hope was a small river far away from the huge structures. The water was clear, but neither Dawn nor the pokémon dared drink any of it, fearing what it might be like in this world. They wouldn't even touch it until the situation was truly desperate, so they didn't wander off too far, and returned there when Dawn's pain in the arm got worse. Carbink's move had healed most of the damage, yet it couldn't help against the pain. The break gave her some time to think, making her realize that she could use her regeneration ball on Lucario. That way, she'd have the aura bubble back, which could prove invaluable in case they were attacked, even if Lucario was weakened.

They didn't know how much time had passed, when they noticed the thunder getting louder. Everyone immediately stood up, feeling strange all of sudden. They couldn't help but think that something was about to happen, and it probably wasn't good for them. For a few seconds, it was extremely silent, but when they relaxed again a little, something huge appeared out of nowhere, ramming Lucario from behind. The others couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the attacker. It was a large pokémon with a long, grey, black, and red body. There were golden spikes and long, black wings with red tips attached to its body. It was glaring at them with two small, red eyes, well protected by golden parts, that looked like a helmet.

"Oh no ... Giratina?" Dawn had heard stories about the renegade pokémon, of its violence, and banishment to a strange dimension called the Reverse World or Distortion World. Since it was here, this had to be its home, which wasn't good news, considering how territorial it was. "Please ..."

"You finally have the courage to face me. For all the trouble you've cause, you will die." The voice in her head was thundering and furious.

"We're here by accident!" Dawn tired to reason with it, but the ghost-type attacked her directly. Metagross got in the way, only to watch Giratina disappear again. A few moments later, it crashed into the steel-type from the side, pushing it away, and followed up with a massive shadow ball to deal great damage. "Wait, we aren't your enemies."

"Human tricks! You are untrustworthy, and I won't listen to your lies." It formed a large shadow ball in front of its face, before shooting it directly at her. Espeon got in the way this time, blocking the attack with a protect move, then she countered with searing light.

At the same time, Zoroark jumped on Giratina's back, using his claws in a combination of dark pulse and night slash. Although it left a horrible scar, the legendary pokémon showed no sign of pain whatsoever, even when other pokémon attacked form the side. Pikachu unleashed a powerful thunder move, and on the other side, Carbink used beacon of the deep for additional damage. Other pokémon would've fallen to the relentless attacks after a short time, yet Giratina didn't seem to be bothered by them at all, and even launched a devastating counter-attack. Small shadow balls appeared on the tips of its wings, and a large one was formed in front of its head again. Giratina drove two of its wings into Zoroark's back like large spikes, making him cry out it pain. He activated shadow diver to escape, but the injury was too grave to continue fighting, so he walked away, trying to hurt it from a distance.

Two other wings were extended to grab Pikachu and Carbink. Both pokémon managed to evade them, but whereas Pikachu managed to dodge the shadow ball from its tip as well, Carbink was too slow, and got hit directly. In order to prevent Pikachu from attacking, Giratina used the last two wings on him as well, and even though he didn't get hit, they served their purpose. Meanwhile, Espeon had to deal with a much larger shadow ball, which was shot directly at Dawn. Seeing that the renegade pokémon was already preparing the next one, she jumped to evade the attack, using psychic to pull Dawn aside as well. The large shadow ball didn't cause any physical destruction, leaving the surroundings intact.

"Pi pika pikaka!" Pikachu tried talking to it to make it stop, but his words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"Peon!" Espeon wasn't more successful, as it continued its assault.

Dawn looked around to estimate her chances of winning this fight. Lucario was already unconscious, having been finished by the shadow force in his weakened state. Zoroark couldn't do anything but ranged attacks, as getting close was far too risky with his serious injuries. Metagross had taken quite a beating, but he was still able to fight, just like Carbink. Espeon and Pikchu were still in good condition. Unfortunately, so was Giratina, who showed no sign of exhaustion. This was to be expected from one of the oldest, and most powerful legendary pokémon, especially in its home world. Therefore Dawn had little hope of defeating it, and hoped that it would listen to them eventually.

"Please, we mean you no harm," she said in a desperate attempt to reason with it. It seemed her words only made it angrier, for it unleashed a whole storm of tiny shadow balls on her. "Espeon, protect, then reflect and light screen!" It was time to fight properly.

While Espeon was protecting her from the attack, Pikachu, Zoroark, and Carbink kept their distance. Metagross used magnet rise to attack Giratine from above with meteor mash. Even though it succeeded, it was tossed aside by a powerful shadow claw with Giratina's wings. This gave Espeon enough time to use reflect, which would protect all of them against the following physical attacks. Metagross flew against one of the floating crystals, smashing it in process, and catching Giratina's attention. It looked it had forgotten about the others entirely when it glared at the steel-type, who got up as quickly as possible. Giratina's eyes glowed blue for a moment, and the crystal shards moved to reform, turning into the old crystal again.

Now Dawn realized why it wasn't using other moves. Obviously, it didn't want to harm the crystals, or would have to repair them again for some reason. Others might have used this knowledge against it, but she had a bad feeling about the destruction of those crystals. At least Espeon also managed to use light screen without a problem now, so they could hold out much longer than before.

"You will pay for this." This was obviously an easy way to anger it, for it attacked Metagross relentlessly now.

The steel-type, however, blocked the attacks with its legs, while the other pokémon were dealing damage from afar. Giratina simply disappeared at some point, probably for another shadow force, and Metagross got ready to use protect. That's exactly what the legendary pokémon anticipated, though, which was why it had another, more vulnerable target.

"Keep calm. Pikachu, use thunder wave when you can. Carbink, smack down. Zoroark, night smoke! Espeon, searing light! Metagross, meteor headbutt!" While she was giving commands, Giratina appeared behind Pikachu.

No reflect or light screen move could prepare him for the following assault. He managed to dodge the shadow force, but then Giratina used its wings like spears on him, hitting him with all of them simultaneously. Each strike was equivalent to a shadow claw, and they were followed by a large shadow ball, which knocked him out immediately. The contact moves had triggered Pikachu's static ability, though, paralyzing the attack. The attacks of the other pokémon followed, dealing some damage, and Carbink's smack down even negated the levitation ability. Zoroark's combination was a crimson orb, that surrounded Giratina's head with a cloud of dark smoke to harm its vision. However, it still charged directly at the dark-type, ignoring Metagross entirely. The slithering movement with its wings acting as arms looked weird, but the cloud and paralysis soon disappeared for some reason. Dawn also noticed that its wounds were closing surprisingly swiftly. Zoroark was clearly its next target, and with the injuries on his back, he was unlikely to outrun it. Healing was also no option, for Giratina's damage was so great, that Carbink's beacon could only buy a little time. Fortunately, there was a simple solution.

"Shadow diver!" Dawn shouted when the opponent was close. The dark-type wasted no time, and immediately jumped into the ground to escape Giratina's wrath. The renegade pokémon disappeared for another shadow force move. "Tell him to stay hidden until I give him a signal," Dawn whispered to Espeon, who told him about this in return. Communication could be complicated while he was moving through solid objects, but telepathic links could still be established easily.

Dawn got ready to dodge, in case she was the target this time, but it wasn't the case this time. Instead, it came for Carbink, who was way too slow to avoid the attack, yet it was tough enough not to get defeated so easily. Giratina attempted another assault with its wings, only to be blocked by a protect move. It couldn't last, though, and as soon as it was gone, the ghost-type grabbed Carbink with one of its wings, enveloping it in a shadow ball there. This dealt constant damage to the fairy-type, and without support, not even its defenses combined with the protective moves could help it much.

"Tell him to help out, and try to pull Carbink away with psychic! Metagross, go for the head!" She hoped that a heavy hit could make it drop Carbink, who would then be taken outside of its reach via psychic. When Metagross channeled the power of a meteor mash into the x on its head, and struck Giratina with zen-headbutt, it didn't even flinch, though, therefore the others had no chance of freeing Carbink. Even worse, Zoroark was also grabbed by a wing, and suffered the same treatment, whereas Metagross was driven off by the four remaining wings, and got attacked with shadow balls. Neither Carbink nor Zoroark could last under these conditions, and once they were unconscious, they were tossed to Dawn's position.

With only Espeon and Metagross remaining, Dawn's hopes of winning were almost gone, so she tried speaking to it again. At the very least, she wanted it to spare her pokémon, and send them back to their world.

"I surrender. Do with me what you want, but please let my friends go," she begged. Her pleas were ignored, though, and Giratina, who seemed to have regained its ability, kept attacking Metagross. The steel-type was already on the verge of being overwhelmed. "Do you hear me? There's no need to hurt them."

Espeon attempted to help Metagross by controlling Giratina with a psychic move, only to realize that even at full power, she couldn't do anything but slow it down a little. A large shadow ball eventually finished off the steel-type, who was caught by Giratina's wings, and tossed towards Dawn again. The massive steel-body put her in real danger, though, and Espeon used teleport to get both of them to safety. Then the ghost-type turned towards the sun pokémon, who moved away from Dawn to draw attention away from the coordinator.

"Enough! Please listen to me." Once again, she could only watch Giratina launch the next offensive, in this case a storm of tiny shadow balls combined with ominous wind.

While Espeon was busy dodging the projectiles, the renegade pokémon charged at her with shadow sneak. "Spin!" With Dawn's signature spin, she got past Giratine without getting hit, and used most of her energy for one searing light attack from the side. Giratine wasn't impressed, and grabbed her with a wing in midair, before using the same technique it had used against Carbink and Zoroak. However, she managed to teleport away in time, which only left her severely weakened. Now Giratina aimed the next volley of shadow balls straight at Dawn. Espeon teleported in front of her trainer, but Dawn stepped in front of her, spreading her arms.

Believing this to be the end, she looked directly into Giratina's eyes with a determined expression. Much to its surprise, she didn't even move one bit, when the shadow balls were about to hit her. It wasn't the first time she got hit by shadow balls, yet this experience overshadowed all the previous ones. Not only did she collapse on the spot, the burning pain was so brutal that she was close to fainting, and only pure willpower prevented it, at least for now. Shivering uncontrollably, she looked back to realize that Espeon had fainted despite Dawn blocking most of the projectiles. At times like these she hated her nimble body, which didn't allow for a lot of blocking.

With a heavy sigh, she slowly got up, expecting an attack to finish her off at any moment. It didn't happen, though, and she raised her head to see Giratina watching her impassively. The renegade pokémon surely was only taking a small break after the fight, so she didn't get her hopes up. This bleak, colorless world was perfect for death, but she regretted that Ash, Johanna, and the others didn't know about her fate at all. They might even believe her to be alive, and look for her with false hope keeping them going. It would be a futile search, one doomed to fail right from the beginning, because nobody would consider looking for anything in this world. Knowing them, they'd keep looking, though, and therefore they'd never find peace. The mere thought caused a horrible pain in her chest, threatening to make her pass out. However, she wanted to go with dignity, standing upright, and fully aware of her own end. It was a shame the pokémon weren't given the same mercy.

"What are you waiting for? I'd ask you to spare the pokémon, but since you don't listen to me ... just end it already." She struggled to keep standing, staring at the opponent defiantly. It was impossible to say what it was thinking. "Do it!" she yelled with a commanding tone.

It was foolish to hope that her words could compel it to do anything, yet they had an effect. A gigantic shadow ball was formed, which made Dawn realize that it wasn't going to spare the others, no matter what she said. A strange feeling made her head feel funny. This was the end. When the shadow ball started moving towards her, she inclined her head, closing her eyes and awaiting her death. Dawn looked remarkably calm in these moments, having accepted her fate.

The sound of the pulsating shadow ball was all around her, but she didn't feel any more pain. In fact, it ceased slowly, being replaced by new strength in her body, and she opened her eyes to see that the shadow ball had turned into a dome of energy, entrapping her without hurting her. The reason was unknown to her, and she wasn't foolish enough to rejoice just yet, for Giratina could still kill her easily. With her new strength, she checked on the pokémon to determine their injuries, which weren't too serious, as long as they stayed in their pokéballs. Recalling them was therefore the logical decision, and it was now that the regeneration ball really came in handy, for it was the only pokéball in her possession capable of containing Pikachu.

"I've never been challenged like this in my home." Giratina's voice in her head made her jump. It was so powerful that it sounded like it was right next to her, so that she looked around. At the same time, it lacked the previous, unrelenting fury, a fact that gave her a little hope. "Most of the people, who find a way into my world, choose to sacrifice their minions to cover their escape. When I hunt them down, they beg for their lives, having forgotten about them already, and then they die in disgrace. You are so different from them."

It almost sounded like it was impressed by her behavior, but Dawn didn't dare get her hopes up yet again. It was still way too early for that, and respect alone wasn't a good reason not to kill her on the spot. Expecting the dome to close around her, killing everyone inside, she waited for Giratina to speak again.

"I sense your fear. You have good reason to fear me, but I won't kill you until I know more." The tone of its voice grew more threatening, telling her that messing with the legendary pokémon would be her last mistake. "I'll ask you questions, and you'll answer me. You won't speak unless I ask you a question or tell you otherwise. If you disobey, you and everyone around you will die. Are we clear?"

"Yes, we are," she immediately stated, careful not to anger it, for they were at its mercy.

"Good." Much to her relief, it sounded pleased, at least for now. "I warn you, don't even try to deceive me. I'll determine any lie you tell me, and act accordingly. Now, who are you?"

"My name is Dawn," she quickly replied. "I'm a coordinator from ..."

"The titles of your kind mean nothing to me," it told her quickly. "Humans call your kind a trainer. That should suffice. Now to a more important question. How did you get here?"

Dawn could only hope that it was patient, as this could require some explanation. In addition, she had to be careful not to anger it somehow.

"It's a long story," she said at first, and was immediately interrupted.

"Time has no meaning here, at least not for me." Dawn had no idea what it meant, but she refused to risk angering it by asking this sort of questions. "Go ahead."

"Alright." She took a deep breath. "There was a convention, some kind of meeting in Saffron City, and I was among those invited. However, one the others was ... bad. We didn't know it at that time, but he was the one who'd attacked us on several occasions in the past. The police revealed his identity, and we got caught in ensuing fight. Before he retreated, he drew a strange rifle, and shot at my friend. I got in the way, but it didn't kill me. I simply got here. Ever since that moment, we've been looking for a way back to our home."

In the end, the story was over much sooner than anticipated, followed by silence. Dawn was unsure whether Giratina was thinking about the story itself, or whether she lied to it. Hopefully, it was the first one, because a pokémon like that didn't need much reason to kill. The old stories about Giratina suggested that it was banished to this world as a sort of punishment for violence. Although she didn't know what was true, she was careful not to provoke it in any way.

"This man, what's his name? Can you describe his weapon?" it finally asked.

"His name is Nathan Sorlan. His weapon ... well, I'm not an expert on guns. It was a large, black rilfe with a blue glowing gem in the front. I know it sounds weird, but that gem has powers." She remembered the other gems like Boris's or Wraith's. "I've seen others like that before, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was responsible for this mess."

"I've never seen gems like that, but I sense no lie, so I see no reason not to accept this explanation. For now." Dawn was relieved to hear this, relaxing slightly. As long as she was surrounded by the dome, she remained cautious, though. "This man, Nathan, does he use creatures that look like crobat? I know they aren't real pokémon, not even living beings, and that they burn with green flames when they are destroyed. However, that's already all I know about them."

It was clearly talking about the Okcha, though it had only met their shells, bodies made specifically for them. Their ability to possess others was still unknown to Giratina.

"Yes, he uses creatures like that, but there's more to them. They can possess anyone, and I've seen them use other bodies than just crobat." She thought about it for a moment. "I've seen mostly gengar, crobat, and talonflame."

"Whatever they are, he sends swarms of them into my realm. Their bodies are poor, and quickly dissolved by this world like every alien material, but they still have enough time to cause terrible damage." Dawn wondered what it meant by the alien material, but didn't dare ask yet. "They are mindless and destructive, and they avoid me all the time, going straight for the crystals instead of fighting. I can usually sense intruders, but they are different. Because they have no life, they can't be detected, and I have to follow their trail of destruction, repairing everything along the way. Even worse, they're extremely fast, and they spread out whenever I find a large group, which means I have to hunt them down one by one. I'm not afraid of any enemy, but those things ..." Dawn could hear the frustration and exhaustion in its voice. "They make it impossible for me to fulfill my duty. They have to go, no matter the cost. And you will help me."

This came as a surprise, though it wasn't entirely unpleasant, for it meant that she wasn't going to die. On the other hand it sounded like she wasn't going to return home either, which made her worry a little. After all, she hadn't seen any food here, yet she couldn't survive without it for long. Needless to say, she also wanted Ash, Johanna, and the others to know that she was alright. Giratina sensed that she was uncomfortable, but continued nonetheless.

"You will stay here. You will hunt and destroy any crobat you see. Either that, or you die. It's simple." Just as suspected, she didn't really have a choice. Apparently, Giratina assumed that she accepted its conditions, and explained further. "I understand you have needs that my world can't provide. There's no food, but with my help, you won't need any. I'll establish a connection between you and the realm. As long as you remain loyal, it will provide you with all the energy and healing you need. This won't reduce your need for sleep or water. In fact, you will need a lot of water, but all of it here is safe to drink." This made everything a lot easier, but she was still stuck in a strange world. "I also made your possessions part of my world, so that they won't be absorbed into it. I assume your clothes dissolving wouldn't be in your interest, right? In any case, you should know why those crystals are so important, not only to me, but to you as well."

Dawn made sure to listen carefully. Now she'd finally get to know the secret behind those countless crystals, and why images of pokémon could be seen within them. It had to be something extremely important, or Giratina wouldn't bother repairing all of them, let alone react like it did when one of them was destroyed.

"You may have noticed that this world is like a reflection of yours. The landscapes look alike, but it's far more than a cosmetic similarity. Yes, the connection runs deep indeed, for damage in one world causes damage in the other." This was a disturbing revelation, as Dawn could think of why Nathan might want to do something in this world. Anyone in control of this world had indirect control of the other. "However, it is nothing compared to the crystals. Those represent living beings. Every human and pokémon has one of them here. You can see them inside. It's a vital extension of their true self. Do you understand? If the crystal is destroyed, the corresponding human or pokémon dies. I can repair them unless the shards were already absorbed by the world, which usually happens after a natural death."

All of sudden, a lot of matters made sense. The strange deaths all over the world, as well as the mysterious resurrections, they'd all happened due to the crobat breaking crystals. Although it would be hard to find a specific crystal, the mere thought of someone having access to them was scary, sending a shiver down Dawn's spine. Why Nathan would send Okcha to indirectly kill indiscriminately remained unknown, but the fact that he had access to this world alone was reason enough to be terrified.

 _What if Ash's or Empoleon's crystal were destroyed, and Giratina arrived too late? Nobody would know why, and there would be nothing anyone could do._ Imagining this made her feel slightly sick. _Nobody should have such power._

The chances of it happening to someone specific were slim, for there were billions of those crystals, but whenever one of them was destroyed, someone suffered because of it. Even worse, she could've accidentally destroyed Ash's crystal during the battle without her knowing about it. On the other hand she couldn't help but admire Giratina. It had so much power, so much responsibility, which may have been forced upon it, yet it didn't use it, and kept doing its duty, no matter how difficult or ungrateful it was. The least she could was to help it out temporarily, especially since it was in her own interest.

"You should understand why this task is so important now." The dome disappeared, revealing that Giratina was already gone. Obviously, it could communicate with her over a large distance. "Rest and heal your wounds now. I expect you to start the hunt as soon as possible. Try not to destroy too many crystals in the process, though."

"I'll do my best," Dawn promised.

She'd ask for one of the pokémon to be allowed to leave, but first, she wanted to prove her good will. Once she'd destroyed enough Okcha, when Giratina trusted her at least a little, she could ask. All in all, the situation could be far worse. There was still a lot to learn about this world, and she was eager to listen to anything the renegade pokémon could tell her.

* * *

 **Now it should be clear who killed Shira and her goons. Unlike in the games, Giratina in its own domain is much more powerful than anywhere else and capable of defeating entire teams of champion-level pokémon. If Dawn ever loses its favor, she's as good as dead, so she better hopes that she remains useful to it.**


	90. Recovering from Failure

**Last time it was Dawn's turn, now it's up the others to deal with the new situation. The next one will be a mix again.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 90 Recovering from Failure

The silence, the emptiness, they were worse than anything Ash could imagine in this situation. The world around him turned to darkness, and he saw the faces of those he'd lost in the distance. They dissolved immediately when he extended an arm towards them, leaving him with a sense of utter failure. He cried out, only to hear his own cry being amplified by something around him, which turned it into an ear-shattering scream.

That's when Ash woke up, covered in sweat. He felt that he shouldn't be surprised about the topic of the first dream after his big loss, yet he was still disturbed by it. The champion had been trying to sleep for hours, and now he realized that he couldn't get any rest like this, at least not yet. Breathing heavily, Ash got up from the bed, and walked to the only window of his room. Due to the event, he'd been forced to stay with the international police for questioning and protection, along with the pokémon present at the Pokénvention, Delia, and Johanna. He shuddered upon remembering Johanna's reaction to the horrifying news, though he'd left quickly. It was difficult to tell whether she was blaming him, and he wouldn't be surprised if she did, but he didn't have the courage to confront her directly. Even Delia had been unable to get anything out of him so far, and Ash could only hope that his mother could understand his desire to be alone for a while.

Only his pokémon and Empoleon, who was currently without a trainer, remained with him. The usually talkative pokémon had been extremely quiet so far, something that Ash could understand all too well. The interrogators on the other hand didn't care about their mental state in the slightest. They'd probably keep pestering them until the officers believed that they'd told them everything. It was impossible to tell when that would happen, and he certainly wasn't going to get his hopes up anytime soon. His most pressing issue was the missing rest, which could prove extremely distracting during the next interrogations, yet at the same time, he didn't wish to fall asleep. The first dream was bad enough, and if it somehow merged with the previous ones, it would be become even worse.

Ash looked outside the window, as if he hoped that he'd see the answers to his problems out there. In the end, he only saw a typical winter night somewhere in Kanto. It was icy cold, yet he still wished he could be outside, actually doing something, instead of being imprisoned by those who were supposed to be allies. At least they'd allowed him to take a few things with him to his room, one of them being Ash's aura stone. So far, he hadn't found much use for it, but this was the perfect opportunity since Dawn had worn the counterpart. However, there was never a reaction, which could mean that she was either really gone, or that she wasn't wearing hers anymore. Neither option was appealing.

Nevertheless, he refused to believe that she was dead. After all she hadn't given up on him when the Okcha Prime had taken his body all the way to Sinnoh, so he wasn't going to insult her memory by declaring her dead at the first opportunity. Their arguments, which had seemed so important earlier, now seemed insignificant. Their problems had hit them in quick succession, which was one reason why they hadn't been able to deal with them as usual, but he still wasn't going to let it pass as an excuse. There was truly no better way of making someone appreciate something than taking it away from him. Nathan had done exactly that, which may have been his plan all along, judging from how much he wanted them to join him together. But in this case, he couldn't simply kill Dawn without losing both of them permanently, and it gave Ash a little hope.

Before having gone to sleep, Ash had taken off his aura stone, but now he felt compelled to try it again. Even when there was no reaction, which was to be expected, he felt only disappointment. However, when he finally went to bed again, he saw it flashing for a moment, or imagined it. There was no satisfying explanation for this strange occurrence, as there was none of the usual warmth, only a brief glow. It could be a malfunction caused by the destruction of its counterpart, if it was really destroyed, or Dawn wasn't dead, and wore it for only a moment before taking it off again. Although Ash couldn't imagine a proper reason for this kind of behavior, it gave him hope, and he even considered waking up Empoleon, who was sleeping in a corner. He decided against it, though, for the water-type was surely tired, and a possible malfunction wasn't enough reason to disturb him. Instead, he'd have to make sure to mention it in the morning.

When Ash sank back onto the bed, he thought about the man, who'd inflicted so much pain on them. Nathan needed to die, Ash was sure of it. Thinking about it and actually doing it were fundamentally different, though, and he wasn't sure how to accomplish it. Finding his friends was more important right now, so he still had some time to think about it. His pokémon had told him that Dawn had searched the whole region for him, when he'd disappeared. This was the least he could do, albeit his task was a bit harder in a way, for he had no clue where to start the search. On the other hand, both he and his lucario could sense her when she was near, so they could cover a much larger area by spreading out properly. First the international police had to release him, though.

Another issue was the involvement of his friends. They'd surely contact him soon enough, but he wasn't sure whether they'd believe him if he said that Dawn and Pikachu might still be alive simply because there was no corpse, and because he saw his amulet flash at some point. Even if they did believe him, getting them to help him might not be such a good idea. They not only lacked the option to feel Dawn's or Pikachu's presence via aura, so they had to rely on their vision, but they'd also be likely to attract Nathan's attention this way, something that was bound to bring nothing but trouble. Perhaps it was more reasonable to claim that they were dead.

At least his injuries weren't too severe. Even his leg, which had hurt a lot at the beginning, could already be moved without problems, which was mainly due to the excellent treatment. No doctor in the world could help him against bad dreams, though, that was something he had to endure.

* * *

Max Wright was still awake, having refused to rest the entire time to coordinate the current operations. Not every officer had been stationed near Saffron City. Some had been busy in Nathan's factories and office, having gathered information and arrested suspicious men. The result wasn't so bad, but it was overshadowed by the failure in Saffron City. Nathan had shown to not only be resistant, but completely immune to the usual teleport-counter. As such, he had an immense advantage over his enemies, being able to flee whenever the situation was getting too dire for him. Unlike them, he could choose when and where he wished to fight, something that deeply worried Max, as Nathan might force them to fight where he was strongest. On the other hand he could escape any ambush with ease.

Whatever the method was, it had to be fundamentally different from the usual teleport, so that dark fields didn't affect it in the slightest. The only way to counter this kind of mobility was to make sure that there was no safe place for Nathan, which had to be accomplished by destroying every hideout. There had to be at least one major base to act as a sanctuary for him, and they had to find it soon. A possible solution might be to plant bombs everywhere Nathan could go, but they didn't nearly enough explosives. All in all, he considered this his greatest challenge, and the previous operation was an utter failure in his mind.

The lack of sleep over the last few days eventually took its toll on him, and his head fell on his desk. The next few days were going to be hard, so maybe it was good that he got some rest, even if it was involuntarily.

* * *

In Nathan's base, Seth, Wraith, and Eileen were called to his office in the middle of the night. This could only mean that it was a matter of high priority, and considering it was Nathan, who'd called them personally, they were worried. They didn't arrive at the same time, but Nathan waited for everyone patiently, giving those present some time to observe him. His expression hinted at a mix of anger, worry, and even fear, which was quite surprising, given the success at Saffron City. Wraith was the last one to arrive. Like the others she looked tired, though she did her best trying to look as normal as possible. When she sat down, Nathan finally addressed them.

"I had some time to think about the recent events, and the future," he said leaning forward. It was now that they noticed how tired he looked. "They raided my office buildings, my factories, pretty much every legal part of my empire. They took components, which were desperately needed. This was a huge blow." His voice was uncharacteristically quiet, so the others decided to be extra careful. "We were already low on materials, but it's even worse now. Mind you, I still have enough for the final phase of the plan, it's merely more ... complicated. That's why we can't afford to draw any more attention right now. Nobody will leave this base. Everyone going against this order will be hunted down and executed, no exceptions. I hope I made myself clear."

They didn't need to be told twice. Disobeying Nathan when he was acting serious was a horrible idea, and even though they didn't understand why the situation was so bad all of sudden, they nodded. Besides, they were too tired to argue, and wanted to return to sleep as soon as possible.

"Good. And if someone thinks he can hide from me, he should remember that I have an eye on his family." Although he didn't look at Seth, it was clear who was meant by that. "Betraying me would be dumb, to say the least. And believe me, I'll find out if you even try. Now get lost."

This time, they didn't waste any time, and rushed out of his office, before Nathan's bad mood would make him do something worse than threatening them. The prospect of having to remain in the base for a long time wasn't pleasant, but it was still better than risking their lives while committing disgusting atrocities in his name outside.

Nathan didn't watch them leave, but turned his chair to reflect on various matters. What bothered him the most was how Max had been able to uncover his identity, something he'd thought impossible before, and maybe it wasn't Max himself who'd discovered it. Perhaps it was the Okcha Prime, which had knowledge of his identity ever since having possessed Victoria. Why it hadn't done it earlier was different question. Yet there was something strange about it. No matter how intelligent the Okcha truly were, planning went against their very nature, so even the Okcha Prime was unlikely to do something like this. It was more likely to travel through the regions, slaughtering anyone in its path, yet there were no reports of anything like that. The longer he waited, the more willing he was to believe that the Okcha Prime might be responsible. Should this prove correct, then he had an opponent he couldn't control in any way. Its ability to possess almost any body made it extremely dangerous and slippery, though he and his chosen were immune due to their rings. A properly trainer lucario could detect a flaw in the aura of possessed beings, but it didn't help against possessed bodies of Okcha, as they lacked an aura. For all he knew, it might already be among the guards in this base.

In any case, the situation was already bad enough. In order to ensure success of the final phase, he needed five perfect bodies for his Okcha, yet he only had three of them so far. The others lacked a few critical components, which were extremely hard to obtain, even with all of his money. Without those, the bodies couldn't exist under the conditions they'd soon meet. Nathan was angry at the scientists, who'd discovered this minor detail, as they'd called it, too late, and as a punishment, he'd have them possessed by Okcha, so that they could serve as guards. Now all that was left for him was a bunch of storage outposts, which contained mostly Okcha for emergencies, a large production facility, and the main base. The fact that his identity had been revealed to Max Wright made him suspect that the location of this base wasn't safe either. However, there were enough supplies for months, and the defenses were strong enough to repel even major attacks. In that case he'd have to make do with only three perfect Okcha.

In case Max Wright was the one to attack, he'd have all the Okcha wreak havoc among the people. Sometimes his enemies needed to be reminded of the simple fact that everything came at a price, and when he was involved, the price was usually high. As a last resort, there was still the gem of chaos. Although he hadn't found a way to master its powers, there was one, particularly brutal use for it. When such a gem was destroyed, it violently exploded in a way specific to the essence it contained, and the gem of chaos, containing essence of destruction, had to cause a truly spectacular explosion. Of course, he couldn't be absolutely sure about it, but he was willing to use it as a kind of self-destruct-button for his base.

Perhaps the most annoying part of his new situation was that he couldn't show himself in public anymore without taking a huge risk. It felt like he was a prisoner in his own base, like the others, but if everything went according to plan, that would soon change.

He couldn't help but consider the previous event a spectacular failure. Absolutely nothing was accomplished, much was lost, and there was no way of quickly regaining it. No, he had to live with the results now. The look on Ash's face after he'd witnessed her getting hit was delightful, yet it was only a small consolation. Now he stood up, and kneeled next to his desk, extending an arm towards the entrance.

"Come here, girl." Absol became visible, pressing her head against his hand. He gladly petted her with a big smile. "Three will be enough. I'm sorry I didn't let you out more often. The next few days, perhaps weeks won't be much better, but after that, you'll have plenty of opportunity. Those filthy bastards will know what it feels like to be hunted. The eternal hunt, how does that sound?" He earned enthusiastic nodding for that. "You can already look forward to the thrill. Only a little more patience."

Absol had never liked humans, but it was only after she'd been driven from her territory that she'd come to hate them. They'd refused to give her a moment of peace, as they'd believed her to bring misfortune. The shame of getting captured eventually by a stranger only made it worse. Having been traded several time, she'd become the first pokémon of the young Nathan Sorlan. Of course, she'd refused to interact with him, let alone obey his commands, but they'd soon found out that they weren't so different after all. For the first time in her life, she'd found someone who understood her, and he'd found a pokémon that shared his harsh view of life.

Now she acted as his silent guardian, and most efficient assassin, waiting for their dreams to come true. Other pokémon had joined them in meantime, pokémon, who were ready to do anything to see Nathan's plans come to fruition. He had thirteen pokémon for battle in total, and every single one was precious to him. They were the only ones who knew his plan, as they were the only ones he truly trusted, and they repaid his trust with unmatchable zeal. Unfortunately, only few could be used without revealing his identity, which wasn't an issue anymore. Absol's invisibility allowed her to remain undetected when eliminating a lone target, and Mismagius could use its powers to create illusions. The others hadn't seen a lot of action, albeit Ampharos was used regularly for its light travel move. They craved real fight, and if Nathan was right, he'd soon provide those.

However, even those pokémon didn't know about a small detail, which was only known to Metagross and Nathan. It wasn't like he didn't trust the rest to keep a secret under normal circumstances, but keeping it under torture or possession was an entirely different matter.

Now he had to vanquish an even greater foe, one that had been challenged by many. Only a bit longer, then he'd get the opportunity to take down the order and the rules of this world.

* * *

Ash was woken up early in the morning by two officers, whose task was to take him to an interrogation chamber. They only allowed him to take a shower, and swallow a tiny breakfast, then he was forced to answer their questions all over again. Empoleon suffered the same fate, albeit he was fortunate enough to be given a little more time. The whole morning passed this way, without Ash seeing a single ray of sunlight. In the end, he didn't even mind the questions anymore, as he'd already lost his sense of time until he was told it was time for dinner. His food was brought directly to his room, so that he didn't have to dine with others. This meant he didn't have to meet Johanna in particular, and even though he wasn't sure whether she blamed him for Dawn's disappearance, he didn't want to look at her, being unable to endure an accusatory stare at this point. He certainly wouldn't blame her, for he was the reason Dawn had gotten into the way of the attack. While he, Empoleon, and the other pokémon were eating, his door was suddenly unlocked and opened.

"Hello there." It was Thomas, who was carrying a small box containing cookies. "I thought you might want a bit more than the usual crap you get here, especially after all you've been through. I know it's no real consolation, but please allow me to offer you my condolences. It must've been horrible to watch her disappear like that."

"You're the first one here not to say that she's surely dead," Ash pointed out. "Anyway, thank you, but I'd still rather be outside looking for her."

"I don't know for sure what happened to her, so I won't claim anything. So far she's only likely to be dead." He offered the box with a sad smile. "I'm sorry I can't be more optimistic."

Ash gladly accepted the extra food, since neither he nor the pokémon were too happy with the food they'd been given. While they were busy, Thomas watched them with an amused expression. Even though it seemed like he was only there to help Ash out a little, this wasn't the case. He had a mission, albeit the method was his own.

"Max wants to keep you here until tomorrow in case something comes up. I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to change his mind," he said when Ash looked up from the box. "I must warn you. Sorlan targeted you specifically, and he might try to finish the job later, preferably when you're vulnerable. It might be wise to stay here, where you're safe. We can protect you, and be assured that we'll do our best to save your friend if she's still alive." Ash didn't say anything yet, and only tilted his head. "That's a no, isn't it?" Thomas asked with a weak smile.

"You know as well as I do that I can't do that. If there's even the slightest chance that she's alive. I wouldn't forgive myself for staying here. I must go and help, no matter how," Ash explained. Thomas was actually neither surprised nor disappointed.

"You know, I'd be trying much harder if it was anyone but you. It's not just that I can't imagine persuading you to do it our way -" He leaned in closer, so that he was close to Ash's ear before whispering the rest. "- I can also imagine you achieving something without our help. Just don't tell Max I said that."

It wasn't difficult to imagine Max because those words sounded encouraging, therefore it was better he didn't know about them at all. Before Ash could leave, he needed more information, though. So far, he'd been given a lot of questions, yet he'd received not a single answer in return. Another pressing matter presented itself when the pokémon dispersed, though.

"What? Hey, there's nothing left." He looked into the box with a miserable expression. "Absolutely nothing. I only had like two or three."

It was good to see even this aspect of the old Ash in these dire times, for they knew it wouldn't last long. As expected, he returned to his gloomy state mere seconds later, making them stop snickering.

"What do you know about Nathan?" he suddenly asked. "I've met him a few times, but it feels like I don't know anything about him."

"Well, you're not the only one to think that." He sighed and took a seat on a chair next to Ash's bed. "I'm not sure whether he's a madman, a fanatic, or merely a ruthless criminal. We don't know what he wants to accomplish, and I'd lie if I told you that we understand his methods. We do know that he's ruthless, and that he doesn't care about the lives of his own minions."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Ash said, remembering Victoria's fate.

"I bet he'd sacrifice everyone for ... whatever he wants. It's not really important, but there are hints that he believes himself to be some kind of king of an ancient nation, chosen to restore their glory, and conquer the world." Ash gave him a questioning look, so he elaborated. "We have reason to believe that he raided an old tomb, and left behind a tablet. I think the tomb belonged to Abylassagonarian priests. Yes, that's a ridiculously long name, but I think I got it right. They were a big deal a long time ago, or so I was told. Owned a real, early empire, but it didn't last."

"What does it have to do with Nathan?" Ash asked with a confused expression. Although he didn't have anything better to do, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to spend his time with history lessons.

"I was getting to that. Anyway, there's almost nothing left of them now, so many doubted their existence until recently, when the tomb was found. All the stuff inside was gone, except for a tablet. It turned out to be authentic, and experts immediately started working on a translation. They didn't have anything to help them, apart from the texts of Abylassagon's enemies, who'd apparently been forced to learn their language. They developed different variations, and though they weren't exactly the same, it was enough to make a decent translation. Even if it took some time," he added, shrugging. Ash looked impatient, so he quickly continued. "Anyway, as I've already said, there was a prophecy on the tablet. It spoke of a reborn king, or some kind of leader, that would use the empire's old tools to regain its lost territory. Tools that sound a lot like the strange creatures Nathan is using."

Finally, Ash heard about the connection between his enemy and this strange tablet. If this was true, then those creatures had been used a long time ago already, and he might learn from the empire's downfall. After all their enemies had been able to overcome this weapon somehow.

"How did these Abyblablas get defeated?" he asked bluntly.

"We aren't sure. According to legend, their capital, which was located on an island, simply disappeared along with the leadership, and this led to the end." It was disappointing, but maybe there was something else that could help Ash. "Nathan obviously left it there on purpose. I'm not sure whether he truly believes that bullshit, but I think he wants us to believe it. It's probably just a way to intimidate us."

"If it's a prophecy, how will that king be defeated?" Ahs hoped that it might reveal a weakness, but Thomas only laughed.

"Defeated? Come on, it was made by their priests, probably when they were on the verge of death. Of course he won't be defeated."It made sense. The priests wouldn't foretell the rise of their empire only to say that it'd fall again. "I don't believe in that crap, and you shouldn't either. We can't look into the future. If Nathan is crazy enough to call himself the chosen, then we'll soon show him what happens to lunatics like him. There was a large newspaper article on this find a few days ago, but I doubt you read it, or you'd already know all of this. Should you want to learn more, that's what I would read first."

All of this didn't really help Ash in any way. It only told him that Nathan might think he's some kind of chosen, which would explain his pompous codename Divine. However, his location, his plans, his weapons, they were still mostly unknown. That wasn't Thomas's fault, though, as even if he knew something, he probably couldn't tell him anything important.

"Well, I don't exactly have a lot of time for reading nowadays, and I doubt it'd reveal anything important, so no, thanks. I'd rather be allowed to leave so that I could actually do something meaningful." He already knew that Max wouldn't change his mind, though, so there was no point in asking.

"You should rest today, and stay her, as I can imagine your friends will try to call you. Dawn's disappearance isn't exactly a secret." He was right. Since she was a new champion, the event that led to her disappearance didn't go unnoticed. Ash wondered how many people thought she was dead, and whether his friends would believe it. In any case, he wasn't looking forward to it. "I should leave you alone now. Whatever you do, please don't be reckless."

Ash watched him leave with a neutral expression, which turned angry as soon as Thomas was gone. Nobody could tell Ash what he had to do, and if he wanted to act reckless, it was his decision. Even though he'd heard of many people who'd been ruined by vengeance's call, he'd be ready to walk that path, if Dawn really turned out to be dead. Then he'd hunt down Nathan and everyone serving him, no matter the cost. This burning feeling inside him, it had to be stopped before it could consume him, even if he was also destroyed in the process.

Max anticipated unpredictable behavior from him. Having listened to the entire conversation, he considered telling Ash even more to make him more active, and draw Nathan's attention to him once more. Hopefully, there was a counter to the light travel until then.


	91. Dimensional Connection

**Disclaiemr: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 91 Dimensional Connection

During the hunt, Dawn had learned a lot from Giratina about its world, and the connection to hers. It was far stronger than anyone could imagine, and whoever controlled the Reverse World, also controlled the real world, and everyone living there. Even worse, there was almost no way of defeating such a madman, as traveling to the Reverse World was difficult, and while he was practically invulnerable there, his enemies could be easily slain via their crystals. The only obstacle was Giratina, who'd never allow anyone to abuse the connection between the worlds, and since it was like a god in its home, it required tremendous power to overcome it. How Nathan had gained the ability to enter this world was still a mystery to her.

One particularly nasty effect on the Reverse World was caused by massive destruction in the other. In that case, there was pollution in from of poisonous, corrosive clouds, which could only be removed by Giratina itself. A huge cloud had appeared only recently, when the balance of time and space had been temporarily disturbed by small group of criminals. The Storm Raiders had done it on purpose, and provoked Giratina's intervention, which had resulted in their death. The purpose of the disturbance was still unknown, and with Shira dead, there was little chance of resolving the mystery unless her master was caught. The renegade pokémon suspected it had something to do with Nathan's ability to enter this realm, though it couldn't imagine how its mere presence could've done anything like that.

A most interesting, if not incomprehensive attribute of the Reverse World was that neither time nor space had any meaning. Only Dawn's ties to her world made her age normally, and everything appear normal, yet there were some astonishing facts. This world was not only endless, it also contained instances of her world at every possible moment, both in the past and the future. However, when Dawn asked whether she could hypothetically go to an instance in the past to destroy a crystal to change history, or go to the future for knowledge about it, Giratina merely said that since she didn't belong here, she'd only move through the instances belonging to the current time in her world, and never find a way to the others, no matter how long she'd walk. This also made her wonder whether there were several, if not infinite versions of Giratina, since it had to take care of the entire world, but it only told her not to think about it, for the usual laws and rules didn't apply here, so it was pointless for a human to reflect on it. In the end, it required a terrible headache for her to stop thinking about it, though, and even then, she couldn't help but imagine crazy scenarios about how someone might manipulate the world in numerous ways. Of course Nathan would be interested in those.

The hunt itself wasn't difficult, but tiring. Just as Giratina had said, the Okcha refused to fight unless they were cornered, but once they did, they fought until the bitter end with astounding endurance. Fortunately, they were no match for her pokémon at all, especially since many of them had defective bodies. One of them was even crawling because its wings had dissolved. In moments like this, Dawn wondered whether it was right to simply slaughter them, but then again, they weren't real pokémon, and they didn't seem to want any mercy. If anything, they looked like they wanted to be annihilated.

Food wasn't a problem, but she was more thirsty than ever, and the water was almost too clear for her taste. That's why she was always looking for more sources, and always tried to remember the way back. There was no real weather in the Reverse World, so she couldn't hope for rain, but at least the temperature was constantly cold, albeit not icy cold. Eventually, they all got used to it, so it wasn't much of a problem by itself. The lack of change in temperature and lighting was more troubling. Her watch had stopped working when she'd gotten here, and there was no way of telling what time it was, which was bad for her biological clock.

She was already extremely tired after what felt like hours of chasing crobat. She'd gotten about a dozen of them, but now her pokémon urged her to let them rest. It was something she couldn't deny them, so they returned to the last place with water, and kept close to benefit from each other's warmth. Despite her exhaustion, actually falling asleep proved to be difficult under the current circumstances, and indeed, she stayed awake long enough to notice something about her aura stone. It had been cold and dull so far, but for a short moment, it shone brightly, making Dawn almost jump.

With renewed hoped, she shook it, as if it could be reactivated that way, only to be disappointed by a lack of reaction from it. Still, this was exciting, and she carefully got up, sneaking away from the others. The lack of color was even more apparent in her exhausted state, which was quite depressing, but right now, she only wished to speak to Giratina.

"Can you hear me?" she asked, speaking normally for now.

"Of course." Giratina's voice was so loud that she flinched. "What's wrong?"

"My amulet, it glowed for a moment, and ... well, I should tell you what it is, right?" Dawn realized that it didn't know anything about the aura stone, and that an explanation was necessary.

It didn't take long, so that she soon got to voice her concerns. So far, she'd believed that the aura stones didn't work across dimensions, yet the sudden glow made her doubt it. Either they really worked like that, and Ash had only worn his for a short time, or there was an exception to the rule. There was also the possibility of a malfunction, though she didn't relish the thought. Giratina listened patiently, or at least she thought it did, for it didn't interrupt her, until she told it about the possibility of Ash wearing his part for only a moment.

"Why would he do that? If what you told me is correct, he'd also notice the glow in such a situation. It would be exceptionally stupid of him to simply take it off." The renegade pokémon was right, and she knew it. It wouldn't make any sense, so there had to be another explanation. "I believe I may be of assistance here. A portal was opened, which certainly brought a new group of crobat here. This might have allowed for a connection as long as it was active."

It was a decent enough explanation for her. Ash must have noticed the effect as well, so perhaps he took it as a sign that she might be alive. Dawn was even tempted to regret that Nathan hadn't sent Ash here as well, but quickly realized that it was a most selfish thought.

"Several of them should be near your position. Try to get as many as possible," Giratina said with a commanding tone.

"Please, we've been working hard, but now we're tired. We need to sleep." She hoped it wouldn't be offended by her words in any way, especially when it remained silent.

"Very well," it finally said, much to her relief. "I tend to underestimate the weakness of flesh. You're allowed to rest, but I demand that you continue later without hesitation."

"We will, thank you," Dawn replied.

Once they were fully recovered, they'd complete their task with renewed vigor, although they weren't too keen on this mission. It wasn't only the monotony of the mission and the world, it was also their new 'master'. The pokémon considered it untrustworthy, an accursed, but cunning enemy. On the other hand it was clearly too powerful for them, so there was little choice, and it seemed to take its duty seriously. Moreover there was no denying that it was an important task, assuming it told them the truth, of course.

The crystals made Dawn think a lot, for there many different, interesting scenarios involving them. One of them was about Nathan's crystal. Though it seemed unlikely, finding it would allow her to end all the trouble quickly and efficiently, but there was also the moral question whether it was the right thing to do. A few months ago, she might have been inclined to say that it wasn't a kind of death anyone deserved. Now she wasn't so sure anymore. She knew that Nathan would never stop pursuing his wicked dreams, and that he'd do anything to achieve him, no matter the cost. The longer she thought about it, the more she realized that her knowledge would also make her partially responsible for his deeds, if she chose not to act. Even so, she was still hesitant to admit that she'd probably seize the opportunity after all he'd done, at least if it wasn't for Giratina, who probably wouldn't take kindly to the destruction of a crystal, even if it belonged to the one who'd caused all the trouble. Regardless of Nathan's actions, it would probably condemn the breaking of the crystal, so without its explicit approval, Dawn certainly wouldn't do it.

Another idea involved her finding her own crystal, or one belonging to one of the pokémon. However, Giratina had already told her that it was impossible, when she'd mentioned it earlier. As long as she remained in this world, there was no crystal of hers, as she wasn't in the real world anymore, and Giratina compared the crystals to shadows or reflections of every complex life form there. Therefore she didn't have to fear that the crobat might kill her or the pokémon that way. Ash was in more danger. If Dawn were to find his crystal, she'd be able to protect it, and even observe him, unless he was already killed after she'd been taken to this world. As long as there was no evidence suggesting otherwise, she assumed that he was still alive and well, a belief that was reaffirmed by the incident with the aura stone. It might be smarter to simply leave the crystal alone, though, as it was only one among billions like that, but if someone protected it, it would suddenly be a lot more interesting to attackers, thus her protection would ultimately draw attention towards it.

However, the chances of this happening were extremely low, so there was no real point in thinking about it, no matter how fascinating those thoughts were. Furthermore, she now had an obligation, and she needed her energy for it. At least the dreams were the same as her home world, even though they were depressing ones now.

* * *

Ash was caught in another dream full of darkness. Being aware that he was in a dream didn't help him wake up or manipulate the environment, though. He could only wander the endless, dark plains, followed by strange whispers, while everything behind him was being devoured by a strange darkness. The more he hurried, the faster it got as well, but when he slowed down, it got closer rapidly until he was fed up with running away, and remained standing. The whispers suddenly disappeared, and the darkness moved around him, enveloping the surroundings until nothing but pure blackness was left. It filled him with terror, yet he remained calm on the outside.

"Ash Ketchum." It sounded like dozens of different voices speaking at the same time, followed by a powerful echo. The source was unknown, as they seemed to come from every angle, but when Ash looked a little closer, he noticed monstrous, changing shapes in the darkness. While the voices were familiar, as they belonged to those that had influenced him not too long ago, the atmosphere was much darker than before. "Does it remember us?"

"All too well. What do you want?" He could already guess, and he didn't like it.

"We understand that the last approach was maybe not the most suitable one. It seemed we had some ... misconceptions about its kind. It was a mistake to influence it the way we did." Ash wasn't sure whether to believe them. "We apologize and ask for its help."

Ash had trouble believing that he heard. After everything those creatures had done, after the breakup, they expected him to help them. It made him wonder whether they were simply naive, or whether they could make him help them somehow. They had to be extremely convincing to even hope that he'd help them in any way.

"Why should I even consider helping you? You've brought nothing but trouble." He waved it off. "Just look for someone else."

"We will give answers. There is nothing more suitable than this one. Few of those who carry Okcha Prime live to tell the tale. It cannot carry it again, and it is marked, so we can contact it. It is perfect," they told him impassively. "There is no other carrying these characteristics."

"Marked?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Everything that ever carried us is marked. This allows us to track it, even influence it as it has already experienced. We are what its enemy calls the Okcha. We are not from its world, but the one called Divine found a way to bring us here and bind us to its will with rings of our former masters. These allow it to give us any order, and we must comply. There is no choice. All we want is to return home." If this was true, then it changed quite a few things. The Okcha weren't evil by default, they were simply being used as slaves, or maybe they were both, for the Okcha Prime wasn't under Nathan's control, yet it still did bad things. Ash still didn't trust them. "The rings must be destroyed. What happens to their bearers if of no consequence to use, but it must destroy the rings to free us. Then we shall leave this world."

"And how do I know you're telling the truth?" he asked, folding his arms.

"It is true that we kept secrets from it and deceived it in the past. But this is also in its own interest. The one called Divine caused great grief, did it not? Destroying rings is only a small step after defeating it." While this was true, Ash feared the consequences.

"So what guarantee do I have that your kind won't simply go berserk and take revenge on my world? How do I know you'll leave peacefully?" An army of them could indeed cause terrible damage when uncontrolled.

"There is no real guarantee. We often react with confusion and rage when freed from its influence. But it should be aware of the fact that as long as the rings exist, the bearer has control over us and can use us for anything. And we know the chosen one well enough to know that it disapproves of this." They were right about that. He despised slavery and would never use the rings. "To show our good will, we are willing to share information on the blue one it adores so much."

"You have information about Dawn?" He almost screamed in his mind. "How ..."

"The one called Divine regularly sends our kind to yet another world for purposes we don't know. The blue one met us there and destroyed our bodies, which allowed us to return home and share the information. It is accompanied by the one called Pikachu and others." This was exactly what Ash needed to hear. "That other world is like a dark reflection of its own world. There are crystals everywhere and a terrible, winged guardian. Apart from that, there is nothing we know about it. But now we need to end this. Maintaining the contact is difficult for such a long time. We trust it will do the right thing when the time comes."

The last words echoed in his head, while the darkness receded along with the shapes it carried. The landscape changed entirely, and before he knew it, he was back in his room. It was dark, he was sweating, but he was finally back. Whether the information was correct or not, he had even more evidence that Dawn was indeed alive, though the circumstances didn't help him in the slightest.

Although he'd gained valuable information, the dream had been unsettling, and he needed some time to think about it. If he'd heard right, they'd be able to do the same again, a thought that made him shudder. There had to be a way of stopping them, and something quickly came to mind.

Looking at the clock made him realize that it was 5am, so there was no real point of doing it now. He went to the window, and looked outside. It was calm and peaceful, which he regarded as a mockery of his current situation. Not only had he lost his two best friends, and several others, now he was also bothered by those strange, hostile creatures when he should be able to rest. If there was anyone who could prevent them from haunting his dreams, it was the pokémon specialized in dreams, Cresselia. Ever since Dawn had disappeared, she'd been different. Losing not only her trainer, but also her friends was terrible, not only for her. However, she was more affected than the others, probably because she was still a child, and thus more vulnerable to radical changes. The usually hyperactive and playful pokémon was a mere shadow of herself, barely interacting with anyone anymore.

Ash thought that he could give her at least some hope, and she could help him in return. They hadn't been on good terms ever since the break-up, but now they all had to work together to solve the problems. Since it might take a long time, they couldn't afford to waste time by arguing over less important matters. This wasn't exactly easy to explain to a child, though, especially one that might think he's responsible for the problems. Nevertheless, he had to try, or he wouldn't get anywhere. For now, he tried to gain at least some rest.

The first thing he did in the morning was to visit the lab with Empoleon, where he found Cresselia relaxing away from the others. Unlike the others, she didn't know him well enough to know that he'd never try to hurt Dawn in any way, and unlike Shaymin, she didn't have enough friends to convince her of his good intentions. Therefore he wasn't surprised when she didn't bother looking upon noticing his approach. Ash cleared his throat.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I have something to tell you." She didn't react, so he tried to be a bit more forceful. "You need to listen, it's about Dawn."

"What about her? She's dead." Her voice in his head was so full of sadness, bitterness, and a little spite, that he took a step back. It was painful to hear, but he had no choice.

"She's not. We have no proof." She looked up to stare at him. Although she looked the same way as always, feelings of anger flooded his mind. "And I have seen signs that she's still alive."

"And to think that my mother once told me to stop dreaming and be realistic. It seems you need the lesson more." Somehow, hearing this remark from a pokémon deeply connected to dreams annoyed him greatly.

"Listen to me, and I'll explain," he said calmly.

Empoleon helped by talking to her, and assuring her that Ash had good reason to believe that she wasn't dead. Although Cresseila wasn't convinced, she promised to listen, so he told her everything he knew. In return, she explained why she didn't believe his suspicions to be true, which was mostly because she couldn't find any clue with her psychic powers. His arguments didn't make much sense to her until he described how the aura stone worked, and even then she thought the reason to be most likely a malfunction. However, she eventually agreed that it was better to do at least something instead of simply giving up.

"Thank you. We'll need everyone if we want to have any chance to find her." There was something else, though. "One more thing. I've had a ... well, it wasn't exactly a dream, more like an ... otherworldly experience through a dream. I can't really describe it."

He did his best doing it, though, and Cresselia quickly realized that it was no ordinary dream, just like Ash had said. Although the fact that those creatures could influence dreams like that was most disturbing, she was sure that her influence was stronger, and could negate their efforts.

"They're allies of this Nathan, aren't they? Or at least they fight for him. Very well, I'll keep them out of your head during the night." Cresselia sounded much friendlier already, though there was still doubt in her voice. "Just ... promise me that you won't hurt her again. If she's alive," she added hastily.

"I regret having done it, and I'll never do it again. It seems I'm the kind of fool who needs to lose someone before he truly appreciates her." Although Cresselia was unsure whether to believe him, he sounded sincere enough for her to give him a chance. "I really hope we can start anew. I'll never be that stupid again."

She nodded, and he bade her goodbye, leaving to think about ways to find Dawn, Pikachu, and the others. It gave him some time to think about what he'd lost.

 _We've been through so much together, the good and bad times, the victories, and the moments of sorrow. We shared those emotions, knowing that we wouldn't judge, but help each other, no matter what. We grew stronger in every possible way, we learned from each other, and we overcame even the greatest challenge. Together._ He shook his head in disgust. _How could I throw all of this away like this? How could she push me away? I guess we're both fools. Just another similarity. Does she also regret? I'm sure she does. I know her. She may have been irritated back then, but she can't hold a grudge in this situation. And if she does, then I guess I don't know her after all. Does it even matter, though? She might be gone forever._ He shook his head again. _No, I can't think like this. It goes against everything we stand for. I'll gain you back, I promise. And Pikachu as well. It's strange how I tend to think mostly about Dawn, but I guess it's because of the circumstances. There was no fight before the tragedy, but he's just as important, and Dawn's pokémon as well._

Yet it was Dawn, whom he wanted to tell more. There was an apology, and also a proposal. He'd almost forgotten about his plans to propose to Dawn, but now that he was a champion, and she was almost done with her own plans for the moment, there was no excuse. However, it seemed like he might never get a chance to do it now, and this thought was causing no small amount of pain. He wanted to hear the answer at the very least as a confirmation that he was right about their relationship.

Suddenly, he remembered something related to the aura stone, something that seemed almost insignificant compared to those. Dawn had given him more than the amulets. There was still the poem. Being someone who wasn't that familiar with poems, he'd never given it the attention it deserved, but now it was different. As far as he knew, it was still somewhere in the bedroom, so he chose to go there to find it.

Mesprit and Azelf found him shortly after, having spent most of the time since the attack on their own search for answers. While they didn't have any valid proof that their friends were still alive, Mesprit told him about something that confirmed the knowledge Ash had gathered so far.

"I felt her emotions in the middle of the night. Fear, confusion, curiosity. Only for a moment, but strong enough that I can say that she wasn't in immediate danger. It almost felt like she was in another dimension." Perhaps were Okcha had been honest with him after all. "What's with that look?"

Ash knew he could talk to them openly without them declaring him a lunatic. Especially Azelf knew what he was talking about, having been a major reason for Ash to shake off their influence. Therefore he was quick to remind Ash about the time when he'd been under their control. Before he knew it, they were gone again on another search for their enemy's base, so he continued his journey back home.

On the way, however, he was found by Latios, who was remarkably far away from the lab, considering he wasn't in Ash's team. The reason turned out to be an attack on Ash's and Dawn's pokémon at the lab not even a minute ago. Forgetting about the poem altogether, Ash and the others hurried back. When they arrived, they were relieved to see that there weren't any serious injuries, though the very fact that they'd been assaulted there was already worrying enough. Questioning the involved pokémon revealed that someone or something had made a powerful, long-range, electric attack, fleeing before it could be detected, let alone followed.

Ash reported the incident to Gary, who was shocked that someone would simply do something like that to the pokémon, then he instructed his pokémon to be even more cautious in the future. There was no real need for this, for they were already extremely agitated, even pokémon like Milotic and Bisharp.

Serena and Marcus arrived soon after, making Ash wonder why they'd chosen this particular day. It was somewhat hard to believe, but Marcus was even more miserable than Ash, so that he mostly talked to Serena. While she didn't look as sad, she seemed extremely tired. When he asked her about the reason, she simply waved it off, though, and claimed it was important, because there were no results.

Ash couldn't decide what was worse, wondering whether a loved one was dead or simply gone, or knowing that a relative in league with the enemy. If he were to find and rescue Dawn, things could return to normal, but Eileen was a different case. Technically, she was still a minor, but she was working for Nathan, and there had to be a punishment. Even after that, the family would never be the same again.

When Ash told them about the aura stones, they didn't get their hopes up too much, and upon hearing about the attack on the lab, they got even more worried. However, they were glad that Ash hadn't given up yet, and they assured him that they'd tell him about their discoveries, in case they found anything. In return, he promised to share his knowledge as well, despite being unsure whether he wanted them to get even more involved than before. They left again soon enough, probably for a search with extremely low chances of success. Shaking his head, he watched them go.

They were absolutely clueless, yet he couldn't blame them for doing their best. Their efforts were futile, but at the same time, he wanted do at least something as well, even if it was only for the sake of doping something. However, he knew perfectly well that everything he could do right now would be a huge waste of time. Right now, he remembered that he'd tried to find the poem before having been distracted by the event at the lab. As soon as he was in bedroom, he immediately started searching for it, hoping that Dawn hadn't taken it with her when she'd moved out.

It took a long time, until he found an old piece of paper under a bunch of socks. He read the words before pressing the paper against his chest. Never before had he been able to relate to the sadness and longing, and since it was one of the last presents he'd gotten from Dawn, it was all the more precious to him. For now, he simply put it below his pillow for later use. He still wanted to talk to a few pokémon and people, mostly for advice on the next steps.

The pokémon were also trying to come up with ideas. They wanted to see their friends again just as much as Ash, and since he refused spend time training ever since the disappearance, they had a lot of time for this. As it was often the case, the loudest pokémon had the least valid plans, and the others spent more time thinking about flaws in their ideas. Alakazam was among the latter. She was currently looking for clues as to who had attacked the lab far away from others, near the location, where the electric-attack had been noticed first.

Even if she found a way to find Dawn, it was far from certain that Ash would accept her help after the help he'd received during the problem with the nightmares. Most of the others considered her a deceiver because of that, no matter how often she told them that she'd done it for the trainers, not for herself. A plan made by her would highly suspicious to them. Even so, she believed that Ash was desperate enough to try almost anything, which was why she kept thinking about it.

Suddenly, she was disturbed by a change around her, which felt electric in nature. Sure enough, she saw an ampharos approaching her slowly. She got ready to fight, as something was wrong about it, but it seemed non-aggressive, and spoke to her normally, like any ampharos.

"Relax. I'm not here to fight." Somehow, Alakazam wasn't reassured, and remained cautious. "I have a proposition for you."


	92. One Dream

**AshxDawnaddicted Now you're making me all embarrassed. I never considered those kind of chapters that good, let alone touching. I hope the rest can also meet those expectations.**

 **This one is probably the most romantic one in this arc. All thanks to someone special.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 92 One Dream

The ampharos standing in front of Alakazam was highly suspicious. Its power was obvious, and it was highly resistant to her attempts to look into its mind, which only made it more suspicious, as its species wasn't known for its psychic abilities. Perhaps this wasn't am ampharos, maybe not even a pokémon. For now, it remained peaceful, so she didn't refuse to talk, but she wanted to know a few things.

"Your mental resistance is formidable. Tell me, what are you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Does it matter? I'm a potential ally with important information. Information that I'm willing to share." The psychic-type didn't get her hopes up much. Nothing worthwhile came without a price, and when dealing with mysterious creatures like this one, it was usually high. "All I ask for now is that you hear me out. Then you may do as you please."

Alakazam had a bad feeling about this, but she had enough faith in her own abilities that she risked it.

"Very well. Explain yourself, and make it quick, before I change my mind," she threatened.

"As you wish. I offer nothing less than knowledge of the location of Nathan Sorlan's main base," it told her with a grin.

Of course, she hadn't expected something like this. This revelation made her think that the ampharos might be much more than anticipated. At first, she'd thought that it was a renegade Okcha that somehow had been able to shake off its bonds to the master. Now she wasn't so sure. It was difficult to describe the feeling, but she was sure there was far more to it than met the eye. For all she knew, it might be the Okcha Prime, but there was no way of telling what was true without destroying its body. In that case, it probably wouldn't tell her what it knew, and if it really was the Okcha Prime, she wouldn't stand a chance against it, so that was out of the question.

"Why would you do that? If you know the location, you must have been there at some point, and since I doubt anyone but allies of Nathan are allowed there, you must have been one of them," Alkazam explained slowly. "The question isn't whether you are one of them, it's whether he wants you to tell me all of this, and if he doesn't, how you escaped from him."

"You don't trust me, but I can't blame you." It sat down, trying to look less threatening. "Although you probably won't believe me, I can assure you that I'm not Nathan's ally, at least not anymore. He must be stopped, and if it means working with his enemies, then so be it. His plans are much grander than you could ever imagine. Unless you act soon, you'll see the results, and you won't like them."

"And you expect me to believe that, don't you? That's probably a trap," the psychic-type replied. "You should've talked to someone more gullible."

Ampharos made a sound that sounded like laughing, which made its body release sparks. Alakazam felt like it was making fun of her, and she created a blade with psycho cut, threatening the electric-type.

"I'm sorry. I don't want someone gullible. I want someone, who ... is ready to do what has to be done." Its eyes narrowed when it gave her a curious look. "You're like that, aren't you? You aren't afraid of getting your hands dirty to help those you love, even if may not appreciate your efforts."

For the second time during the conversation, she was astonished. This creature either knew a lot about her, or it was extremely good at guessing, though it would be too much of a coincidence. The fact that it knew how to use the knowledge properly suggested a high level of intelligence, which ultimately meant that it was trouble.

"So what if I am?" she asked, raising her blade. "What do you expect me to do?"

"For now, only listen. Once you know the location, you'll tell Ash and the police about it, so that they both attack the base. The base is well-defended, so Ash will need heavy support to even make it past the entrance, but I don't trust those foolish officers to deal with Nathan alone," it explained, seemingly unimpressed by Alakazam's blade.

"So why don't you tell them yourself?" Alakazam raised an eyebrow, unhappy with her role as a mere messenger.

"Because they'd imprison or destroy me. I trust you understand it's not exactly something I want," it added, chuckling. "Anyway, you have one day to consider. I'll return here tomorrow unless you are accompanied. Be there alone, and everything will work out."

With a flash it disappeared. Dawn's pokémon could tell that it wasn't a teleport move, but something fundamentally different with a similar result. It was probably something she wouldn't be able to learn, but that wasn't the point right now. The real question was whether she should accept the proposal, and if yes, how she should do it. If Ash were to hear about the location before the police, he might go there while the defense systems were still active, so it was probably smarter to tell Max first, and then wait until he'd breached the first line of defenses, and gained access to the inner base.

There was also the possibility of Max not believing her, though she doubted he'd simply ignore a hint like that. He was more likely to send a few scouts to confirm the information before actually attacking it. At least that's what Alakazam would do in his stead. Organizing the attack would take much more time, but she was sure that Max would find a way to quicken the process. Nathan would eventually find out, however, and they had no idea how close he was to reaching his goal, so their time was extremely limited.

Moreover, she was sure that the ampharos had its own plans, and it hadn't struck her as the benevolent kind. She might have to thwart its plans as well, before it could take advantage of Nathan's fall. For all she knew, its plans might be even worse than Nathan's, but it seemed to be alone, unlike Nathan, who had an entire organization with an army of Okcha at his disposal. He was clearly the greater threat right now, and they had to deal with him, even if it meant making a deal with the enemy. Alakazam had a feeling that things were spiraling out of control quickly now, so there might not be much time left. In fact, it might already be too late, though she wasn't willing to believe it just yet.

* * *

In the Reverse World, Dawn and the pokémon were taking a break after about four hours of uninterrupted hunting somewhere near a large lake. Pikachu, Espeon, Lucario, and Metagross stayed with the coordinator all the time, whereas Carbink and Zoroark often used the breaks to explore the area. Carbink in particular was extremely fond of the crystals, and would look into them whenever she could. The dark-type was more curious about the images inside. The fact that each of them represented a living being fascinated him, and he treated them with respect. Although the pokémon were alone during those trips, Dawn wasn't worried in the slightest. The crobat were so vulnerable to any attack that they weren't dangerous to her pokémon, not even in large numbers. This time, Zoroark returned surprisingly early, and she noticed he was carrying a crystal. Despite his haste, he treated it with uttermost respect, almost like some kind of holy artifact.

"You have to look this." His voice in her head was ecstatic, making her wonder just whose crystal he'd found.

"Alright, let me see." He handed it to her, but held onto it, in case she dropped it because of the shock. The others also had a look, and gasped audibly when they saw the image in the crystal. Pikachu and Dawn embraced the crystal, as if they wanted to never let go of it ever again. "This must be a dream. It's so unlikely ..."

The crystals belonged to Ash. Zoroark had found it against all odds without even looking for it, which made this fortunate event hard to believe. Yet there was no denying it, Ash's crystal, and thus his very life, was in her hands. Of course this meant he was alive, and when she looked closer, she noticed he was lying on something, probably his bed, holding a piece of paper and few photos of them together with the pokémon. At first, she could hardly believe it, but it was indeed the note containing the poem she'd given to him on his birthday along with the aura stone, which he was also wearing. Things would be so much easier if only she was able to communicate through the crystal. However, she knew that he was oblivious to her observing him like through a spying glass.

Dawn had sometimes wondered whether the poem had been a good idea, but when she saw him reading it aloud, and remembered the words, she couldn't help but believe that it was perfect for this situation.

 _I still see your face before my eyes.  
thinking of happy times,  
of the way you made me smile,  
now it seems far away._

 _Maybe I can fool my friends, my family, but not myself  
I'm all alone again._

 _The sadness hurting my soul,  
the doubts in my heart,  
your absence feels eternal,  
agonizing and cruel._

 _I am longingly waiting for your return, your eyes, your smile,  
so that you restore what's left._

 _I stare at the pictures you sent,  
to remind me of you,  
I listen to your soft voice,  
Every time you call._

 _Can't you see the wound in my heart or the pain in my eyes?  
Because I can see it in yours._

 _I know we will see each other again soon,  
for I remember the promise you gave me.  
Our hearts, our dreams, our souls are connected,  
by a bond of love that nothing can break._

 _I know you have your own dreams, your own plans, your own wishes,  
but who says we can't achieve them together?_

She caught herself reading the poem aloud as well. It was almost scary how fitting the poem was, and the pokémon realized it as well when they heard her, falling silent. The fact that he was thinking of them gave them comfort, but now they had to decide what to do with the crystal. As far as they knew, there was no way of helping him with it, yet he could be harmed easily. As long as it was in their possession, any attacker would know that it was precious to them, which might provoke attacks.

Therefore she came to the same conclusion as before, and decided that it was better protected indirectly by the numerous other crystals. As tempting as it was to watch him to make sure he's safe, she couldn't help him that way, and his safety was more important than that. The pokémon initially protested when she suggested to return it to its place, but they understood her reasoning, and didn't have any better idea. Although Zoroark, having found it by chance, was against the idea until the end, he volunteered to take it back upon realizing that the others agreed with Dawn.

"I don't know if it's any use, but try to memorize the place. We might want to find it again at some point," Dawn told him when he left.

The loss was painful, even though deep inside, she knew it was for the best. Hopefully, he would be able to retain his hope, at least until she had a chance to return home. Pikachu was also visibly sad, so she gave him an encouraging smile, petting his head to make him feel better. It was a difficult time for all of them, so they needed to stick together more than ever. It was only regrettable that she couldn't do more. While they were waiting for Zoroark to return, Giratina's voice could be heard in their heads.

"Are your mortal bodies so weak that you need to rest for such a long time? Maybe I overestimated your usefulness," it told them. The last thing they needed was their host doubting their usefulness.

"Sorry, we found the crystal of ... a dear friend, and we're waiting for Zoroark to return it to its place," Dawn explained. "We'll proceed once he's back."

"Good girl. You don't want to present his life to your enemies by keeping it close." It confirmed her decision, but added something. "Next time, you better ask before doing something so stupid. But I guess your mortal minds left you little choice. I take it this friend was close to you?"

Although it tried to sound indifferent, Dawn could feel that it was indeed interested, and she couldn't blame it. After all, it had been alone for a long time, if that even meant anything in this world, but there certainly wasn't a lot of company or ways to have fun. Giratina would never admit it, but it was curious about the other world, which it had only seen through the crystals at time. Perhaps it craved friends, though Dawn didn't dare ask directly. Instead, she chose to simply answer the question.

"Yes, he was, and he still is. The attack that sent me here was originally intended for him," she confessed. "He's more than a friend, I love him. And I won't rest until I know he's safe. This can only be accomplished by making sure that Nathan is either dead or arrested for his crimes."

"And are you ready to kill him yourself, if the need arises?" Giratina asked, believing her to be too soft and innocent for such a task.

"If there's no other way, then yes, I believe I am." Although she sounded convinced, it still had its doubts. "I wonder, have you ever visited our world?"

The question was a bit unexpected, so it needed a bit longer than usual to answer. Originally, Dawn had avoided asking those more personal questions, but now that the conversation was kind of flowing, she wanted to take advantage of the situation.

"Obviously," it answered nonchalantly. "Whenever someone causes problems in this world through actions in yours, I may intervene, usually by slaying anyone involved."

"That's not what I mean," Dawn quickly said. "I mean for a longer period of time."

"Why would I do that?" Dawn had difficulties explaining her reasons, for she feared Giratina might be offended by her words.

"Well, I admit your world is beautiful in its unique way, but there's so much to discover in mine, and the places of beauty there are only inadequately represented here. It just seems so ... dull after a while." She hoped she didn't go too far, and fortunately, it didn't sound offended in the slightest, but still brushed off the idea of having to go somewhere else.

"I have no need for beauty. This is my world, my duty lies here, and there's nothing else you need to know." It certainly sounded like it wasn't going to let her change its mind, yet she persisted.

"What about company? I haven't encountered a single living being native to this world apart from you," she said, stating the obvious. "Isn't that a rather lonely existence? A friend could enrich your life so much."

There was a long moment of silence, which made her fear that she'd gone too far this time. Inquiring about the personal life of the extremely powerful, territorial, and aggressive pokémon that barely tolerated her presence in its world was probably a bad idea. Even the pokémon looked at her with a terrified expression, expecting her to be struck down by a bolt of dark lightning at any moment, but nothing happened. The Giratina's voice could be heard again, more furious and threatening than ever.

"I am Giratina, the lord of this realm! I don't need anyone, least of all a friend, and should you continue suggesting otherwise, I'll have to get rid of unnecessary help. You don't want that, do you?" it added in a menacing way.

"No, I never said you needed company," Dawn explained almost desperately. "It's just ... you must have been here for ages. Is there nothing but duty and work in your life?"

"You just don't know when to quit, do you? If I had known this, I wouldn't have put up with you." Although it sounded dangerously annoyed, she didn't believe herself to be in any immediate danger. "This world is my responsibility. This is something I have brought upon myself, and I won't back down because of some weak, mortal emotions. Now I don't want to hear anything else."

Dawn was about to reply when an electric attack by Pikachu hit her hard. Even her pokémon, who had considered shutting her mouth, were relieved by this, for they feared that Giratina might smite them because of her clumsily chosen words. When she got up again, Dawn also acknowledged the necessity of his move.

"Thanks, I needed that." Giratina knew those words weren't meant for it, so there was no reply. "Well, as soon as Zoroark is back, we'll hunt for a few more hours, and then go to sleep."

Sleep was precious in this world, for someone always had to stay awake in case of an attack, and there were no comfortable places at all. Most of them used Zoroark's body as pillow whenever they could, albeit it wasn't too effective. In the end, he couldn't replace a bedroll, let alone a real bed. The food situation was even worse. Although they didn't need to eat, they missed it dearly, and the water tasted like nothing at all, yet they needed so much of it. There was no time for leisure, for the mission was tiring, even though it was trivial to a trainer of Dawn's level. The bodies of the Okcha were so weak and brittle, that she believed her mere touch to be enough to destroy them. They were never in any danger, because the enemy refused to fight, but chasing them required a lot of energy. Therefore, most pokémon tried to relax whenever given the chance, resulting in rather quiet breaks with no enlightening conversations whatsoever. In addition, they knew Giratina heard everything they said, so they had to chose their words carefully.

When Zoroark finally returned, Dawn left the task of telling him what had occurred to the others, believing her words to have cause enough trouble already. With a sigh, she finally told them to move for the next hunting session, lest Giratina might think they're really not worth the trouble. They simply had to get through this now.

* * *

Ash had trouble falling asleep, even with Cresselia nearby. Worry and fear prevented it for a long time, until it finally happened. Cresselia's mere presence ensured pleasant dreams, but she suddenly realized that she couldn't make anything specific for him. This had never been an issue with Dawn, for the two had created a strong bond that allowed her to influence Dawn's dreams, no matter from where. Now that it didn't work with Ash, she came to discover the potential of the bond. Having heard about Mesprit's suspicion, she believed there was the possibility of her influencing a dream even when Dawn was in a different dimension, as it didn't matter to dreams. If she'd only thought of this earlier, she could have confirmed Dawn's survival easily.

It made her feel ashamed, even though the others probably wouldn't be mad at her, blaming her youth. However, she knew that wasn't the case. It had been her hopelessness after Dawn's disappearance, and now she regretted her foolish behavior. She could still correct this, though, and not focused on the bond, hoping to catch Dawn asleep. Little did she know, there was no night, and therefore no set time for sleep in the Reverse World. Fortunately, Dawn had to go to sleep at some point, and when it happened, Cresselia was still so focused that she immediately felt it.

Powerful emotions of relief and happiness washed over her, making her lose her focus for a moment. There was time for a short break, since Dawn was unlikely to wake up so shortly after falling asleep. Once she had relaxed a little, she had to decide on what to do next. Her first thought was to wake up Ash to tell him about her amazing discovery, but then something else came to mind. Messing with dreams came natural to a cresselia, though few used their powers actively, relying mostly on their passive abilities. Her mother had told her about the other abilities, which mostly involved dealing with a darkrai's influence, but a few of them were different. One of them was particularly interesting, one that that involved two dreams at the same time. It required Ash to be asleep, so she dismissed her original plan. Ash would find out in a different, and much more convincing way.

Due to her influence, Ash was currently experiencing an exciting dream about his first challenger as a champion. Suddenly, it practically dissolved, until everything around him was white. Nothing was left, yet he wasn't worried in the slightest for some reason. Instead, he looked around calmly, expecting to see something important. When he did, his eyes widened, and he gasped audibly, forgetting about everything else. Dawn was standing nearby, having been in her own, albeit darker dream only seconds ago. Now she was going crazy, and rushed towards him, only to walk through each other in an attempt to hug.

"Ash, is that really you? Or is this just a cruel dream?" she whispered softly with longing in her eyes.

"And here I thought I was the one dreaming," Ash replied jokingly, making her smile a little.

It was an awkward situation for both of them, for neither had any idea whether this was real, an illusion, or a dream. They quickly realized that it didn't matter right now. Especially Dawn had found little rest in her sleep lately due to troubling dreams, so even if it was only a dream, it was a most welcome change. Only intangibility was annoying, preventing them from touching each other. In this situation, they placed their palms so that it was as close to a touch as possible. There was nothing else around them.

"Even if I might talk to a product of my own mind, there's something I must tell you," Dawn told him with a weak smile. "Please listen. I feel terrible about the things I said, and I was afraid I'd die before I could apologize properly. This lie, it seemed so important back then, but it can't compare to my love for you. I was a fool to say those bad things, and I can only hope that you'll be able to forgive this stupid girl one day."

"There's no need to ask for forgiveness, because I've already forgiven you," he replied tenderly. "I was also an idiot for treating you badly before that, so I can't exactly blame you for the reaction. Besides, I wouldn't be any better if stayed mad, would I? All I ask is that you do the same."

"Two fools begging for forgiveness. I guess it's settled then." She showed her first true, honest smile since the break-up. "I'm glad I got the opportunity to do this, even if it's not real."

"Not real? It probably depends on your point of view." Things were starting to get confusing for him, and he shook his head. "Anyway, most people think you're dead, killed by Nathan during the attack."

"Dead? No, not quite that drastic. I was merely taken to another world." This didn't come as a surprise for Ash. "Let me explain. I don't know how Nathan acquired this power, but he sent us to the Reverse World, Giratina's domain. At first it was hostile towards me, but now I'm working for it. This world is strange, but it's deeply connected to our world, any everything we do in one world has an effect in the other. That's why we must be careful. Nathan might want to control ours by controlling Giratina's. Although I don't know how he hopes to overcome Giratina, it's better not let him come this far. I fear his plans are much greater than any of us can imagine."

Ash remained silent for a while, trying to process everything he'd heard, but it was so much. This made him wonder whether it was really only a dream, or maybe something more, as the story seemed too crazy and adventurous. Even when he believed he understood the problem, he still needed time for a proper answer, and even then it was a question for her.

"So you couldn't leave? Or at least give me a sign that you were alive?" he asked. Then he realized that if this was the real Dawn, there were a lot more things he needed to know. "What about Pikachu and the others? Are they alright?"

"They are." He was relieved to hear it, and let out a sigh. "Like me, they're stuck here. Giratina doesn't trust us enough to let us take messages to our world, let alone release us. And I fear it won't change its mind until Nathan is defeated. You know, he sends large numbers of his creatures here. We don't know why, but it's surely not for our benefit. He's the one who causes all of those strange deaths and resurrections all over the world. Or rather, Giratina's responsible for the resurrections."

It was getting more confusing. Ash had heard stories about Giratina, and its banishment due to its aggressive nature, and now it was supposed to be on their side, even if it was mostly because they had the same enemy. Whether it could be trusted was a whole different question, though, and he feared what it might do once they weren't useful to it anymore. He shuddered when he imagined it crushing Dawn while he was away, unable to help her, and he'd never get to know what happened to her and the others.

"Are you sure working for it is a good idea?" he asked with worry evident in his voice.

"Nope, but it's not like I have a choice. Without it, I'll simply starve. You see, there's no food here," she told him, shrugging.

"Is that so?" He suddenly grinned. "Well, if I come along, I'll make sure to bring some cookies."

"Don't forget something to drink. The water here tastes like absolutely nothing." She made a disgusted expression, but then she smiled. "Who knows? Maybe Giratina will appreciate some tea and cookies. Come to think of it, that's probably why it's so grumpy."

"Oh yes. A fancy meal will surely make it so much nicer. Maybe I'll also bring a coffee machine for the mornings." They both laughed in unison at the silliness of their words. It felt good to lay down their burdens once in a while, especially when there were so few opportunities.

"I'm afraid there are no mornings here, but I'm sure it would appreciate the gesture." She let out a big sigh. "But seriously now, don't simply rush into danger. You know as well as I do that Nathan is dangerous. No dirty method is beneath him, and he'll stop at nothing to see his goals fulfilled."

"I wonder why he didn't outright kill you," Ash muttered.

"You think it's possible to understand a madman? Perhaps he expected Giratina to do his dirty work for him. I don't know." She shrugged, looking miserable again. "In any case, I can't do anything against him from here. It's up to you and the police."

"The police?" He grimaced when she mentioned them. "I don't think they'd tell me if they found out something about Nathan's location. If it was up to them, I'd be safely in their base, doing absolutely nothing."

"I can imagine," Dawn replied.

There was a long pause, during which they simply looked at each other. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, for they'd been deprived of each other's presence, and now they enjoyed it to the fullest, looking into each other's eyes longingly. They would've preferred to be able to touch each other, to feel each other's warmth and love, but the circumstances didn't allow it. Ash remembered that there was something he wanted to ask, and even though he loathed to think of this as his last chance, it may very well be true. Therefore he was tempted to do it right now.

"Dawn, there's something I need to ask you. I wanted to ask you a long time ago, but there was always something in the way, like the battles for the championship, and I never got to actually do it. You know how it works, whenever there's a good opportunity, something happens, and ... just listen to me stumbling over my own words." He shook his head in frustration, and didn't dare look, when Dawn tilted her head to the side, wondering what he wanted. "I should get straight to the point, but whenever I try, it turns out much more difficult than expected."

It was rare to see him this nervous, which made Dawn only more curious. This made him even more hesitant and he decided against it for now, preferring a more realistic setting for such an important setting. Instead, he extended an arm towards her.

" First do you maybe ... want to dance? I know it's awkward without being able to touch each other or music ..." As if the dream had been waiting for this, a slow classical song started playing in the background. "Well, that's better."

"Of course, I'd love to. It's been such a long time. She put a hand on his waist, while he put one on her shoulder, at least it looked like that. Then they stretched their remaining arms, trying to hold each other's hand and started moving. "You know, this is the weirdest dance I've ever had, but as long as it's with you ..."

Even without actually touching each other, they moved in unison. Light was coming from above, forming colorful pillars around them, as if to encourage them to dance. It looked absurd dancing in the middle of nothingness, yet they barely noticed anything apart from each other and the music by now. After all the trouble, all the threats, this was the perfect opportunity to simply forget about everything else and they used it to the fullest.

They didn't know how long they'd been dancing when they felt a strong pull in opposing directions. It felt like the dream was coming to an end. As much as they'd have loved to stay like this forever, they knew they had their responsibilities. Before it ended, they leaned in, and whether it was from the pull or a short moment of tangibility, they felt something when their lips met. Then it was time to return to reality.

* * *

 **A small respite from the trouble even if it was neither long nor real. Soon things will get messy again.**


	93. A Dangerous Deal

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 93 A Dangerous Deal

After one of his most vivid dreams so far, Ash expected a good explanation from Cresslia, who seemed to have something to do with it. At the very least, she hadn't been idle, for she was utterly exhausted.

"What the hell was that?" Ash simply said.

It took her a while to recover, but then she ready to talk about all of it. There was a lot to explain, and she was determined not to leave any open questions.

"I used an ability called ... I don't know what mother called it, but I call it ... dream merge." She looked proud of herself, which was a sign that she was much more like her real self again. "It merges dreams, that why I call it that. In this case, I merged yours and Dawn's." Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Just like that? That's strange, coming from someone who thought her dead," he pointed out.

"I'm not proud of it. I should have realized that I could easily confirm if she was alive with the bond we share, when I noticed that I don't have anything similar with you. Then I eventually sensed her dream, and influenced it from here. It seems distance doesn't matter so much," she told him, sounding tired. He felt like she had something on her mind, and she noticed it. Finally she decided to speak about a matter that was important to her. "I feel terrible. It's like every time someone needs my held, I'm unable to do. It was already so back at Fullmoon Island. While my family was gone, I noticed cruel humans entering the island. They did ... bad things, to say the least, yet I couldn't do anything about it. I kept hiding, I was too afraid to do anything. And that wasn't the only time. Eventually I lost hope that I could help anyone, always finding excuses not to do it. Like in this case. I told myself that Dawn was dead. I was a fool and you paid the price. I'm sorry."

On first glance this seemed to conflict with her almost ridiculously cheerful nature, but this very well might be a result of her worry. She wouldn't be the first one to try to distract from her own sadness by an exaggerated display of happiness like Dawn after her first serious defeats. Because of this alone he couldn't be mad at her.

"It's alright. What matters is that you realized it and did the right thing." Suddenly he hesitated, suddenly realizing something. "Wait, wait, wait." Ash held his hands in front of his face, speaking slowly. "Are you telling me that I was in Dawn's dream as much as she was in mine, and that she really said and meant the things she said there?"

"Absolutely." Cresselia looked at him sternly. "It's like meeting the real Dawn in an unreal world."

"Well, that is indeed impressive. But there was a catch. We weren't able to touch each other. Perhaps that was because she was in another dimension," Ash told her.

"Wait, you know exactly where she is?" she finally asked.

"Not only that, but we also know for sure that she's alive and well, just like Pikachu and the other pokémon. She's even ready to forgive me and get back together with me." The news were great, but there had to be a catch. There always was at least one. "Of course, she's still in another world. I can't go there, and she can't leave. However -" He raised a finger. "- she'll be able to leave once Nathan is defeated, so our mission didn't change that much."

"Details, I want details!" She tried to move around him in excitement, but found the room too restricting for such movement.

"I'd tell you everything if the others were awake." Ash was actually a little surprised that they were still asleep, yet he wasn't sad about it. After the initial adrenaline rush due to the news, he was feeling more tired than ever. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes, and yawned. "I better go to sleep, or I'll sleep through the whole day, and they'll never get to know what happened. For now, you should rest as well. You looked terrible when I awoke."

She couldn't deny that she was also exhausted after the strain the ability had put on her, but she was still sad that she needed to wait. There was surely much he needed to tell them, so at least she could look forward to it. Without a doubt, the others would rejoice at the news, especially Empoleon. They certainly would trust him, but others might be more hesitant to believe the dream story, especially those, who were currently trying to hold a funeral for Dawn. Obviously, Ash didn't pay much attention to that, and now he knew that he was right for sure.

When he woke up in the morning, his bed was already surrounded by the pokémon, who were more than eager to listen to his story, to the truth, and Ash wasn't one to disappoint them. Whatever he knew, he told them in full detail, though he stopped when he realized that he should do it at the lab, where everyone else could listen as well. Since he didn't want to keep anyone waiting this time, considering this an extremely urgent matter, he skipped breakfast, and went directly to the lab. There he started from the beginning, telling the large group of pokémon gathered around him the whole story. They were obviously relieved by the news, and showed gratitude towards Cresselia, who'd made this possible, despite her age.

Their path was more than clear now, they had to take down Nathan even more than before, though the means were still unknown. Before they could strike at him, they had to know where he was, but actually finding him was next to impossible. He could be hiding anywhere, probably surrounded and protected by a small army. Even if they did find him, they were unlikely to defeat him on their own, but they didn't want to worry about that just yet. They made an oath to never give up on those they'd lost, and they were intent on keeping it.

* * *

Unlike Ash, Dawn had kept sleeping after the strange dream, and even when she woke up, she couldn't be sure whether it was truly the real Ash. It sure felt special, but there was no substantial proof, only her feeling, and her surprisingly good memory of the dream. Her doubts were so great that she didn't bother telling the pokémon about it, but there was no need to do it anyway. She hadn't gained any vital information from Ash, and they already knew that he was alive. Waiting for something to happen in another world was frustrating, but she trusted Ash to accomplish his task.

A new batch of crobat had arrived while she'd been asleep, so there were plenty of targets. Even so the hunt was so boring that she started a conversation with Giratina to ask it to let her leave in case of Nathan getting defeated. Although it was hesitant at first, it eventually agreed to her proposition. From there, the conversation flowed almost naturally, and they talked more about their worlds. Despite its pride, it showed great interest in how her world worked. She could only imagine it listen carefully to her stories and ask the occasional question. In return, it tried to explain how its own world works, without much success, though. Some aspects were simply too weird, too difficult to understand for her mind. By the end of the hunt, they were already quite familiar with each other, although the pokémon tried to warn Dawn that it might not be a good idea. She didn't listen, though, believing that it really needed someone to talk to it. The eagerness in its voice, and the curiosity it displayed made her believe that she was right.

Whenever a conversation had started in the past, it had sounded disinterested, and there was also a hint of loneliness. However, every time she asked about that or how it had gotten into this situation, it either told her to shut up in an aggressive manner, or kept talking about duty, how it needed to maintain the natural order. It claimed that this was its fate, the punishment that it had brought upon itself, and that duty was more important than its petty needs. Dawn couldn't take it seriously, when it seemed so happy to have opportunity to get to know more about the world it was protecting. As great as having a legendary pokémon like Giratina as a friend sounded, she avoided using the term, fearing this might offend it in some way, and it was probably too early anyway. At least it had stopped threatening her with annihilation, should she prove too sluggish.

Yet no matter how much they talked, Dawn couldn't forget about the dream with Ash. It gave her hope for the future, and also some sort of peace. At least she knew he'd forgive her.

* * *

Alakazam was waiting for Ampharos far away from the others at the correct location. It wasn't so bad, since the sun was making the cold tolerable, even when it was already on the verge of setting, engulfing the region in red light. The psychic-type didn't care for such trivial matters, especially now that she was about to learn critical information from a dangerous creature. Although she didn't feel good doing it, she knew that sometimes one had to work with a lesser evil to take down the ultimate enemy.

True to its promise, Ampharos appeared around the same time as on the previous day, using its mysterious teleport spell. Folding its arms, it looked directly at Alakazam.

"You're here alone. Good. So, what do you say? Do you accept my help?" it asked bluntly.

"Before I give my final answer, I wish to receive one answer." It stared at her, awaiting the question. "Did you attack the lab yesterday?"

"Did the electricity give me away? Yes, I did that, though I wouldn't call it an attack. It was more of a test. I wanted to see whether you're ready for a serious attack, and raise your alertness." It suddenly grinned. "Don't you think I'd be foolish to challenge so many powerful adversaries? And even if I did, I'd have started the fight with a far more powerful attack."

Even though Alakazam wasn't happy with the answer, she came to realize that it didn't really matter right now. This deal was necessary for the greater good, so she couldn't afford to let this information slip away because of such a petty matter.

"Very well. Give me information I need," she finally said with a sigh. It was already clear that she'd regret this one way or another, but refusing the help would probably be even worse.

"Good. Bring me a map." She raised an eyebrow at it. "What? I need to show you on a map if you want to show them without taking them there."

"Couldn't you have brought one yourself, or at least told me beforehand?" Alakazam was already starting to lose her patience.

"I'm afraid I don't want to draw any attention. That's why I give my knowledge to you, you know?" it pointed out.

"What about this teleporting move of yours?" It shook its head. "It looks like you could get one without being spotted easily."

"That move has its limits, like the common teleport. Suffice to say, I don't wish to risk it." It didn't sound like it was willing to discuss the matter anymore. "Now, unless you bring me a map, our business is finished. Oh, and bring something to write as well. "

"Very well." No matter how degrading this menial work was to her, she knew that everyone had to make sacrifices. Hers was certainly not that high of a price to pay.

Teleporting into Ash's house, she made sure that nobody was around, and then searched it for maps and pens. The latter were almost everywhere, so that didn't take long. Finding a proper map proved a bit more difficult, but she eventually found several of them among a bunch of books. Then she returned with the requested items, presenting them to Ampharos once she was sure that nobody was nearby. Unfolding the map on the ground, she dropped the pen so that Ampharos could mark the location of Nathan's base. It had some trouble using the pen properly, but soon draw a circle around a few small islands northeast of Kanto.

"There it is. Use the knowledge to your advantage, and crush that pathetic human." The venom in its voice was evident, and without another word, it disappeared, leaving Alakazam with the map. Now the only question was how she could tell the police in a believable way. There was no way she'd tell Ash yet, not before the location was actually confirmed, and the defenses were sufficiently weakened. Although she knew that there were officers nearby, she didn't wish to tell them, for they were observing Ash right now, and Max would no doubt imagine a connection between him and the sudden appearance of a map. It was wiser to give it to someone directly at the base of the international police, as Max would also get the information faster that way.

However, there were still doubts about whether she was doing the right thing, though she told herself that doing nothing at all would be even worse in this situation. This map had the potential to change the future in many ways. It might be Nathan's downfall, and cause another foe to rise to power. But she couldn't hesitate now that she had the crucial information. It was too late, and she had to finish it now. Teleporting to Saffron City, she went to the local headquarters, hiding near the entrance. With her psychic powers, she made it look like the wind carried the map directly at the face of an officer leaving the building. Of course, he wouldn't know what to do with it, so she had to contact him mentally.

"This map shows the location of Nathan Sorlan's main base. Use it wisely," she told the perplexed man.

He looked briefly at the map, then he looked around in a vain attempt to find the source of the voice. It was entirely possible that he believed this to be a trap, but he thought that he should at least take it to his boss, who'd decide whether to follow up on his blatantly obvious clue. Much to her relief, he stormed back into the building. Now she only had to wait and watch. Another teleport brought her as close to Nathan's base as possible. It wasn't as cold there, but the sun wasn't shining either, and it looked like it was going to rain soon. Nevertheless, she prepared to walk all the way to coast, and then levitate closer to the islands.

* * *

There had been few news for Max Wright lately, and he certainly didn't expect anything great when one of his officers barged in, breathing heavily, as if he was in a great hurry. Max remembered this one. He was reliable, but not outstanding, and pretty much the typical bootlicker. Now that he thought about it, the man wouldn't bother the boss without a good reason. Still, he didn't anticipate the location of Nathan Sorlan's base.

"Yes? What is it?" he asked, looking up from his files.

"Sir," the officer shouted, saluting briefly, then presenting a map. "I found this outside the building. A voice in my head told me that it has the position of Nathan's base."

While he was catching his breath, Max looked at the map, shaking his head. This was way too convenient, and thus likely a trap. The way this information was obtained was also highly suspicious, making him believe that it was merely Nathan playing with them. Nevertheless, he had to do something about it, if there was even a tiny chance of this being actually correct.

"Voices in your head?" He made it sound like his underling was crazy.

"I mean the kind of technique used by psychic-types like our abra to communicate with us. And the map looked like it was carried by the wind," he explained, hoping that Max would believe him.

"Did you tell anyone?" Max asked.

"No, sir. I rushed here to bring this information directly to you. Only we know about this," he reassured his boss.

"We, and whoever gave us this ... present." He looked at the map again, and shook his head again. "We'll have to see whether it's authentic. Stay here. I might have use for you later."

Naturally, before he could decide on the course of action, he had to make sure that the position was correct, and sent one of his best scouting parties to confirm the location. This party consisted entirely of ghost-types, who were better than anyone else at concealing themselves, and they could also move through solid objects. Psychic-types took them as close to the islands as possible before waiting for them to return. Max also made preparations for a potential attack, no matter how silly it sounded.

The first signs were encouraging. They took too long for it to be false alarm, and the longer they took, the more hopeful he became. This also made him call for Dan, who arrived before the scouts, ready to take on a secondary, yet still important mission, but without confirmation, he wouldn't start. The ghost-types returned soon with news. There was indeed a huge complex below the island marked on the map, but walls of darksteel had prevented them from taking a closer look. Together with their computer experts, they used the gathered information to create a simulation of the base. It was indeed massive, and without a doubt, it was heavily defended.

There was still the possibility of this being a base that belonged to someone else, perhaps even the military, though he had friends there could tell him more. Since he wanted to request help from them anyway, this was the first thing he did, and once he was told that the base was unknown to his friends, he sent Dan on his mission, and made further preparations for the attack. Although he was still not entirely sure that it belonged to Nathan, but he couldn't imagine anyone else owning an underground fortress completely surrounded by walls of darksteel. Even if it wasn't Nathan's, it surely wasn't legal, and taking it down would be a worthy goal.

On the other hand he was worried about the way he'd gotten this information. Whoever gave him this map was Nathan's enemy, which didn't necessarily make him or her Max's ally, though. For all he knew, he might make everything worse, but it was hard to imagine. Taking out Nathan before could finish his plan was critical, and he was willing to use everything he had at his disposal for it, even if it meant using mercenaries or soldiers in the assault. There was one person he certainly didn't want to participate there, and that was Ash, who had interfered with his plans way too often. A notorious troublemaker with an independent mind like Ash was the last thing he needed during an operation, which had to succeed at all costs. Now Dan had to make sure it didn't happen this time. For this purpose, he was even authorized to use lethal force, though Max preferred non-violent means.

Meanwhile, Alakazam was waiting near the island, most of her body submerged, but surrounded by a thin force field that protected her from strong waves and potential attackers. If the information was indeed correct, then an all-out attack was only a matter of time. She only needed to be patient right now, and everything would work out eventually.

* * *

Nathan had no idea about Max's plans, having lost most of his agents within the police a long time ago, and most of his scouts had also been recalled to the base. Besides, he had other problems. That's why he'd called for both Wraith and Eileen to take care of one of them When they arrived at his office, they found him looking greatly distressed, walking around aimlessly while looking like he was lost in his thoughts. Instead of greeting them, he pointed at the chairs in front of his desk, and kept muttering to himself for a few seconds, before addressing them with a look of determination.

"I've gotten word of a most interesting development," he told them right at the beginning. "You'll take care of this little problem. If you fail, it'll be the end of you, simple as that." He watched them exchange worried looks before proceeding. "Your mission is simple, but not easy. You have to kill Dawn by any means necessary."

"Wait, isn't she dead?" Eileen exclaimed. Although she was still extremely bitter, she didn't consider Ash and Dawn her enemies, and thus she wasn't unhappy about the news.

"Not as dead as she should be. The gun I used merely created a portal to the Reverse World." Although it pained him to reveal his secrets, he knew that they'd need more information if he wanted them to succeed. "It's Giratina's realm, but even though it usually immediately kills every single trespasser, it spared her for some reason, and my scouts have confirmed that she even works for it. This world will be of tremendous significance later, and someone like her interfering at this point is the last thing I need right now. She must die. You have two hours to prepare, then meet me here again. Dismissed."

They left without another word, leaving Nathan to his thoughts. Deep inside he'd expected something like this from a troublemaker like Dawn. No matter how hard he hit her, she kept standing up. There were only a few dangers for this mission, like the fact that the rings' power didn't extend to other dimensions, so technically, the Okcha sent to the Reverse World were free, and only their fury made them do what he wanted, albeit involuntarily. In the case of Wraith and Eileen, he had to think of something else, or they'd start a senseless rampage that would help nobody. There was a way to retain full control of them as long as their instructions were clear, and as long as there were at least two rings were in that world.

The Okcha belonging to Eileen would be bound to Wraith's ring and vice versa, and then they'd give Nathan's orders to each other. This way, they'd compel each other to carry out his orders, but they couldn't override them with new orders, because he'd forbid that. It was only sensible, or they might even command each other to destroy their bodies. He'd tested this trick with Seth's and Boris's ring a few hours ago, commanding the test subjects to use the portal rifle after a short time to return, and it had worked just fine. It had been a risky move, for if it hadn't worked, he'd have lost both rings due to said test subjects going on a rampage instead of returning. As long as his instructions were clear, and didn't leave much room for interpretation, he should be fine.

Suddenly, he laughed out loud. Even though he was at the receiving end this time, it was still amusing to see fate screwing mankind with its twisted sense of humor.

Eileen was stopped by Seth on her way back to her room. He looked troubled, like he expected something bad to happen soon, but his voice was just as soothing as usual.

"I heard the messenger calling you to Divine's office. He seemed ... in a hurry. Should I be worried about something?" he asked, offering an encouraging smile.

"I don't know," she replied with a shrug. "He said something about Dawn, Giratina, and the Reverse World, but it didn't make much sense to me. All I know is that I have to go there soon."

"Interesting." Seth didn't show any sign of surprise.

He was actually surprised that she was able to talk about it, as Nathan was usually good at keeping secrets. But then again, he hadn't been himself lately. Instead, he was unusually nervous, like someone who feared that years of planning could be destroyed within a few days, which was exactly the case. The man who'd practically radiated confidence, gave others the feeling that he had everything under control, and took risks like there was no tomorrow, had suddenly become an overcautious, almost paranoid man. Seth couldn't blame him, for the entire world was against him by now. Now all of his forces, apart from those Okcha stored at the outposts were in this base, ready to repel any attack on him.

What was more concerning, however, was that Eileen had mentioned Giratina and its domain. Seth had heard stories about that, none of them were able to put his mind at ease. In fact, if Nathan's plans really had to do anything with the renegade pokémon, then he, and the entire world, were in real trouble. It was hard to imagine what Nathan had planned, but it certainly couldn't be good. Seth had been thinking about leaving this place for good, but the fate of his family made him stay. Now that Nathan couldn't afford to show much presence, it would be a good opportunity to escape, if it wasn't for the fact that the base was locked up tight. Nobody was allowed to leave, and any attempt would be met with lethal force, as instructed by Nathan himself. Since most people and pokémon in the base were controlled by an Okcha, they needed to observe a few people, which made it even more difficult.

However, he was still determined to escape eventually, even if he had to defeat the entire international police singlehandedly first. Right now, it looked like he'd have to fight against them eventually. Ever since he'd spoken to Eileen about his family, her words had been haunting him. The mere thought of not being able to say goodbye to his family one last time was unbearable. He wanted to see his children all grown-up, and tell all of them that he loved them, and that he'd never forgotten about them, not even in the most difficult of times. Whenever he saw Eileen , he was reminded of his plan, and this time was no different. She looked at him curiously.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him all of sudden.

"Sorry, I was just lost in thoughts." He sighed deeply, and turned away. "I shouldn't distract you from your duties. Good luck with whatever you have to do."

They went to their respective rooms, preparing for the tasks ahead, although Eileen had no idea what how she could do that. She soon found out that the time wasn't meant for her to prepare, but for Nathan to do so. He visited her shortly, taking her ring from her, before doing the same to Wraith. They were needed for the new Okcha, and once everything was finished, he returned to the rooms, replacing their old Okcha with the new ones, and returning their rings. Since they already had received their orders, they only needed some time to get used to controlling the bodies, then they returned to Nathan's office.

He was carrying the same rifle he'd used on Dawn, but he wasn't the one to use it. After all Wraith and Eileen needed a way to escape once they were down, and for that purpose, they'd take it with them. In case of failure, the Okcha were told to destroy the rifle, though Nathan doubted it could happen unless Giratina itself interfered. That was unlikely, however, as he'd already released several swarms of crobat as a distraction. Giratina wouldn't risk coming too late to the destroyed crystal in order to help Dawn.

"Focus on the goal, and everything will be fine." he said, handing the rifle to Wraith. She examined it with curiosity, taking her time to look at every part. "Stand next to Eileen, and shoot at the ground. I expect to hear from you soon."

She did as she was told, taking the two girls directly to the Reverse World. Since the crobat were already active, and had been told to stay away from them, they could begin right away. A few pokémon they'd received could act as scouts, so that they could find Dawn as soon as possible. The pokémon were actually Okcha in the bodies of talonflame, and now they spread out to cover a huge area. They needed to hurry, for when Nathan had sent the first Okcha to the Reverse World for scouting purposes, he'd discovered that their bodies had partially dissolved. It took a great deal of time to discover the reason for this strange effect. The Reverse World itself was at fault, or rather its automated cleaning procedure, which absorbed non-living items into the world. Although they imitated real, living bodies, the vessels for the Okcha were attacked as well.

That's why it seemed foolish to keep sending crobat there, but those were merely byproducts anyway, made from the worst of the material available. Since it couldn't be used for proper bodies, it was better to use it on those that were supposed to die anyway. In a real fight, they'd be next to useless, but they were good enough to destroy crystals. There may not be real purpose to this kind of destruction, but it spread fear among the people, which always filled Nathan with delight.

Not even the high quality bodies made for legendary pokémon were able to withstand for long, but Nathan needed his Okcha to be able to stay there indefinitely. Improving the quality further didn't make sense, since it only slowed the process, so he needed a trick, a way to fool the world into accepting the bodies as living beings. The solution was expensive, to say the least, as so far, he'd only been able to gather the components for three perfect bodies, and after the fight in Saffron City, he was unlikely to get the rest to complete the original plan of creating five of those. Three might be enough, though he had a bad feeling about it. In the end, there was nothing he could do about it, but hope for an opportunity to gather the missing materials until his base was discovered.

* * *

 **The next four chapters will be a bit different, almost an experiment. They all describe the same event, albeit from different perspectives. The whole event is slowly revealed with every chapter, and all of them are necessary to understand what happened completely. The first one will be from the International Police's perspective, followed by Nathan's and his underlings', then Ash's, and finally Dawn's (whose is the odd one here, since it's mostly independant from the others until near the end).**


	94. Assault: International Police

**The first part of the event from the view point of the international police. Some things will only become clear with the other chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters**

* * *

Chapter 94 Assault: International Police

Not far from Nathan's island, a battleship was getting into position early in the morning. Having called in every single favor from his friends and allies, Max Wright had mobilized a small army of elite soldiers for his mission. This ship and the air support from a nearby aircraft carrier were important for the first part, which involved clearing the island surface of mines and automated defenses, so that ground troops could reach the base safely. A part of his army was near the coast, blocking access to the entire area, so that nobody could ruin the operation by interfering. He didn't expect a lot of trouble there, as it was already getting dark, but it shouldn't have a negative effect on the attack. Most of the fighting was going to take place underground.

Max was standing on the bridge with an admiral, waiting for a few final reports. Without them, he couldn't start the assault. Dozens of boats full of nervous men stood ready, waiting for news about the outer defenses. Nobody knew anything about their enemies here, and the motivation was low, until the officers accompanying them told them in their motivational speeches. It was now that they realized how important this mission really was, and they looked forward to destroying the organization that was responsible for the attacks on the cities.

Max finally received the vital reports, which confirmed that the blockade was ready, preventing any escape attempt. Although Nathan could probably still get away with light travel, Max was convinced that destroying his base would be a blow from which he couldn't recover.

"Let's begin," he said to the admiral, who commanded most of the troops here.

A few moments later, the island was bombarded by the ship, and soon bombs were also dropped all over the surface, causing massive explosions, which could be heard all the way back at the ship. Alakazam also noticed the beginning of the assault, having turned off the largest part of her protection, so that she wouldn't draw too much attention. This left her exposed to the cold of the water and the currents, but she didn't even notice, because the inferno on the island distracted her. The nonstop bombardment made it look like they wanted to obliterate the entire island, though their main focus was eliminating the outer defenses, and maybe the entrance door. They were sure that the walls were too thick to blow their way directly into the base. They psychic-type was also a little worried, for this kind of attack couldn't go unnoticed by the defenders, who'd surely prepare for anything now. For now, she decided to wait until the ground offensive started. Ash wouldn't be able to enter before that anyway.

When the sun started to rise, the island was still being bombarded, and there was no sign of any counteroffensive yet. That was to be expected, though, as Nathan certainly wouldn't send his men to be slaughtered outside. The real resistance was to be expected inside, where they'd fight to the last man. As soon as Max was convinced that everything on the surface was gone, he started the real assault. Smaller boats full of soldiers and transport helicopters approached the island. The ghost-types, who'd found the entrance were also present to reveal it to the others. Unsurprisingly, it was still intact, so they needed to place powerful charges, but those were enough to open the way. It was a long tunnel with stairs, leading into an entrance hall with heavy defenses, including automated turrets, numerous guards, and only limited space to maneuver. Anyone entering had to face the enemy alone, so the first plan was to drop explosive charges in order to weaken the defenses.

There was a huge problem, though. Aura barriers appeared in the tunnel, often at inopportune times, separating the forces, and catching the charges. Those detonated prematurely, doing nothing but destroy the hidden cameras in the tunnel. The barriers required a lot of force to take down, and they reappeared rapidly, making this the base's greatest defense.

They kept trying, but the battle wasn't progressing well. Those who actually got through did it on their own, or in small numbers, and were quickly torn to pieces by the defenders. Max ordered his men to make another way into the base via more explosives, though he doubted it would work. Nathan was probably careful enough to make them almost impenetrable, but Max was already running out of possibilities. If he didn't want this to end in a disaster, he'd have to overcome the first line of defenses soon.

Things were already desperate enough for him to move to the island, and look at the barriers. Although he didn't gain any insights, he came to witness something strange, a powerful tremor from inside the base right after all the barriers vanished for some reason. His men later confirmed that it originated from the deeper levels of the base, but he didn't need it to know that this was the perfect time to strike. The defenders still expected the barriers to help them, and they were probably disturbed by the tremor. First they dropped a special fire bomb, which spread a highly flammable liquid over a large area before igniting it. The fire didn't last for a long time, but they followed up with smoke grenades, before finally attacking directly. Those who arrived there first carried large shields, which could be deployed as cover for the following soldiers. The defenders had a hard time hitting them due to the smoke, and the shields were powerful enough to withstand all but the most powerful weapons, and soon the invaders were numerous enough to fight back properly.

Even so, it was an extremely difficult task, and progress was slow. Although the turrets were soon gone, the real problem was the huge number of guards using strange powers like blinding flashes of light, or sharp blades of black crystal. Moreover, whenever one of them was defeated, another one took his place, and there seemed to be no limit to their numbers. Eventually, the dead bodies formed a wall on their own, as both sides suffered heavy casualties. No matter how many defender died, more of them kept coming, replacing the fallen ones. They fought without hesitation, without fear, and without any sense of self-preservation. This was their most dangerous aspect, and their suicidal attacks proved effective.

However, even their numbers dwindled eventually, so that the flow of reinforcements stopped at some point. The first chamber was conquered, but at a huge cost. From there, the invaders could launch the next attacks with greater strength. First, they got rid of the corpses to make place for reinforcements, but this took some time, because there were so many of them and the tunnel was so narrow. While they were busy, Max returned to the ship to make a few calls. As soon as everything was done, several teams advanced simultaneously. Thomas led one of them, and his mission was to enter the deeper parts of the complex to eliminate Nathan himself. The others were to capture the rest of the base to make everything easier for him.

Although most of the defenders were dead, the inner guardians, a kind of elite for Nathan, was still active, and they were far better equipped than their colleagues. In addition, they were supported by various pokémon, and the automated defenses were also strong. Therefore the progression was slow, and many good men were lost in the process. Thomas himself experienced the greatest resistance, facing a large group of inner guardians inside a large chamber with two exits. One of them was completely unguarded, so Thomas sent a few scouts there. Only one of them returned a bit later, reporting the discovery of a large room with two crystals and a maniac that had torn the others to pieces. Thomas didn't have the manpower to attack both the man and the inner guardians at the same time, so he called for reinforcements, and had a few explosive charges placed at the entrance, focusing on the guardians for now.

Unlike the other defenders, they were neither reckless nor suicidal, fighting defensively and with extreme efficiency. Apart from their powers, they also used modern weapons, which rivaled the invaders' equipment. They were easily recognized by the armored jackets, and the white masks with the red smile on it. The pokémon consisted mostly of gengar, who used sneak attacks to spread poison among the attackers, but there were also a few psychic-types, who used reflect and psychic against enemy projectiles. Thomas had fewer of those available, so he couldn't be nearly as aggressive as the others. The barricades of the guardians were nearly impenetrable, which made dealing any damage to them difficult.

The remaining forces also had to deal with inner guardians, albeit in fewer numbers, and the police had them surrounded inside the central control chamber. Those also put up heavy resistance, but they lacked the defensive fortifications to put a similar pressure on the attackers. Unfortunately, everything at Thomas's position wasn't controlled from this room, but from Nathan's office in the deepest parts of the base. Thus a victory at the control chamber wouldn't be help Thomas much apart from allowing his boss to send more men to him. The current reinforcements were too small in number to make a difference.

Instead, Thomas suddenly heard a female's voice in his head.

"Please, allow me to help you." He looked around, and noticed an alakazam staring directly at him. The worrying thing about this was the fact that this pokémon wasn't part of his unit, not even part of the international police or their helpers. She seemed to be able to read his thoughts. "Don't worry, I'm not your enemy. Dawn is my trainers, and I intend to free her."

"But she's ... no matter, how did you even get in here?" he whispered when she went next to him. "This place is off-limits for you."

"Is that so? Your pokémon didn't seem to mind, and your colleagues were too busy to take notice. I'm afraid you're stick with me for now, for I won't leave until my mission is complete." She suddenly grinned mischievously. "Besides, I'm not the only one who's where she isn't supposed to be. Isn't your friend Dan currently in Pallet Down, holding Ash a hostage?"

"What? I don't know ..." He shook his head. "This is neither the right time nor the right place. I guess you're stronger than all of our pokémon combined. Can you help us?"

There were quite a few ways of helping them, though most of them were extremely dangerous. Perhaps the most urgent action was to remove the threat of sneak attacks by the gengar. Single bullets did little to them, and they were usually gone before they could be destroyed, and then they returned fully healed. It was time to remove them for good, and she already had a plan, though it required the officers to be prepared.

"When the gengar attack again, I'll use gravity. They'll be unable to stay in the air, and once they're on the ground, they won't get back to their side in time. Eliminate them, and then we'll address other matters," she suggested. "You only have to tell your men that they have to prepare for the move, and I assure you, everything will work out."

He visibly hesitated, but he had little choice in that matter. The toxic move used by the gengar caused terrible damage and pain, and his unit couldn't hold out much longer without help. Since there was no sign of reinforcements, he agreed to the plan, even if it was unorthodox.

"Very well." He raised his voice after making sure that no gengar was nearby, or their plan would be ruined. "Everyone, prepare for a gravity move. As soon as the gengar are here, shoot them immediately."

Even though they didn't know where he got the idea, they followed his orders without questions, holding back on the attacks. Instead, they waited for the gengar. Their idleness only quickened their arrival, for there were fewer targets for their enemies, and when it happened, the move was already prepared. Everyone in the room immediately felt the increased gravity, but no one was more affected than the gengar, who fell to the ground within the barricades belonging to the intruders. Deprived of their mobility, and separated from the others, they were easily dispatched. Every single one of them burst into green flames, revealing them to be mere Okcha. With those out of the way, the situation was stabilized, but the enemy already had a plan.

Their leader was an Okcha with a body that was a copy of Nathan's own hypno. Not only did it inherit all of its strengths and abilities, but it was also wearing an amulet that boosted its psychic powers to insane levels. Even the nightmare avatar on its own was a challenge, being able to deflect all the bullets and grenades thrown at it. And now it looked like another plan was unfolding. Two inner guardians along with two psychic-types left the room through the guarded door. They returned a bit later, carrying something big and heavy while being shielded by the others. Before they could think about the possible scenarios, they felt an absurdly powerful gravity move. With their body armor, the officers couldn't even get up, let alone raise a weapon, and even Alakazam had trouble with it. Most of the inner guardians were leaning against their barricades, ready attack anyone attempting to get up, though only the light-based attacks were viable under these conditions.

Dawn's pokémon got up just high enough to see a big metal device being lifted into the air by several pokémon using a combination of psychic and telekinesis. Despite their numbers, it was an extremely difficult task due to the gravity effect, and one mistake could ruin everything. This would be fatal, as the device was a potent fire bomb, which was designed to create long lasting fire fields. If this landed on Alakazam's side, it would obliterate everyone behind their barricades. This trick with gravity had been planned by Nathan himself, who enjoyed watching the terror on his opponents' faces when they realized that they were completely at his mercy. The loss of his gengar had made the rest resort to this brutal method. Alakazam didn't know this, but she could already guess that nothing good could come of this. Hypno noticed her, and increased the power of its gravity move, forcing her back on the ground. This effect on its own was powerful enough to kill intruders in the long run by crushing their internal organs, though that included the inner guardians, so it only used it when necessary.

However, Alakazam didn't give up, for she knew that failing now might very well doom her and everyone around her. Now her training under increased gravity conditions really paid off, even though it wasn't nearly as bad as right now. Fortunately, the bomb was moved extremely slowly, so she had some time standing up again. In order to influence it, she needed clear sight on it. Using every single bit of strength left in her body, she raised her head as high as possible.

She saw psychic-types lying on the barricades, focusing on the bomb, and inner guardians aiming at her with her fingers, ready to shoot a searing beam of light at her. Fearing that they might succeed, she immediately used psychic on the bomb. The effect was subtle, but under these conditions, it was enough. The bomb was still above the defender's side, and now it leaned only a little towards them, which was already enough for them to lose control of it. Their desperate attempts to regain it only made it spin rapidly, and with tremendous force, it hit the ground. This came at a price, for three inner guardians managed to hit her head burning three holes into it.

She immediately collapsed, and didn't get to see the huge explosion at the other side of the room. The officers were suddenly grateful for the increased gravity, because they didn't get blinded by the huge burst of fire while on the ground, and yellow flames appeared above them for a moment. Thus they stayed low even when the gravity effect finally ended, holding their ears to protect them from the loud noise. Their enemies were probably already annihilated, though they didn't dare look just yet, but instead put on their gas masks because of smoke. A second, less violent explosion followed, which was the result of the psychic gem getting destroyed. Thomas crawled over to the psychic-type that had saved them all with her actions, and looked at her head. Much to his disappointment, there was nothing he could do, as she'd been killed instantly. At least her sacrifice wasn't in vain. He silently saluted her before getting up, and looking at the result.

Everything past the barricades on the opposing side was burned to ashes. The whole area was covered by bright, yellow flames, which didn't look like they'd die down anytime soon. While they blocked the way, preventing the officers from advancing, they weren't in any condition to do it anyway, and their enemies were gone for good. In addition, the fire didn't seem to be spreading past the barricades with the exception of a few patches of fire, which were already getting smaller, though. Between the barricades, a single hypno, or rather its upper half, which was already burnt badly, was lying on the ground. It was obviously trying to crawl towards its enemies, either to surrender, or to fight them. It turned out to be the latter, as when it noticed Thomas, it hissed at him, raising an arm. He got ready for an attack, but it dropped the arm again, and after a short struggle, it died, bursting into green fire.

"Another one of those, huh?" Thomas took a deep breath, and addressed his surviving men. "Fortify the position. I'll call for reinforcements."

Apart from medics and additional fighters, he needed means of extinguishing a huge fire. Until those were provided, there was no way of advancing.

Max's main interest was the capture of the control room, so that's where most of his forces were attacking. He hoped that it would allow his men to advance without fear of traps or automated defenses, and even though it was true for everything before the chamber that was attacked by Thomas, everything behind was controlled directly from Nathan's office. Nathan's forces there had to eliminated, or they'd disrupt his supply lines, and attack him from behind. Once he was done with it, he could divert all of his attention to the other fronts. Right now, he was calling his men in Pallet Town, making sure that everything was going according to plan. He didn't trust Dan a lot after the man had given secrets to Thomas, so he'd given him someone more reliable to watch over him and intervene if necessary. Still, he wanted to be absolutely sure, because he feared what Ash could do to his operation. He was greeted by Dan's loud, merry voice.

"Hello there." He almost dropped the phone, but quickly regained his composure.

"What the hell, Dan? Are trying to destroy my eardrums? For fuck's sake, stop yelling." His outburst silenced Dan for a moment. "Now, any news about our guest?" Max couldn't tell why, but he was extremely concerned all of sudden.

"Nope, sleeping like an angel. Yes, everything definitely under control. Don't worry about it." An awkward moment of silence between the sentences made him suspicious.

"Are you drunk?" At first he wanted to hear confirmation from Dan's partner, but he changed his mind when he noticed an emergency call from Thomas. "Well, I'll read it in the report anyway. Just make sure he doesn't escape. The last thing we need right now is interference from the most troublesome fool on the entire planet."

Hanging up, he proceeded to answer the more urgent call. It was probably another call for reinforcements, but there was no way he'd take a risk in this situation.

"What is it now?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"I need reinforcements quickly. Our enemies here are defeated, but if more of them arrive, we won't be able to hold out much longer. Besides, there's a huge fire blocking the way. Without proper equipment, we won't be able to get through," Thomas explained.

"You made it this far, you'll be able to stand your ground a little longer. Every available man is needed at the control room, and we can't get people in there quickly. Deal with it. "He made it sound like his decision is final, but Thomas didn't seem to get the message.

"Sir, with all due respect, my men are dying!" Thomas told him with a bit more force. "We ..."

"I don't wish to hear any more excuses. I can't spare anyone, and that's that. Now quit complaining, and do your duty." There was no complaint, only silence, which he took as a sign of approval. "Good. Hold out a little longer, then you'll get everything you need. Until then, no more complaints."

After this conversation, he kept in touch with his other commanders, who still had trouble penetrating the defenses. The inner guardians at the control room had fortified their position, and fought to the bitter end, using everything available to them. Progress was slow, and when he received another emergency call, he expected it to be from Thomas, but much to his surprise, it was from one of his officers organizing the reinforcements at the entrance.

"Sir, three trainers, a woman and two men, with a latios and other pokémon breached the defenses. They sealed the entrance with ice, and we have trouble getting rid of it." Max knew only one trainer, who could possibly have the audacity of doing this. Ash had probably convinced two of his friends to accompany him on this suicide mission.

"Remove it by any means necessary," he told the officer. "I'll be with you shortly."

Having gathered everything and everyone he needed, he traveled to the island via helicopter. The ice was surprisingly resilient, and getting rid of it took ages. The lower half of the tunnel was still blocked, but now that Max was there with reinforcements, the rest was removed much faster. First, he decided to inform those already inside, so they could stop Ash before he could do too much damage.

"We have three intruders, two men and one woman. I repeat, we have three intruder. They're accompanied by powerful pokémon including a latios, so don't engage them without help. You're authorized to stop him by any means, even lethal force. Just don't let them get through." He didn't wait for an answer, but proceeded now that the ice was gone.

Without further hesitation, Max went down to find his guards in the first room asleep, possibly due to a hypnosis moves. Their pokémon were mostly unharmed, trying to wake them up right now. One of them confirmed his suspicions, but also told him that Ash hadn't killed anyone. Part of him wished that the trainer would do it already, for it would allow him to shut down this menace for good, and he hated himself for thinking like that. Ash simply had a way of making him mad, even he didn't actually do anything bad.

However, he soon found the only other exit completely frozen to prevent others from following him. It was completely irresponsible, as Ash also prevented help from reaching those inside, among other things, but then again, Max didn't expect him to act responsibly anyway. Most of the following corridors were also blocked by ice, and removing it took a long time, which gave Ash a good head start. Although his path was confusing, it eventually led to the room, where Thomas was currently recovering from the last fight. Indeed, his unit was in terrible condition. Ash wasn't there, but he'd been there for sure, as everything behind the barricades was covered by a layer of ice. The exit further into the base was blocked by even more ice, but the other one, which led to the maniac, was still untouched.

"Where are they?" Max asked, walking towards Thomas.

The poor man suffered from a terrible injury in his left arm. Like most of the others, he'd barely noticed the wounds due to the adrenaline, but now that there was nothing to fight, they became more than obvious. The fighters needed medics, so Max's arrival lifted their spirits a little. Thomas tried to get up as fast as possible, and saluted.

"Ash went through that door." He pointed at the frozen exit, then at the other one. "The others went through there. That was about five minutes ago."

"Are you kidding me? Why didn't you stop them?" Max yelled.

Everyone who wasn't working on the removal of the ice was looking at the two.

"Why? Look at my unit. Even if we wanted, we wouldn't have been able to stop a trainer of Ash's caliber in this state. I won't let my men die by following your orders blindly." They glared at each other. "Besides, what's the big deal if he advances without us? You should be glad that we don't have to risk our lives. But no, your obsession prevents it."

"Obsession?" Max pushed him against the barricades, pointing directly at his face. "I won't allow you to question my decisions. Not now, not ever. Understood?" When Thomas didn't answer, it was the final straw. "Very well. Return to the surface, and tell Martens that he's to take your place."

"Yes, sir." The last part was said with a lot of sarcasm in the voice, which didn't go unnoticed.

If he was lucky, he'd get merely demoted, but he was more likely to lose his job. He didn't mind too much though. Max's pride had become almost unbearable along with his hostility towards everyone, who interfered with his plan in any way. His dedication, which still couldn't be doubted, couldn't make up for those problems anymore. Secretly, he hoped that Ash would accomplish Max's task, and get all the glory that his boss craved so much. In any case, there was nothing he could do anymore.

Meanwhile, Max was waiting for the ice to be gone, ignoring the other exit. According to the information they'd gathered so far, it led to a single room that wasn't connected the lower parts of the base. According to the surviving scout, it was demolished, and there was nothing of interest there, so he wasn't going to send anyone there yet. Soon additional forces from the control room arrived, reporting its capture. Now the forces were unified again, and they only needed to wait for the ice to be removed.

When it happened, they started moving immediately. They didn't encounter any resistance, only ice, albeit less than before. The first big chamber contained the bodies of several inner guardians. Most of them were dead, but a few were merely unconscious, so he had them brought back to the surface. The chamber looked like some sort of recreation room, as unlike the other rooms, it looked somewhat cozy with the furniture, and various things like a mini bar, several games to play, and a huge TV. Strangely enough, it didn't looked like it had been used for a long time. The only other door in the room had been blasted open by something powerful, but there was no way of telling what exactly did this. Surprisingly, there was no ice, which could mean many things. Perhaps Ash couldn't keep it up anymore, or he'd left in a hurry. In any case, Max wasn't going to hesitate now.

The following section of the base was a huge maze. More than once, he saw the walls move by themselves, changing the maze, and often preventing retreat. Several of his men walked into traps, and Max eventually lost his patience, so he had the walls blocked or blown up via explosives. Having learned from Ash, they brought ice-types to block them ice, which proved somewhat effective, at least much more than the explosives. It required the pokémon to constantly refresh the ice, but they were able to do it, and soon, the invaders found a way out of the maze. At some point, the walls stopped moving entirely, allowing for a steady influx of reinforcements. Two corridors were found, so Max split his forces again, leading the group venturing deeper into the base.

At first, it was unclear whether this was the path taken by Ash, but it soon became apparent when they found a few unconscious guards and damaged pieces of a robot, which hinted at a large specimen. There wasn't any resistance, but he remained alert, especially when he found an empty room with another blasted door leading to a tunnel, which looked like there was supposed to be an elevator. However, as soon as the unit was at the center of the room, the walls parted to reveal several inner guardians behind barricades. The surprise attack allowed them to take out a few officers, but they were outnumbered this time. Since there was still no other exit, Max wanted to advance as soon as possible. Part of his unit formed a corridor, which allowed him and two other men to attach ropes to the door frame, and then they went down. It happened just in time, for more inner guardians poured through more secret entrances, which led to other parts of the base. They were obviously gathering here to prevent the intruders from reaching their master. This resistance pushed the police back into the corridor, leaving Max and his companions separated from the others.

Eventually, the other group arrived from the secret entrances, allowing them to attack the inner guardians from several sides. The remaining defenders were quickly annihilated, but Max and the others had been on their own for a long time. They couldn't afford to waste any more time. Following him into the deep tunnel, they were ready to put an end to this once and for all. They found Max heavily injured, one of his two companions dead, and the other one gone. There was no trace of Ash, Nathan, or their pokémon whatsoever. A bullet had penetrated Max's body armor, and gone into his chest. Although it hadn't hit any vital organ, the bleeding was dangerous.

"Flee!" He shouted, coughing up blood. "I'm ... finished. But you must evacuate the base. That's an order. It'll blow up soon." One of the intruders went back to the tunnel, and told the others not to come down. The others attempted to take Max with them. "No, I'd only slow you down. Go without me," he protested, but they were determined not to leave anyone behind.

Soon every remaining human and pokémon inside the base was outside after a hasty retreat. Max refused to talk about his injury or what had happened, urging his men to hurry instead. Using helicopters and transport boats, they left the island, gaining as much distance as possible. Max himself was in one of the helicopters, and when he was about to tell them more, they were suddenly blinded by a bright light coming from the base, followed by a thundering noise, and a shockwave that shook the helicopter badly. The base was indeed blowing up, and judging from the size of the explosion, it had to be a nuclear bomb, or something equally powerful. Therefore Max had obviously been right about getting out of there as quickly as possible. The whole island was annihilated, and huge clouds of smoke rose into the sky. The explosion also caused massive waves, which would soon lead to another catastrophe at the coasts.

They watched the whole scene with horror evident in their faces. Since they were in a helicopter, they didn't have to deal with most of the effects, but those in the boats were less fortunate. The very fact that Nathan had planted this bomb in his own base was disgusting, let alone its activation. There might have been injured people left there, who were now dead, because of his decision to dispose of evidence or something like that. Whatever his reasons, his base was gone, along with most of his supporters. His power was broken, but they still didn't know where he was. Now that there was no time pressure, Max was willing to talk. And he had bad news.


	95. Assault: Defenders

**There was an error when I uploaded Chapter 94. I can see it, I hope you can as well.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or its characters.**

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Chapter 95 Assault: Defenders

Even deep inside the base, Nathan felt the tremors shaking his fortress. Paling slightly, he hurried to the upper control room, which was in charge of the first lines of defense, including the first chamber, which was the most important one. The frequency and the power of the tremors suggested an extremely strong force behind all of it. The international police alone couldn't muster such an assault without considerable help, perhaps from the army, but he'd see that soon anyway. On the way, he encountered several guards rushing to their emergency posts. Within a few minutes, the whole base would be ready to repel any enemy.

As soon as he arrived, he looked at the screens, only to see that there was nothing to see outside. The woman in charge of the room approached him, saluting briefly.

"I'm afraid the cameras on the surface were already destroyed by the first volley," she told him. "The turrets won't last much longer. Until they're done, we'll have lost all of them."

"Until who's done?" Nathan asked angrily. He wanted to know who had the audacity of attacking him at his home.

"Well, we noticed two ships nearby, one of them an aircraft carrier." He thought about it for a moment while she base was shaking slightly due to a particular massive bomb drop.

"It must be dear Max. But how did he find me?" He shook his head, addressing her again. "No matter. Primary defense plan! Now!" There was no need for this order, as it was the standard procedure, but he did it anyway.

The walls were strong enough to withstand almost any attack, leaving only the entrance to the surface, which could be detonated with enough explosives. It led straight down a tunnel with stairs, so that attackers had to enter one by one, and once they were in the first chamber, they were exposed to numerous turrets, and the attacks of his underlings, who hid behind sturdy barricades. However, his greatest asset here was Boris, who could deny access by creating an aura barrier, splitting the enemy forces, and cutting them off from reinforcements. As long as he was active, this room alone could hold against an entire army. If it was conquered, the fall of the rest was only a matter of time, though. Still, he'd have enough time to escape for the final phase of his plan.

It was regrettable that Wraith and Eileen were gone, for they'd prove valuable in case of a siege, or a direct assault, but removing Dawn from the equation was critical now. Besides, Boris and Seth should be enough to bolster the defenses considerably. The latter was already in the upper control room, waiting for new orders, or at least something to happen, but Nathan didn't know what to do with the psychic just yet, and preferred to wait for the inevitable assault. Boris was already informed of the impending fights, and he was probably already dying to do something again instead of waiting in his room all the time, so there was no need to motivate him further.

When the first soldiers arrived, everything happened just as expected. Every intruder was neutralized before he could inflict any significant damage, and thanks to Boris, they only arrived in tiny groups. It was only a matter of time until Max would refuse to send any more men to the slaughter, but until then he'd suffer heavy losses.

Nathan watched the scenes on the screens, quite content with the results so far. It was already clear that he wouldn't get to finish the last two perfect bodies for his Okcha, so there was no real point in staying. However, he wanted to wait for Wraith and Eileen first, as they might help him later, and the struggle in the first chamber was highly amusing. Seth was also still there, albeit unnoticed by most of the people. While the others had been focusing on the fighting, he'd been struggling with his own thoughts. If Nathan succeeded, there would be no future for him or his family, that's what he'd realized the moment he'd heard about the Reverse World. Under his rule, there would be no safe place, and whatever Nathan had in store, normal people like Seth's family wouldn't benefit from it. The way he corrupted and turned Eileen into his tool made this rather clear.

Seth had often thought about leaving, but there had never been an alternative, and he needed the money for his family. This was perhaps the last chance, though. He needed to go, and he needed to ensure that Nathan was defeated, or he'd only postpone his end. This time, he would visit his wife, his children, and tell them all the things he'd been longing to tell them for years now. It was comforting, and the only thing that kept him going right now. However, he needed to find a way that still allowed him to escape. One thing was already clear. Boris was the key. As long as that man was active, there would be no victory, and Seth couldn't deny that he harbored an intense hatred for him. Teleporting within the base was still possible, for it allowed for faster movement of reinforcements, and only if attackers were to advance further, then a teleport blocker would prevent them from teleporting others inside.

Therefore he teleported directly into Boris's chamber. Although he knew how dangerous the crystals were, he couldn't help but admire their beauty. The huge one in the center, which was shaped like an obelisk was particular impressive. The others around it were ore crude, and smaller, yet still beautiful. It was almost a shame to destroy them, but Seth knew they were the source of Boris's power, so they had to go. Boris was so focused on annoying the invaders with his barrier, that he didn't notice Seth at first. Then everything happened extremely fast.

Seth first created numerous little daggers similar to psycho cut blades, and then shot them at the crystals. A few others were aimed at the cameras, destroying them so that nobody would see the destruction here. Boris noticed the disturbance, but not before every aura crystal but the one farthest away from Seth was hit by a dagger each. Seth didn't bother watching the rest, the police had to make do with this, and he wasn't going to get caught during a vain attempt to make it even easier for them. Without a single word, he teleported back to the control room. Fortunately, nobody seemed to have noticed his short absence, and he'd cut off any way for Boris to communicate with the control room by destroying the cameras.

Now he had to find a way to escape. Since the walls were made of darksteel, teleportation was not an option. Furthermore the teleportation blocker was bound to be activated soon. His ampharos's light travel was also out of the question, for it had some restrictions. It basically transformed the body into light, travelled to the target location and changed it back to its original form. It was without type and therefore wasn't stopped by a dark field, and the way it worked made it the fastest way to move possible, yet there had to be a direct connection to the destination, as a single closed door could stop it. With the base being firmly shut down, he had to wait for the right opportunity.

In the meantime, Boris was busy pulling out the daggers in his crystals. It was already too late, though, as in their imperfect state, they couldn't stand the pressure from inside. The cracks spread rapidly all over their surface, and the crystals glowed strongly. They were about to explode. Remembering the last time he'd seen one of them being destroyed, he immediately formed a psychic barrier to protect himself, his psychic-crystal, and the last aura-crystal.

The detonation of the small fire gem back at the outpost was nothing compared to those he experienced her. Only by using all of the energy stored inside his main crystal, he managed to withstand the blasts, and even so, he was completely drained afterwards, which left the base unprotected. Everyone inside felt the tremor mere moments later, and several fell off their chairs. In addition, the technical equipment was damaged, weakening the defenses even more. Nathan looked at his men, waiting for someone to explain things to him.

"The explosion occurred in the tertiary defense chamber," one of them finally said.

This could only mean that the aura-crystals were down, as only they could create such a huge explosion. As a consequence, Boris was probably dead, and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't be of much use anymore, because his equipment was gone, leaving him with no way of watching the base. Without the aura barriers, the fall of the base was only a matter of time.

The explosion had left the entire chamber largely devastated, only the walls remained completely intact. In the middle, Boris and the two remaining crystals were lying on the ground, slightly bruised, but mostly unharmed. He slowly rose into the air, looking around to see countless small shards lying around, and parts of his old equipment on fire. Fortunately, he could use his crystal to levitate, thus avoiding the shards. However, he was unable to help his master in any way right now, as he could neither see what's going on in the base, nor could he leave his chamber, because he needed to stay close to the crystal. The size of the only exit was inconveniently small, which had been built like this on purpose , as Nathan didn't want Boris to leave it ever again. Therefore he had to wait for someone to come to him, but then at least he'd get to kill them personally.

Nathan kept watching the scenes in the first chamber with an amused grin for a while. The international police was pushing with renewed strength. It was already clear that even with reinforcements, there was no way the defenders could hold the position for much longer. On the other hand his departure had been decided a long time ago, so this only hastened the process.

"Stand your ground as long as you can. I'll retreat to my private quarters," he told the other before addressing Seth. "I don't know whether you had something to do with this and I don't care. If so, how very selfless of you. Or selfish? I can't tell right now. Do what you want, I no longer have any need for you. Or your family. I wonder whether you'll make it out of here in time."

Seth paled when he heard this, and Nathan laughed upon seeing his face. He had to get out of here quickly, but at least Nathan didn't want to stop him directly. Being a wanted criminal, he had to get past the international police as well without being noticed, for going to prison was not in his interest. Nathan left quickly, retreating to his private quarters.

The Okcha inside the guards compelled them to follow his orders until the bitter end, so he could be sure that they wouldn't seek an easy way out like surrendering. He was moving fast, but he wasn't in a hurry. He merely wished not to miss too much from the battles, and the screens in his room or office could provide a lot of entertainment. In addition, he could finally test his maze on real intruders, not guards. The second line of defense was also ready, led by an Okcha with a copy of his own hypno's body. It was a body of the highest quality, made to last centuries even under difficult conditions. Needless to say, it was extremely expensive, but for his purposes, even that body wasn't good enough. It paled in comparison to his masterpieces, which could last indefinitely, unless damaged from the outside.

The other parts of the base were nearly empty, only about a dozen inner guardians were positioned in hidden parts of the room leading to his private quarters, a few normal guards were in the corridors, and he had a special surprise for the first to get past the maze. It was a shame he had to leave all the artifacts in the secret room next to his office behind, but he didn't have time to get them to safety. At least his enemies wouldn't get them either, or at least that's what he thought, because he wanted to conduct an experiment with his chaos gem. It was in his quarters, along with all the rifles he'd produced to have ready access to the Reverse World. Although he rarely visited it personally, he needed often used them to send swarms of Okcha into that world. If he went there himself, the Okcha in this world would undoubtedly rebel immediately, so he couldn't do it until he was sure that he wouldn't need to return ever again.

The first part of his private quarters consisted of a room with a large computer with all the screens needed to observe the entire base, and controls for traps. There were a few cupboards on the sides, most of them containing weapons, including the dimension rifles for the Reverse World. Unlike the rest of the base, it was also aesthetically pleasing, containing several plants, sculptures, and a soft, colorful carpet, which was yet another reason not to stay in the control room. A look at the screens revealed that the invaders were still stuck in the first chamber, though they were about to gain the upper hand.

The following minutes were rather boring, as wherever the intruders went, they disposed of the cameras, limiting his possibilities. At least those in the control room and the chamber containing the second line of defense were still untouched, and those were the most interesting places. Watching Thomas's unit struggle against a superior enemy was particularly exciting. Since Max denied him help, Thomas was in a tight spot, but eventually, a strange Alakazam came to his aid. Nathan wasn't sure why, but he found her intriguing, and he was sure that she belonged neither to the international police, nor to him. She might belong to the military, but she didn't look like that kind of pokémon. His suspicions were confirmed, when she came up with a plan to get rid of the ghost-types, and actually pulled it off, resulting in the destruction of the gengar.

His minions reacted the exact way he'd anticipated. One of the fire bombs was to be used to eliminate all the intruders at once with the help of an overcharged gravity move. At first, it looked like the plan was unfolding marvelously, but then the alakazam managed to get up. This only proved that it was far from ordinary, and when she ruined his plan by interfering, he couldn't help but smirk. The following explosion took out all the remaining cameras, so Nathan couldn't watch the aftermath. It made him laugh, and he couldn't stop for a long time. Unexpected turns of events were always exciting, especially when one of his own plans didn't work.

Ash's arrival went unnoticed by him, until he saw something in the corridor leading Boris's chamber. Marcus and Serena were there, and their presence suggested that he was there as well. However, he wasn't with them. Now Nathan was somewhat glad that he couldn't look into the chamber anymore, or he'd get distracted by the fight against Boris. Instead, he watched the corridor behind the other exit, which had to be passed in order to get to his quarters, and sure enough, Ash arrived there, commanding Articuno to block the way behind him with ice. This worked in Nathan's favor, for it allowed him to have a little fun without the interference of the international police.

In the same corridor, right after the room with the fire bomb, Seth had taken out a few guardians, hoping to find a special item. Victoria's old illusion mask had been given to a guard after her death. It was special because it already contained an Okcha as opposed to most of the other masks, so he could technically use it. This was his means of getting out, by fooling the international police into believing he was one of them. This corridor was perfect, for it contained only a few guards, who could be taken out even without pokémon or weapons. However, none of them carried the mask and one of them managed to stab Seth's shoulder with a knife. Now he was leaning against the wall, holding his wound, wondering how he could still get out of this sticky situation.

Then he saw Ash approaching. The trainer was accompanied by several pokémon, including Empoleon, Articuno, Azelf, Mesprit, and Shaymin, and he looked just as surprised as the psychic.

"You!" he simply stated. Since Seth didn't appear to be hostile and looked like he was responsible for the defeat of the guardians, Ash didn't attack yet. "I certainly wouldn't mind giving you a good beating for the things you've done to Dawn."

"Go ahead. It's probably too late anyway. Might as well finish me to spare me the disappointment," Seth told him with a weak voice.

It was strange to see this proud man looking so utterly broken. While Ash was tempted to grant him that wish, he also knew that it wouldn't serve any purpose. Seth feared the worst when Ash grabbed something in his bad, but it turned out to be a bandage, which he threw towards the psychic.

"Not worth it. Take care of your wound." Without another word, Ash and the pokémon proceeded on their journey.

They went past the next door and closed it ice while Seth was too surprised to act. Finally, he yelled at them with a furious expression.

"What the hell? Who do you think I am? I don't need your pity. Come back here and fight!" Realizing that they couldn't hear him, he sank to the ground in frustration.

Since there was nothing else to do, he tended to his wound while trying to find another way to get out. One of the guards had an illusion mask, which he couldn't use, though. However, the remembered that there was someone who could, someone who had to fulfill his every wish.

"Ampharos, use the mask and make us look like unconscious guards." His servant complied immediately, and it worked. All of sudden, the situation looked much better for him.

The international police arrived soon, breaking the ice to the corridor. Seth communicated with Ampharos via telepathy, While they were distracted removing the ice to the next chamber and disarming and transporting the defeated guards to the surface, Ampharos made itself and its master look like officers, who were taking the prisoners to the surface. It was risky, for there were not only two guards less but also two officers more all of sudden. Fortunately, nobody seemed to notice, and they slowly made their way upwards, trying not to draw attention.

As soon as they reached the first defense chamber, Seth told it to use light travel to Viridian City, and from there he teleported to a clearing in Viridian Forest. This was where he told ampharos to destroy its own body, which it gladly did. The ring Seth carried was useless and he dropped it before stepping on it a few times. Now it was time to check on his family.

However, when he teleported nearby, he found the former home of his family to be a smoking ruin. Paling considerably, he rushed to the house and tried to look for any signs of survivors. His heart sank when he saw the charred corpses of an adult and two children. There was barely left of one of them. Since he had three children there was a chance of one of them being somewhere else, but a thorough search of the building yielded no results. It might as well be that there was simply nothing left. He was sure that missing one was his daughter Illaya, for she should be taller than the other two by now.

When he finally fully realized that it was over, he started crying. His family was gone, and he didn't even get to say anything to them. He'd been too slow, too careful, too hesitant, and his family paid the price. Overcome by regret and sadness, he retreated back to the clearing in the forest and let himself drop to the ground. He'd need a lot of time to recover from this shock, even though it shouldn't have come as a surprise.

"It's over," he kept telling himself.

Perhaps at least others could avoid this fate now that he'd weakened Nathan's base, but he didn't much care about it right now. His world was broken. He doubted there was anything he could do to help anyone anymore.

Nathan was watching Ash progress to the next room. It had a few defenders, though they were merely distraction. He put on his headset, pushed a button next to the screen showing the room, and spoke directly to those inside.

"Greetings, Ash. I can't express how much your presence means to me. The other intruders, they can't appreciate my game, but you, you're special. This is dedicated to Shira." He pushed three buttons, closing the doors to the room, and releasing the same poison gas Shira had used to threaten the world. "Have fun, my friends."

Deep inside, he hoped that Ash would find a way out of this trap, as it seemed like a cheap way to go, and there was still so much Nathan could do to him. Unfortunately, he couldn't see what was going on, as Ash had the camera destroyed, leaving this scene to his imagination. It wasn't until the exit was blasted open by a green energy beam that he realized that he'd still get to test his maze on Ash after all. Soon Ash left, having dealt with the guardians, and entered the maze. Since the international police would arrive eventually, Nathan didn't keep him there for long, and let him pass mostly unscathed. Then he closed the door leading to the office and the guardians' quarters, so that Ash had to take the route to his own quarters, unless he wanted to waste time destroying the door, which wasn't the case. Soon they'd face each other.

Boris was in a remarkably good mood considering the recent destruction of his toys. He'd gotten new ones in form of a scouting party. The fun was over all too quickly, but he'd let one of them escape, so that he could get help. Needless to say, it was probably a stupid decision, as he couldn't get away, but then again, he'd rather take some people down with him in a fight instead of starving to death. He was doomed either way. When Marcus and Serena arrived, they found him sitting on the ground, waving his finger rapidly, but looking extremely bored. Sure enough, his finger pointed directly at the upper half of a dead man, which was moving with every motion like a ragdoll. Boris smiled brightly upon spotting the intruders.

"New toys! Wonderful!" he yelled, getting up to float above the ground. He was still dependant on the psychic crystal to move, but his enemies didn't know that yet. The aura crystal was used to seal the exit with a barrier to prevent escape. "Wait, it's Marius? So great to see you. How's Catherin? And who's that lovely girl you brought for me?"

It took him only a few second to really piss them off, and their faces filled him with delight. Only Marcus's pokémon prevented him from attacking Boris directly.

"It's Catelyn, you stinking asshole! It's bad enough that her name comes from that cursed mouth, but at least get it right!" he yelled, making Boris laugh. "And if you lay one finger on Serena, I'll break every single bone in your body."

"Oh, all right. I'll use my tongue instead. And maybe something else." A thrusting motion with his hips left no doubts about the meaning. It made Marcus go red with anger, and left a horrified expression Serena's face. "Come on, Eireen didn't mind."

This lie was the last straw for Marcus, who order his pokémon to attack, and they complied gladly. Together with Serena's pokémon, they unleashed a barrage of moves, which were all blocked by an invisible force field, powered by the two remaining crystals. They glowed brightly when it happened, so Marcus at least couldn't miss the hint.

"Losing your temper so soon? My dear boy, you're way too aggressive. Might I suggest a therapy? I recommend Dr. Fuck You!" He called out Garchomp, who was his only remaining pokémon thanks to Nathan, but he could still use the mega evolution, which he immediately did. "Have a healthy dose of death!"

Marcus and Serena also called out their partners, only to watch three of them, Florges, Flareon, and Marowak, get pulled towards him. The power of his crystal allowed him to manipulate several object at once with full strength. Garchomp was already prepared, and sent them right back with a shockwave. This also made the other pokémon evade it, thus interrupting their attack on Boris. Then they spread out, so that they couldn't be attacked at the same time. Blastoise and Goodra stayed with their masters to protect them from any harm. Boris would have to use a lot of energy to move them aside, so they were relatively safe.

"Using your friends as meat shields? I thought you were better than that," Boris gloated.

"Shut up and die already!" Marcus retorted.

The pokémon kept attacking Boris directly, but the shield seemed impenetrable. Nothing they did had any effect, and Boris kept pulling the pokémon towards Garchomp, or tried to crush them directly. When he pulled Florges, Flareon, and Marowak again, Garchomp defeated them with one earthquake, then it used dragon charge on Goodra, hoping to get to Serena directly.

"Ice beam!" Marcus commanded. Blastoise hit the dragon-type form the side, pushing it away with the extremely effective move.

"Dragon pulse on the beam!" Goodra's orb was frozen by the ice beam, and was pushed against Garchomp, resulting in a powerful explosion.

"Get back here! I didn't tell you to attack them," Boris yelled. It returned to his position, where it was protected. "I know you're bored, but that doesn't mean you get to do stupid things. Now slash it with dragon claw!"

Serena's vivillon was moved towards it, and the following attack not only hurt it badly, but also damaged its wings, rendering it unable to fly. Before Garchomp could finish it, it was pulled back by Delphox, though. Enraged by her interference, Boris focused his powers on lifting her into the air, and crushing her body with his psychic powers. However, he had to stop when the other pokémon intensified their attacks in response. Skuntank's night slash was particularly dangerous to him, though he didn't feel like he was going to run out of energy anytime soon.

"Garchomp, keep an eye on Skuntank." His pokémon had to do this for him, as he couldn't control it directly. By threatening it with its earthquakes, it made the dark-type attack the shield from afar with the weaker dark pulse.

Meanwhile, Boris was attacking the others relentlessly. Tangrowth and Clawitzer were pressed against the wall in an attempt to crush their bodies. When he thought them to be finished, Boris dropped them, and turned his attention towards the remaining pokémon. Delphox in particular was getting on his nerves, so he lifted her into the air, but she proved resistant to his crushing force. He did this to the others as well, but eventually, he grew tired of these attempts.

"This is getting boring. Let me try something else." He raised an arm, lifting every pokémon into the air before rendering them unable to do anything. Then he raised the other arm, creating numerous purple orbs above him, similar to those of a psyshock. "Time to end this game."

The orbs flew everywhere, exploding on contact, and since the pokémon were unable to dodge, they had to take the damage. The effect was devastating to most of them, and there was smoke everywhere, which was blocking the view. Boris was confident that his enemies were finished, and let down his guard for a moment. However, he quickly reinforced the shield again when he noticed several attacks coming from the clouds of smoke. The pokémon were in a worse condition, but they still weren't finished. Especially Skuntank was still able to annoy him quite a bit.

"Annoying insects! I'll break you all." First he used a tremendous amount of energy to throw Blastoise at Skuntank, which allowed him to attack Marcus directly.

"Goodra, get to him!" Serena cried, rushing to his position, but Boris was faster, and pulled Marcus towards him.

"How would you like me to end your miserable life?" he asked, holding his face close. Marcus replied by punching him in the face. In response, Boris held him a little farther away, obviously unimpressed by the attack. "I see. If that's how you want to play, there's something I've been dying to try for a long time now." Marcus was dropped, but then he felt his arms moving by themselves, and the rest of his body being paralyzed. The arms proceeded to hit his face repeatedly. "Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself! Why are you hitting yourself?"

He was laughing madly while his enemy was glaring at him. His judgment was clouded by rage, and all the time, he could only imagine tearing Boris apart. His enemy enjoyed his agony to the fullest, but eventually, he had to stop it to increase the power of his shield temporarily. The pokémon did their best to free him with their attacks.

"Oh, wait, I have a better idea." He lifted Marcus, and held him in front of himself like a shield. "You still want to attack me? How about you get through him first?" The attacks ended, much to his delight, and for a few moments, the situation was almost peaceful. "See? That's why you'll never win. Your morals prevent you from doing what needs to be done, even when the consequences are obvious. Killing a friend to save the whole group isn't a bad deal, yet you fail to act accordingly. You deserve this."

"You're wrong! We'll not only defeat you, but we'll do it without hurting Marcus." Serena yelled. "Marcus, try to fight it. We believe in you!"

Although he didn't have the strength to fight, her words cleared his head a bit, allowing him to see past his anger. He was facing Boris, as the sadistic man wanted him to look at his smug face all the time, which also gave him a clear view on the crystal. It took him a while to see it, but he came to realize their mistake. Their opponent's power originated from the crystals, so it had to be their primary target, not Boris himself. And now that he was relatively close to the crystal, he could see cracks in it. They were small, but noticeable.

"How about I use your little friend as well? I've always wanted to dual wield shields," Boris told him with grin. "It must look badass."

"Don't attack him! Attack the crystal!" Marcus yelled, making Boris look up.

The desperate pokémon immediately complied, which forced him to use his combination of psyshock and telekinesis again. As usual, the crystal glowed brightly, but this time, Marcus noticed the cracks expanding, and light shot out of some cracks. The damaged structure couldn't handle the pressure anymore, and was close to breaking, so they simply had to make Boris keep up the pressure by using it. He'd seen enough gems explode to know that even a tiny scratch could mean the end for them.

"Keep attacking!" He tried to fight the power controlling his body, which made Boris toss him aside, so that he could focus on the shield. "Only a little more."

For some reason, his power was waning, and now he had to utilize the aura crystals for the shield instead of using it to seal the exit. In a last attempt to defeat the attackers, he tried to crush them with his psychic powers, which only hastened the crystal's destruction. Soon it reached a point that Boris using it wasn't even necessary anymore. It had become so unstable that the cracks were spreading without his doing. It didn't go unnoticed by Boris, who had trouble remaining in the air. He turned around, to see the cracks spreading rapidly. Suddenly, a haunter moved out of it, going in front of his face, and grabbing his cheeks.

"That's for Victoria's skarmory. She sends all of her love." The voice could be heard directly in his head.

He merely stared at it when it pulled back, and destroyed itself with a shadow ball. It was an Okcha, sent by his former colleague, though he still couldn't believe that she could come up with something like this. Feeling that its end was near, Marcus, Serena, and the pokémon gathered near the exit to protect each other from the approaching blast. Boris fell to the ground, having lost control of the crystal, but used the aura crystal to shield himself and Garchomp. The cracks were all over its surface by now, and light emerged from every single one of them, while its core was blinking rapidly. A deep rumbling noise came from within, intensifying gradually until the crystal finally burst. The explosion wasn't as violent as the others, though the shards flying in every direction were extremely dangerous, and they managed to damage the aura crystal. The main effect was a large number of voices in the heads of everyone close to it, which made their heads hurt a lot. More than anyone else, Boris suffered from the destruction, screaming uncontrollably. The aura crystal's explosion almost killed him, and only Garchomp's body shielding him saved his life. It was knocked out in the process, so that Marcus and Serena had no enemy left here.

They slowly stood up with their heads still hurting. Whereas Boris had been crying like he was in pain so far, he was yelling without any emotion right now, which made it sound extremely weird. Marcus slowly got up, and walked towards him. It was even weirder to watch him from a close distance. His expression showed no emotion, his blank eyes were staring into nothingness, and all in all, it looked like Boris was sleeping with open eyes.

"Stop that!" Marcus shouted, placing a foot on Boris's chest.

The man immediately stopped screaming, but there was no other reaction, not even the taunt Marcus had expected. This made him suspicious, and kept talking to Boris without receiving a single answer. This reaction was maddening, and he was tempted to simply hit him until he talked, but when he raised his fist, Serena held him back.

"Don't. He's not worth it," she told him.

As much as he wanted to tear Boris apart, he had to admit that she was right. This man had destroyed so much, Marcus couldn't allow him to destroy his dignity as well. Death was too good for someone like that anyway. It was the easy way, and Marcus had to make sure that he paid for his atrocities properly. He stared at Boris for a long before lowering his fist again.

"Very well," he said with a sigh. "Let's take him with us. But if he ever gets out of prison again, I'll hunt him down without a second thought."

"Good enough for me." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now let's leave this place. It's depressing, and Ash probably already wonders what took you so long," she teased.

"He'll understand. After all, he'd been traveling with you for some time," he replied half-jokingly. "But seriously, we'll probably meet the international police, so stay calm."

Dragging Boris along, they returned to the previous room, and the officers immediately stopped them. At first, they didn't look happy at all, but when they recognized Boris, they were actually grateful for his defeat, as now they didn't have to fight the monster. Like Marcus and Serena, they didn't really know what exactly was wrong with their captive, and they didn't really seem to care at all. What mattered was that his fate was in their hands. Once he recovered, he'd be punished for everything he'd done.

Little did they know, Boris's mind had been connected to the crystal to allow him full control, and the crystal's destruction had also crushed his mind. Now he was little more than a hollow shell, existing, but not truly living. Punishing him was pointless, for he couldn't even notice it, but he'd already paid the ultimate price. Of course, Nathan had expected something like this, and he'd accepted it as a fitting punishment for a traitor.

They were taken to the surface, and entered the nearest helicopter. It wasn't until later that the entire base was evacuated hastily, and Marcus and Serena witnessed firsthand the destruction of the island. They'd escaped, but there was no trace of Ash. Right now, they could only hope that he was somewhere safe, and be grateful to be in a helicopter instead of one of the boats.


	96. Assault: Ash

**Now from Ash's perspective. It should fill the rest of the gaps.**

 **Disclaimer:I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 96 Assault: Ash

In Pallet Town, Ash woke up in his bedroom, after having fallen asleep. It was weird, for he was still tired and there was a pain in his neck. Something was definitely wrong, and when he tried to move, he realized that he was tied to a chair. Looking around revealed two other people. Dan was currently lying on his bed, occasionally taking a sip from his bottle of beer. The other one was a an officer, who looked taken aback by the behavior of his superior. Unlike Dan, he immediately noticed Ash waking up, and flashed a big smile.

"About time you woke up. We were afraid the dose was a bit too much, but it seems it was just right." Ash wondered what he meant by that, but quickly understood that they'd used a poison dart on him, which explained the pain. "Just relax. Don't get any funny ideas. Your pokémon are downstairs, and should you try anything stupid, they'll pay for it."

Ash gritted his teeth. He was threatened and held against his will by those who were supposed to protect him.

"Yes, they'll do it. They know no mercy. No, they don't." Dan muttered, giggling like a little girl. "They're like Max. And if you're really naughty, they'll use the bombs."

"Bombs?" The second officer gave Dan a nasty look, but didn't react too strongly.

"No wonder he doesn't have faith in you anymore, if you can't even keep this secret. You're lucky his memory will be wiped anyway," he said, before addressing Ash again. "Yes, you heard right, we'll rearrange your memory. We could tell you our dirtiest little secrets, and you wouldn't remember a thing tomorrow. Anyway, I'll have to report you for blurting out secrets, Danny. And the fact that you're drunk on duty doesn't make this any better."

"You really think I give a fuck about my position?" He spat directly on the carpet, making both Ash and his companion look at him with disgust. "Let me tell you something ... I ... what are we talking about? Oh yes, I can get wasted wherever I want, and I won't be stopped by a fluffy guy like you. Screw my job, it's gone downhill anyway, Why do I have to do those things? It's not right, I say!"

"Oh, shut the fuck up. This is going to be a long day," the other officer mumbled with a sigh.

Their prisoner wasn't amused by their argument, as it told him that they'd keep him here for a long time, and then make him forget about it. However, he had no idea why, and he doubted they'd tell him. Nevertheless, he asked them.

"So can you at least tell me why I'm here?" Much to his annoyance, the officer showed a toothy grin.

"Well, I sure might. After all, you won't remember it, right?" He laughed, before putting on a dead serious expression. "It's probably hard to believe, maybe even shocking to you, but the reason, the real reason why you're here is that this is your home."

Right now, Ash wanted to smash the chair against his head, but for the sake of his pokémon, he didn't even try.

"You know exactly what I mean," he replied with suppressed rage, trying not to give him satisfaction with an outburst. "I usually don't tie myself to a chair when I'm home," he added sarcastically.

"Oh, you mean that?" The officer exclaimed innocently, infuriating Ash even more. "I don't think I'll tell you. Try to imagine something funny."

"Yeah, we can't tell you. And if you keep asking him, you'll only get more ridiculous answers," Dan told him, putting down the empty bottle. "I'll get something to drink, you want something? Might as well get drunk to endure his bullshit."

"No thank you. I'd rather stay sober." Ash hoped that his pokémon could somehow free themselves, and then free him. In that case, he needed to be in perfect condition to find out what was going on.

"Suit yourself." Dan blinked a few times, and then wandered towards the door with a lot of trouble, obviously intoxicated.

"Disgraceful." The other man shook his head, obviously disapproving of the alcohol. "I'll never understand why he was promoted. Anyway, one of us is enough, and soon I might replace him. As for you, I suggest you shut up now, or some duct tape will have to fix that."

He sounded serious, so Ash decided not to tempt fate. In order to do anything, he needed help, but he couldn't imagine anyone coming to his aid right now. The more he thought about it, the more he came to believe that something significant was going, and Max didn't want him to be part of it. Otherwise he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to prevent him from leaving his house. This waiting ruined his mood completely, yet there was nothing else he could do right now. This talk about bombs also made him worry, as they certainly weren't there to protect him, though he didn't know the details. With every piece of information Ash acquired, Max was becoming less likeable to him.

The invasion of Nathan's base along with the explosions didn't go unnoticed by Alakazam, who took it as her sign to inform Ash. However, this proved more difficult than expected because of several dark fields around the island and along the coast. She had to get through that line, and even though she doubted they'd stop a pokémon, she tried not to be seen. After all alakazam were rare in the wild, and if she was spotted, people might even think she'd escaped from the base. As soon as she was in the clear, she teleported to Pallet Town, only to find out that she couldn't get close to Ash's house due to another dark field. Something was definitely wrong.

Upon approaching, she noticed that several men belonging to the international police were occupying it, and that Ash was held in his bedroom upstairs against his will. Ash's hopes got up because he felt her presence, but he was disappointed when he felt it fading again. Since she was intelligent pokémon, it was entirely possible that she had a plan different from barging in and defeating everyone, though, which calmed him a little. At least now he knew that someone was probably doing something about his predicament. Indeed, she had a plan, though it didn't involve her doing a lot. Instead, she wanted to tell Marcus and Serena about his situation, give them the location of Nathan's base, and let them rescue Ash. With help from Ash's pokémon at the lab, they'd surely be strong enough, and the psychic-type herself had already lost enough time needed to pave the path for him. Only if she couldn't find them soon, then she'd have to do it on her own.

Fortunately, finding Marcus's house was no problem with a directions from the locals, and he was there with Serena, much to her relief. They were having breakfast, and Marcus looked surprised to find her when he opened the door.

"We have little time. I'll show you the location of Nathan's base, you'll free Ash, and then attack it together," she told him telepathically.

"What?" he just exclaimed, not recognizing Dawn's alakazam.

"Dawn is my trainer." She could read his mind to do something about his confusion. "Now, could you tell me where I might find a map?"

Serena joined them, having heard a strange voice in her head. Since she'd also heard the second part, she knew the intruder, but she was just as confused about the other part as Marcus.

"There should be a few maps in the cupboards in the living room," Marcus told her, still a little dumbstruck.

Alakazam wasted no time, and immediately began with her search. The size of the house, which had been built for a larger family, made this difficult, but it needed to be done. This gave Marcus and Serena some time to consider her words.

"Did you hear that? Nathan's base! Eileen must be there. Perhaps Boris as well." His expression changed to one of determination and fury. "He'll pay. As soon as we have the location, we must go."

"What about Ash? She said he had to be freed," Serena protested. As much as she wanted to find Eileen, she wasn't willing to abandon Ash.

"What about him? He's strong. He'll find a way without us." The disregard for Ash's freedom made her mad, yet she tried to convince him to change his course. Although he was often driven by his emotions, he'd listen to reason.

"And what if you were the one to be imprisoned? Wouldn't you want Ash to rescue you? Besides, we have the same goal, so he'll be a great help there." He stopped talking for a moment, and reflected on her words. Depending on the enemies, he might not be able to prevail on his own, and he couldn't say that he hated Ash that much.

"Alright, alright. We'll free him." Then he realized the flaw in his words. "Wait, who's holding him anyway? Where? And why?"

They needed more information, so they went to the living room, almost bumping into Alakazam, who'd found a suitable map of Kanto and a pen. She told them to follow her to the table, spread it out, and drew a circle around a small group of islands on the northeastern part. Then she proceeded to give them a short review about the situation, including information about Ash's unfortunate situation. Eventually, she teleported somewhere else without a warning, leaving them to deal with the rest.

In order to deal with those holding Ash hostage, they first went to the pokémon center, changing their teams for this situation. Psychic-types in particular would be useful to prevent the enemy from doing anything to Ash and his pokémon. In addition, they were needed to get to Pallet Town quickly. It seemed quiet as usual, but they knew something was wrong. The pokémon they sent to scout the area soon confirmed the situation. Several officers were currently in the living room, watching over several pokéballs, which had to contain Ash's pokémon. Since they didn't seem to be expecting trouble, the element of surprise was on the attacker's side. There were only two more officers upstairs, and one of them was completely wasted, but Ash was with them. All they needed now was a distraction.

Marcus's hitmonlee rang the doorbell, making one of them go to answer the door. It meant one less opponent to fight, though they were still outnumbered.

"I'm sorry, Ash," Serena muttered, when she realized that she'd have to smash the windows. "Everybody, let's do this!"

One of her pokémon destroyed the nearest window, allowing the others to enter. The officers immediately went for the pokéballs, but they were stopped, and thrown back, before they could properly retaliate. The other pokémon knocked them unconscious, before Marcus's ariados tied them up with its silk. They also defeated a Houndoom, that came from the kitchen, alarmed by the noise in the living room, and the officer at the entrance was knocked unconscious by Hitmonlee. Apparently, the houndoom had been keeping up the dark field.

Everyone upstairs heard the noise as well. Whereas Dan seemed to believe it was the sign of a party downstairs, the other officer stayed at the door, ready to shoot everyone trying to get through it. While doing that, he was attempting to establish contact with his allies, yelling into some kind of phone, but there was no answer. Obviously, they'd been overwhelmed, and now there was nothing he could do, for Ash, having sensed his friends approach, had created an aura bubble, which was already strong enough to repel bullets, at least from smaller guns. Ash could only hope that Marcus and Serena wouldn't enter through the door, or they'd be in for a nasty surprise. This man looked intent on not giving up, although he'd already lost. Even Dan tried to convince him that surrender was the best option, yet he still refused.

As if they'd been waiting for this, Azelf and Mesprit suddenly teleported into the room, using their psychic powers to make the officer hit the wall. He was knocked out immediately and the fight had been ended without a single gunshot, much to Ash's relief.

"Cheers!" Dan exclaimed when his colleague hit the ground, taking another sip from his bottle. He still didn't bother freeing Ash, though, so he had to wait for the psychic-types to do it or Marcus and Serena to barge in.

"Ash!" Serena shouted, rushing to him. "So glad this worked. Why did they hold you here in the first place? Wait, what are those pokémon doing here?"

"I'll tell you about them later. As for the rest, I've no idea." Ash clearly needed to move properly, and he needed to know what was happening.

Freeing him took some time, but once they were done, Marcus and Serena told him about what Alakazam had said to them, and presented the map, which almost made him go crazy. Despite the lack of definite proof, he was determined to go there immediately. In his opinion, Max's actions only confirmed this information, for he probably wanted Ash to stay back, even if it meant forcing him to do so. Azelf and Mesprit first listened to them, then fully confirmed the story, having watched part of the attack. Their knowledge could prove invaluable. However, he quickly understood that a hasty approach would only result in his demise. It required planning, and a well-balanced team with a pokémon for every possible situation. Otherwise he'd only endanger himself and those accompanying him.

"What about him?" Serena asked, pointing at Dan, who was still lying on Ash's bed.

"Oh, just leave him here," Ash said, waving it off. "You'll behave, right?"

"Sure, don't worry about me. Now go and have fun. But make sure to return before midnight," he added, waving at them, then giggling like a little girl. "And if you see dear Max, punch him in the face for me."

"Well, at least he doesn't put up any resistance," Mesprit remarked.

While they left, he rolled over, and tried to fall asleep, only to be woken up when he received a call from his boss. He was eager to hear from the battle, so he quickly answered it.

"Hello there," he shouted enthusiastically.

"What the hell, Dan? Are trying to destroy my eardrums? For fuck's sake, stop yelling." Dan flinched, and quickly stood up, as if Max was present. "Now, any news about our guest?"

"Nope, sleeping like an angel." Glancing at his colleague, who was tied to the chair, he rubbed his eyes. "Yes, everything definitely under control. Don't worry about it."

"Are you drunk? Well, I'll read it in the report anyway." This made Dan gulp, but he didn't say anything. "Just make sure he doesn't escape. The last thing we need right now is interference from the most troublesome fool on the entire planet."

The call ended, and Dan took a deep breath. Even in his drunken state, he was aware of the fact that Ash was already gone, and that his career was ruined. Nevertheless he didn't regret anything, as he didn't really want to work for this kind of superior. Explaining this to his friends, especially Thomas, would be difficult, though. Right now, he only hoped that Ash would be successful, and that Nathan would be defeated, no matter how or by whom.

Meanwhile, Ash, Serena, and Marcus were already at the lab, rearranging their teams. Empoleon was a given, for he insisted on coming. Since the international police was likely to be in front of the entrance to the base in large numbers, they needed to get past them quickly, and Latios was the right pokémon for that task. Articuno's ice was harder than anything he knew, so it could slow the progress of the officers behind them by blocking the way with ice. The others had to be smaller and more maneuverable, though, as Ash expected there to be a lot of narrow corridors. Gallade was one of his most mobile fighters, and could also teleport them close to the target location, saving them a lot of time. Bisharp was relatively small, yet adept at blocking attacks and enemies, so he could prove invaluable there. His final choice was more difficult, but he chose Infernape for his speed, agility, and offensive capabilities, which he considered more important than Lucario's aura bubble during such an attack. Besides, he believed that he might need fire to burn through doors, walls, or enemies.

In addition, he was convinced by the others to take Shaymin with him, albeit outside of the pokéballs. Since Nathan was Shira's boss, he might use her poison against them, and they didn't know another counter to it. Unfortunately, he didn't have any gracidea, so it had to fight in its land forme, but it had trained that way more than enough to not be a burden. Finally, Azelf and Mesprit also insisted on accompanying him, which he gladly accepted, for their knowledge of the area and their power could prove invaluable. Taking anyone else would make the group too slow and vulnerable at the beginning. In order to make them last as long as possible, he took a lot of supplies with him, mostly bandages and different kinds of potions.

Serena's team consisted of Delphox, Goodra, Clawitzer, Florges, Vivillon, and her small gourgeist. All of them were veterans from her first journey, the finest she could muster for this important mission. Marcus took Blastoise, Tangrowth, Marowak, Chimecho, Flareon, and Skuntank. Although Ash didn't agree with all of their choices, there was no time to argue. They needed to hurry, or various horrible scenarios might become reality. As much as Ash disliked the international police right now, a failed attack might make things worse for everyone, albeit he wasn't sure whether he wanted them to win in his absence either. For all he knew, they might destroy every way of getting to Dawn in the process, and he didn't trust Giratina enough to believe that Nathan's defeat alone would make it bring her back to him. Marcus feared that they might kill Eileen when there was no need, and so did Serena. They all had their reasons to get there fast. After discussing the first steps, they were already on their way to the biggest battle of their lives.

First, Gallade took them to Lavender Town, and then, after having recalled almost every pokémon, the rest, consisting of Lucario, Shaymin, Azelf and Mesprit jumped onto Latios's back. The legendary pokémon could move extremely fast, but they were still a large target, so they had to take care, especially during the landing. Lucario was still outside his pokéball for this purpose, and Ash could also support him a little. Before they charged, they observed the situation from afar. The entrance was small, and there were many people around it, people that had to be defeated somehow, but he had a good plan for the rest. Since there was no way they wouldn't notice him, he commanded Latios to move. The eon pokémon rushed towards the position, using luster purge to scatter the defenders, and stopped directly above the tunnel. Of course, they'd been noticed a long time ago, and the police shot at them, but Lucario's shield blocked all the attacks

He jumped off first, immediately renewing his aura bubble to protect the others, who followed him. Latios was recalled since he was too big for the tunnel, but Articuno was called out, and created a dome of ice around them, which allowed Lucario to end the aura bubble, and jump down. The officers on the ladder fell down with him, forming a pillow for the aura pokémon, who then went forward a little, and created another aura bubble. Gallade followed him, using hypnosis on those on the ground before proceeding to use the same move combined with psychic on those in the room in front of them. One by one, the others went down, until only Articuno was left. It moved down a little awkwardly, sealing the way behind it with ice beam.

Meanwhile, Ash had found out that most of the officers and soldiers in the next room were wearing gas masks, which rendered the original plan, which involved sleep powder, obsolete. They had to rely on hypnosis instead to get past the defenders without killing them, but Gallade on his own wasn't able to pull it off, as the allies of the affected quickly woke them up again.

"Guys, get on the ladder, and call out every pokémon who knows hypnosis!" Ash told the others.

Although Lucario had expanded the aura bubble as much as possible without putting himself and the others in danger, there was still a shortage of space. By moving up, they created enough for Delphox and Chimecho, who proceeded to help Gallade with hypnosis. By using it in combination with psychic or telekinesis, they ensured that the glowing symbols hit, and by focusing their attacks on one area at a time, they prevented those nearby from waking them up. They were obviously ill-prepared for an attack from behind, yet they still fought valiantly, shooting everything they had at the shield, and they even had a bunch of pokémon, which consisted mostly of psychic- and ghost-types.

Once most of the defenders were asleep, the pokémon turned on the rest, using hypnosis on them as well. Then they ceased the attacks, and contacted Ash via telepathy.

"You're the leader, aren't you? We offer free passage in return for the safety of our allies." It was a strange offer, but they knew that Ash didn't intend to kill their masters. By doing this, they hoped to avoid potential casualties, not to help Ash. Once he was gone, they'd wake them up so that they could pursue them. "Well? Do you agree?"

"Very well. But one wrong move, and you'll sleep as well. Also, I require someone to show me the way, or I might walk straight into your allies. And you know as well as I do that it wouldn't end well," he replied, making the others look at him, as they hadn't heard the suggestion.

"Very well, I'll do it," one of the gengar said, stepping forward.

The pokémon were true their word, letting them pass without an incident, for they knew that they couldn't win in this case. Nevertheless, the group remained vigilant, watching out for any sign of danger, but they all got through to the next corridor. It was mostly empty, as the international police was focused on two targets, and there was no backup at all right now. First, Articuno sealed the way back with its ice beam, but then they had to trust their new guide not to lead them straight into the bulk of the invading horde.

Their guide was one of leaders of the pokémon squads, and as such it not only had significant knowledge of the invasion, but it was also authorized to act without direct orders. The success of the invasion was more important to it than anything else, which was good for Ash, as it didn't want to risk everything by leading him to the central control room, where the biggest fights were taking place. If Gengar was lucky, it could make Ash go past their lines to push forward without them. In this case, he could even take out Nathan's defenses for them, allowing them to advance without fear of traps. In order to do this, it had to get him past Thomas's unit.

"Follow me, I'll take you to the frontlines. Leave the talk to me, and I might convince them to let you pass," it suggested.

"We'll decide on that when we're there. Just remember, if you betray us, it's your allies that will pay the price," Ash warned it.

Fortunately, it was completely aware of his abilities, and it had no intention of betraying him. If anything, his activities could prove useful. Articuno occasionally blocked entrances with ice to slow down their pursuers, and the rest remained extremely alarmed, expecting a fight with every step. It didn't happen, though, as the corridors were mostly deserted, and Gengar warned them before they reached the room where Thomas was supposed to be active. Once again, the ghost-type offered to speak to Thomas, only for Ash to deny it. Instead, he ordered Lucario to create the aura shield, and opened the door, though he immediately wished he hadn't. Large amounts of smoke came through the door, making him and everyone else cough. Shaymin reacted by sucking the smoke into its fur, which turned dark when it absorbed everything, and soon it needed a release. Since there was no other target, it shot a green energy beam at the door leading to the deeper parts of the base. The large amount of smoke made it so powerful that the door stood no chance, and there was enough left for a second charge.

"Articuno, put out the fire with a normal ice beam!" This wasn't the strong ice it had used earlier, but a normal ice beam that was supposed to remove the fire. After all, Ash didn't wish to waste time removing it with the international police behind him.

Without the fire, there was no new smoke, and Shaymin managed to absorb the rest before releasing the energy with another beam straight at the barricades and the ice. Then it was time to actually enter the room. Ash didn't allow Gengar to do this, but went there himself, protected by the aura shield made by Lucario, who was standing at the other side of the entrance. Trying to look as harmless as possible, he raised his hands, and talked slowly and calmly to those inside.

"Alright, people. I have no quarrel with you. There's no need for violence." Their weapons were raised, but Thomas tried to defuse the situation.

"Don't shoot! Lower your weapons, this is an order." They complied, albeit reluctantly. "Good. They're not our enemies. Now let me talk to them."

Marcus, Serena, and the pokémon entered the room as well, but remained cautious. However, the unit didn't look like it would be able to stand up to them. At least now that the smoke was gone, they could take off their masks, and catch their breath. Ash and Thomas went to the exit leading to Boris's chamber, talking in private.

"What the hell are you doing here? This isn't the right place for you," he whispered, sounding frustrated.

"So where is my place? Strapped to my own chair in my bedroom?" Ash asked calmly.

"What?" Thomas was genuinely confused.

"You heard me. When I woke up today, Dan was there, and prevented me from leaving. I admit, he didn't look happy about it, and drank a lot, but he still did it." It made sense that Max would command something like that. "Let me tell you something. I won't let anyone stop me from saving Dawn, no matter what you say. I know she's alive. I know she needs my help. You aren't my enemy, but either you let me pass peacefully, or I'll defeat you as well."

Thomas didn't need to think about this. His unit was in no condition to fight, and by pushing forward, Ash could even help them, as he could prevent enemy groups from reaching them.

"I won't stop you. Even if I wanted ..." He shook his head. He didn't intend to tell him about Alakazam's fate yet, as it would only distract him. They walked back to the others to announce the result.

"Wait, which door leads to Nathan? And where does the other door lead?" Ash asked, noticing that he needed to know this before doing anything.

"This one -" He pointed at the exit leading to Boris. "- leads to a devastated room with a maniac that I believe to be Boris. As for the other one, I guess it's the one you seek."

Marcus got extremely excited when he heard this, and he immediately tried to pull Serena towards the first exit. His intentions were more than obvious to those who knew him.

"If there's even a tiny chance of Boris being there, then I have to go there." He noticed his mistake, and let go of Serena. "You with me? Or ... do you want to accompany Ash instead?"

"I think Ash will be fine without me." She looked at him briefly, and Ash nodded at her. "Alright, it's decided then."

It was time to split up, with Ash going deeper into the base to take down Nathan, and Marcus following the lead to Boris. Both of them had vengeance as one of their reasons, but their wrath was directed at different people. Although Ash also had good reason to hate Boris, he feared that dealing with him first would allow the international police to wait for them here, and Max surely wouldn't be as generous as Thomas.

"Very well. Let them pass!" Thomas shouted, much to the surprise of his underlings. They were supposed to deal with unwanted intruders, not help them, but a mix of fear and respect for their commander made them accept his decision.

"Good luck to you two," Ash said to Marcus and Serena, walking towards the other exit. "And give him a good punch from me as well."

"You can count on that," they both replied simultaneously. Then they disappeared in the dark corridor.

Ash also left, and had Articuno block the exit with ice. Although he didn't believe that Thomas would send anyone anytime soon, Max would probably do it as soon as he got the chance. More than anything else, Ash had to avoid getting caught between the enemies. On the other hand, if he managed to reach Nathan, then Max might be inclined to help him instead of fighting both of them at the same time, though he wouldn't count on it. Ash didn't trust that man one bit by now.

In the corridor, Ash saw several unconscious guards and Seth, who looked like he'd gotten injured fighting them.

"You!" Ash was tempted to show him not to mess with his friends. "I certainly wouldn't mind giving you a good beating for the things you've done to Dawn."

"Go ahead. It's probably too late anyway. Might as well finish me to spare me the disappointment." Seth's voice was weak and the way he said it made Ash believe that he was no threat.

"He's broken. No need to waste time here," Azelf told him vie telepathy.

In a way, Ash felt pity for him now. Although he could simply ignore him, leaving him like this wouldn't be appropriate. Furthermore he had a feeling that Seth wouldn't fight his savior.

"Not worth it. Take care of your wound." Ash threw a bandage towards Seth, much to his surprise.

If anything, it seemed to make the proud man angry, for he started yelling at them.

"What the hell? Who do you think I am? I don't need your pity. Come back here and fight!" However, he didn't try to follow them, so the way was clear.

The corridor led to a closed door, which opened automatically when he approached it. The fact that the room behind it looked suspiciously cozy only made Ash feel uneasy. There was a lot of furniture, and a lot of ways to kill time, which made him believe that it was for important members of the organization, though it didn't look like it had been used much. The only other door was closed. It was probably a trap, but it was the only way to get closer to Nathan, so he stepped inside. Lucario was already carrying an aura sphere, ready to create an aura bubble with it.

Ash first had Articuno use ice beam on the door behind them, then the other door opened, and several guardians entered the room. A big fight followed, and Ash got a head start by attacking his enemies while they were still getting into position. HIs pokémon focused on the gloves, trying to remove the gem without destroying it. In some cases, they cut off the arm or the hand, but even then, the guardians kept fighting, albeit they were far less dangerous. Thus, those with gems of light were defeated first, as it was more difficult to defend against them. Then Ash heard Nathan's voice from a corner, where he also saw an observation camera.

"Greetings, Ash. I can't express how much your presence means to me. The other intruders, they can't appreciate my game, but you, you're special. This is dedicated to Shira. Have fun, my friends." A noise that sounded like a gas leak followed from several places.

The intention was obvious. Nathan wanted to poison them, and he was willing to kill his own men in the process. Now his preparations really paid off, as Shaymin proved invaluable for the second time.

"Shaymin, neutralize the poison! Articuno, try to seal the leaks!" Ash himself shot a weak aura sphere at the camera, destroying it. "The rest keeps fighting."

There was a strong wind towards Shaymin, who had to absorb the poison before it could deal any damage. Everyone else held their breath until Articuno had removed every leak, which were easy to spot due to the noise, and Shaymin had gotten the gas. Its fur was black, and it was dying to release everything. Since there was only one viable target once again, it shot the beam right at the door, blasting it open. A few guardians jumped into the beam in a vain attempt to disrupt it, and got killed almost immediately.

"You really hate doors, don't you?" Ash muttered towards Shaymin. "I'll have to make those in my house more sturdy. Anyway, good job."

The remaining guardians had only gems of darkness left, and used crystal daggers in large numbers. The fact that their master had almost killed them didn't matter to them in the slightest, and they kept fighting like nothing had happened. However, their attack style was so reckless that the pokémon sometimes had no other choice but to kill them outright just to save the lives of their allies. It was a shame, for Ash believed that most of them were merely unfortunate souls, who'd come to work for the wrong guy, and they could be saved without killing them. In this situation, however, there was often no choice.

Eventually, the rest was defeated and left there for the international police, allowing Ash to advance again. The next part of the base was what he'd describe as a flexible maze. The walls moved almost all the time, and he was sure that Nathan was toying with him, but Ash had no way of preventing them, as the walls were extremely thick. Fortunately, Nathan either lost interest in this game, or needed to do something else, as he soon found his way out of the mace, and was now confronted with a choice. There were two corridors, though one was blocked by a massive steel door, whereas the other one was open. Ash hesitated to go there, and only when the other door proved impervious to attacks, he decided to continue. The corridor led further down, and soon they found a large, empty room with a single elevator on the other side.

The whole room gave him the feeling that this was a trap, yet he saw no other way. Slowly, they advanced, creating short-lived ice barriers and aura bubbles occasionally to stop any potential attack from the sides before they could happen. When they reached the center of the chamber, the elevator opened, revealing the small cabin, which was a perfect death trap. Ash had no intention of entering it. Instead, he wanted to destroy it, and use the empty tunnel to reach his destination. Now he could use some poison gas to power Shaymin's seed flare.

As if they sensed his hesitation, three inner guardians entered the chamber from the side, wach wearing the characteristic smiling mask. One of them carried a gem of light, another one a gem of darkness, and the last one a gem of illusion. Using this, he turned the surroundings pitch-black, so that it looked like they were fighting in emptiness and countless more inner guardians appeared everywhere, obviously illusions. The ones carrying the gem of light used light travel to change position, so that nobody could tell who was the real one and it looked like the others were doing this as well. Demonic arms made of black crystals shot out of the ground all around the invaders, though they were sure only a few of those were real. All the time the guardians were laughing madly, and it sounded like the laughter was coming from everywhere. This effect was strengthened even more by the echoes. The gems of light started to glow and the guardians pointed at different targets.

"I feel a massive energy overcharge," Azelf told the others, sounding panicked.

Latios sensed it as well and used psychic on the source of the trouble to lift his arm just in time. Consequently, the light beam hit the ceiling, burning a deep hole into the steel. The guardian then used light travel again to mingle with the rest and start anew.

"Keep an eye on that one, Latios!" Ash said, expecting to keep trying to snipe his team from a distance. "Try to find the illusionist!"

Without that one, taking care of the rest should be easy. However, it was easier said than done. The illusions copied the aura of the real one, making him almost undistinguishable. Furthermore, there was no obvious energy signature like with the gem of light, so the best option to find him seemed to be destroying the illusions until the real one was found. However, there were so many and they kept changing places that it was impossible to keep track, especially when the crystal arms started attacking. They tried to grab, crush, or slice anything within range. Only few of them were real, but nobody was willing to risk anything when one of them approached. At least they were slow enough to make a dodge almost trivial, though they occasionally exploded, sending shards in every direction.

Mesprit was cut by one of those shards and that gave it an idea. Aura was a rather common way of finding someone, but the detection of emotions, which was almost exclusively done by Mesprit, was rare. Therefore it was unlikely that the illusions were modified to prevent this as well. The only problem was that the emotions of inner guardians were completely suppressed, at least as far as Mesprit knew. After a future sight move, it sent its voice to everyone within the room, hoping to reach them.

"Poor creatures. Sent to our world as slaves to fight for an unjust cause. You don't belong here. We'll send you back," it told them.

Whereas they'd been impassive so far, it now felt a mix of anger, regret, and longing. Apparently, they didn't like being reminded of their fate, and Mesprit quickly found the sources, in particular the illusionist. Unfortunately, this also caused it to become the prime target for all of them. The holder of the gem of darkness released a large amount of energy, causing claws of crystal to emerge from beneath Latios to distract him, revealing himself to the others in the process. This gave the bearer of the gem of light enough time to aim at Mesprit, but Azelf got in the way in time, blocking with the first part of the attack with a protect move, then enduring the rest. It left its arms and chest badly burnt.

What followed was too fast for anyone to fully comprehend. The damage done to Azelf awakened something Ash felt it. It teleported directly next to the guardian and knocked him out with one punch to the face, crushing the mask and stopping his laughter instantly. Gallade immediately realized who was holding the gem darkness and made a teleport assault, first punching him in the stomach, and when he sank to his knees, on the back as well. Mesprit hit the illusion gem on the last guardian's mask with a concentrated extrasensory move followed by the future sight without actually hurting him. It burst quickly, setting the mask on fire and causing strange images to flood the area, which were no doubt the result of the gem's destruction. Empoleon did the rest by putting out the fire with a water gun, which also finished off the guardian.

They didn't have time to celebrate their victory, though, for a hole opened in the ground, and from there a platform with a robot rose. This robot had a humanoid body shape, but with four arms instead of only two, which made it look like a machamp. It had a single, red glowing eye on its head, and large metal plates as armor. Standing to its full size, it revealed itself to be about twice as large as Ash. Its hands looked they could crush his skull with ease. All in all, it looked like a threatening opponent.

"Use your strongest ranged attack!" Ash had no intention of letting anyone get close to that thing.

It kneeled and used its arms to block the attacks. While the damage was clearly visible, it didn't appear to have any lasting effect. It made a long towards several pokémon, slamming the ground with all four arms. While they were down, Lucario used mach punch to hit its head. It raised two of its arms, which suddenly started spinning around its body wildly along with the corresponding chest segment, which appeared to move independently of the rest. They hit Lucario repeatedly, pushing him back and dazing him.

The others were smart enough not to approach it while its arms were spinning like that. Latios used his artillery attack, which definitely caught its attention. With a quick jump, that nobody expected from such a heavily armored foe, it reached the dragon-type and grabbed him with two of its arms. Infernape tried to help him by jumping behind it and burning its head, but its remaining arms immediately moved to the other side and grabbed him as well. Then it jumped to the nearest wall, and pinned them to it with one arm each, while attempting to use the others to punch them. Judging from screams, it had to be extremely painful, so the others rushed to their aid. Empoleon used the divine aqua jet in combination with drill peck to make his beak as hard as diamond. This way he drilled into the upper right arm, destroying some wires and equipment inside, and even though the other free arms hit him brutally, sending him flying across the chamber, it apparently rendered the damaged arm useless. It was now hanging harmlessly on the side.

Infernape used the distraction to use fire blast on its chest, and Latios shot a dragon pulse directly at its head, removing it from its chest. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have any effect. Lucario had been busy boosting its power with sword dance and now he was charging at the robot from behind, but it was ready this time. With the incredible reflexes of a machine, it grabbed his fist with its own and attempted to crush it. Despite the increase power, Lucario was no match for it in this regard, and it could've broken his hand if it wasn't for Gallade. The psychic-type, having used several swords dance as well, teleported next to them and tried to cut off this arm, the upper left one. While its reflexes allowed for an almost instant reaction, it couldn't move the arm in time, and the upper part was cut badly. Like before, it was hanging loosely on the side.

Now that two of its arms were disabled, half of its attack power was gone. The robot tried to use them as a flail by spinning its upper chest segment. However, they detached at the first contact with its remaining arms and flew to the side, unable to handle the force. As a result, it spun its lower chest segment to throw Infernape and Latios at Lucario and Gallade and them jumped at them. They rolled to the side, making way for the attacks of the other pokémon, who pushed it back with their most powerful ranged attacks.

Ash motioned for Empoleon, who'd recovered from the brutal strike and used aqua ring, to approach him.

"I've got an idea." He whispered the rest so nobody would hear it.

Once he was done, Empoleon launched himself at the robot with a divine aqua jet. Shortly before he reached it, he moved upwards a little, letting only his wings hang down, using a metal claw. As expected, it tried to use the spinning move, and when it realized what he intended, it was already to stop the movement. The arms hit his wings, which were hardened by the divine aqua jet and the metal claw, and got cut off immediately. Ash had correctly observed that the materials used for the upper part of the arms were less heavily armored and probably made of lesser materials compared to the rest, and thus was easier to destroy. Empoleon landed next to it to finish it off, but then got smashed against a wall by a brutal kick that almost knocked him out. Apparently it was still a fearsome opponent even without its arms.

Infernape cried outnad jumped onto its back, where its legs couldn't reach him. Its only way to fight back was to spin the chest segment rapidly to shake him, but he held on tightly and used flamethrower to burn a hole into its body. Progress was slow, but steady until it tried to ram its back against a wall. Infernape jumped off in time, but he still managed to see that he'd melted enough metal to see a power gem inside.

He told the others what he saw and they understood what needed to be done. Empoleon used ice beam to freeze the robot's legs to the ground, which gave the fire-type enough time to jump on its back again and shoot a concentrated fire blast down the hole.

He retreated along with the rest to Lucario, who used his aura bubble. The others set up a light screen and reflect shield to protect themselves from the explosion, but it wasn't needed. The explosion was meek, causing only the chest area to burst open and metal parts to fly everywhere. The legs fell on the ground, but remained whole.

"Anything else?" Ash shouted in the room. "Good, let's get back to the entrance first." They gained some distance to the elevator, which was necessary for the following attack. "Lucario, Infernape, combine fire blast with aura sphere. Latios, push it inside the elevator with luster purge. Then use everything you got to protect us from the blast."

They took a long time, and put a lot of power into the orb of blue fire that was created when the two moves merged. It turned white when it was hit by Latios's luster purge, and flew straight into the elevator, where it exploded violently. White fire burst from it, and engulfed the whole room. Latios's light screen and Lucario's aura bubble protected the group formidably, so that they remained unscathed. Much to their surprise, the elevator was also still mostly intact, albeit it looked heavily damaged. Entering it now was an even worse idea than before, and soon it became apparent why, as after a strange noise, it came crashing down, and with an ear-shattering noise, it hit the bottom.

Ash and the others carefully made their way towards the shaft, and looked into it. Apparently, it only led downwards, and there was only one exit, which was open right now. They had to decide how to get down there without leaving themselves exposed to possible attacks. After all, Nathan might be waiting for them there, so it had to be a good plan.

First, Articuno used ice beam to put out the fire at the bottom, and create a solid ground where they could land safely. Latios renewed light screen and reflect before being recalled due to his size. Bisharp and Empoleon used iron defense before jumping down to draw the fire to them. Lucario followed, preparing for the arrival of the others, who were then protected by his aura shield. It was unnecessary, though, as Nathan showed no intention of fighting them, but remained behind an invisible barrier created by his amulet. With the gem of the void at his disposal, he was confident that nothing could touch him, even when Ash called out the rest of his team. Thus, he was able to remain calm even when Ash and his pokémon were in his sanctuary, offering a smile to them. Even now, people would've mistaken him for a friendly man if it wasn't for the rifle he was carrying. His hypno was behind the computers at the other end of the room, pressing buttons occasionally.

"I can't express how much your visit means to me. Getting though both attackers and defenders. Yes, you are a true fighter. It's a shame you chose the wrong side, but that's alright." He aimed at Ash, but didn't shoot, as he couldn't penetrate his own barrier. "I can already guess why you're here, and I'll grant your wish. Soon you'll be reunited with your girlfriend."

"For mentioning her alone I will kill you." Nobody had ever seen Ash like this before. The venom in his voice was so strong that nobody doubted them, nobody but Nathan.

"Kill me? Why, you can certainly try, but could you really do it? Or rather, should you really do it?" he added casually. "Before I removed her, your relationship was in shambles. You were mad at her, you didn't care about her. Maybe a part of you even hated her. That only changed when I took her from you. By doing this, I made you appreciate her again, and what do I receive? Threats, threats, threats. Even now you don't realize your true enemy. It's with you all the time, waiting for the right moment to resurface- But you'll see eventually." He sighed. "Always those ungrateful brats. Is asking for a little gratitude and respect so impudent?"

All he accomplished with his behavior was making Ash even more furious. He was close to attacking outright, but didn't do it just yet.

"I know she's not dead. I know she's simply somewhere else," he said, remarkably calmly. "Give me that weapon now, or I'll take it from your cold, dead hands. Your choice."

"I regret to inform you that I had to send Wraith and Eileen after her. She's probably dead by now. My apologies. If I had known that she means so much to you, I might have done something else." He pretended to be apologetic, and it drove Ash mad.

"Enough of this," he yelled. "Attack!"

A variety of attacks, including flash cannon, ice beam, and luster purge were aimed at him, but all of them vanished quickly. As long as the barrier was active, he couldn't be hurt, but in order to attack, he had to drop it. His absol in her mega form served as a distraction, attacking Latios, who'd gotten too far ahead, from the shadows. The strike was extremely powerful, hitting his head with incredible precision. Even an experienced and well-trainer pokémon like Latios had to retreat back into the safety of the aura bubble, and before the others could retaliate, Absol was already gone, and Nathan shot a strange, translucent orb at the ground in front of Ash and the others. Lucario's shield didn't protect them against it, but at least his abilities made him allowed him to resist most of the effects, and thus maintain the shield against other attacks.

His allies were less fortunate, feeling their strength drained. Colors vanished from their vision, leaving it bleak and hopeless. There were whispers from everywhere telling them to give up and rest, and they were tempted to believe it, as they were left without hope, energy, or determination. Most of them sank to their knees, muttering incoherent phrases. Lucario noticed something strange about Nathan's amulet, and he couldn't look at it without feeling dizzy. It was doing something to his friends, and he had to stop it, even if meant dropping the shield. He did this, then used aura sphere on Nathan, who dodged it, but it still broke his concentration. If he'd succeeded, he'd have turned his enemies into empty shells, incapable of thinking or feeling. Such power had its price, though, as now there wasn't a lot of energy left in the gem, and he had to resort to more traditional methods. A new barrier was to keep his enemies away from him.

"Interesting. Without Azelf you'd probably be done by now. You would've made lovely slaves," Nathan lamented, calling out his azumarill, venomoth, chesnaught, aggron, and mismagius. "But that's to be expected from you."

Ash and the rest felt a portion of their power returning, though they still felt tired. Those occasions showed that he still had a long way to go to master his aura powers, but right now it wasn't important. First he had to defeat Nathan. Lucario was hit by Absol when he left himself vulnerable, and the dark-type bit his hand before tossing him against the nearby wall with superpower. At least she didn't get to follow up, as the recovering pokémon chased her away, back into the shadows.

"This is getting tedious. Take care of this for a while," Nathan said to his pokémon before joining Hypno at the computers. "Already there? Let them come. It's time to take our leave anyway. Just make sure to use the last defenders."

While the pokémon were fighting, he entered his bedroom for the final preparations. There were a few things that needed to be done, most of which involved destroying the spare rifles he kept there. His destination was the Reverse World, and he didn't want anyone to follow him there, least of all the international police. It was only a matter of time until they were here, and now there was only one rifle left, disregarding a secret stash for emergencies. It was well-protected, though, and only the right key allowed quick access. Others wouldn't have time to open before the final defense mechanism took effect. There was no more need for the base, so it had to go.

Max Wright and the two accompanying officers arrived during the battle, surprising Ash from behind. For a moment everyone stopped fighting, wondering how this would change things. For all they knew, Max was on neither side, but since Ash was now caught between two enemies, he'd suffer more from this than Nathan. To make the confusion even worse, Nathan returned in this situation, but before he could activate his usual barrier or say anything, Lucario attacked him, pinning him to the wall next to the door. Then he took the amulet and rifle, and tossed them towards Ash, who immediately jumped towards them, but so did Max. Ash was already close to grabbing it, but Hypno pulled it away with psychic, and Absol attacked Lucario to free her master. Nathan drew a gun, and aimed at Ash, who was on the ground, exposed after his failed attempt.

Then the unthinkable happened. A shot was fired, and Ash felt himself getting pushed to the side, but not by one of the pokémon, but by Max himself. He was hit in the chest, and sank to the ground. Max tried to shoot Ash again, but one of Max's companions aimed at him, and Aggron had to get in the way to shield its master. Nathan recovered his amulet, but the rifle was gone. Latios had prevented Hypno from getting it back as well when he saw what happened to the amulet, and Ash took it instead. Bisharp helped Lucario by attacking Absol, and they both returned to Ash.

"Mr. Wright, why did you do that?" he asked calmly with a saddened expression. "I thought you considered me a nuisance at best. I thought you wanted me dead."

"I ... wouldn't be sad about it, but ... my work ... is more important than ... my own feelings. But that doesn't matter ... now." He was losing a lot of blood, and without a medic, he'd die soon. "Don't use it. Give ... it to us. Let us ... take care of everything." His tone was pleading, almost desperate, and suddenly, Ash felt a little bad for what he was about to do.

"I'm sorry. I have to do this, and neither you nor anyone else will stop me. I thank you for saving me, but you can't change this." He was already surrounded by Lucario's new aura bubble, like his pokémon, but before he could use the rifle, he had to remove Max from the area first. If he was taken to the Reverse World, he'd die for sure, but if he stayed, he might get the help of a medic. "Latios, please."

The psychic-type moved him to his companions, who tried to prevent Ash from leaving with their guns, but the shield was too strong for them. Nathan on the other hand knew that he couldn't call out Charizard in time, and his current pokémon couldn't break it quickly.

"How foolish of me. But go. It won't make a difference." He turned to go for the hidden stash. Someone like him, who always took great risks, was well-advised to take precautions. He only turned around briefly to speak to Max. "Oh, by the way, I'd evacuate the base if I were you. Things will get unpleasant soon."

"Forget about Ash ... stop Sorlan!" Max shouted as loudly as he could.

Ash didn't register all of this, as he was thinking about his actions. This was risky, even for his standards, yet he knew there was no alternative. The pokémon looked ready for anything. It was clear that they'd follow him anywhere, and now they were waiting for him. Taking a deep breath, he aimed at the ground beneath him, and activated the trigger. A portal appeared beneath him, pulling him into a dark tunnel. It seemed endless at first, but they quickly got out again, landing on a hard ground. The gem on the rifle wasn't glowing anymore, so he guessed that it couldn't be used again. They were on a small island in the middle of a sea, and it looked remarkably like Nathan's island, but it lacked color and there were crystals everywhere. He didn't have time to admire the features, though, as Lucario informed him about something important.

"I can feel their aura. It's weak and distant, but it's there," the aura pokémon told him.

"Then let's go there immediately." He recalled every pokémon except for Latios, Lucario, Azelf, Mesprit, and Shaymin before jumping on the dragon-type's back. "Lucario, show us the way."

Although Ash felt slightly bad for having let Nathan go, he didn't regret having followed his emotions. More than anything else, he wanted to make sure that Dawn, Pikachu, and the others were safe, and if Wraith and Eileen were there, they surely needed help. Hopefully, he'd get there in time.

Max's companions managed to open the door to the other room, only to find it empty. Nathan had already left, but on one of the tables, they found a small gem with a tiny crack, where they could see the occasional spark. It looked like a storm was raging inside, and there were burn marks all around it. One of them didn't care about this, though. He went for one of the gems on the ground, which had originally been part of the rifles, and grabbed it. There was no Okcha in the gem, as Nathan had them bound to the rifle itself, so that nobody without an Okcha could use them once they were broken. Yet he somehow did it, creating a small portal for himself and vanishing. The other one returned to Max, describing the situation, and then backup finally arrived. One of the medics patched Max up just enough so that he could move, but once he saw the gem, he commanded the others to gather the remaining gems and flee. Nathan's words hadn't sounded like they were lies, and the gem of chaos looked extremely dangerous to him.

Once they'd taken everything that looked important, they left as quickly as possible. Despite Max urging them to leave him behind, they didn't abandon him, even when he passed out from blood loss. As far as they knew, everyone alive managed to flee, and when they saw the gigantic explosion in Nathan's base, they came to realize how close they'd been to death. Even worse, they soon received reports of gengar attacking and killing people all over Kanto and Johto. Max was still in a critical condition, and he might not survive the next few hours, so they had to spread out and solve this problem without his commands.


	97. Assault: Dawn

**Now to the final part of this event. Dawn's part is completely different from the rest, mostly because of the different place. This is where the paths will merge again.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 97: Assault: Dawn

Dawn was in a hurry ever since Giratina had told her about unusually large swarms of crobat roaming this world, destroying everything in their path. For the first time, it had sounded truly grateful for her presence, practically begging her to kill as many as possible. Now the coordinator was worried, though, as she'd seen several talonflame in the distance. They didn't engage her, but always fled as soon as she tried to get closer, only to return soon after, as if they were observing her. Their numbers increased with time, and she encountered surprisingly few crobat, considering how panicked Giratina had sounded. When she asked it about the new intruders, it simply told her to destroy them as well, but she had a bad feeling about this.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she was almost surrounded by them, and they suddenly closed in, obviously intent on slaughtering her. There had to be at least 30 of them, perhaps even 50, and they all used flamethrower on her. Lucario reacted even before the actual attack by creating an aura bubble, and Pikachu helped out with a light screen. The fire engulfed the shield, making it look like a huge fireball, and they kept going, not allowing the trapped pokémon to retaliate.

"Zoroark, night pulse combination." This attack had proved impractical in contests because it needed too much time to charge, but in this situation, protected by Lucario, it was perfect to deal with many enemies at once.

His hands glowed red for a few seconds, then he slammed them into the ground, creating the usual night daze field, which quickly spread past the aura bubble. When it was below the talonflame, black rings were shot at them. Those clasped around the flying-types, preventing them from staying in the air, and thus causing them to fall into the crimson field below them, where they were quickly annihilated. The result was a ring of green fire around the aura bubble, and the end of the fire streams. Even so, Lucario refused to remove the shield, and Dawn soon found out why.

Countless daggers of black crystal flew towards them, exploding upon touching the shield, and almost breaking it. Unsurprisingly, Dawn could see Wraith in the distance, and Eileen wasn't far away either. Considering the result of her last fight with Wraith, she was in dire need of help, and there was only one, who could do it.

"Giratina, I'm in a bit of a pinch. Help would be greatly appreciated," Dawn exclaimed, sounding slightly desperate.

"I can't afford to aid you directly," it answered promptly. "It would take too much time. I'll temporarily increase the strength you your connection to my world to the maximum. Hopefully, that should suffice."

"But ..." Dawn stopped when she felt a surge of energy in her body, and judging from the looks on the pokémon's faces, they felt the same.

The feeling was incredible, almost like she could lift a mountain. Although that wasn't the case, she now at least had the endurance to keep trying forever. Her pokémon could fight for much longer, because they were unlikely to run out of energy, and their wounds would heal rather quickly, similar to the way Giratina had healed, only on a smaller scale. The renegade pokémon had been hesitant about handing this kind of power to Dawn, but it was fully aware of the talonflame, and two humans near her position. This could only mean trouble, and since it couldn't sacrifice innocents by ignoring the damage done by the crobat for even a few minutes, the boost was necessary.

The aura bubble increased in size and power, right when claws of black crystal shot out of the ground, grasping the shield. It reminded her of the situation in Saffron City, but this time, with the increased endurance, Lucario was able to maintain it, even when Wraith tightened the grip around it. More and more claws shot out of the ground, threatening to crush the shield. Dawn already feared the worst when she heard something cracking around her, but then the claws burst into numerous shards, and the bubble was still standing. Needless to say, Wraith looked shocked by this unexpected event, but Dawn didn't have time to catch her breath, for Eileen already launched the next assault in form of a massive beam of light.

The shield wasn't good at protecting those inside against this kind of attack, and they soon felt their skin getting hot until there was an unbearable sensation of burning. Only Carbink remained mostly unfazed, and used her own move, the beacon of the deep. In order to hit everyone, she overcharged it, so that it was a burst of light instead of an ordinary beam. Dawn and the others immediately noticed the difference, as the pain subsided, and the brightness of the attack decreased, though that was for another reason. The beacon also had a damaging effect on enemies, which only affected pokémon, not humans, so it was strange to see Wraith and Eileen shaking violently, as if they were in a lot of pain. At first, it didn't make any sense, but then a possible reason came to mind. Dawn was convinced that both of her adversaries were possessed by Okcha, and it was possible that not the humans, but the Okcha were affected by the beacon, which would not only explain this anomaly, but also provide her with a way of disposing of the Okcha without putting the host in danger. It was still only a theory, yet she was willing to test it.

"Use the beacon on them!" Carbink understood, and unleashed another burst of light , that made its allies feel much better again. This variation of the move was usually taxing, and only the Giratina's favor allowed it to do it more often.

Wraith reacted by erecting more claws of black crystals in front of herself and Eileen, blocking the light. As Dawn suspected, they were both possessed, and by Nathan's order, the Okcha had taken full control of their bodies. This was the only way he could ever make them work together, and now their cooperation was more important than ever. Realizing that the powers provided by the gloves weren't enough this time, they called out their pokémon, 24 in total. Eileen's eevee, mareep, and spiritomb weren't nearly as strong as the others yet, so they wouldn't play a big role, and the number of effective opponents was reduced to 21, which didn't sound that much better. Dawn's pokémon were still vastly outnumbered, and unlike Dawn, Wraith and Eileen could also fight alongside them.

The powerful regeneration provided by Giratina was Dawn's main advantage, but in order to make it count, she had to play it defensively, and only strike when it was safe, or her pokémon would get overwhelmed quickly. However, she trusted in their teamwork, so Wraith's next move came as a horrible surprise. She slammed her first with the glove into the ground, making the ground beneath Dawn and her team shatter. They fell down, and Wraith tried to impale them with spikes from the ground, but only ended up separating them due to Carbink protecting them with reflect, and the inflicted wounds closed rapidly.

Wraith's attack had consumed so much energy, that she wasn't going to be much help in the fight, but now Dawn's pokémon had to fight on their own. Fortunately, she'd been so close to Lucario that she ended up with him, which was a good thing due to his aura bubble. Whether he could protect her and fight at the same time was an entirely different matter, though. Their opponents quickly engaged her pokémon, preventing them from getting back together. Zoroak's attempt to use shadow diver was immediately stopped by Froslass's disable, so each of Dawn's pokémon had to deal with three to four pokémon. The situation looked grim, and without her commands, Dawn could only hope that their own minds, coupled with the regeneration, would be enough to overcome their adversaries.

Carbink was attacked mostly by pokémon of its counter-type. Wraith's mawile, steelix, and aegislash were its main opponents, supported my Eileen's mareep. Even with its amazing defense and the improved regeneration, it needed to be extremely careful, or it would get knocked out quickly by their super-effective attacks. Aegislash in its offensive form was particularly threatening. Zoroark wasn't in a much better position, having to deal with Eileen's garchomp, hawlucha, and scizor, but most importantly, Wraith's forslass. Pikachu had to defeat Eileen's golem and eevee, and also Wraith's gengar and golurk. He was in a bad spot, since two of his opponents were immune to his electric attacks. Similarly, Espeon had to fight dark-types like Eileen's spiritomb, and Wraith's sableye. In addition, there was Wraith's mismagius, and her cofagrigus. Metagross was surrounded by Eileen's bisharp, excadrill, magmortar, and Wraith's chandelure. Finally, Lucario not only had to fight Wraith's banette and bronzong, and Eileen's gardevoir and gliscor, but he also had to protect Dawn from them at the same time.

Zoroark was the first one to be attacked. While Eileen's pokémon remained close to him, attacking him in melee range, Froslass kept her distance. Garchomp made the first move by attacking with dragon claw, but Zoroark dodged it, only to realize that Scizor and Hawlucha were already close. He used the counter-shield with flamethrower, forcing Scizor to use protect. Hawlucha was already closer at that time, and was pushed back. Froslass waited for the counter-shield to end, then she used a variant of ice shard that shot a small spear at him. It pierced his arm, and he needed to remove it while dodging Garchomp's following dragon claws. Scizor was also already next to him, using quick bullet punches on him. He was in real trouble, for Froslass was still using ice beam and ice shard on him, and Hawlucha was also approaching again. When it was about to attack, he got out the ice spear, and pierced its wing with it, but he was hit by both Garchomp's dragon claw and Scizor's x-scissor in return.

The dragon-type jumped up high to attack him with force from above while Scizor was distracting him. Fortunately, Zoroark noticed it, and pressed forward, pushing the steel-type back, and avoiding the attack narrowly. When Garchomp turned around to attack him with another dragon claw, he ducked, causing it to hit Scizor instead. Upon spotting an ice spear flying towards him, he jumped to avoid it. as a result, it hit Garchomp in the leg instead.

It was incredible how fast his wounds healed, and how he didn't seem to run out of energy. Nevertheless, a few good hits could mean the end for him, as his defenses were rather poor, and he'd already taken quite a bit of damage. Therefore he changed his tactics to attack only when it was absolutely safe, and use their own attacks against them.

Whereas Carbink's defenses were far stronger, it didn't have the speed to avoid damage, and it faced opponents with enormous type-advantages. A reflect move helped both it and its allies, so it did this in advance. Mawile and Steelix approached it from the sides, while Aegislash was coming straight at it. Nobody took Mareep seriously, since it was way too weak to have any serious impact on the outcome. A burst of light with its beacon prevented the first assault, and made them back off a little, but it was inevitable. Steelix tried to hit it with a heavy slam, but even Carbink was fast enough to evade its heavy body. Both Aegislash and Mawile attacked it with iron head, but only Mawile made contact, for Carbink used a concentrated beacon on Aegislash while it was still in its blade forme. Since this move ignored typing, the steel-typing didn't care, but the beacon couldn't benefit from its lousy defenses in the blade forme either. Mawile pressed Carbink against Steelix, who wrapped its body around it. Then it tried to smash it with iron head, only for Carbink to shoot two more concentrated beams directly into its eyes. It howled with rage, and almost fell onto Mareep, but also loosened its grip, allowing Carbink to escape, though it was quickly caught by the others.

Aegilash made a brutal strike with its blade before Carbink escaped by using earth power to cause an explosion beneath it. This flung it into the air, against the dark prison around them. If it really wanted to overcome its enemies, it needed to be more threatening, but its attacks were weak, even the beacon without a reflection. However, there were a few crystals nearby. Once it was down again, it was immediately attacked by Mawile and Aegislash. It took a few moments to determine the right angle, and then it shot another concentrated light beam through Aegislash. This time, it was reflected by a crystal, which shot it right back at Carbink. It passed all three pokémon, dealing good damage to Aegislash in total, and healing the fairy-type slightly. Instinctively, the ghost-type changed into its shield forme, which didn't help it against this move. With another earth power, Carbink escaped again to prepare for the next attack. Steelix would surely return soon, and then it would be in even more trouble.

At least Aegislash had to be much more careful now, or it would get weakened considerably by another beacon. On the other hand a direct hit from it in its blade forme would almost be enough to defeat Carbink, so it was far from safe. Only by being extremely careful and mobile, and with the help of reflect, it was able to hold its ground.

Espeon had only pokémon with type-advantages as opponents, but at least Spiritomb wasn't as strong as the others. She started with cold light, giving the ground a weak glow to power up her light-based moves, but Mismagius countered it with its darkness move, so that only a small area above the ground wasn't covered by a dark shroud. Sableye could still be seen, but the others could attack from anywhere without her noticing anything. It was Sableye, who approached her first, though something was wrong about it. It didn't look like a sableye, it looked like a leafeon.

Mismagius was known to be a capable illusionist, and since nobody could hinder it in any way right now, it could use its skills to the full potential. Finding the right illusion for each opponent was easy for one as experienced as Wraith's. It hoped that Espeon would have trouble fighting back against this one, and it also should prove extremely distracting. At first, it was correct, as she didn't retaliate at all. While she was busy dodging the attacks from sableye, Spiritomb and Cofagrigus attacked her from the darkness with various moves and combinations, including ominous wind, shadow ball, and disable. Her morning sun was soon gone, which forced her to rely entirely on wish and the regeneration for healing.

Sableye's presence with the look of Leafeon had a paralyzing effect on her, as it reminded her of her loss back at the outpost. If she'd been there, she could've done something about it, but it was too late to feel guilty. This clearly wasn't Leafeon, it was a spiteful imitation, a malicious trick, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Still, she didn't attack, but used calm mind whenever she could without any clear visual effect to surprise the enemies. When she felt ready, she didn't dodge the following attack, much to sableye's surprise. Once it was directly next to her, she unleashed a volley of searing light directly from her forehead, hitting it several times for huge damage. It was flung aside, and the remaining searing light orbs were shot into the darkness, where they gave her a short view of the enemies' position. In addition, they shortly blinded them, giving her some time to plan her next move. Sableye would soon recover, so it was only a temporary victory, and Mismagius decided to interfere directly, which made this battle even more difficult than before. Now Espeon was mad, though, and she was determined to fight to the last breath.

Like the others, Metagross was a type-disadvantage, and perhaps it had the most powerful enemy group. Magnet rise could counter ground-type moves, but the rest was still extremely dangerous. Bisharp and Excadrill remained close to it, waiting for its first move, whereas the fire-types kept their distance, to hit it with flamethrower from afar. Using this strategy, they managed to corner it. Using fire blast on it from the sides, they made it move towards the other pokémon, who immediately attacked. Bisharp tried to use night slash, empowered by a few swords dances. However, its power was transferred to Metagross's hammer arm, which immediately overpowered the dark-type, sending it flying against the walls of their prison. The price arrived in form of two fire blasts from the side, and then Excadrill attempted to hit it with horn drill. Although Metagross evaded it narrowly, it immediately saw two flamethrowers coming from the side. Using psychic, it redirected one of them towards the ground-type, who blocked it with a protect move.

If it managed to knock out Bisharp, it would improve the situation a lot. Thanks to the lucky hit with hammer arm, it wouldn't take much. but Metagross had to watch out for Chandelure and Magmortar, who were the real problem here. Exposing itself too much to their fiery assault would lead to certain defeat. Fortunately, the pokémon didn't seem to know about its individual move, or Bisharp wouldn't use iron defense to defend itself. Meanwhile, the others prepared their next attack, with Chandelure combining fire blast with shadow ball to create a huge ball of purple fire. A direct hit could very well end the fight in their favor, so Metagross used protect when it was directed at it. Its enemies immediately surrounded it, trying to attack it from all sides once the shield was down, but it used gyro ball to push Excadrill and Bisharp away, and deflect the fire thrown at it. Then it stole the defense bonus from the dark-type, and hit it with bullet punch before being driven off by the others. It was uncertain how much longer it could go on like this, but it had no intention of giving up anytime soon.

Eileen's eevee was defeated by Pikachu's first discharge, which left him with only three pokémon, but those were extremely tough. Golurk in particular was going to be trouble, as it was immune to all of his favorite moves. As a matter of fact, only his hidden power was able to hurt it at all. Therefore it was pointless to do anything to it before attacking the others, especially Gengar, who wasn't immune to his electric attacks. It used hypnosis combined with psychic to put him to sleep. Using the counter-shield, he managed to block it, but it wasn't able to do anything to Golem, who was rolling towards him. He dodged at the last second, only to be covered by rubble when the ground beneath him shattered due to a bulldoze move by Golurk. Golem tried to drop rocks onto him via rock slide. Fortunately, Pikachu got away in time, and used agility to stay faster than the others. but he soon found out that Golurk's shadow punch didn't care about his speed, hitting him every single time.

By using bulldoze frequently, the ground-types limited his mobility considerably, and when he was caught between two of them, Gengar shot out of the ground, grabbing his arms from behind. This activated the static-ability, and Pikachu retaliated with a thunder move through his tail. It gave golem enough time to hit him with rock blast, though, and Golurk's phantom force followed. It attempted to hit him with focus punch, but the electric-type used blinding charge on Gengar, who'd retreated a bit. Instead of being hit by the focus punch, which shattered the ground, he was only hit by a sludge bomb.

This turned out to be a valid strategy. By using Gengar as a kind of anchor, he was able to get out of difficult situations, even though it technically was the opposite of its intended effect. At least the ground-types didn't use earthquake, or he'd be defeated soon.

Because of Lucario's difficult situation, Dawn used the mega transformation on him instead of Metagross. It happened quickly, and the fighting-type created a glowing staff with bone rush, before throwing it at Dawn, who caught it.

"Use this to defend yourself," he said in her head, creating another one for himself.

She was neither strong nor skilled enough to fight with it properly, but at least she could block a few attacks. It was remarkably heavy for such a thin stick, so the blows and thrusts had to have an immense impacts on its victims. Now she could only hope that it would be strong enough to withstand the most powerful attacks her enemies' could muster. Lucario had to keep a watchful eye on Banette, for one dark path would mean the end for both him and his trainer. Their opponents took their time to get into position, and Eileen was among them. Lucario used this time to prepare with swords dance and nasty plot.

Gardevoir and Bronzong were holding him in place via psychic, while Gliscor used aerial ace, and Banette tried to use dark path on him. Controlling him proved extremely difficult, though, and he was able to move almost freely, blocking both attacks with his staff. Then he pushed them back, and, with a quick thrust, hit Gliscor's head, dazing it. It would take some time before it was fully capable of fighting again. Banette on the other hand, moved past him, attempting to kill Dawn with a shadow claw, but the coordinator blocked it with her staff. Lucario followed up with a spin, and a quick strike from the side, pushing it back again. This was why he wasn't able to evade the following thunder wave by Gardevoir, and Bronzong' s psyshock. Only Eileen's light beam was deflected by a protect move.

"We have to do something. Use dark pulse!" Holding the staff in his right hand, Lucario extended his left arm, shooting a dark pulse at Gardevoir. The psychic-type teleported next to Dawn with the intent of shocking her with a thunderbolt. He was quick to turn around, but a searing beam of light burned through his right hand, making it impossible for him to wield the staff. In addition, he wasn't able to help her, and feared the worst, but she swung her staff in panic, hitting Gardevoir's head from the side with tremendous force. Although it wasn't enough to knock it out, it was dazed like Gliscor. "Extremespeed!" Lucario did the rest by pushing it back with the move. The terrible wound on his hand healed soon, so he was able to create another staff. Imbuing it with a dark pulse, he used it like a spear to keep the enemies at range for now. This didn't protect him from ranged attacks, so his shoulder was soon hit by another beam of light. "No hasty attacks anymore. Wait until the shoulder is fine again. Use the aura bubble!"

At least this kind of injury healed faster than other, less dangerous injuries, resulting in him remaining able to fight much longer than usual. However, those kept adding up, and soon he'd be incapable of defending his trainer anymore. The aura shield gave him some time to recover, and it looked like Eileen's gem needed to regain its power. The beams of light were not only potent, but also impossible to dodge due to their speed. On the other hand they were difficult to aim properly, and they took a lot of energy.

The enemy pokémon were extremely tough, but they lacked coordination. However, so did Dawn's, because they were separated, and as long as those barriers of black crystal were up, she couldn't hope to change that. Carbink could barely stand its ground by letting the crystals reflect its beacon of the deep to receive the healing effect. Zoroark and Pikachu kept taking advantage of their speed, but especially Pikachu had trouble moving because the area was getting smashed by bulldoze moves. Espeon had trouble with the darkness, and only her healing and a few random, short-range teleports allowed her to endure the surprise attacks. Metagross was probably in the best place because of its natural defenses and due to having defeated Bisharp rather early. Lucario's task of both defeating the enemies and defending his trainer also eventually proved too much. Although he managed to block a few dark paths, the constant attacks were too much. Unless Dawn could think of something effective, he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

One of Dawn's observations was the absence of earthquake moves, which was quite notable, since the move was both powerful and popular. Wraith and Eileen had good reason not to use it, as their pokémon were superior in numbers. Therefore a move that covered a large area would ultimately deal more damage to them than to the enemy. Furthermore, it would destroy the black crystals, allowing Dawn's pokémon to reunite. However, Dawn's pokémon also couldn't use it without the danger of knocking out one of the allies. Desperate times required desperate measures.

Dawn knew that the key to victory was defeating the enemy trainers, not their pokémon, but as long as her pokémon were too involved in their own fights. Lucario in particular couldn't hope to do anything about Eileen, even though he was relatively close to her, simply because he couldn't move away from Dawn without endangering her.

"We can't keep fighting alone," Dawn said to Lucario, careful that her enemies wouldn't hear her. "Tell Metagross that we need a big earthquake, but it has to warn the others."

The steel-type got the message, and rose into the air as high as possible. When it felt its opponents beginning their attacks, it sent its allies a telepathic warning, and moved straight down. The pokémon missed it, and it slammed its body into the ground, creating a massive shockwave in every direction. Whereas Pikachu, Espeon, and Zoroark jumped, Carbink and Lucario used protect to avoid the damage. Wraith erected another barrier in front of herself, and Eileen used a technique similar to light travel to get past the shockwave. The other pokémon were hit for heavy damage, but most importantly, the crystals were shattered easily. In the end, they were far more vulnerable than expected, mostly because there were so many of them, and Wraith couldn't give the necessary strength to all of them. Since she'd been busy maintaining those, the energy level of her gem was low, and it would take some time before she could do anything comparable. Dawn didn't know about this, though, and wanted to finish it as soon as possible. Eileen was much closer, though.

"Try to hit the ring and the gem." Even though the pokémon at their side were real, and not Okcha, but she was still sure that destroying the rings could only be to her advantage. Destroying the gems was an even more obvious goal. "Metagross, Carbink, stay with me. Zoroark, Pikachu, Espeon, try to distract them. Lucario will get the gem."

Although not all of them were happy with their role, they knew there was no time to complain, as Lucario immediately charged at Eileen, creating a long staff in his hands. His precision strikes made him the best choice for this role. Banette tried to stop him with dark path, but he pushed it aside with his staff, and proceeded with his assault. Pikachu helped him, moving straight to Banette with blinding charge, and following up with a point-blank thunder. The ghost-type was flung aside, though he doubted it was completely defeated yet. Eileen's pokémon tried to rush to her aid, while Wraith's kept Metagross and Carbink busy.

Metagross coordinated the defense, transferring the bonus from iron defense to those, who needed it the most. When it noticed Golurk disappearing, it transferred all of it to Dawn, whose skin became as hard as steel. Thus the following phantom force barely scratched her. Then it redirected every offensive boost into its arms, smashing Golurk from above, with a meteor mash followed by a zen headbutt. Carbink added to this with a burst of light, though its main effect was the weak healing for Dawn and her pokémon. Since the enemies didn't target it, it could recover faster than the others. Even if the ghost-type was still conscious, it would need a lot of time to recover. Wraith's other pokémon didn't seem to be impressed at all, and got into position for their next assault.

"Zoroark, help Lucario! Espeon and Pikachu can handle the rest." This had to happen quickly, or they'd lose, it was simple as that. "Use night daze!"

Pikachu and Espeon intercepted the attackers, allowing him to complete the move. It partially blinded them, thus giving Lucario an easier time. Swinging his staff at an incredible pace, he often came close to hitting the gem, but Eileen was great at dodging, and occasionally blinded him before striking back with searing beams of light. One of them burned one of his hands badly, which gave her some time to recuperate. Meanwhile, Zoroark had a hard time doing anything, because he was the target of Eileen's remaining pokémon after the night daze. Only Pikachu's and Espeon's interventions prevented them from dealing major damage to him. If they kept chasing him, Dawn's pokémon might actually defeat them eventually. However, Metagross and Carbink would need help against Wraith's team soon, a task for which Dawn would have to use Espeon or Pikachu, or maybe even both. In addition, Wraith was about to regain her strength, which was only more reason to hurry. Therefore Dawn decided to use Espeon in the attack as well.

"Lucario, use aura sphere, then go for the gem with your staff. Espeon, use searing light, and try to bind her with psychic. Zoroark, try to hit the ring from behind." It was her last resort. If this failed, she'd have to resort to a defensive strategy again, which would probably lead to failure.

Espeon started with searing light, a move that was unlikely to be blocked by Eileen's energy shield. Several orbs closed in from different directions, but she soon found out that something about Eileen's power made her difficult to control, so she controlled the orbs instead. Meanwhile, Zoroark was moving fast to escape his opponents, while Pikachu was trying to gain their attention. Eileen dodged the orbs and the aura sphere, but the orbs returned, and when Lucario got into melee range, she had to avoid both his attacks, and the orbs.

Once she didn't think quickly enough, once she couldn't predict the exact attack, she found herself in a difficult situation. Lucario was in front of her, and the orbs were approaching from all sides, leaving her with only two possibilities. Either she dodged the light orbs, which would surely lead to a direct hit from the aura pokémon, or she could block his attack with a shield, and allow the light to hit her. Since energy attacks were unlikely to destroy the gem on her glove, she chose the latter, creating a powerful energy barrier in front of herself with both hands. Espeon's move hit her legs, making movement difficult and painful. That's when she noticed something coming from behind. Zoroark had shaken off his slower enemies with his own speed and help from Pikachu. Furthermore, Espeon could help him now by holding them back with psychic. Now he was behind her with his claws glowing red, ready to use night slash.

Eileen kept the hand with the glove where it was to maintain the barrier, but tried to move the other arm for another barrier against Zoroark. However, before it was formed, Zoroark was already there, and struck the ring, careful not to slice off her fingers, let alone the entire hand. It didn't seem to have done enough, as the barrier was up a moment later, pushing him back. Now Eileen was protected from two sides, and when the dark-type attempted another attack, he was pushed aside by Garchomp's dragon rush. It made him fly towards Gliscor, who tried to eliminate him for good with guillotine, though he narrowly avoided it, only to find himself surrounded by the rest of Eileen's team. She was about to order the final attack on him, when she heard something from her ring, something that sounded like a sigh.

A closer look revealed a clean cut close to the sapphire, and even though it was undamaged, it started to darken until it was completely black. For a short moment, it vibrated, and then turned into black dust, leaving only the metal part of the silver ring, which now felt oddly cold. All of sudden, Wraith began to laugh madly. Before anyone could ask what was going on, she took off her own ring, threw it into the air, and shot a dagger of black crystal at it, splitting it in midair. The remains fell onto the ground, with the sapphire turning black before shattering, like Eileen's. Now she also started laughing, albeit a bit calmer, yet even creepier at the same time. Their ampharos, who were meant for emergency exits, left their green pokéballs, free from the rings that had enslaved them. All but Eileen's strongest pokémon stopped fighting, worried about the reaction of their trainers. They used the confusion to finish off Zoroark and Pikachu, and almost got Espeon as well. She teleported to Dawn's side for protection. However, the confusion also saved Dawn's life, for Wraith's ghost-types had been close to finishing Metagross. In that case, Carbink wouldn't have been able to protect Dawn from all of them. Even with Metagross around, she'd been hit by a painful shadow ball. Dawn recalled the dark-type, and stored Pikachu inside her regeneration ball before the enemies could do anything else to them. The Okcha inside Wraith and Eileen were free to do whatever they wanted. What this actually was remained to be seen.

"Freedom! It has no control over us anymore. We're free to destroy, free to make the humans pay for their cruelty." They sounded mad with anger, willing to break everything around them.

Wraith started with her usual dagger combination, making the shards fly around randomly. They mostly hit crystals, which was technically a bad sign, but it might compel Giratina to come to Dawn's aid, simply because they needed to be repaired. Thus the Okcha were about to bring about their own end, although they'd never seemed to care in the past.

"They will burn. Burn!" Eileen exclaimed, raising the arm with the glove.

Before she could do something, though, Lucario grabbed her arm, twisted it, and tried to take the gem, only for her to teleport to safety. At least it looked like she was struggling to regain control, so they didn't have to fear retaliation. Now the ampharos went berserk, attacking everything around them, including their former allies, with discharge. Those didn't take kindly to the attack, and immediately fought back, destroying them swiftly. This gave Dawn's pokémon enough time to reunite, and recover a little. Although there were still two Okcha nearby, only Wraith was still dangerous.

Among Eileen's pokémon, only Eevee, Mareep, and Spiritomb were loyal to her, the others still wanted to carry out Nathan's orders. Wraith was hostile to everyone present, including her own pokémon, and those didn't care about Dawn or her pokémon anymore, trying to get back their real trainer somehow. However, any attempt was met by a violent reaction so far. Eileen's pokémon used this opportunity to surround Dawn and her partners. Although they were unlikely to win without help now, they kept fighting, for they knew what Nathan would do to them should they fail. Eight of them had to overcome Lucario, Metagross, Carbink, and Espeon.

"Maintain the shield! Carbink, use the beacon to heal the others. Espeon, use calm mind. Metagross, iron defense, then distribute it equally among the others. We need to be ready soon." Her enemies weren't in such a desolate state, so she needed her friends to recover as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Wraith was busy defending herself against her own pokémon. Their main priority was to free her from the Okcha, even if it meant hurting her. The Okcha didn't care about them, though, and fought back with everything she had, trying to kill them. Banette, who was still weak because of its failed attack, was watching the scene from afar with a saddened expression as opposed to its usual grin. For the first time in its life, it felt regret for its actions. Those had let them all to this point, and it felt that everything was its fault. Its influence had been too strong compared to the more moderate Froslass. Perhaps it was time to leave the rest to her. After all, their shared hatred had brought them nothing but misery, but it had to do this in a way that left Wraith no choice, or she'd never be able to let go.

The girl had already retained some damage, though it wasn't enough to allow her to challenge the Okcha. A long crystal spike was floating above her hand, ready to be shot at the next pokémon getting too close. This happened to be Banette, who was the only one not to be intimidated by its size. It challenged her by charging straight at her, and she took the bait. It threw a shadow ball right before she used her spike. It pierced the ball immediately, splitting into several smaller orbs, which moved way slower, and only the other pokémon using psychic to render Wraith unable to move. The hit made her sink to her knees, though it was nothing compared the damage Banette took in turn. The spike first penetrated its upper body, then it exploded into razor-sharp splinters, which flew in all directions, tearing it apart from the inside. It was a horrifying sight, and in the end, there were countless holes in the body. The entire lower part was detached from the rest.

"Banette! No!" The pokémon were sure that this was the real Wraith speaking, as it was impossible to miss the desperation in her voice. "Why ... damn it."

They witnessed an internal struggle between her and the Okcha, who was determined not let her regain control. She sank to the ground, as if she was suffering from heavy cramps. The others didn't do anything to her, fearing she might be seriously injured, but Froslass at least removed the gem from her glove, so that the Okcha wouldn't be able to do any more damage in case it won. There was no way of telling who had the upper hand, as all they could see was her shivering body on the ground in a fetal position. Eventually, she glowed green for a moment, and black smoke shot out of her body with a hissing noise. Now she gave a deep sigh, and crawled towards Banette. Her pokémon, convinced that she'd been victorious, helped her reach it quickly, before it could die.

It certainly looked like it was going to happen soon, for its body was a real mess. Although Wraith had never thought about whether ghosts truly died, or how she should call it when they slip out of existence, but she was sure that something like that happened to them as well.

"Why? That was reckless and foolish," she said desperately, taking Banette's remains into her arms. The others surrounded them, looking upset about this event. "Why? Please tell me?"

"Because I'm a danger ... to you and the others. Someone ... had to take the blow. I ... was the ... natural choice." For the first time in a long while, it saw her trainer shed tears, which were flowing freely now. Banette was her very first pokémon, and she'd never thought she might lose it. "Don't be sad. Our ... hatred helped us survive back then ... but now it's holding you back. It's all my fault. You have to start ... anew. I know you can make it."

Although it was clearly in a lot pain, it showed a warm smile unlike anything before. For the first time, it looked like Banette was at peace. However, Wraith wasn't ready to let go of it yet.

"Please, don't leave me. I don't want to live without you, not after everything we've gone through," she cried. It gave her a reassuring smile before its head fell back, completely limp. It felt like nothing was left, it was only a hollow shell.

Wraith was incapable of doing anything but sobbing uncontrollably. Even now she couldn't understand what her pokémon had meant, or why it had been so calm. For her, this was the worst possible outcome, and her will to live was gone. Froslass on the other hand knew that they had to get away as soon as possible. If Giratina caught them, then others might die as well. Using psychic, she took the gun Wraith had dropped at some point. All the other pokémon returned to their pokéballs, so that she could take them all back with one shot. Before she did it, she dropped the gem from Wraith's glove, leaving it to the others to get rid of it. She knew that destroying them gem on the gun would already by enough trouble.

The journey back to their own world was as unsettling as the first one, though Wraith barely even noticed it. She was still stuck in her own world, mourning over her terrible loss. They appeared on a grassy field near a large port city. Since nobody was nearby, there was no point in hiding, even though they were clearly visible. Wraith wasn't in the mood to do anything anyway, brooding all the time instead. The pokémon left their pokéballs again in a vain attempt to cheer her up, only Forslass was about to do something else. The power to travel to a different world, especially one like the Reverse World, from which they could influence this one, was incredibly handy. She certainly didn't want anyone to wield it, and since Wraith wasn't going to do anything about it anytime soon, it was up to her. First, she went far away from the others, took the gem, and threw it into air, creating an icy spear. Then, with all her might, she hit it in midair before retreating back to the others.

It took a while for the effect to kick in, but it was so spectacular that it even drew Wraith's attention. There was a high-pitched scream first, then white lines came from the gem, forming a pattern similar to a shattered mirror. Then there was indeed the sound of shattering glass, and even from this distance, they felt a shockwave that made everyone fall down, and when they looked again, the area around the broken gem looked strangely blurry. It couldn't have gone unnoticed, so people were bound to come, probably also police officers. Froslass offered to take Wraith somewhere safe, but the girl shook her head.

"Not necessary." Her voice sounded as emotionless as ever. "I'll stay here. I'm tired of running. So tired."

"Are you sure?" Froslass asked her telepathically.

"I am. No more running. No more hiding." She lowered her head, unwilling to say anything else.

It was so strange. Even though she was finally free from her boss, she didn't know what to do with her newfound freedom. If anything, it was scary, and it made her feel uneasy. Waiting for someone to arrive and take it from her was much easier.

"Very well. Just remember that we're here for you." Wraith looked up again.

"You can leave if you wish." They looked at each other, but nobody moved.

"No, we'll stay with you. No matter what happens." She tried to sound reassuring, despite being slightly nervous about what might happen. "You need us more than ever before."

"Thank you." It was barely audible, but most of the pokémon heard it nonetheless.

As expected, the police arrived eventually, alarmed by reports of residents. Wraith wasn't far away, so she was quickly found, and taken into custody when she admitted to being a wanted criminal. They were pretty surprised to watch her practically begging them to arrest her. Much to their relief, her pokémon didn't put up any resistance, and soon they were all at the local police station. Now she only had to wait.

Dawn barely noticed Wraith's escape, as she had other problems. Her enemies were attacking the aura bubble ferociously, but at least her pokémon were already in a better condition. Lucario's shield was too valuable to use him in the counter-attack. He gave her information on the enemies so that she could determine the next target. It had to be a decisive strike, distracting enough to allow the shield to recover from the attacks. Scizor was an obvious target because of its weakness to searing light, but Garchomp and Hawlucha were already crippled because of the ice spears. Gliscor was also injured, but the rest wasn't an option.

"Espeon, when I give the signal, teleport behind them and use searing light on Scizor. Metagross, get out there, and use bullet punch and zen-headbutt on Hawlucha. If necessary, follow up with a meteor mash. Carbink, use light screen and reflect now. When the attack begins, use earth power on Magmortar." The fairy-type did as it was told, and once the defensive moves were active, Dawn raised her arm. "Now!"

Metagross was the first to leave the safety of the aura bubble, immediately drawing the attention of the others. Magmortar was stopped in its tracks by the ground shattering beneath it. The steel-type was already too close for the others to use ground-type moves, so it was relatively safe from the usual counters. Scizor tried to attack it with night slash, but Espeon hit it from behind with searing light, which turned into a fire-type move due to its weakness, resulting in its instant defeat. Hawlucha was unable to withstand Metagross's assault and got knocked out as well, though it had to endure the attacks of the others. Espeon managed to push Garchom back via psychic, and Magmortar was still distracted, but the rest hit it pretty hard.

Dawn noticed that there was no passion behind their actions. Their one and only motivation was fear. They'd probably been trained by cruel men, who'd punished them brutally for even the smallest sign of disobedience. Every mistake had been punished with pain, which had turned them into equally cruel pokémon, barely more than weapons. Although they were willing to do anything for their master, no matter how wrong it felt, they lacked imagination, as they were only used to following orders. In addition, fear often had a crippling effect on their performances in battles. If they'd all been like Wraith's pokémon, who'd been raised by her personally, they might even have won when Dawn's pokémon had been separated. Fortunately, that wasn't the case, and now she only had to deal with a few pokémon, who only fought because they were terrified of their master, and the potential punishment for their failure. Some people might argue that putting them out of misery for good would b the merciful thing to do, but there was no way someone like Dawn, who believed that everyone could be saved, would even suggest such a drastic measure.

"Metagross, meteor spin into Magmortar! Carbink, keep them there. Espeon, searing light at them!" Dawn shouted.

A strange combination of meteor mash and gyro ball made it spin, then several orange energy orbs hit the enemies, first engulfing, and then flinging them away. They came down like meteors, but the damage wasn't great, the main effect was pushing them back. Golem was thrown at Magmortar, which had the same effewct as a rock slide, and made the ground crack between them to create a pit. They fell into it, and stayed there due to Carbink using earth power all the time to shake the ground around them. Magmortar got up to use fire blast on the fairy-type, but didn't deal a lot of damage. Excadrill was tossed at Garchomp, whereas the others landed far away from the action. Espeon used Magmortar's and Golem's predicament to hit them with searing light from above.

"Now keep them there with psychic. Metagross, bullet punch and gyro ball!" It went straight for them, practically landing on their bodies, and then spinning rapidly with its arms outstretched to hit them repeatedly, as if they were trapped in a mixer. "Watch out, behind you!"

A bulldoze hit its location, though it was far worse for those beneath it, and it made them sink even deeper into the rubble. Garchomp was already on its way, though the leg injury rendered it slow, and Excadrill was already closer, attempting to defeat Metagross with a horn drill. Its magnet rise was still active, and it had no trouble rising into the air in time. Once Excadrill was right below it, it shot down with force, pinning it against the others. It was almost too easy, for they fought without coordination, creativity, or even thinking. Espeon prevented the other three pokémon from interfering, so that Metagross had enough time to finish off its opponents. A thunderbolt form Gardevoir hit all of them, but it didn't make much of a difference.

"Bullet punch and meteor mash on Gardevoir. Espeon, psychic on Gliscor. Carbink, use the beacon on Garchomp." Dawn was tired of this fight, and wanted it to end as soon as possible.

Gardevoir tried to stop the steel-type with psychic, only to find out that it did next to nothing. Metagross punched it with one leg, then pinned it down with another. Once more, it managed to get away with teleport, but another bullet punch knocked it out. Meanwhile, Espeon was using psychic to press Gliscor's body against the ground, threatening to crush it. This didn't take long, and soon, Garchomp was the only one left. Dawn was willing to give it a chance.

"We all know you can't win. Make it easier for all of us and return to your pokéball," she offered.

Garchomp shook its head almost immediately, rejecting her offer. If Nathan were to find out that it surrendered, it was in even more trouble. Enraged and desperate, it made one final attempt, but was quickly subdued by Dawn's pokémon. With the last of Eileen's pokémon down, Dawn turned her attention towards the trainer. Although she hadn't noticed Wraith's departure, she tried to focus on the task at hand, which was freeing Eileen. The girl was currently sitting nearby, looking like she'd accepted her fate. Nevertheless, Dawn approached her with caution, careful not to spook her.

"If you're Eileen, then please hold still. Carbink will get rid of this creature inside you. If you're still that creature -" Her expression became more gloomy. "- you better give up now. You have no chance of winning."

"Please ... help me," she whispered just loud enough for Dawn to hear it.

The coordinator got a bit closer, and once she was close enough, Eileen jumped up, and used a whip she'd been carrying on her belt. It wrapped around Dawn's neck, making it hard for her to breath. However, the whip was quickly destroyed by Lucario, and Dawn fell to the ground, clutching her neck. While she was taking long, deep breaths to recover from the sudden attack, he pushed Eileen to the ground, rendering her unable to move, but she teleported away again.

"It is ours! It is ours forever!" Eileen screamed, obviously under the control of the Okcha. "The blue one has to kill the body. Or is it not brave enough?" Suddenly, the voice changed slightly, becoming more desperate than provoking. "Please, just end it. I don't want this anymore. I ... wish I'd never existed."

It was terrible to hear this, and Dawn immediately stood up, ignoring the pain in her neck. Eileen couldn't see, but she looked furious.

"Don't you ever say something like that! There are many who care about you, including Ash and me, and I won't let you die here," she said angrily. "Carbink, prepare a beacon."

"You're a fool. It would be so much easier to just kill me. I should've never been born in the first place. I took my mother's life when it happened. It should've been the other way around. Then my family would still be intact. They'd get along, they'd all be alive." She began to tear up. "I brought nothing but misery to others. I even joined the one who'd killed my sister to save my brother. For the sake of everyone close to me, it would be better if I was killed right now, or it will only get worse. It's such a simple wish, is it so hard to grant? If I could change the past, I would, but I can't, so I have to resort to the next best thing. There's no need to cry over me, because I go gladly. Can't you just respect my wish, and get rid of this nuisance? You'd do me and everyone a favor."

Dawn needed some time to consider her words. It was shocking and depressing to see this girl, who was once so full of joy, begging to be killed, even though there was no need to do it. On the other hand, Eileen had been under Nathan's influence for a long time now, and she couldn't possibly know what was really from Eileen, and what was a result of his treatment. In any case, she wasn't going to give up on a friend, no matter how much Eileen begged.

"Don't say that ..." she mumbled.

"So what if I do? It's true. Is it so horrible to think that I should've never even existed? Nobody would get upset because nobody would even know me, and I could rest in the void's cold embrace. But no, fate had another plan for me. Instead, I am to ruin the lives of others." She shook her head in contempt. "You can even claim that you had no choice. Just kill me. I don't want to live anymore."

"And what about your pokémon?" She looked around to see them approaching her, despite heavy injuries. "They know. They know you deserve better, or they wouldn't try to protect you even now."

"No, go away!" Eileen yelled at them, but they didn't listen. "Can't you respect my choice? It's my life, and I wish to end it when I want. You won't miss me, I promise."

It was sad to see someone like Eileen like this. Her attempts to fend off her own pokémon made it only more difficult to watch, but Dawn's decision had been made a long time ago. She spoke up with a calm and soft voice.

"No, that's not true." She shook her head slowly. "They'll miss you, we'll all miss you, because your existence can't simply be erased. You will be remembered, no matter what happens, and your death would only bring sorrow. That's why I can't do it. No, I'll save you, I promise you that." Eileen's pokémon appeared to believe that Dawn was on their side, and walked away from their master. Dawn took a step towards her, which made Eileen took a step backwards. "You may not believe it, but there are people who love you, and would be devastated by your death. I don't know whether I've known the true Eileen, or whether you've been hiding your true self the whole time, and it doesn't matter. You may have tried to cover your sadness with a smile, but I can tell you from experience that there are better ways to deal with it. Sadness is not weakness, and it's not shameful to admit that you have problems. No matter what it is, we'll help you."

"No, I ..." Eileen looked at her pokémon with a lost expression, as if she expected them to help her changing Dawn's mind.

"If you feel worthless, we'll try to make you feel appreciated. If others cause problems, we'll give you the strength to fight back. You only have to let us in." She took another step forward, making Eileen back off even more. "You know why? Because you're a friend, and I don't give up on friends." Eileen stumbled when she took another step, and tried to crawl away. "You may have made mistakes in the past, but nobody is without flaws, and they won't fool me. You're still a great person, and don't even try to tell my anything else. The past can't be changed, but you can use the future to redeem yourself. And I'm going to give you that chance." Her expression softened, and she offered Eileen an encouraging smile. "Try to hold still. This might be a bit bright."

"What?" She stopped looking at the coordinator, and noticed a bright pink orb in front of Carbink. Her eyes widened, and she tried to move, but found herself unable to do so. Espeon and Metagross were holding her in place with psychic. "No! We won't allow it!" She suddenly released a burning burst of light. "It will not take this one. Our revenge is not complete yet." Once again, it looked like Eileen was back in control, judging from the shocked expression. "I ... don't feel so good. It's ... burning ... from inside."

Dawn and the pokémon took a few steps back when they noticed light coming from her eyes, then her mouth and ears. Finally, glowing lines appeared on her body, which also started to glow. She started to scream, but her screams soon got muffled by her body growing uncontrollably in every direction. More and more layers of flesh grew on her until she looks like a large lump of meat, then arms and legs shot out of it. Bone pieces were sticking out everywhere, blood was flowing from numerous holes. Finally, several monstrous heads appeared on the upper part of the abomination, speaking at the same time with aggressive voices.

"It shall feel our wrath." Light shot of its body, burning everyone nearby.

"We won't give up on you, Eileen. And you, give her real body back immediately!" Dawn yelled. "Metagross, flash cannon! Carbink, use the beacon! Espeon, searing light! Lucario, aura sphere!"

It appeared to have trouble moving, for it was unable to evade the moves. They tore off parts of its body, only for it to regenerate almost immediately. New, muscular legs appear on the lower side, which allowed it to make a huge leap towards its enemies. Everyone fled but Lucario, who created a staff with bone rush and drove it into its body like a spear. It didn't seem to have the intended effect, as more arms grew around it, wrestling for control of the staff while strong beams of light shot through its mouths to burn Lucario.

"Espeon, shut them up! Metagross, meteor mash!" Dawn commanded quickly.

Espeon used psychic to close their mouths, causing their heads to start burning from within. The flesh soon turned black, but it didn't last, for new heads took their place. Metagross smashed part of its body, which resulted in more arms to grow and grab one of the steel-type's arms. Lucario used his staff to transfer the energy of a dark pulse directly into its body, damaging it from within. The effect was rather disgusting, for it made the arms shake violently before they exploded, yet they kept growing back. At least it allowed the pokémon to gain some distance.

Then the abomination started crawling towards Dawn with great speed. Metagross reacted first, slamming its body into it from the side. The others followed up with attacks on the other side, getting rid of most of its new arms. As expected, they reappeared, but unlike before, when they basically shot out of the flesh, they grew more slowly, and they looked incomplete. Sometimes fingers were missing, sometimes bones were sticking out. Dawn took it as a sign that its power was failing.

"Keep at it! It can't do this much longer!" They only had to weaken it enough to force it to negotiate.

From now on, Dawn's pokémon put enough pressure on it that it couldn't fight back properly, for they destroyed its body faster than it could regenerate. Eventually it came to a halt, being reduced to a lump of meat that was bleeding everywhere. Dawn told her pokémon to stop attacking.

"It's over," she simply stated.

A new head formed slowly on the side of the creature to communicate with her. It was fully aware of its hopeless situation.

"Why is it hesitating? It should just end it already." It still didn't understand this wasn't Dawn's intention.

"I won't. We want Eileen back and you'll give her back." She made it sound like there was no choice. "There is no reason for you to hold onto her."

"Does it think so?" A twisted laughter followed. "It should tell us one, only one single reason why we should do it this favor. It's a human and humans are nothing but trouble for us. They have torn us from our home, enslaved us, and made us do terrible things. And why? Because they are greedy, hungry for power and indifferent to the suffering of their own kind."

"Eileen's not like that! An neither am I. Only a few would do it, and we're fighting them. We destroyed one of those rings." This seemed to have an impact, as it hesitated to reply, which Dawn used to talk a bit more. "And we'll try to take out the others if it's those things that bind you to this world. So please give her back. Or can you claim that you're all the same?"

"There is ... those called the Okcha Prime are different ... corrupted by this world. Without them we are incomplete." Suddenly it had an idea. "We shall do it this favor. But only if it pledges itself to our cause. The rings must be destroyed. Their power gems must be destroyed. The Okcha Prime must be cleansed."

"I promise I'll do my best to do this." Promising this wasn't difficult for Dawn, for it was in her own interest. The question was whether it would accept her promise.

"If it breaks this promise, we shall make it suffer in its dreams," it threatened.

Then the body started glowing again, only this time it shrunk considerably to Eileen's normal size. First the legs, arms and the head were visible, then the hair grew back and details like toes formed until it was indistinguishable from her old body. A dark shadow left it, which could only mean that she was free again. Dawn and the pokémon rushed to her side. Her clothes had been torn to shreds during the previous transformation. Only the glove had been flexible enough to withstand this treatment, but the gem was currently completely devoid of energy. Dawn took her jacket and wrapped it around the girl, then checked the pulse. Eileen was alive, but unconscious.

"Rest now. You've gone through a lot." She took the glove so that Eileen couldn't do anything foolish with it before standing up and shaking her head. "Now how do I explain this to Giratina?"

Only the unconscious pokémon around them remained a problem. As soon as they came to, they'd probably attack again, but Dawn lacked ways of tying them up to prevent it. If only Galvantula was with them, everything would much easier. At least they wouldn't stand a chance, even if they woke up at the same time. Metagross soon brought a small item that Forslass had dropped. It turned out to be a gem similar to Eileen's, only black instead of clear. Dawn put it into a pocket, the same that held the other gem. It was too dangerous to dispose of them here, for Giratina might hold them accountable for the damage done to the crystals in the process. When she thought about it, its voice could be heard directly in her head.

"Be careful! Two more humans have entered the realm." She sighed, expecting another tiring fight, but there was more to it. "The crobat are moving towards one of them. I'll have the damage done by them repaired soon, and then I'll fix the crystals at your position. Don't move."

Although she wasn't too happy about another battle, she was glad that Giratina would arrive soon. As long as it was with her, she'd be safe, though the news about the crobat gathering was unsettling. At least Pikachu and Zoroark were ready to fight again, and everyone was back at full strength thanks to the amazing regeneration, so at least they wouldn't be caught in a state of weakness. The only problem was Eileen, who had to be watched and protected as well now. Keeping her close, Dawn waited for the renegade pokémon, who arrived shortly after through the clouds above them. Its first action was to repair the broken crystals, then it turned towards the unconscious pokémon.

"What about them? Do they belong to this girl?" it asked, giving them a nasty look.

"Technically yes, though they don't obey her. I think they're more loyal to Nathan. Oh, but the others are fine. I have everything under control," Dawn added quickly.

"I see." A huge shadow ball formed in front of its head. "Put them in one place, and I'll take care of this problem."

Its intent was clear. It wanted to kill them, but Dawn wasn't willing to let that happen. She protested, trying to offer a different approach.

"There's no need to kill them! They're just poor, misguided pokémon, used as tools by someone far more vicious. You should just return them to my world." Her suggestion made its eyes narrow dangerously. It was obviously not amused in the slightest.

"So that he can send them right back here?" Its voice was thundering, making the pokémon cringe. "No, they'll die. If you think you can change my mind, you're sadly mistaken. This is my final decision."

"No, it's not!" The pokémon immediately took a step away from her, looking at her like she was utterly crazy. Perhaps she was, for she dared challenge Giratina in its own domain. "I can't let you do this."

Everyone expected it to be furious, but it remained remarkably calm. For several seconds, they kept staring at each other, with neither backing down, while the others were watching. They were wondering whether Dawn had lost all sense, but much to their surprise, the shadow ball in front of Giratina's head disappeared.

"Very well," it said calmly. "We'll do it your way. Put them in one place, and I'll open a portal to your world for them."

This came as a surprise, even for Dawn, who, despite her determination, was afraid that she'd gotten too far. In fact, she was a bit suspicious at first, but quickly complied, and soon all the unconscious pokémon were in one big pile. Giratina shot a purple orb between them and Dawn, creating a black vortex that sucked the pokémon inside. Dawn had no trouble resisting the pull, but then she saw a reflection of her world in the vortex. It was truly a portal, and for a moment, she was tempted to leave this dreadful place. She could reunite with Ash, fighting Nathan together. In the end, however, she decided against it. After all she'd promised to support Giratina here, and she wasn't going to break her promise. Besides, she could as well fight Nathan this way, and once he was finished, she'd get to see her world again. Therefore she kept resisting both the pull and the urge to just let herself go. The chance was gone entirely after a few moments.

The vortex disappeared, revealing the pokémon to be gone as well. There was some regret left inside her, but all in all, she believed she'd made the right decision, though she had no idea, how right it actually was.

"This portal was quite close to you. You could've easily slipped back into your world without me being able to do anything about it," it pointed out, looking at her strangely. "Isn't that what you wanted? Why didn't you do it?"

"Because I said I'd help you. And I intend to finish it," she told it plainly.

"Good. I knew you'd do the right thing. Let me tell you a secret. If you'd seized this opportunity to betray me, the portal would've collapsed immediately, crushing you and everything else inside." It laughed upon seeing the shock on her face. "What? You really thought I'd let a human tell me what to do just like that? It was a test, and you passed. I knew you would. And if you hadn't ... well, let's just say I have no need for traitors here. It wouldn't have been much of a loss."

"It was a ... test?" Suddenly, she felt dizzy, and her pokémon were just as shocked, having learnt how close she'd been to death. "I think ... I need to sit down a little."

Despite its friendliness at times, it was still mistrusting, and due to its cruelty, it was capable of some despicable acts. This time, her sense of duty had saved her life, but it was impossible to say whether Giratina would demand another proof of loyalty. She'd be well-advised not to trust it at all. Her pokémon stayed close to her, feeling that she needed her presence after this nasty surprise, though they didn't have much time to recover from it.

"Get ready to fight. Two more humans are moving towards us. One of them has all the crobat following him," it told her. "Now there's a third. No, wait, not anymore."

The pokémon took their positions, ready to repel another attack. With Giratina at their side, they couldn't possibly fail. Now that Wraith and Eileen were defeated, they wondered who could possibly challenge them. Seth and Boris were among the possible canidates, and neither was going to be much trouble for the renegade pokémon. And if Nathan himself was among them, they'd get the chance to earn their return home much sooner than expected.

The first one was approaching them on a Latios. She rubbed her eyes when she realized who it was. For all she knew, it might be a mere illusion, a cruel trick by Nathan Sorlan, but she wanted it to be true badly. Pikachu was less hesitant, rushing to the intruder.

"Ash?" Dawn mumbled incredulously, making Giratina look at her. "Ash!"


	98. Soul of Darkness

**The first part of the fight in the Reverse World. There is a bit more to come after this.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Chapter 98 Soul of Darkness

Ash was close enough to recognize Dawn and Pikachu, but he also noticed the huge pokémon nearby. It was hard to imagine Giratina as an ally, but he knew that he was in its world, and that defeating here would surely be difficult. Therefore he had to approach it carefully, or it might mistake him for an enemy. He told Latios to slow down to make them look as harmless as possible, and give Dawn enough time to inform it properly.

"Wait, that's Ash. Don't do anything to him. He's not your enemy," she shrieked, fully aware of the urgency.

There was already a shadow ball in front of its face. The fact that Ash was carrying an ominous weapon didn't work in his favor, and the legendary pokémon made him look even more dangerous. However, Dawn's words prevented it from intervening yet, and it let Ash approach, though it remained vigilant. If he was truly her friend, he'd help them against the real enemy. It merely watched Ash jump off, call out an empoleon, and rush towards Dawn and the pokémon.

Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, and Empoleon in particular needed time after they'd gone through so much. The hugs were numerous, lasting, and strong, and when Ash and Dawn faced each other, they both got straight to a kiss. There was no need to ask for it, they both knew they wanted it, and they didn't wish to disappoint. Unsurprisingly, it was passionate, deep, but also hasty and sloppy. Neither of them had the patience to be gentle this time, as this was all about raw emotions, and they hadn't been able to enjoy those in a long time. Even the pokémon were surprised about this, half-expecting their trainers to take off their clothes in the heat of the moment, but they still had enough sense not to do it.

"Wait, is that Eileen?" he suddenly asked, glancing at the girl lying nearby with a few pokémon surrounding her.

"She's no danger. Let her rest, it was a ... difficult fight," Dawn told him. "It only ... "

"You! What are you two doing here?" Giratina asked when it saw Mesprit and Azelf. It was now that Dawn also noticed them, and it made her happy.

"Fixing your problems for you," Azelf replied defiantly.

"Don't even think about starting a fight. We have other problems right now," Mesprit added.

It was rather obvious that they didn't like each other much. If it wasn't for the current situation, Giratina wouldn't tolerate them here.

"Oh, how right you are this time. He's coming. Prepare yourself." It was the first time Ash heard this voice in his head, yet he already knew it belonged to Giratina.

Then he felt something incredible, as if he had infinite power. Giratina usually didn't grant this boon so fast to so many individuals, but it was necessary this time, for when they turned around, they saw Nathan, and it not only looked like he was accompanied by another Giratina, but by three of them. It was an awe-inspiring sight, even though everyone was sure that those were merely Okcha. Still, they'd be difficult to defeat, perhaps impossible. Not even the real Giratina dared attack them yet, as it could feel their power more than anyone else. Nathan didn't order the attack, but slowly walked up to his opponents with a smug look, fully aware of his advantage. He was clapping slowly in a sarcastic manner the whole time.

"Did I interrupt you? I'm so sorry, but this isn't unimportant. You see, I want this world to become mine, and I can't tolerate people like you around here." He raised an arm, and the flow of energy to Ash, Dawn, and their pokémon stopped entirely, leaving them vulnerable. "That includes little Eileen. For her own sake, I wish to avoid the embarrassing conversation about her failure."

"They have the same connection to this world as I do!" Giratina told them in response, sounding both surprised and worried. "This isn't good. But at least I can make sure that he doesn't benefit from it either."

"Attack!" Nathan simply shouted, refusing to waste any more time with words.

He called out his entire team, which consisted of Absol, Azumarill, Charizard, Hypno, Mismagius, Chesnaught, Ampharos, Venomoth, Steelix, Glalie, Tyrantrum, and Ditto. The latter turned into Giratina, making this even more difficult. Furthermore, crobat arrived from every direction, though their bodies were weak. Sheer numbers made up for that weakness. The Okcha attacked Giratina, who obviously stood no chance against all of them, since every single of its main opponents was as strong as it was. Meanwhile, Ash and Dawn not only had to fight a whole team of powerful pokémon, but one of them was a perfect copy of Giratina, and Dawn had already lost with her entire team to the real one alone.

However, before the fight truly began, a third faction revealed itself in form of a single Okcha. It looked like a scolipede made of dark smoke shot out of the ground, grabbed one of the Okcha, and forced it out of the body before using it for itself. It had to be the Okcha Prime, though nobody had any idea how it could've gotten there. This was a dire turn of events for Nathan in particular, because now he only had two of them left, and two extremely dangerous opponents instead of only one. For now, he decided to take it out with his amulet. By focusing most of its power, he was able to form an impenetrable shield around it, which rendered it unable to act or be harmed in any way. Similarly, he created a shield around himself for protection. It would be suicide to make the ultimate move to erase it entirely, as it would leave him vulnerable to other attacks. Leaving the battle to the pokémon, he demanded answers from the Okcha Prime.

"Tell me, how did you get here?" he asked calmly while the fighting was raging around him. This was something he simply had to know, or he'd never be able to sleep again.

"You need to ask this?" It spoke to him telepathically with its deep, loud voice. "I thought you were more imaginative than that. At least that's what Victoria's memories suggested. I possessed her only for a short time, but she gave me all the information I needed. Oh, how I enjoyed scheming against you. After all, you were the one who'd returned me and my kind to this rotten world to do your bidding. After all you've done to us, it was only fitting that I would seal your doom. I told your enemies about your identity, your plans, your location. In Saffron City, I took control of one of your Ampharos to gain knowledge of the light travel, only to find out that it was ultimately too limiting. I needed help to get to you without getting noticed, and Max Wright was the right puppet. Since I didn't trust him to be capable of this, I also tried to involve Ash, and it worked like a charm. I got into your base as far as possible with light travel, and stayed hidden near one of the doors, where I took control of one of Max's allies, and followed him. In all the chaos I remained undetected, though I have to admit I didn't expect your plans to be this ... big." It looked around calmly, as if there wasn't an invisible barrieraround it. "I can't say I dislike this turn of events, though. It might work in my favor later."

Nathan listened patiently, not paying any attention to the battles around him, and once the Okcha Prime was done, he laughed. This was a heavy setback, but he could still win.

"Amazing. I didn't consider your kind capable of this kind of cunning. I guess this is the price I have to pay." He laughed again. "Anyway, it's not over yet. Let's see how this turns out."

The fight against Giratina was extremely frustrating due to its frequent usage of shadow force, which always rendered it invulnerable for a short time. By doing that, it hoped to buy some time, as the Okcha Prime's prison would eventually end, and it was also an enemy of the two Okcha currently attacking it. At the very least, it would serve as a distraction.

Nathan's team fared far better against the other pokémon. Ditto wasn't attacked at all, as Dawn's pokémon had told the others about the powerful regeneration, so they tried to take out the weaker allies first. Empoleon's dark crescent didn't seem to work against it for unknown reasons, probably because it was simply too weak to counter the effect Ash's lucario was maintaining the aura shield, as Dawn's was already in his mega form, and thus more useful in battle. Ash let Latios mega evolve, so that the dragon-type could take on a leading position in the battle. The pokémon were organized in four groups consisting of about three members each. Ash commanded Pikachu, Bisharp, and Gallade, whereas Dawn took care of Empoleon, Espeon, Metagross, and Shaymin. Lucario was in charge of Zoroark and Carbink, and Latios led Infernape and Articuno. Azelf and Mesprit acted independently, hunting down the swarms of corbat so that they wouldn't interfere. The enemy quickly adjusted by forming own groups. Apparently, they feared Ash's legendary pokémon the most, as they had to faced the strongest group by far. It consisted of Steelix, Tyrantrum, and, most importantly, Ditto, who could defeat them on its own. Lucario's group was up against Chesnaught, Charizard, and Absol. Ash's opponents were Ampharos, Venomoth, and Hypno, whereas Dawn had to defeat Azumarill, Glalie, and Mismagius.

Before it truly began, Ash got hold of Dawn's hand, squeezing it gently.

"No matter what happens, we'll stay together, alright? I won't let you get away this time," he whispered with an encouraging smile. Leaving would also put Eileen in danger, as she was directly next to Lucario, blissfully unaware of the events around her.

"Nothing will separate us now. I promise," she whispered back, giving him a reassuring squeeze. There were still so many things they wished to say to each other, but it was neither the right time nor the right place. First, they had to get out of this situation. Every team had more than enough pokémon to use light screen, reflect, and safeguard, so those effects were active all the time. "Shaymin, keep using energy ball. Empoleon, use aqua ring, then water pulse. Metagross, join Latios, he needs the help more than we do. Espeon, psychic on the orbs, and use them for defense."

It reminded her of the battle against Glacia when Gallie used taunt on the psychic-type, only to get taunted in return by the magic bounce. Azumarill and Glalie approached quickly, but got blocked by Empoleon.

Ash's opponents focused their attacks at first, combining sludge bomb with psybeam and thunder, only to get blocked by Bisharp's protect. Hypno created its nightmare avatar, which had to be eliminated quickly.

"Gallade, remove it with teleport assault, then attack Venomoth with psycho cut! Pikachu, support with thunder!" The fighting-type appeared next to the avatar, destroying it with a simple punch, and teleported behind Venomoth before escaping after a quick strike. Ampharos blocked Pikachu's thunder, though, so that the attack wasn't as great as it could've been. In response, Hypno created another avatar, and stayed close to it and Venomoth to quickly counter another assault. They both used psychic to pull Pikachu towards Ampharos, who hit him with a fire punch. "Swords dance and night slash on Ampharos!" Bisharp's assault gave Pikachu the opportunity to escape.

"Shaymin, take over for a moment, so that Espeon can add searing light." The grass-type used psychic to keep the orbs in the air while dodging strange, black spikes falling from above. Those were the result of Mismagius's special move, which could affect a large area.

Glalie shot a strange ice dart at Empoleon, who didn't receive much damage, but felt strength leaving his body. This move was designed to be reliable at reducing the target's speed, strength, and defense by considerable amounts, but only for a short time. Azumarill took advantage of this when it grabbed his horns, and slammed him into the ground with superpower. Glalie shot another dart at him, and then got in the way of the other pokémon.

"Gallade, teleport assault on azumarill!" Gallade got past it in an instant, attacking Azumarill with psycho cut, then it kicked Glalie away, and returned.

"Shaymin, the toxin!" Venomoth had released a gas variant of the toxic move, which was far more reliable than the usual move. Shaymin used a combination of psychic and its pull to draw the gas into its fur, while Espeon took control of the orbs. As soon as Gallade reappeared behind the poison-type, it stopped the move again to focus on him. "Telekinesis and seed flare on Azumarill!"

Espeon threw the orbs far into the air, so that she could ignore them for a few moments before lifting the water-type into the air. Glalie tried to help it, but Empoleon prevented it, destroying the ice darts with metal claw. Mismagius tried to destroy them with its dark spikes, but both Espeon and Shaymin were nimble enough to dodge them easily, and the gratitude pokémon shot a powerful energy beam at Azumarill. Even though Shaymin lacked experience and strength compared to the other pokémon, the large attack power of the move and the type-advantage made this extremely effective, and the water-type was flung far away.

In order to combat Gallade's surprise attack, Venomoth spread stun spores around it, and when it happened again, he immediately suffered the consequences. Not only was he rendered unable to execute his move, but his teleport assault was disabled by Hypno. He still access to teleport, which allowed him to escape before they could take advantage of the situation, but he wouldn't be able to surprise them anytime soon. That's why Venomoth attempted to spread its poison gas again.

"Shaymin, get it again. Espeon, psychic on Ampharos! Then get rid of that dark hypno!" She pushed it aside, so that Bisharp could approach Venomoth again, and since he was immune to psychic-type moves, he had to be stopped more traditionally. Hypno and its avatar used focus blast on him, though the latter vanished when one of the orbs controlled by Espeon hit it, and the focus blasts were easy to avoid. "Now the orbs! Shaymin, seed flare on Glalie!"

Venomoth stopped spreading its poison, and tried to fly away, only to get hit by countless small orbs in midair. Ampharos and Hypno shot down as many as possible, but it wasn't enough, and Venomoth went down, where Bisharp jumped onto it. With his sharp blades, he cut its wings badly, rendering it unable to fly, and when it tried to retaliate, he cut across its face. Ash didn't like this kind of violence, but there was so much at stake here that even he could accept this. The last slash came at a price, as Hypno hit him critically with a focus blast to the head, and Ampharos made him pay with a thunder move. Gallade tried to cover his retreat, but then Ditto decided to interfere with an aura sphere and a shadow ball. Bisharp was knocked out by a direct hit first, and Gallade only dodged it with a quick teleport. Ash looked at the battle nearby, and it didn't look good. Ditto had vanquished most of his pokémon, so it would soon attack directly. This, however, was only revenge for Venomoth.

"Pikachu, keep destroying the avatars, but watch out for Giratina." If he wanted to stand any chance against Ditto, he had to get rid of the current opponents fast. "Gallade, swords dance and close combat on Ampharos!"

"Espeon and Shaymin, keep it in place with psychic!" They did a good job, not only disabling the electric-type, but also dealing considerable damage in the process.

Glalie was still blocked by Empoleon, Hypno got distracted by Pikachu, and Mismagius didn't look like it was about to attack them, but only because it had another plan. Using psychic, it tossed Azumarill at Shaymin, past Empoleon. The fairy-type also used aqua jet to increase its speed, and reached the target before anyone could react. Glalie used the distraction to hit Espeon with an ice dart, so that she couldn't help Shaymin, when it was hit by a brutal ice punch. Azumarill's specialty was drawing power from its own injuries, increasing its physical attack power tremendously. This effect was so strong that it sometimes hurt itself in order to increase its own power, and Shaymin immediately felt it, getting knocked out with one hit. However, Azumarill wasn't content yet, and chased it when the force of the move pushed it back. Empoleon followed it with aqua jet, and pushed it away when it attempted to deal the death blow. Dawn used the opportunity to recall Shaymin with her regeneration ball, so that it was safe for now. Enraged by the failure of its plan, Azumarill attacked Empoleon instead.

The fight showed that they were both furious, as it was fast, intense, and they fought recklessly. Empoleon was afraid of its superpower move, which was dodged every time. The longer they fought, the more difficult this became, and it soon became impossible to stand against a pokémon with such a massive boost. However, it also made mistakes, and he used one of them to strike it for maximum damage. When it attempted to use superpower to grab his horns, he used them to stab it, threw it into the air, and chopped one of its arms off with a metal claw. Even so, it continued fighting with one arm, and its attack power was greater than ever, but it was easy to predict its attacks. In order to end this threat once and for all, Empoleon cut off the other arm as well, leaving it rather helpless. Taking it out was a triviality now, so Dawn could focus on the other fights.

Espeon was in real trouble due to Glalie and Mismagius attacking her at the same time. The situation was only defused when Empoleon attacked Glalie from afar with flash cannon while it was suffering from its own ice darts due to Espeon's magic bounce.

"Gallade, teleport to Glalie and use close combat!" It was a devastating assault, one that was enough to defeat Glalie in its weakened condition, but like everything else, it came at a price. Ampharos shocked the attackers with a thunder move, but was finished by Espeon, who'd recovered from the ice dart, with her searing light. Mismagius hurt Gallade badly with a shadow ball while Hypno was keeping him in place with psychic.

However, four of their six opponents were gone, at the cost of two of their own pokémon, albeit Empoleon and Gallade were heavily injured. The remaining two opponents retreated for now, realizing that they didn't stand a chance on their own.

Lucario's group had a bit more trouble, for they faced Nathan's main pokémon, Absol, who was even in her mega form. Accompanied by Charizard and Chesnaught, she was a formidable opponent, especially since she was invisible most of the time. Lucario dashed forward with a staff in his hands to draw their attention, and Zoroark jumped into the ground with shadow diver, hoping to avoid Absols's sneak attacks that way. Carbink was vulnerable, but its natural defenses usually made her the last target of any non-steel-type.

As soon as she was close, he used the aura bubble to block potential attacks, which compelled Charizard to approach with the intent of using hell claw on the shield. Although Lucario didn't know that the move could destroy the shield instantly, it still served its purpose of drawing the enemy closer, and Carbink immediately punished the reckless attack with a smack down. Charizard crashed near Lucario's position, and the fighting-type immediately wanted to make sure that it wouldn't get the chance to fly again. With a swing from the side, he rendered it incapable of using its left wing by breaking it. Absol attacked him from behind, dealing heavy damage with psycho cut before he could take a defensive stance, and keep his opponents at distance by using his staff like a spear.

Chesnaught tried to help its allies, but Zoroark appeared in front of him, using flamethrower on its weaker side. Carbink moved so that its beacon through the grass-type also passed through Lucario. Since the beam ignored armor, it could strike from anywhere for the same effect. It tried to grab the dark-type, but he disappeared into the ground, and when it turned around to face Carbink, he reappeared there to hit it with another flamethrower. It reacted by shooting spikes from its armor. They proved effective against Carbink, though it was far enough away to avoid almost all of them. Zoroark on the other hand burned most of them, but he barely dealt any damage to the cowering pokémon. However, it could keep up the defensive move much longer than Zoroark could breathe fire, so he eventually had to gain some distance. Upon noticing that Lucario was in real trouble, he used shadow diver to disappear from view.

Defending against Charizard's fire and Absol's constant surprise attacks was extremely difficult, even though Lucario could feel from where they came. After all, he couldn't determine whether it was a psycho cut, a feint, or a superpower move. When she cut his ankle during another attack by Charizard, it looked like his time was up. He went on his knees, and had trouble blocking the fire-type's hell claw. Zoroark was already on his way, but since he couldn't see Absol, he attacked Charizard instead. Coming from behind, he buried his claws in its back before quickly using shadow diver again. It happened just in time, as Absol attacked him at the same moment, and even managed to cut off part of his mane. At least it gave Lucario some time to recover, and Zoroark proceeded to attack Chesnaught again.

Lucario was able to hold out a little longer, though it was basically over when Absol pierced his left arm with her claws. She taunted him further by holding her head close to his, roaring into his face, and hitting his chest. In response, he dropped his staff, and grabbed her face. A force palm sent her flying, and he tried to follow up with an aura sphere, only for Charizard to hurt his right arm with another hell claw. It looked like it was over, but a hand coming from the ground grabbed him, and pulled him to safety before Charizard had a chance to finish him. Carbink used the beacon to give Dawn a signal, and when she saw a heavily injured lucario being dragged out of the ground by Zoroark, she quickly recalled him. He was safe for now, but Zoroark and Carbink still had three opponents.

Chesnaught was currently attacking Carbink directly, so the beacon had given it time to deal some real damage. Zoroark helped by engulfing it in fire, and Carbink defeated it with another beacon, right before Charizard arrived. Without the ability to fly, it was much slower than before, and even Carbink was able to dodge its attacks. Absol on the other hand remained hidden, waiting for Zoroark to show himself, but the dark-type knew exactly what to expect, and remained protected by his shadow diver. Nobody made any real progress that way, so everyone opted to wait for help instead.

Latios, Articuno, Infernape, and Metagross had the most difficult task of them all, despite the advantage of numbers. They were fully aware of their chances, so they strived to merely buy the others more time by holding out as long as possible. As suspected, Ditto charged forward to draw their attention, but they were determined to attack its allies first, for they lacked the incredible regeneration. Latios, being the prime target due to its mega form, volunteered to distract it while the others attacked Steelix and Tyrantrum. The rock-type was the first target, as everyone could hit it effectively.

Latios had only one true advantage, which was his speed. As long as Ditto targeted him, he'd mostly try to avoid its attacks while supporting his allies with moves like light screen or perhaps missile storm. Avoiding shadow force would be the biggest challenge. Ditto disappeared right at the start, and tried to attack him from behind, but it was too predictable, and Latios dodged it easily. It was unlikely to stay like that, though, so he couldn't afford to lower his guard.

The others were greeted by Steelix's shrapmetal move, which shot sharp metal parts at them. Articuno in particular was threatened by those, as they tended to remain in the flesh, making flying difficult and painful, not to mention its weakness to steel-type moves. Metagross went straight for Tyrantrum, rotating due to a combination of gyro ball and meteor mash. The rock-type blocked the attack, and although it still took a lot of damage, it stood its ground. Infernape attacked from the side with focus punch, and Articuno used blizzard from the other side. Then Ditto appeared out of nowhere, hitting Infernape with shadow force, and pushing it against Tyrantrum, who immediately used its massive jaws on him. In addition, Steelix used earthquake, which also hurt its ally, though it was better prepared to deal with it than the fire-type, who stood no chance between two powerful pokémon. He got almost crushed, and only Ash's quick reaction saved his life. His trainer recalled him after a telepathic message from Latios, something that wasn't easy from that distance.

This showed clearly that Ditto had no intention of letting itself get distracted by a single pokémon, and with shadow force, it could strike anyone out of the blue. Nobody could hope to be sure who was going to be its next target, let alone see its attacks coming. When it vanished again, Metagross and Articuno kept attacking Tyrantrum, who'd suffered a lot already during its own attack on Infernape, and now that Latios also attacked with a luster purge, it was in real trouble. It cried for help, but the others had something different in mind. Ditto hit Articuno with shadow force before grabbing it with its wings, and throwing it at Steelix. The steel-type moved onto its right wing with its massive weight, making the ice-type cry out in pain. Ash heard this, but he couldn't recall it because Steelix made sure to cover it with its own body.

Metagross reacted by quickly hitting Tyrantrum's head from the sides with its arms, and then moving towards Steelix with gyro ball. Even though the damage wasn't noteworthy, it still pushed it aside a little, which gave it a chance to raise its uninjured wing, and thus the trainer was able to recall his pokémon. He'd originally planned to recall it at his position, since so far, it was still conscious, but this changed when Ditto made sure this wouldn't work by hitting it with a powerful dragon pulse before the recall.

From now on, Metagross kept its distance, so that it was less likely to be surprised by Ditto's attacks, and because most of its melee attacks were weak against a pokémon with a defense like Steelix's. Instead, it came to rely on flash cannon, which was at least decent, and Steelix couldn't attack it nearly as effectively from a distance. Latios and Metagross stayed together to protect each other from Ditto, and attacked Steelix so that it had no chance of blocking everything. Thus they were able to slowly wear it down, and even when it showed signs of being close to defeat, they didn't do anything hasty, having learnt from their past mistakes. Eventually, the ground-type fell to their constant attacks, leaving only Ditto.

More and more pokémon were unable to battle, leaving only a small number to face Ditto later. Naturally, Metagross was an easy target due to its size and relatively low speed, and it was unlikely to hold out much longer. That's why it devised a plan to deal as much damage as possible to Ditto, and discussed it with Latios telepathically. It involved something risky, which might result in Metagross's death, so he was hesitant, but the desperation of the situation made them accept it.

First the steel-type pretended to join the others, leaving this fight to Latios. As expected, Ditto wasn't willing to let it go like this, it was almost like it felt insulted by this lack of respect, and immediately tried to get in the way. It was far enough away from Latios, who prepared a missile storm after a moment of hesitation. The orbs would grow considerably from there, and Ditto's size would ensure that many of them hit it. It only concern was the fact that Metagross was also there, so it could easily be killed in the barrage. He could only hope that Ditto's body would block enough of them for Metagross to survive, though he'd seen enough not to count on it. Although Ditto was a bit surprised that Metagross fought back directly this time, it welcomed this change, and tried to take it out for good.

With a heavy heart, Latios released the orbs, which quickly grew to their full sizes on the way, and when Ditto noticed them, it was already too late. At least two dozens of them hit it directly in the back, whereas others hit the ground next to Metagross. Any other pokémon wouldn't have been able to survive this powerful storm, yet Ditto turned around, and charged towards him. It was clearly badly hurt, but its fury made it keep fighting, regardless of its own health. Fortunately, Metagross was still alive, and with Ditto out of the way, Dawn had no trouble recalling it after a message from Latios. Hopefully the others would be done quickly, or everything he'd done here would be for naught.

Nathan couldn't help his pokémon, for he had to focus on the void prison, that kept the Okcha Prime in check. This couldn't go on forever, though, and he had to cancel it to recharge his gem. It immediately started attacking the real Giratina to weaken it for later, as it could easily get rid of the Okcha.

"Keep your distance!" Nathan commanded, even though he was perfectly aware of the fact that it was next to impossible against a pokémon using shadow force.

His minions tried to weaken both Giratina and the Okcha Prime considerably, so that they could get rid of them at the same time. For the Okcha Prime, the distraction grew so annoying, and it was eventually weak enough that a change was worth the trouble. So it first took over the body with more injuries, and then jumped onto the other one, removing the Okcha in the process. The remaining two unoccupied bodies were destroyed, leaving only the Okcha Prime, Ditto, and the real Giratina with the power to draw strength from this realm. Ditto was probably the greater threat right now, and together with Nathan's amulet and the rest of his team it could prove really dangerous. Apparently, it grew tired of playing with Latios, as it tried to help its allies directly after having only interfered briefly on occasion. The Okcha prime prevented this by attacking it from above with shadow force, pinning it to the ground. Latios found this situation similar to the one involving Ditto and Metagross, so it prepared another missile storm, and unleashed it on the two enemies.

It was an unfortunate coincidence that the Okcha Prime wanted to finish it from afar with a combination of dragon pulse and shadow ball, and therefore avoided the storm entirely, leaving all the large orbs for Ditto. It was actually surprised that it worked out so well, and it only needed one more shadow force to knock out Ditto. The next target was obviously Giratina, though shortly after the beginning of the attack, It was caught in another void prison by Nathan. Azelf and Mesprit, having destroyed every single remaining corbat, returned to the now calm battlefield.

"Congratulations. You've eliminated all of Giratina impersonators. Well done." He clapped loudly. "That doesn't mean I'll allow you to win, though." He turned towards Ash and Dawn. "I can already tell you that there won't be an alliance, not even a temporary one. I doubt you'd trust me anyway. Even now you can't see the true enemy that has caused so many problems. But you'll realize eventually, I'm sure of that. Anyway, I believe you're more than capable of destroying this joke on your own."

"Joke? This joke just ruined all of your plans," the Okcha Prime replied proudly.

"You think so?" Nathan laughed to everyone's surprise. "My base is lost, my money gone, my followers dead, my most vital soldiers defeated, and I'm basically stuck here. Sounds like defeat? Maybe. But you've said my plans are bigger than expected. I doubt you have any idea just how big. You see, taking control of the reverse world is only means to an end. A much bigger end." Although Ash and Dawn weren't in the mood to listen to him, it provided a great opportunity to recover a bit from the last battles, as Nathan's pokémon stopped fighting. "You see, I let Shira use the Galactic bombs to provoke Giratina and have Ditto take its shape while it was in our world. With this body, I created new ones to draw their essence, which allowed me to gain access to its world and create a more stable portal between ours and the Okcha home world. Shaymin essence helped me get the necessary energy by imitating seed flare for generation. Anyway, by doing enough damage in the our world, I managed to draw out Giratina. What if I threatened creation not only here, but also in the reverse world?"

"Arceus ..." Azelf and Mesprit muttered simultaneously.

"What?" the rest exclaimed incredulously.

"You can't imagine how much it means to me that you found it out. Just imagine what kind of power I could get from Arceus. Immortality? Destruction similar to judgment? Or , much better, the power of creation? That's what I'm after. Not to change this world to my liking, but to create a new one. I'd be a real god." Suddenly his words during the last meetings made a lot more sense. Whether he could've succeeded was still unclear, but nobody wanted to give him a chance to check it. "It seems impossible now. But well, I still have something to do."

He extended an arm, forming three transparent orbs in front of himself. Everyone immediately felt that they were highly dangerous.

"Careful, there is no stopping those and they're highly volatile," Mesprit said.

Sure, enough started moving towards the group with a slithering movement, often changing direction erratically. However, neither Ash, Dawn, nor any of their pokémon were the targets. It wasn't even the Okcha Prime or Giratina. No, the targets were the most insignificant pokémon currently in this world. The orbs went past the group and surrounded Eileen's eevee, mareep, and spiritomb. The effect was horrific. The orbs moved into mareep and eevee, who then burst from within with a disgusting sound, sending blood, flesh and fur flying in every direction. Spiritomb reacted differently, for the orb merely turned its sigil stone to dust, which apparently caused it to fall unconscious immediately.

"What? Why did you do that?" Ash immediately screamed.

"They were no threat to anyone!" Dawn yelled. If she'd eaten anything recently, it would've come back by now.

"Enemies are fine, traitors aren't," Nathan stated impassively. "They had it coming, and you still need your pokémon to get rid of the Okcha Prime. I'll tell you one more thing. I suffer from a hereditary disease, which makes my heart weaker with age. Excitement, anger, physical stress, all this only hastens my demise. My uncle and grandfather have already been claimed by the disease. I know what you think, I could've gotten a heart transplant or a cardiac pacemaker. Well, my uncle tried it and his other organs started to fail. Turned out the sickness was only faster with the heart. In the end his brain was so damaged that he couldn't even react to his surroundings anymore. I suffer from it, but my useless brother was spared. Can you imagine? He wouldn't get anything decent done in 100 years, and fate only gives me 30 at most. Even despite my condition my father refused to let him take over family business. If my family wasn't so stinking rich, I wouldn't have come nearly as far. So there's no going back for me, no second chance. And I surely won't let this disease claim my life as well. The only way I'll go down is in a fight." He raised a hand, creating more of the transparent orbs. "Time for the grand finale I'd say!"

What followed was horrifying for everyone, especially Giratina, only the Okcha Prime looked like it had fun. The orbs went upwards and targeted the crystals, erasing them entirely instead of merely destroying them. There was no repairing them like this, and Giratina would've smashed him immediately, if it hadn't been for Nathan's pokémon attacking crystals as well. These could be repaired and they had to be repaired immediately or there would soon be too many to fix them all. As for those that had been erased, the corresponding life form had simply died an unnecessary death without return, and nobody could do anything about it.

"You think that's unfair? Huh? Just accept that the universe is unfair. You're one of billions on a tiny planet surrounding a tiny star in a small galaxy in the remote end the universe. You really think you're significant? You think the universe cares about you in the slightest!" By now he sounded like a complete madman, shooting orbs everywhere. "You ... we're all pathetic, inconsequential particles in the great scheme. At least I try to make a lasting difference."

There was a short flash around both Nathan and the Okcha Prime, which the rest took as a sign that the barriers were gone. The Okcha Prime immediately went for Giratina, who was distracted repairing crystals, diggings its wings into its body and sending waves of ghost energy through them to inflict terrible wounds. Nathan's pokémon formed a barrier of flesh in front of their master, shielding him while he was going berserk.

"That's quite enough." It was Zoroark's voice.

It sounded like he was about to do something rash, and sure enough, he jumped out of the ground beneath Nathan, cutting the gem on his amulet with his claws and breaking the rifle before anyone could react. The cut was so deep that the destruction was imminent, so Nathan threw it away immediately, not caring about his revenge on Zoroark, who retreated back into the ground. Hypno helped by using psychic to toss it away as far as possible. While it was still in the air, it suddenly stopped, with a strange aura appearing around it. Everyone felt a weak pull towards the gem, though only the crystals nearby were actually drawn there, disappearing in its center. Everyone knew that this was only the beginning, though, and that something much more dangerous was bound to follow. While the vortex was devouring the crystals, the Okcha Prime, who'd broken free due to the void gem's destruction, was attacking Giratina relentlessly. Nathan turned around, addressing his enemies.

"Well done, the damage you've done right now might surpass everything I've done so far." He clapped sarcastically, smiling at them as more and more crystals were drawn into the core. "For people who consider themselves morally superior, you were certainly fast to let your hatred blind you. Was it worth it?" Even at this time, he stood defiant, strong, and unyielding, looking down at them proudly from his elevated position. Ash and Dawn had trouble focusing on his taunts, though, as the void gem behind him was about to enter a critical stage. A strange hissing noise came from there, growing louder with every passing second. "Come on, strike me down! Or do you lack the courage, and wish to let time do all the work for you?"

It wasn't one of his enemies, who delivered the answer, but the void gem. When it burst with an ear-shattering noise, all the crystals it had absorbed reappeared, albeit mostly in splinters, and they were shot in all directions with force. Ash and Dawn weren't in any immediate danger thanks to the aura bubble, but those outside had to endure a storm of shards. Empoleon and Carbink were mostly unaffected due to their typing, and Zoroark was still in hiding, but the rest was less fortunate. Whereas Pikachu and Espeon avoided most of them due to their size, Gallade and Latios were almost unprotected, and were hit by several larger shards, which caused terrible injuries. Nathan's pokémon were even worse off due to their proximity to the explosion, only Mismagius was unharmed due to its typing. Giratina and the Okcha Prime could also ignore it.

Nathan, however, had been fully exposed the entire time, and a large, long shard shot through his back, stopping only when it was halfway through his body. There were also countless smaller shards in his body, though paled in comparison to the big one. When the rain of shards finally subsided, everyone looked at him in shock. Even in this situation, he remained standing, and when he looked down at the crystal, he couldn't help but grin. It showed the reflection of a chansey offering an egg, which he obviously couldn't accept.

"Oh, the irony ..." Much to the surprise of his enemies, he laughed, and he could barely stop. He needed a few seconds to calm down. "I pity you. You'll ... never get it ..."

He laughed again, but it got weaker quickly, and eventually he fell to the side, drawing his last breath. His remaining pokémon gathered around him, forgetting about their own injuries for now. They were clearly sad about their master's demise. Ash and Dawn weren't happy with this result either, considering this an easy way for Nathan to escape justice. Right now, they had to worry about other things, for his pokémon turned towards them with infernal rage clear in their eyes. Those pokémon wanted revenge, and that involved their death. Before anyone could do anything, a pokémon burst from Nathan's last pokéball, Metagross.

"And so it ended. Well, time for me to do the rest," it said. There was a gap at the center of the x on its head filled by the same gem as the one on the portal gun. Using psychic, it pulled a stone that resembled a spiritomb's sigil stone from one of Nathan's pockets and put it on its head. "I hope you'll at least grant his last wish and get rid of this abomination."

Then it used the gem on its forehead to return to their home world, leaving everyone confused, including Nathan's pokémon. Before they could take action, though, Giratina shot down from the sky with shadow force, knocking out Hypno, Charizard, and Mismagius. Only Absol seemingly escaped, having turned invisible before the attack. The Okcha Prime followed, and Giratina barely escaped the attack this time. Even now that Nathan was gone, Ash, Dawn, and their friends couldn't take a rest, for the next opponent was already there. Although it was alone by all means, it could prove even more difficult to defeat due to its powerful abilities, and the fact that it possessed a body with the power of Giratina didn't make things easier for them. At least they had the original on their side, albeit in a weakened state, and their own pokémon were tired. Latios was still busy removing the shards in his body. The conditions were far from favorable, but they had to succeed, or the Okcha prime would bring ruin upon both this world and theirs.

* * *

 **One down, one to go. It might still have a few tricks up its sleeve.**


	99. Soul of Madness

**One enemy remains, one that has been pulling the strings from the background for a long time, and that one is far less palyful. They have to watch out because it will kill without a second tought.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 99 Soul of Madness

After the long fight, Giratina's body was full of injuries, which healed only slowly due to their sheer number. It was close to death, which was why Ash and Dawn had to act quickly. Either they could distract the Okcha Prime to give their ally more time to recover, or they could deal heavy damage to their enemy while it was busy taking down the renegade pokémon. In any case, it was so much easier without Nathan, who was still lying dead with the crystal through his upper body.

"Latios, use dragon rush! Pikachu, use thunder! Gallade, psycho cut!" The last two missile storms had drained him so much that he was incapable of using anything but physical moves right now.

"Carbink, heal it! Zoroark, dark pulse! Empoleon, support Latios with ice beam!" A beacon gave Giratina some desperately needed energy, and the ice beam created some armor for Latios, similar to that of an aqua jet. This increased the damage when he crashed into the Okcha Prime, and the other attacks followed.

"Couldn't this fool have lasted a little longer?" it complained in their heads, obviously annoyed by Nathan's death and therefore their interference.

Giratina knew that it needed the help of its allies, so it used dragon rush on the enemy as well to regain its attention. With the healing from Carbink it could last much longer by fighting defensively while its allies could deal damage without having to worry about retaliation. After all the Okcha Prime had to know that it could regenerate rapidly with time, which was why Giratina had to die soon if it wanted to finish this. Therefore the ghost-type remained its target, at least for now. It vanished by using shadow, only for Giratina to do the same.

Since there was no way of attacking the renegade pokémon in this state, it went for Carbink instead to stop the healing. Although the fairy-type anticipated the attack, it was hit, albeit not directly, and its natural defenses decreased the damage sufficiently. When Giratina appeared, it retreated immediately to avoid the next attack. The Okcha Prime was once again attacked by everyone else, and even though those did little by themselves, they could soon become a real problem if left unchecked. Latios's missile storm was especially threatening, so he had to be eliminated first. It created several small shadow balls at the tips of its wings, and shot them at the psychic-type, who immediately dodged them. However, the Okcha Prime had already disappeared for a shadow force, and caught him off-guard when he dodged the balls, hitting him from above. He crashed into the ground with so much force that he left a crater. Although he wasn't defeated yet, he couldn't move properly anymore.

"Return!" Ash used the regeneration ball, so that he could heal in safety.

"Don't bother with status effects. Those will be removed almost instantly." The voice in his head came from Giratina, who gave them advice on how to defeat the Okcha Prime. "Only pure damage will help. Try to cut off its body parts. They might regenerate, but it will cost a lot of strength. Either that, or you cripple it considerably. Just make sure to make it count."

Only the wings looked like they were worth the trouble, and only Gallade or Empoleon could accomplish such a feat. The psychic-type was far more suitable due to his teleport assault, which was available again.

"Gallade, keep using swords dance," Ash told his pokémon.

Carbink's healing allowed Giratina to take on the Okcha Prime more directly, without fear of getting defeated instantly. Their enemy started to realize that its goal of killing Giratina quickly was impossible to accomplish now. Furthermore, taking out Carbink first would give the ghost-type even more time to recover, so that wasn't a good choice either.

"Not even Nathan was able to control me. Why do you think you stand a chance?" it taunted them.

They didn't show any reaction, attacking relentlessly. It decided not to attack the fairy-type, expecting it to run out of power eventually, and it was right in that regard. Before this happened, though, Gallade teleported right above it, swinging his glowing arms to cut off its wings. Despite several swords dances, he only managed to do this to the first wing on each side. It vanished, and returned a bit later with a new pair, having regenerated during the shadow force move. The move itself was directed at the fighting-type, who took a lot of damage, but didn't go down yet. The other pokémon hit it in retaliation, in particular a series of attacks by Azelf and Mesprit, who'd used the time to power up and use future sight with extrasensory from behind.

"Your whole kind will pay for this!" the Okcha Prime screamed in their heads.

They kept fighting, not letting its threats have any impact. While their damage was relatively low, it was enough to slowly wear it down while it was struggling to kill Giratina. The longer it took, the more frustrating it got, and the more desperate its attacks became. The only real success was the defeat of Gallade after he'd cut off the fresh wings. Carbink was also not much of a threat anymore, since it didn't have the strength to use the beacon anymore, which also forced Giratina to fight more defensively.

The Okcha Prime gained more time that way, though its victory was still far from secure. Pikachu was getting on its nerves with his electric attacks. Although Empoleon's ice beam was more dangerous, it could get rid of Pikachu much faster. Pretending to attack Espeon with shadow balls, it almost killed Pikachu with a shadow force followed by a dragon pulse, but it also left it vulnerable to Giratina's attacks. Espeon was its next target, though it needed to wait a little to catch her off-guard, and used this time to hurt the renegade pokémon. Espeon was crucial for Ash and Dawn, as without her damage, they wouldn't be able to negate the regeneration anymore. She had quick reactions, yet they didn't want to put them to a test, so Ash called out Latios for more damage and an additional target that could distract it from Espeon.

"Keep attacking with dragon pulse!" Despite his rest, he still didn't have nearly enough energy for a full missile storm.

Dawn was tempted to call out Shaymin, but decided against it, as without some kind of toxin, its attacks wouldn't be of much use against this opponent. If anything, it was a last resort, like using Ash's lucario. That would ultimately lead to their death, as they wouldn't be able protect themselves from attacks anymore. If his moves weren't so ineffective against the Okcha Prime, Ash would've done it already.

"You know, we very well might die here," Ash suddenly said, squeezing her hand. Dawn looked at him, wondering why said something like this in the middle of a battle. "I just ... there's something I've been waiting to ask you for a long time now. But I've never had the courage to actually do it. Most of the time, I told myself that it's not the right moment. And I can't say this time is different."

"When is it ever? Out with it." Dawn could feel that this was important, and she wanted to know it before something happened. The pokémon didn't need their instructions right now. This wasn't the time for great combinations, they only needed pure damage.

"I ... I'll get straight to the point, before I get distracted."He took a deep breath. "I know it may sound strange after our recent history, but our time apart only made me realize more that I want to spend the rest of my life together with you. So what about you? If we survive ... will you give me another chance? Will you marry me?"

Saying that she was shocked would be an understatement, as this caught her completely off-guard. At first it seemed like a strange thing to ask in the middle of this battle, but it might be his last chance to do so. It was a desperate act of a desperate man, yet Dawn felt a sincerity in his request that almost made her tear up. Having expected this at some point, she wasn't going to say no, despite the circumstances. Now she could only hope that they'd live to see it happen.

"I've always wondered when you'd ask, and I must admit that I'd have preferred other circumstances. True, the last few weeks haven't been pleasant, but it doesn't change the fact that I still love you." She smiled brightly at him. "When ... if we survive, I need some time before I can make a decision. But should our relationship become the way it used to be again, then I'll gladly become your wife. I promise you that. So don't die here -" She raised a finger. "- or I'll drag your soul back to our world."

"I insist," he replied, laughing. He wanted to lean in, but noticed that the Okcha Prime, having determined Latios as the main threat among their pokémon, was about to attack him. "Anyway, I really wanted you to know. No more time now, prepare for a big attack."

Their attention wasn't necessary, but they wanted to see everything to intervene when possible. The Okcha Prime shot a few shadow balls at Latios before vanishing. Giratina did the same, preparing to attack, and sure enough, there was a great opportunity. Latios was attacked when he dodged, but he used protect, and was only pushed against the ground from above. They both prepared dragon pulses, which met between them, causing a great explosion. This knocked out Latios, and dealt great damage to the Okcha Prime, who also had to face other enemies now. From one side, Giratina hit it with shadow force and shadow ball, and from the other, Espeon and Empoleon attacked it with a combination of ice beam and searing light for frozen orbs. However, the biggest surprise was Nathan's absol, who cut off two of its wings, and became invisible again for another surprise attack.

As the pokémon without a master, she was unpredictable, and she probably wasn't on anyone's side. Perhaps she'd turn on the rest once the Okcha Prime was defeated, or even earlier, so she couldn't be trusted. Espeon in particular had to watch out, or she'd get defeated by a sneak attack. The Okcha prime retreated for now with a new pair of wings bursting from its body.

"No! I won't be defeated by your kind!" The last fight had been a turning point in this battle. It was no longer in a position to focus on the offense, as its body was in a bad condition right now. "All the waiting, all the suffering, I can't let it all be for naught. I won't return to the darkness! No!"

There was an easy solution to this, though it was risky. If it worked, it would be able to retreat for now, and return with more strength to finish the job. Once it was started, there was no way of going back, so it hesitated at first. Soon it realized that it would never win otherwise, and began with the assault that could decide the entire battle. First, it tried to attack Espeon with shadow force, expecting the others to retaliate immediately. This worked perfectly, and soon Giratina crashed into it with its own shadow force. Now the Okcha Prime abandoned its body, leaving it as in form of a dark cloud. While the old body burst into green flames, it moved into Giratina to possess it.

Everyone watched this scene in shock, fearing that their strongest ally might be turned to the enemy's side. If this really happened, nothing would be able to stop it anymore. Giratina retreated, with its red eyes flashing green, but after a few seconds of struggling, it ejected black smoke from its body, banishing the Okcha Prime. The smoke gathered near the ground, forming a body that resembled a black scolipede. Even a weakened Giratina had proved to be way too strong for the Okcha Prime, and without a comparable body, it stood no chance against all the enemies.

"Damn you all. You'll pay for this, mark my words. This realm may be beyond my control, but the human world is still ripe for destruction. You'll hear from me soon." With those words, it moved into ground as if it was using shadow diver.

Everyone expected it to return to possess someone else, but after almost a whole minute of waiting, they relaxed a little. The pokémon walked to their trainers, tending to their wounds, while their trainers simply sank to their grounds. They sat there, back-to-back, catching their breath after this difficult fight. They were hesitant to call this a true victory, for the Okcha Prime was still out there, and its fury was greater than ever. This wasn't the last time they'd heard from it, that much was certain. For now, they simply needed a long rest.

"I bet you're looking forward to changing your clothes," Ash said with a weak grin.

"You can't imagine. There's so much I want right now. But everything's out of reach." She sighed, looking at the horizon. "Wait, what about Absol?"

"Leave it to me." Giratina sounded tired as well, though it tried to appear as strong and confident as possible. "Your help is no longer needed. I'll return you to your world."

As much as Dawn liked to hear this, she was worried about Giratina's well-being. Both the Okcha Prime and Absol were still nearby, and they could still cause terrible damage, so she'd expected it to force them to work for it until they were both defeated. Apparently, this wasn't the case, though. Slowly, she stood up, expecting an explanation, and Ash did the same.

"You needed my help against the weak crobat, but not against those two? That doesn't make sense," she told it.

"I thought you wanted to go home. What's wrong now?" She noticed a hint of amusement in its voice, something that she could understand all too well. After all she was also surprised about her reluctance.

"It's just ... our worlds have a strong connection. If something bad happens here, we'll feel it on the other side. And if they manage to overpower you, we'll be in big trouble." Much to her surprise, it started laughing, and spoke up again, more desperate than before. "What's so funny? I'm just worried about the situation ... and about you."

These words caught it off-guard, and the laughter stopped. It continued after a weird silence with a softer voice.

"There's no need to worry." Although it was strange to hear Giratina say something so close to Dawn's favorite phrase, they showed no reaction. "I admit, your help was valuable, and I might not have prevailed on my own. For that, you have my gratitude. Perhaps not all humans are that bad. But I can deal with the rest on my own. Absol will starve without my help, and that other thing wasn't able to control me when I was weak, so it won't be a match for me once I've regained my strength. Furthermore, it's alone, so it won't be able to cause damage in a large area like the swarms of crobat. Don't worry, I have everything under control."

Though Dawn still had her doubts, she accepted it. Ash was glad that she did, as he resented this world already, and wished to return home already.

"Very well. Just be careful, alright?" Her words made it laugh once again.

"Telling me to be careful in my own realm. I'll certainly miss your humor." Then it stopped, sounding completely serious again. "I wish you good luck in your future. Now stand together, so that I can send all of you back at once."

"What about him? And his pokémon?" Ash asked, pointing at Nathan's body.

"I'll do the same to them. Get someone to clean up the mess over there," it told them.

Giratina flew up higher, creating an orb that resembled a shadow in front of its head while waiting for the rest to gather. It was entirely possible that the Okcha Prime could prove impossible to permanently destroy if it kept running away like this, but it could also provide some entertainment by letting it engage in a nice hunt from time to time. In any case, the main threat was gone, and it was time to restore the natural order by returning humans and pokémon alike to their world. However, when everyone was ready, when the nightmare was finally about to end, it spotted a strange darkness beneath the group.

"Watch out!" it shouted in their heads, but it was too late.

A black, skeletal hand from the ground grabbed Dawn's ankle. Then it looked like it was pumping liquid through the arm into her body until the arm vanished entirely. Dawn's vision darkened, and she suddenly found herself in a world of utter darkness, unsure of what had occurred. It wasn't the unnatural chill that made Dawn feel uneasy, but the complete absence of sound. While she could only listen to her own breathing and heartbeat, she was looking around. There was nothing, only darkness, until she suddenly noticed an illuminated area with large, shiny objects, but without any apparent light source. Strangely enough, she firmly believed that she'd looked there before.

No matter how horrible the idea of approaching them seemed, she did it, mostly because there was nothing else she could do. The objects turned out to be mirrors, and she felt compelled to look at them. The first one had an ornate frame of gold, yet something about it felt wrong. Regardless of Dawn's true expression, her reflection always looked angry, though angry was an understatement. Her expression in the mirror was one of infernal rage, and there were even flames in the background. It was more than weird to see herself like this, so she turned away, and looked at the next mirror, a smaller one with a frame of grey rock. As before, her reflection mimicked her movement, but its expression was fundamentally different. At first she believed it looked bored, but there was far more to it. The look was hollow, there was neither passion nor hope in the eyes. If she had to dub it, she'd call it apathy.

The next one was even more disturbing, for its frame was made of intestines, with blood dripping from them, and even the background of the reflection looked like it was painted with blood. Her expression wasn't much different from what she saw in the mirror, one of utter disgust. Turning away quickly, she looked at the next mirror, which had a frame of bones. Unlike before, her entire appearance had changed, with her body looking like she was starving. There was a voracious look on the face, and when Dawn saw it, she got the feeling that her own reflection wanted to eat her.

Even though she hated looking at those mirrors, she kept doing it, feeling something that compelled her to do it. Most of them appeared to represent raw emotions or desires, some of them even positive. However, there was one of them having a greater impact than all the others. It looked beautiful at first with its ornate silver frame, adorned with many precious gems, and the smiling reflection. She had to look again to realize that something was off. There was no big issue, but a lot of small things that made her feel uneasy, like the smile, that looked fake, or the dull eyes. There was far more to this mirror, though Dawn decided not to look anymore, feeling that it had a strange influence on her. When she turned her back on it, she couldn't see that the back of her reflection was horribly disfigured with countless ugly scars all over the back. There was also a small, black creature with a long body and tiny, sharp teeth eating the flesh and drinking the blood, whispering things into her ear from time to time like her being worthless and nothing but a burden to everyone.

The final mirror was larger than the others, roughly the same size as Dawn, and had a simple, silver frame. Unlike the others, it showed a flawless reflection, making it the only actual mirror of the bunch, though Dawn had a bad feeling about it. She simply couldn't look away, as there was also something fascinating about it. Then there was suddenly a strange green glint in the eyes of her reflection, and it showed a malicious grin before several black hands shot out of the mirror, grabbing her. As much as she struggled, more and more hands kept appearing, dragging her into the mirror until she was on the other side, once again in the darkness. Although she got up quickly, she came to realize that it wasn't her own movement, but she was forced to move that way. Turning around, she came to face the same mirror, and the same reflection, only that it controlled her movement instead of the other way round. She was the reflection.

"Well? How does it feel to be someone's puppet?" She said those words by mimicking the movement of her reflection, which made this even more disturbing. "Let's find out how you like doing things you despise for those you hate. You should get used to it, but I'll also have a lot of games for you to play here, so don't worry about getting bored. Whether you'll enjoy them is another question. Don't think for even one second that after all the suffering, after all the waiting, I still know mercy."

A twisted laughter, that obviously didn't come from her, followed, and the reflection turned around, making Dawn do the same. Soon she was lost in the eternal darkness, unable to find her way back to the mirrors. The fact that this happened, right when she'd finally thought that everything was going to be alright was heartbreaking, and she had no idea what to do.

Ash and the pokémon didn't experience any of this, they only saw the Okcha Prime possessing her. He immediately wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from escaping, but she simply teleported somewhere else, looking down at them.

"No! Dawn, snap out of it! You must fight it!" Ash cried desperately. "You can't let it do this. Not now."

"You underestimate my power, human. And I have no intention of abandoning this body. Unlike yours, it doesn't have so much of this disgusting ... aura power in it. I prefer other qualities anyway. The lack of physical strength is regrettable, but ..." Her eyes narrowed, and she teleported next to Nathan's corpse right before Giratina hit her position with shadow force. "No, I won't make it that easy for you."

"What are you doing? You could've killed her!" Ash yelled at the renegade pokémon.

"I'm doing her a favor by not letting this abomination use her for its deeds. Do you want that to happen?" it asked, preparing the next attack.

"We can save her. I've already freed myself from its control once," Ash told it, making it suddenly hesitate. "We'll have to hurt her, but I won't allow you or anyone to kill her."

The Okcha Prime ignored their argument, gathering a few things it needed for its revenge instead. First, it took the ring from Nathan's finger for future use. It was a little big for Dawn's more delicate fingers, but that was no problem. It also used psychic powers to pull the gem from Ash's rifle into her hands. Together with the light and darkness gems from Eileen and Wraith, it had quite the arsenal of weapons at its disposal.

"You can say a lot about this Nathan fellow, but he knows about quality," it muttered, gazing at the gem of light. "Such marvelous power. Those little tricks used by his slaves, they're nothing compared to what I can do with this." It addressed Ash directly. "A shame you had to destroy that other gem. I can only imagine its potential. But it's fine. Those are sufficient for ..."

It stopped when it noticed something behind it. Dawn's aura capabilities might not be as great as Ash's, but it was more than enough to spot the danger. With a quick step to the right, it avoided the attacker, Absol . She'd aimed for the back with enough power to slice Dawn in half, but she only got her left arm. Ash and the pokémon were deeply shocked by the arm falling to the ground, but the Okcha Prime showed a different reaction. Using the gem of darkness, it created a vortex in the right hand. It pulled Absol towards it, catching her right when she turned invisible. Razor-sharp extensions made of black crystal grew on Dawn's nails, and she closed her hand, digging them deep into Absol's flesh. The extensions shattered inside, causing terrible internal injuries, and she was dropped, only to be kicked away. She became visible again, revealing that most of the nails had dug into her neck, which guaranteed that the wounds were fatal, yet it wasn't enough for the Okcha Prime. Pointing at her with one finger, she shot a beam of light through her head, killing her instantly.

"Useless creature," it said with contempt clear in the voice. The others could only stare at the terrible wound and the blood flowing down the side. It noticed their looks, and finally reacted. "Oh, that? Nothing that can't be fixed."

However, then it noticed that Giratina was gone. Expecting an attack, it got ready for anything, but it wasn't Giratina's target. Instead, the ghost-type aimed for the severed arm, which still held Nathan's ring. It was obviously of great importance to both him and the Okcha Prime, so it was better to get rid of the thing as soon as possible, but the Okcha Prime quickly pulled the ring with psychic and teleported away before Giratina could do anything else. In the end, it only managed to crush the arm, leaving only a bloody stain on the ground.

The Okcha Prime reappeared on the hill, making the gem of light glow brightly. Everyone expected another attack, but it was a healing move. Strings of light shot out of the wound, growing longer and thicker. At first they looked like glowing tentacles, but they soon merged, taking the shape of an arm, and once the glowing was gone, a fresh arm could be seen. It was flawless, a full regeneration, yet the Okcha Prime looked tired now. This amazing ability had cost a lot of energy, more than the gem contained at the moment. Even so, it should've had more than enough power for this, so it was confused. It took a moment to realize that traveling to this new world had also destroyed its connection to its home, so a new connection was necessary. As such, it had yet to grow strong, and the Okcha Prime had far less power at its disposal to fuel the abilities. Victory was impossible in this state, which was why it chose to flee for now.

First it discarded all the items it deemed useless like pokéballs to minimize the transportation cost, then it made the gem from Ash's rifle glow, and without another word, it created a portal to the real world. Ash immediately rushed there, but it closed before he could use it. Angrily, he punched the ground with his fist.

"Damn it! Not now!" he shouted furiously before turning towards Giratina. "Giratina, please take us back . Everyone, collect Dawn's items, then gather around me."

His tone was commanding and desperate, so that Giratina would've killed him on the spot if it hadn't been for the extreme circumstances. While the other pokémon were busy picking up all the stuff, it prepared the portal that would send all of them back, and Ash picked up Eileen to make sure that she'd return with them. Her pokémon trusted him enough to let him recall them, as he'd protected their master before, and it wasn't like they'd stand a chance anyway. As soon as they were ready, it had a few last words for them.

"Hold still. And if you find that creature, give it a good beating." Ash replied by nodding, and allowed it shoot something that resembled a huge shadow ball at him.

He couldn't say that he'd enjoyed the time in the Reverse World, mostly because it only consisted of one big fight, so he was would be glad to return if it wasn't for his new mission. Dawn simply missing was one matter, but it was a completely different matter when she was possessed by an evil creature that could do unspeakable, vile acts with her body. The mere thought made him sick. With closed eyes, he let the huge dark orb engulf him, and take him back to his home world. It was the same sensation as on the first journey, but he didn't care right now.

They found themselves in an area with many trees and mountains nearby, probably north of Lavender Town. It was good to feel the wind and the sun on the skin after having spent so much time in the Reverse World, or at least it seemed like an eternity right now. It felt so peaceful here, yet they all knew that a monster was on the loose.

"I can't sense her aura," Lucario told them immediately.

Only Ash, Empoleon, Lucario, Carbink, and Espeon were left. Sometimes he wished that his teams wouldn't have so much attack power, as it usually resulted in them getting targeted first. However, he didn't blame them, he blamed himself.

"Damn it! Why? After everything ... damn that bastard!" He had a fit of rage, kicking and punching the trees, unable to calm down. "We were so close ... and then that ... bullshit. I should've ... done something."

He let out an agonized scream, which made the pokémon shudder. Empoleon wasn't in a much better condition, shooting ice beams into the air. The rest was busy trying to calm them down, albeit without much success.

"There's nothing you could've done. Not even my aura bubble was able to stop it. And this rage certainly won't help her." Lucario's words had an effect, as Ash halted, keeping perfectly still. "You know what Dawn did when the same happened to you. You can't deny her the same."

"You're right." There was no more rage in his voice, only exhaustion. "You're damn right. I can't let her down now. For all I know, she might be in Unova already, but I'll be damned if I give up like that." He turned around looking much more confident again. "I won't stop until I found her. I owe her that much."

"We'll retreat for now to start our own search, but we'll inform you immediately when we find something. You should do the same, this is no foe to be taken lightly," Mesprit told them before it teleported somewhere else along with Azelf. Although their help in this battle had been subtle, it had been vital, for one confuse ray by the crobat could've turned the tides of battle, yet they not only destroyed all of them, but they didn't let any attack get through.

The pokémon cheered with the exception of Empoleon, who needed more time to deal with this new situation. No matter how much the others tried to encourage him, he was unable to cheer up, but nobody blamed him. They all returned to the lab for now, where they could plan their next steps, inform the pokémon, and tell Delia and Johanna about the events. The latter part was particularly unpleasant, but Ash felt that they deserved to know what was going on here. Marcus also needed to know about Eileen's survival, and perhaps he'd even help Ash with finding Dawn. As long as she was alive, there was still hope.

* * *

 **I plan to finish it next week. There are only two chapters and the epilogue left, though the last chapter is longer than usual.**


	100. Final Preparations

**The final battle is drawing near. This time there will be no escape. It's either victory of death for both sides.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 100 Final Preparations

"Keris!"

It was Dawn's voice, and it could be heard within the head of every human, every pokémon, and every Okcha in the entire region. It was forceful and demanding, so unlike Dawn's usual tone. Ash was among those who heard it, and even though he didn't know what the word meant, he had a feeling that he'd heard it before at some point. Unfortunately, he couldn't recall the circumstances, and it drove him mad. Johanna hadn't taken the news well, and hearing Dawn like this wasn't going to lighten her mood. Ash had let every pokémon from his team except for Pikachu and Lucario at the lab, planning to search for Dawn in three groups. Two of them were lead by a lucario each, and the last one was his. Although his abilities weren't as well-developed, he believed that going with a Lucario would be a waste of his skills. Large flying-types carried them through the air to cover large areas in a short time, with Charizard serving as Ash's mount.

News from this world were also disturbing. Nathan's sudden absence had freed his slaves from his influence, causing them to go completely berserk. Their old cages only served to contain them for a short time before they broke free, destroying everything in their path. Most of those cages were located near large cities, which immediately drew them in. They couldn't resist the temptation of wreaking havoc there, and they descended upon their unsuspecting victims. The police and the trainers present were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of invading creatures. The Okcha that managed to get past the remaining defenders were free to do whatever they wanted, and they used the chance to cause terrible damage. Those with the bodies of gengar or crobat hunted humans, whereas those with talonflame form burned down the buildings. The previous attacks couldn't compare to this one, as even the large guns deployed by the international police against them were quickly destroyed, mostly because they lacked the manpower to use them properly with so many officers occupied somewhere else.

Countless people died in the hunt or the fires, and more were sure to follow, for there were still many Okcha left. At least Pallet Town had been too insignificant for the rampaging hordes. In addition, the lab could provide many defenders. One of the biggest mysteries was the slow reaction of the military and the international police, since nobody knew about their secret operation, or Max's critical condition. Thomas had taken control for now, though he needed time to reorganize his forces, which resulted in a slow reaction. When they finally showed presence, there was another order from Dawn, once again directly in their heads.

"Kelan!"

All of sudden, they started retreating. Their speed and the abilities of the gengar made chasing them difficult, even for Ash. Many escaped, and they seemed to hide now, as they weren't seen outside of cities either. Viridian City in particular was devastated. As it turned out, the Okcha in the other cities had left earlier, right after the first command, rushing towards Viridian City. It was only after the second command that the others went into hiding. The Okcha Prime had led the attack on a building belonging to the international police, obtaining an important item in the process. Of course, nobody got to know about this, as from their point of view, it was merely another attack. Ash defeat a few stragglers before looking for Marcus in his apartment, though he suspected that his friend was with the international police right now. Whatever the case, he wasn't here, and Ash didn't have the time to look for him as well. Eileen being relatively safe in Pallet Town had to be enough right now. Once Ash was sure that Marcus wasn't nearby, he left the city again to begin the actual search. There was no way he'd go anywhere near an officer of the international police to get information, or he'd probably be dragged to a nearby station for questioning. His faith in the organization was already completely ruined.

The search itself wasn't successful, but that was to be expected, given how large the region was. Even if they actually managed to find her, the Okcha Prime could easily teleport somewhere else, which rendered his efforts almost useless, yet he refused to give up. It was also a matter of honor, and besides, he couldn't think of any better way to help Dawn. The more urgent question was where to stay during the night. Since Dawn knew every location he could imagine, so did the Okcha Prime, and there was no place where he was truly safe. Therefore he might as well stay in Pallet Town with the others. After all he had no idea whether the Okcha Prime would alter its plan because of its grudge against him, or ignore him as long as he didn't get directly in its way. At least the lab in Pallet Town allowed him access to all of his pokémon, making it the most defensible place he could imagine.

When he returned late in the evening, the other groups were already there, obviously without good news. Especially Empoleon was disappointed when he reported his own lack of news regarding this matter, which made Ash wonder what the water-type actually expected from him. Ash even went so far as to ask Cresselia whether she could merge their dreams again, and she agreed, though she also warned him that the Okcha Prime might have an effect on this. A few pokémon had to be awake at any time to prevent unwanted surprises.

Strangely enough, Cresselia actually managed to merge their dreams again, though it didn't work as expected. Ash found himself in a plane of pure darkness, unable to find or see anything. The longer he stayed there, the more he was overwhelmed by a feeling of hopelessness and loneliness, turning this experience into little more than a nightmare. Since he didn't see a single trace of Dawn, the whole trip was a waste. If anything, this experience only made him worry even more, though it also strengthened his determination.

* * *

Somewhere in Hoenn, on one of the countless little islands in the east, the Okcha Prime had chosen its resting place for this night. The physical limits of Dawn's body had been reached during the last few hours, when it had attacked a building of the international police. The officer it had possessed in Nathan's base had given it the information about the silver ring that once had belonged to Victoria. In order to prevent them from moving it, the Okcha Prime had launched the attack right away, and much to its surprise, Boris's ring had also been there, having been taken there not even an hour ago. Now both were in its possession. Naturally, it didn't know about Seth's and Wraith's, so it still hoped to find those two at some point, thought it did know that Shira's and Eileen's rings were destroyed. Unlike Nathan, it didn't intend to use its rings by handing them to trusted subordinates, but to destroy them for good. Once it was done, it had the only remaining ring to control the Okcha.

"This is for my brethren," it said, tossing the rings into the air, and slashing them with a psycho cutlass, as it had come to call the blades created by psycho cut. In its mind, it was their savior, their chosen, their messiah.

Its new body made up for its lack of aura powers with a higher psychic potential, similar to Victoria's, only better. While the powers were equally strong, it hated aura due to bad memories, so this was a most welcome change. Now that it was back in this world, it needed to wait for the connection to its home to reach its full potential, as its plan required it to be at full strength. While it was true that the gem containing Giratina's essence was attuned to the Reverse World, allowing it to open a portal, it could also be attuned to other worlds, other dimensions. Nathan had used several of those to create a temporary gateway between the Okcha World and this one to minimize the energy needed to summon them. A real, permanent portal had never been in his interest, as he could've never gained control of every single Okcha getting through there, but the Okcha Prime was different. It was part of them, so it could as many as it liked. In theory, it didn't even need the ring, though it kept it for now to coordinate the attacks better and keep the Okcha from going berserk.

They were hiding right now, ready to strike as soon as it gave the order. The location of the final battle was going to be Viridian City, both because it was mostly destroyed by now, and because it was relatively at the center of Kanto and Johto, so that the Okcha could reach it quickly. Until then the Okcha Prime had to practice, gather power, and attune the gem to ensure a flawless and fast procedure. The situation reminded it of the last it had been in this world.

 _The last final battle didn't go well. The aura guardians outnumbered me, and I was tired of running. Oh, I wish I could've punished them, but erasing their pathetic order is good enough. For now._ It looked at the gems, playing with them. _I'm better prepared this time. Those beauties will help me a great deal._

Apart from the new weapons, it had two tremendous advantages. Unlike last time, it wasn't alone, commanding a small army of Okcha. Therefore it was no longer outnumbered, and could even send small groups as a distraction. Secondly, there were only few aura guardians left. Although it had other enemies, it didn't fear them as much, and the fight against the aura guardians was personal. Merely thinking about them made it furious, but there were two things that gave it comfort. The first one was the prospect of finally getting its revenge on all humans, and the other one was its song. When it came to mind, the Okcha Prime leaned back on the stony ground, starting to sing.

Tir vina sear sin a naii, no leneo sin a shrea.  
Sin inhiaa sevvahri, uddou maarasi a seeh.

Sihin aler se cara viio, sihin avirr set kreash,  
Kilin sin ilar ahal tir nie, tir peday cal aas de.

Nive ka verena si? Sin kar ne daar abe. Telehaa abylass mare.  
Feadehe sin rudos adura? Tei xan se hen, sin okcha.

Sid keehl, tir xan a hel! Keris vi sid xeris, talid sin va se dar.  
Kun desa iri kun se hesarina devi isia marus dilahr.

Sin kar tedis, sin kar peday, sin kar astu, sin wilao ascro.  
Sin kar ne lis. Ulara pocre sin mara, senna tir xen.

It was hard to understand anything with the waves around the island making a lot of noise, but this song wasn't for the others. Of all the things it had learned and experienced in this strange world, it considered art, music, and poetry the only positive aspects. This particular song had been some kind of nursery rhyme it had attained when it had possessed a common woman. After the end of Abylassagon, it changed the lyrics to fit its new situation, and even now, after so much time, the song always had a soothing effect on it. It had been particularly useful in the home world to drown out the whispers of the rest, though the others never seemed to appreciate music in the slightest.

 _I was always different from them. Well, not always, but ever since I absorbed that accursed energy source. I wonder what would've happened if I hadn't done it? I don't think I'd do it again, now that I know the consequences. If those bastards would've listened for only one minute ..._ It lifted a nearby rock, pulverizing it with psychic powers. _Damn them all! All humans will pay for their foolishness, I'll make sure of that._

Mankind couldn't be allowed to use the Okcha ever again, and since there was no way to guarantee that they wouldn't simply forge new rings, destroying their tools was only a temporary solution. They had to die, all of them, and if pokémon were foolish enough to get in the way, they'd suffer the same fate. Perhaps it was better to eradicate them as well to prevent any sort of retribution. Three days, that's how much time the Okcha Prime needed for the connection. It should also be ready to create the portal by then, the ultimate tool for its revenge. Now it only needed a little more patience, which wasn't much for a creature who'd been waiting for ages already. Now that it was so close, it surely wouldn't let impatience ruin this chance it had gotten.

* * *

It was already past midnight when Marcus and Serena were finally allowed to get some rest. They were still oblivious to the new attacks on the city, Ash's and Eileen's fate, and the raid in Viridian City, as the officers had told them little during the interrogations. At least they'd told them about Boris, who was still unresponsive to his environment in any way. Breathing seemed like the only action he could do on his own, for the rest he needed help, even for eating and drinking. Strangely enough, there were no severe injuries that could cause this strange state of mind, turning this into quite a mystery. Marcus himself didn't care. The important part for him was the claim that Boris was unlikely to ever recover, something he considered a suitable punishment for all the vile crimes.

Right now his only concern was Eileen's fate, but no matter how often he asked, he wouldn't get any information on anything but Boris's fate, which drove him mad with worry. However, denying the information wasn't out of spite, but the officers simply didn't know anything about her. Ash had been sighted in Pallet Town, and it was possible that she was with them, but they didn't bother checking right now. Unlike Max, Thomas was willing to let Ash help him, and there was so much else to do that he couldn't waste a single man to spy on him.

Soon Nathan's corpse with his entire team was found near Lavender Town in the middle of nowhere. His pokémon were healed for interrogation, but they all refused to cooperate, showing a surprising amount of loyalty for their dead master even now. Thomas thought about contacting Ash directly to gain the information he needed, but Ash was faster this time. For Dawn's sake, he sent Espeon to explain the situation, and hopefully get some help, despite his distrust. While Thomas couldn't divert any forces to this cause, he promised to inform Ash should he have any news on Dawn's situation. The information carried by Espeon were indeed grim. Especially the fact that the Okcha Prime possessed several power gems was disheartening, given the fate of Nathan's base after the gem of chaos was scratched. They could only imagine the destruction caused by three of them, used by the Okcha Prime. The ordinary Okcha were already trouble enough, but at least they were gone for now, which gave Thomas time to prepare for the next assaults.

Apart from the Okcha, there was also two other major problems. One of them was the stream of fugitives from the attacked cities, searching for a safe place to stay. Pallet Town, having been spared so far, was considered one of those, and was swarmed by people from Viridian City. The town couldn't handle all of them, and other places were no different. The fugitives didn't even flee from the Okcha, but from the gangs that were trying to take advantage of the chaos, running rampant in the inner cities. The police didn't have the manpower to stop them, preferring to abandon the overrun parts instead and contain the threat. Until the Okcha were defeated, they couldn't afford to lose more men against the criminals. Help from the other region was already on the way, though it would take some time until the bulk arrived. Until then, Thomas could only prevent the chaos from spreading any further. With gritted teeth, Thomas admitted that Nathan would laugh if he could see the world like this.

Ash was woken up early by a call from a pokémon center. Much to his surprise, he saw May on the screen, and she looked awful. Her hair was a mess, there was dried blood on her forehead, and her eyes looked tired.

"Ash, it's about time you answered! We were so worried. Was Pallet Town attacked as well?"she asked with worry clear in her voice.

"May? What happened to you? What's with the blood?" Her expression became gloomy, as if she was remembering something horrifying. "Everything alright?"

"Alright? Alright? If only it were so." She gave a heavy sigh. "I was in Vermillion City with Drew, when it happened. It was like a ... wave of darkness washing over the city, devouring everything in its way. People gathered around us trainers, but not all of us were ready for this kind of fight. Many died, some of them right next to me, but we managed to hold out until they retreated. We've been tending to the wounded ever since."

Ash had already seen the chaos and destruction in Viridian City, though hearing it from someone else, especially a close friend, made it sound much more dramatic, and it also made him feel slightly guilty. After all he'd done nothing to help the people in need, using his time to look for Dawn instead.

"Is it really looking that bad over there?" he asked. "I saw a lot of people from Viridian City fleeing here, but there wasn't an attack on Pallet Town. Last time I checked, the creatures were gone."

"They're gone for now, but who says they won't return? We killed many of them, but there seemed to be no end. The worst part is that they aren't the ones causing trouble right now." Her voice became extremely sad. "There are people who refuse to help. Not only that, but they also fight us, trying to profit from this whole mess. Those bastards will stop at nothing. They're worse than those monster that attacked us in the first place, and their deeds made me sick."

Ash felt disgust just hearing this. People attacking those that tried to help the wounded, it was plain wrong. At least May seemed to have pulled through somehow. He would've like to go there and comfort his friends, but he knew that Drew was also still there, or at least he hoped so.

"Is Drew alright?" he asked just to be sure.

"He's sleeping. Even I was surprised how much energy he put into this, and frankly, he deserves this rest more than anyone else here." She looked to the side where he was sleeping with a loving expression. Their relationship appeared to have healed. "I'm staying awake for a little longer to drive attackers off. We're lucky there's only one entrance we need to watch, and even more lucky that there's still electricity. I can imagine it's different in other cities." She looked like she was finished, but then she spoke up again, sounding more excited. "You'll never guess who's with us. During the initial assault, Miranda came running to us in panic, chased by several of those fiends. Turns out she'd been stalking me ever since the Wallace Cup. But we protected her, and believe it or not, she's overflowing with gratitude. It's amazing how quickly people can change, though it remains to be seen how long it lasts. Right now she's helping the people as well."

"Interesting." Ash had trouble imagining Miranda like this, but he took her word for it. "I'm afraid I don't have good news either. Dawn is alive, but missing, and I don't know where to look. At least Eileen's here, but I can't find Marcus now."

"That sounds like a real mess ..." May sighed, looking to the side. "I'd love to hear more, but there are others who wish to use the videophone, so I better hang up now. I hope everything works out. Good luck and bye."

"See you," Ash replied, ending the call.

It was good that the conversation was over, for he had to think about a lot of things. It looked like the police couldn't control the situation, and as the champion, he had responsibilities. Surely people wouldn't take kindly to him wasting time on a search that was doomed to fail from the start, and Ash himself felt guilty for not having helped the people of Viridian City. Dawn had kept looking for him back then, but the situation had been different. There'd been neither rampaging Okcha nor half-destroyed cities with criminals and plunderers taking control.

For now, he decided to go back to sleep, as he wouldn't be of much use to anyone in his current condition. However. actually falling asleep again proved to be extremely difficult after all the information he'd gained, resulting in little rest until it was time to get up. At least this gave him enough time to reflect on the situation. He came to realize that he couldn't let all the people down, not even now. On the other hand he couldn't abandon the search entirely, so he decided to send a few pokémon whereas he wanted to restore some order in Viridian City. As much as it felt like he was betraying Dawn, he kept justifying his actions in his head.

The day started rainy, which was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand it would put out the remaining fires for sure, but on the other hand, the cold rain combined with the chilly wind would make the situation all the more unpleasant for those who'd lost their home. Ash first went to the lab, where many fugitives had gathered, and allowed them to stay at his house. Then he instructed the pokémon he'd chosen for the search, and went to Viridian City. Countless fugitives could already been seen on the way, braving the harsh weather in search for a little peace and safety. There were still many left in the city, as not all of them were able to leave. Some people were trapped in partially destroyed buildings, but nobody could help them because of plunderers and gangs attacking and robbing everyone getting too close, even policemen, firefighters, and medics. Those ruthless bastards had to be removed, but the police obviously wasn't capable of this at the moment.

Although they weren't difficult to defeat with a bit of preparation and caution, Ash didn't wish to waste more time than necessary with the task. Some people were still trapped and likely to die without help. Fortunately, his aura powers were strong enough to feel their presence through the rubble, so he didn't need to waste time checking every single building. Clearing the rubble took longer than he liked, but he couldn't simply blast it, or he might injure those behind it. Then he had to lead them to safety, or they'd get robbed or even killed by the raiders. It was good to see that he could make a real change, and the gratitude from the saved people was overwhelming.

The process was time-consuming, and Ash was sure that he couldn't save everyone in need, as he also had his limits, and the further he advanced into the inner city, the more resistance he encountered. The scum refused to even listen to him, let alone lend a hand, fleeing or attacking outright. Ash had heard the saying that great disasters brought out the best and the worst of mankind, and now he believed he understood. Another group had brought warm food for the refugees in hastily built camps near the main escape route, and they were giving it away freely. Only protected by a few armed volunteers, they risked their lives, as they were attractive targets for the more ruthless criminals, and their actions gave Ash hope.

As expected, the pokémon didn't have any good news. There was no trace of Dawn whatsoever, but they could tell a lot about the state of the cities. With the police spread thin, the situation was almost as bad as in Viridian City. Much to Ash's surprise, Marcus and Serena appeared in the evening with more information about the battle at Nathan's base, Boris's fate, and Thomas's efforts. Ash told them about Eileen, the fight in the Reverse World, and Dawn's disappearance in return. The reunion was heartwarming, though Eileen wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as expected. Perhaps she still felt guilty, or perhaps the time as Nathan's underling had left scars that needed more time to heal. Maybe she was still mourning for her fallen pokemon. At least Marcus was overjoyed, yet the reunion put him in a dilemma. She was a wanted criminal, and despite being a child, she couldn't get away with this. Marcus decided to hide her at least until the trouble was over, but he also fully aware of the fact that he couldn't do this forever. They stayed in Pallet Town, believing themselves to be safer there than anywhere else, especially Viridian City.

The news from there got slowly better, as with most people gone, the gangs started fighting each other instead, leaving the streets red with their blood. It was when they tried to expand to the outskirts that the problems started, though the guards always managed to drive them off quickly. Ash's work was a little less dangerous with Marcus and Serena watching his back, and together, they saved more people from the rubble or the raiders.

On the next day, supplies from the other regions finally arrived in large amounts, and they were prime targets for the raiders, but the camps were so well-protected by now that they didn't stand a chance. Realizing this was the end, most of them turned on each other to get a bit more out of it and then fled. With most of them gone, the city was much safer again, but nobody dared go there without a good reason yet. Most of the buildings had been plundered thoroughly, so there was no reason to go back there anyway.

Ash, Marcus, and Serena successfully gathered information on the fate of some of their friends. Brock had been at the gym, which had been defended from the Okcha, though it had still suffered some damage. The Indigo Plateau, where Misty had trainer at that time, had been hit less hard than other locations. Zoey on the other hand had been caught off-guard by a whole horde of Okcha. Although she'd managed to escape with the help of her pokémon, they hadn't been able to protect her from all the damage. At least she wasn't fatally wounded, and would soon recover.

This time, his pokémon actually had felt Dawn's presence somewhere in Hoenn, but she'd teleported somewhere else before they could've done anything. Ash could only admit that the whole plan had been doomed to fail from the start.

Little did he know, he didn't need to look for her anymore. His enemy had chosen the next day for its plan.

* * *

In the morning, the Okcha Prime appeared in Dawn's body on the roof a large building in Viridian City. It was still cold and cloudy, but there was no rain, which was probably good for the Okcha with the bodies of talonflame. The city itself lied in ruins. Everything valuable had been scavenged by now, so the city core was almost completely deserted, which was perfect for its plans. First the Okcha Prime tried to get a good view to determine the right spot for its ritual, and it soon found a decent place on the rubble that used to be a large bank. It teleported to the location, but before it started, it had to make sure that everything was in order.

The connection to its home world was at maximum strength, and its own energy reserves were full. In addition, it had decided to overcharge the energy source, albeit only if absolutely necessary. The potential consequences were still unknown, but it was determined to win, no matter the cost. After all this might be its very last chance to win, and it wanted to seize it. The three gems were also ready, circling Dawn's right hand to make them difficult to hit. Everything was ready, it only needed to make the call.

"Keris!" It spoke to everyone in a huge radius, though only the Okcha could understand. The ring turned it into a command that they couldn't deny, compelling them to come.

They did, all of them. It was an entire, albeit scattered army, that was now moving towards Viridian City. Many had already been near the city, so the Okcha Prime soon wasn't alone, surrounded by countless Okcha with the bodies of gengar, crobat, and talonflame. The gengar formed a large, protective dome of darkness around the Okcha Prime with their bodies, covering the entire city center. The others kept flying around their master, ready to defend it from any danger. Those that arrived after that either strengthened the dome, or remained outside to kill anyone getting too close. The dome grew with every gengar, engulfing a whole part of the city, and nobody could see inside.

"Not much longer ..." the Okcha Prime muttered, rising into the air.

Extending an arm, it created a small, shadowy mirror in front of itself. It grew quickly, turning into a real portal, though making it actually work would take a little more time. The Okcha Prime was close to its goal, closer than ever before. The dome would undoubtedly attract a lot of attention, though that wasn't entirely unwanted. Once the portal was ready, it could deal with all of them at once.

* * *

 **If anyone wonders where that song comes from, it was inspired by NieR - Shadowlord by Square-Enix. The lyrics were made to fit the melody. They also have a translation, which will be presented in the next chapter.**


	101. Messiah

**And finally the last regular chapter. This has cost a lot of energy and I'm tired. I hope it'll make a worthy end to this story, though endings are always difficult.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 101 Messiah

The dome could already be seen from outside the city, though most people preferred to flee. Halldur, the aura guardian, wasn't one of them. Having followed a group of Okcha with Medicham for some time, he was determined to confront the culprit, despite the danger involved. It was entirely possible that he had to fight his way through the whole horde of Okcha, but there was no other choice for him. The streets were empty, having been abandoned entirely after the dome's appearance, so at least there was nothing slowing him down. The closer he got, the louder the shrieks from the talonflame became. Strangely enough, they didn't attack him, like they would do to others, but simply ignored him. Moreover, a hole appeared in the dome, inviting him in. Entering was obviously a bad idea, as he'd be surrounded and trapped in there, but he never intended to defeat the Okcha Prime. According to the legends, it took many aura guardians to take down the Okcha Prime when it'd been alone, so he didn't really stood a chance on his own when it had an army. The only reason he did this was his intention to buy time. The dome couldn't go unnoticed, and help was bound to arrive eventually. However, he didn't expect them to arrive in time, and he had a horrible feeling that if given enough time, the Okcha Prime would unleash something horrible.

When he stepped inside, he saw even more talonflame and crobat flying around something humanoid. Surrounded by a blue glow, Dawn was floating in the air, looking she was drawing with her fingers on a black portal. Having felt her aura before, he could tell that it was altered this time, a clear sign of possession. It was either too busy, ignored him on purpose, or wasn't aware of his presence. Since he doubted the latter, he decided to distract it from its task.

"Hey, I'm here. You didn't let me in just to ignore me, did you?" he shouted.

"Welcome, Halldur," it turned around, offering a bright smile. "You want me to let my friends tear you to pieces instead?"

"I just want to talk for now," he replied with a grim look.

"Talk? You want to talk? How ironic." It laughed in a way that sent shivers down Halldur's spine. Although he was tough, he wasn't prepared for this kind of creepy laugh. "I guess I need to explain. After all your predecessors probably didn't bother telling the truth. I'm sure they told you that they simply hunted me down and destroyed me after I had wreaked unfathomable havoc on the world, right? Now let me tell you the truth. While it was true that they banished me, it didn't happen after a long hunt. I revealed myself to them in search for help." Its voice was getting more spiteful and aggravated. "I tried to communicate. I tried to talk to them. Did they listen? No! They regarded me as an abomination, a monster that had to be eradicated. Maybe they could've helped me back then, maybe not. The important thing is that they didn't even try. And for that alone, I will hate them forever."

Halldur couldn't detect any lie, so he had to assume that it was true. However, he didn't blame them for not negotiating with something as cruel and untrustworthy as the Okcha Prime. It was only sensible not to let it influence him with his words, and if it wasn't for the special situation, he wouldn't waste a single word on it.

"I know what you're thinking. I'm a monster, but don't forget that you humans created me. You brought this upon yourself." This wasn't a lie either. The Abylassagonarians had caused this in their mad lust for power, and now mankind paid the price for their foolishness. "You can't imagine how much fun I had manipulating Team Plasma into hunting your friends. Humans are so malleable. Two guardians, that's all that is left of your pathetic, little order, and once you're dead, I'll find your friend as well. I look forward to hearing her screams."

Its words did little to impress Halldur. Having heard this kind of threat before, he remained surprisingly confident, despite the army around him.

"You really think killing all of us will solve your little problem?" He looked at Medicham, and the two laughed heartily. "Is that thing serious? This only shows your ignorance. Aura guardians don't need a teacher. A partner suffices. No matter how many you kill, others will discover their power, and rise as new guardians, rediscovering our secrets."

"I see." It still showed a smile, looking unimpressed. "How about erasing mankind then? I guess that would stop the flow of reinforcements. But look at me, conversing with the enemy when there's still so much to do ..."

It extended an arm, creating numerous shards of black crystal, which were shot at Halldur and Medicham. The Okcha wanted to kill them personally, so it didn't use its army in this fight. The shards hit the ground, exploding on impact and creating a large smoke cloud at the position. While it was waiting for them to show themselves, it created a spear of black crystal to use in the fight. When Medicham teleported behind it, it blocked a focus punch with its new weapon, but the following thrusts were dodged in midair. Like the Okcha Prime, Medicham could use its psychic powers to stay in the air for a while, and used this to distract it. A sudden aura sphere from the smoke cloud forced it to stop attacking, and block the attack with the spear. It almost got hit by Medicham, blocking this attack with the fist. A powerful psychic move made the fighting-type crash, and the Okcha Prime summoned a black prison consisting of large claws to contain Halldur for now.

It shot down, slamming its spear into the ground, where Medicham had been only a moment ago. The pokémon had to hold out until its partner was free again, so while he was trying to break the prison from inside, it fought defensively. The Okcha Prime used the spear either as a piercing weapon at range or as a quarterstaff up close, but it couldn't make a decent hit against the agile opponent. Growing frustrated, it soon started to channel an attack through the prison, which now caused Halldur considerable pain. His partner felt it as well, and it tried to help him as expected. Channeling the power of light, the Okcha Prime shot concentrated beam at the fighting-type, but since it didn't have time to aim properly, it only hit the shoulder. As it turned around, it only saw a flash of light before the Okcha Prime was right there, impaling it with the spear. The pain was terrible, and it could immediately feel its strength leaving, which was another effect of the spear.

Medicham was lifted into the air before slammed into the ground along with the spear with such force that it died, then the Okcha Prime created a new spear for Halldur, who was still busy breaking out of the prison. His partner's death didn't go unnoticed, making him punch the crystals from inside with such relentless force that they broke seconds later. Upon seeing Medicham's body on the ground with a spear through the chest, he became extremely angry. Now he attacked the Okcha Prime without hesitation or caution in a fit of rage in an attempt to hurt it as much as possible. It looked surprised by the sudden outburst, and failed to counter the attacks at first, which resulted in a powerful punch to the face. Now it was the furious Okcha Prime who reacted by unleashing whirling attacks the aura guardian. Since the spear gave it a great advantage over the unarmed Halldur, he could only fight back the beginning before several cuts made his movement slow. A brutal swing from the side broke his left arm, one of the following swings did the same to the right arm, rendering them dysfunctional. Realizing this was the end, he sank to his knees, and the Okcha Prime walked around him, cutting his ankles with one swift slash. Now he couldn't even run away, but it didn't look like his enemy wanted end it immediately.

"Not yet. You have to suffer a little longer than your worthless creature." It kneeled next to him, draining his strength by grabbing his face. Its voice was soft, almost tender. "Do you think you know pain? Trust me, you don't. Even if I teach you everything I can, it'll still be nothing compared to what I've experienced myself. But I'll do my best to convey as much as possible. First, I have to greet a visitor, though."

Azelf and Mesprit had been among the first to notice the large dome and they'd immediately informed Ash. Of course he wanted to investigate as soon as possible. However, before he actually did it, he returned to the lab to adjust his team. Since the Okcha consisted of gengar, crobat, and talonflame, rock-, electric-, and psychic-types were effective, whereas ground-, bug-, and grass-types had to be avoided. Therefore he chose Pikachu, Magnezone, Gallade, Latios, Gigalith, and Reuniclus. A group of Dawn's pokémon was also part of his force. Carbink was particularly important, as its weapon allowed it to hurt the Okcha Prime without hurting Dawn, but actually healing her body. The other pokémon were Empoleon, Togekiss, Lucario, Galvantula, and Froslass for the icy mirror. Once this was done, they went somewhere close to the dome, albeit not close enough for the Okcha to attack them. All of the pokémon were outside of their pokéballs, so it was a large group.

Latios, who was already in his mega form, could bombard them with his missile storm without having to fear retaliation. Unleashing a powerful barrage, he took out countless talonflame and crobat, who then retreated into the dome through holes that the gengar created for them. The dome itself proved impervious to the attack, absorbing every single projectile. However, there was no sign of any counterattack yet, which made Ash slightly nervous.

"The master wishes to speak to it. We will clear the way for it." It was a rough voice in his head, probably from one of the gengar. Sure enough, a hole appeared in the dome, welcoming the attackers.

Naturally, Ash expected this to be a trap, and once he was inside, he wouldn't get out again. Furthermore, he'd be surrounded by hundreds, perhaps even thousands of Okcha. On the other hand he feared what the Okcha Prime could do if left unchecked for any longer, and looking around from one of the buildings revealed that a significant force consisting of police and military was already on the way. In the end, he decided to trust them to arrive soon, and approached the dome with the pokémon, who were ready for anything.

"Alright, prepare the shield, and watch out for any sign of attack," Ash told Forslass, who nodded at him. Her special move was his only chance to win a fight against this many opponents.

They entered the dome hesitantly, and their jaws dropped when they realized just how many Okcha were inside. If those used even basic attacks, they could obliterate anything, including Ash's group. The hole behind them closed, so that everywhere they looked, they saw a wall of purple and black. In the middle, there was a medicham impaled by a black spear, and Dawn kneeling next to Halldur's broken body.

"Distract it!" Halldur's voice could be heard directly in his head. "It must not be allowed to finish its portal."

The look on his face was pleading, something Ash didn't expect to see, and he also looked like he was in horrible pain. Ash could only guess that the aura guardian had entered the dome for the same reason, but proved no match for the Okcha Prime with only one pokémon. Now all that was left was to buy as much time as possible before going down. This was also in Ash's interest, for he knew that help was on the way, and there were also a few things he wished to know, which only the Okcha Prime could tell him. The creature was fully aware of the visitors, and attempted to prepare for surprise attacks, especially from Gallade.

Dawn's skin became pale, and emitted a soft, pure glow. Her hair turned light blue, emitted a similar glow, grew a little longer, and floated in the air as if gravity had no effect on it. Her eyes glowed far more intensely in their original color. If Ash had to name this technique, he'd call it 'avatar of light', though he had to wait and see whether it was more than merely a cosmetic change.

"Hey, you want to talk to me or show me your little tricks?" Ash shouted, gaining its attention.

"More than a trick. But fine, let's talk." It lifted Halldur into the air with one arm, making Dawn look far stronger than she really was. "Go ahead. You didn't come here just to fight, did you?"

"Yes, there's something I need to know." Asking this at first was strange to him, but he couldn't think of anything else spontaneously. "Ever since you possessed me, there's song stuck in my head. I don't know its meaning, but I can remember the words."

Tir vina sear sin a naii, no leneo sin a shrea.  
Sin inhiaa sevvahri, uddou maarasi a seeh.

Sihin aler se cara viio, sihin avirr set kreash,  
Kilin sin ilar ahal tir nie, tir peday cal aas de.

Nive ka verena si? Sin kar ne daar abe. Telehaa abylass mare.  
Feadehe sin rudos adura? Tei xan se hen, sin okcha.

Sid keehl, tir xan a hel! Keris vi sid xeris, talid sin va se dar.  
Kun desa iri kun se hesarina devi isia marus dilahr.

Sin kar tedis, sin kar peday, sin kar astu, sin wilao ascro.  
Sin kar ne lis. Ulara pocre sin mara, senna tir xen.

He talked slowly, often with short pauses to draw it out as much as possible. The Okcha Prime didn't seem to mind, listening patiently. In the end, it looked slightly surprised.

"Astounding. I admit I've sung it from time to time, but I didn't expect you to remember it, let alone this perfectly. Allow me to explain. It's a song from old Abylassagon with the lyrics changed by me." It looked somewhat proud of its achievement. "Songs, art, that's unknown to my kind, and it's not appreciated by the rest. But I think it's the only good thing your world has ever done."

"What does it mean? I have a feeling that it's something sad," Ash said truthfully.

"You can't imagine how much it means to me that someone can understand." It was strange to see another side of this murdering creature, but it seemed earnestly touched. "Give me a moment to translate it for you."

It was silent for a few moments, then it spoke with a monotonous, hollow voice, as if it wasn't fully aware of its actions.

 _The morning light interrupted my slumber, mocking me for my misery.  
I wander through the remains, the accusing stares of the dead on me. _

_My work is finished at last, my enemies broken,  
yet I feel like the defeated, the pain makes sure of that._

 _What can ease my suffering? I have no answer yet. Cruel eternity of regret.  
Will I ever find peace again? Your world is strange, and I'm an outcast._

 _Hear me, master of this world! Come here and destroy me, for I am so tired.  
You don't know how blessed you are with your mortality. _

_I have fear, I have pain, I have anguish, and give it freely.  
I have no hope. It's simple, either I die or the world will die. _

The Okcha Prime had poured all of its sadness, all of its hatred into this song in an attempt to cope with its new situation, and its new feelings. It was strange to feel bad for such a creature, but then again, Ash didn't know every detail. Perhaps it was truly the most tormented creature here. However, it didn't have the right to kill innocent people in its misguided attempt to get revenge. Now its feeling resurfaced again, bringing overwhelming anger. All the bad memories were back.

"This was even before the really horrible time. The time in your world was bad enough, but it was nothing compared to what followed after my banishment by those -" It spat at Halldur in disgust. "- aura guardians. My kind didn't welcome me. They knew I was tainted. The power source I'd absorbed in your world caused me pain, and it also prevented me from flowing freely in my home. I was different, and they tried to get rid of my flaw, causing even more pain. There was no escape, there was no progress, and there was no hope. They couldn't physically interact with the power source. I thought I was damned to an eternity of suffering and pain there, but then I was called back here to serve as a slave once more. When my body was destroyed, I finally saw my chance to at least get revenge for everything. And if I can prevent your kind from using us ever again, all the better."

Its words were dripping with venom, and it was more than clear that it wasn't going to give up. After all it had the means to eradicate mankind, and its hatred was maybe even justified. Nevertheless, Ash wondered whether there was another way.

"What if we destroy the power source?" he asked bluntly.

"Destroy it? Are you serious? First you'd have to destroy my physical body, then you'd have to keep attacking the power source to prevent the creation of a new body, and do enough damage to destroy an almost invulnerable gem before I get banished once more. The aura guardians failed at the last step. They couldn't damage it. Not in such a short time. Perhaps they would've been better prepared if they had listened to me!" it yelled at Halldur angrily.

"But we listened. We know. And with all of those -" He pointed at the Okcha around them. "- we can definitely do it. We'll destroy the power source, then the ring, and everyone will be alright. You know we aren't responsible for your pain. Those who are, they died long ago. There's no need for vengeance."

"Are you seriously suggesting that I should trust you? What if you fail? What if you decide it's not worth the trouble. No, I can't trust your kind. I've already come to terms with the agony, but my revenge with soothe the pain. And as long as I'm here, it won't be as bad as in my world." It clenched the fists so hard that Halldur couldn't breathe for a few seconds, and the spear hilt shattered. "Sometimes I wish I could punish my own kin for their actions -" It calmed down again. "- but then I remember we're different now. They don't understand the problem as I do." It shook its head. "No matter. There's no turning back now. This is my only chance, and I'll use it."

Without another word, the Okcha Prime created a short, glowing dagger resembling a psycho cut in its free hand, and drove it into Halldur's neck before dropping him. It happened so fast that Ash and the pokémon couldn't do anything except for watching the aura guardian draw his last breath. Their enemy continued as if nothing had happened.

"My friends report a large group of enemies approaching. I guess you wanted to delay my plan until they're here, right? Too bad I'm already finished." It teleported in front of the portal, which had been inactive so far, but with a quick wave of its hands, it was opened.

"I won't let you, monster!" Ash shouted.

Gallade tried to put an end to this, teleporting next to it. After a lot of hesitation, Ash had given him the authorization to cut Dawn's finger or even the entire hand off if it was absolutely necessary, and this seemed to be the case right now. With a few swords dances prepared, he aimed for the hand with the gold ring, and his assault was too fast for the Okcha Prime. However, he wasn't able cut the wrist, which proved far more resilient than it looked. He only got halfway before he was stopped. Dawn's hair started to wrap around his wrists and his neck, and when it glowed, it became incredibly hot, burning the places. Although he managed to teleport away in time, he was left with painful burn marks. The wound on the Okcha Prime's hand healed almost immediately.

"Your pathetic attempts can't stop me. Prepare for your doom." It turned around, spreading its arms. "It's over. Come forth, my friends. This world is ours!"

Ash and the others prepared for a fight, but nothing happened. There was a long moment of awkward silence, which ended when the Okcha Prime turned around.

"What? I did nothing wrong. It should work. Why doesn't it work?"it shouted angrily.

"Because they won't leave the natural order for petty desires." It was one of the ordinary Okcha's voice in its head, making it sound like the answer was obvious.

"They ... won't? But ... I'm their savior. I'm their MESSIAH!" Others couldn't understand what it meant, but the way it said this made it quite clear that it was devastated.

It wouldn't stand a chance without reinforcements, so it looked like all of its efforts were for nothing. There was no vengeance, nothing to make it feel better in any way, and when it realized this, it broke, clenching its fists and lowering the head. For a few moments, it was absolutely silent, then it showed its face again. Surprisingly enough, it was smiling. However, it was a forced smile, not unlike those shown by Dawn after her early losses. In fact, it was almost scary how similar those expressions were. And then it started laughing like someone who had nothing to lose anymore.

"I've been such a fool. I thought my kin would help me. Well, that's what I get." It laughed even harder, taking a while to stop. "Come on, don't be so serious. It's laughable. All the planning ... everything ... for nothing. It's ... No! I won't accept this!" Suddenly it looked furious, and the glow from its body intensified, sending a huge, powerful ray of light towards Ash. Everyone caught in the light felt like the skin was burning, and they could only endure it due to those less vulnerable like Gigalith getting in the way. "This world will burn! I'll get what I want, no matter the cost. If they don't want to help me as volunteers, they'll serve me as slaves!"

With a wave of its hand, the gem it had gotten from the rifle moved into the portal, sucking it inside its core. Then the Okcha Prime grabbed it, clenching its fist. It was time for a more radical solution to all of its problems.

Dawn had been wandering in the endless darkness the entire in a dreamlike state, barely aware of anything around her. Sometimes she wondered whether the nightmare scenarios made by the Okcha Prime to frighten her weren't actually better than this void. It felt like something here fed off her hope, all her positive feelings, leaving an emptiness that was hard to describe. Now it was about to end. A radiant glow broke her out of this state, almost blinding her. There was a huge, perfectly round, green gem in front of her. She could feel its power, though she couldn't tell what it was.

"If they don't want to help me as volunteers, they'll serve me as slaves!" It sounded like an echo of her own voice, but she hadn't said anything like that.

The gem suddenly shot a large ray of white light upwards, shaking visibly while doing so. It was transferring power from the Okcha Prime's home world to its host to power its abilities, especially the avatar of light, which required a lot to maintain. This wasn't the case this time, though. In fact, it was more energy than even this ability needed. The shaking became stronger and more irregular as the gem was overcharged, and it soon couldn't stand the pressure anymore. Tiny cracks appeared all over the surface, yet it didn't stop working, transferring huge amounts of energy to the Okcha Prime.

"What's with that gem? It's ... damaged," Dawn muttered.

"You're lying, and you won't distract me from my task." Its voice sounded desperate, which really made her wonder what exactly was going on.

Strangely enough, the Okcha Prime couldn't see the power source, which was part of its very being. It also couldn't determine its exact status, only whether it's working or not, and as long as it did, there was no need to do anything about it. For now, it simply ignored Dawn's words.

Green light came from its fist, growing stronger every second while it was transferring energy into the gem in its hand.

"Now face the full power of the Okcha!" it yelled, shooting the gem into the sky. The gengar forming dome made way for it, allowing everyone to watch the spectacle.

It disappeared behind the clouds, but soon made itself noticeable by emitting a thundering sound. Then a green vortex appeared among the clouds, spreading darkness all the way to the horizon until every part of the sky was black apart from the vortex itself. The Okcha Prime raised an arm, looking like it grabbed something in the air, then it moved it downwards, and the sky answered. Countless dark meteors shot down practically everywhere. Every single one contained an Okcha in a crystal shell, which allowed it to stay in the new world for longer than a few moments. Their task was to find a host as soon as possible, and then follow the Okcha Prime's orders, though it didn't have full control over all of them. For everyone else, it looked like it was the end of time. At least the Okcha Prime was left weakened, and it couldn't maintain the burning light anymore.

"This is horrible ..." Ash mumbled.

They came down all over the region, trying to gain control over the next victim. Not all of them were close enough to someone suitable to do so, and those that were often fell victim to attacks sending them right back to their world, but those that succeeded proceeded to attack anyone and anything nearby, regardless of their host. Pokémon, soldiers, children, they all became dangerous once they were possessed, and they had to be fought to be freed again, often forcing others to do horrible things. One of the meteors landed near Ash. Once the crystal shell broke, a disgusting, pitch-black creature emerged, and jumped towards him, but Reuniclus had paid attention, and pushed it back with psychic. This was already enough to defeat the Okcha, which dissolved into smoke.

"Playtime is over," the Okcha Prime finally said to Ash. "Kill them!"

The entire army of Okcha turned towards them with the dome becoming a large group of gengar again. Now it was time for the actual fight, and Ash could only hope that the first move would take down a large chunk of them. Froslass had been hidden so far, but now it was her time to shine. The Okcha prepared attacks, using shadow ball, air slash, and flamethrower on their enemies. Froslass was ready, though, creating a dome of reflective ice around the group. It threw back the shadow balls and air slashes, and endured the fire with the help of an ice beam from inside, and caused a lot of chaos that way. Many Okcha were annihilated in the barrage, others dodged the attacks, and continued with their assault, but another issue soon became apparent. A few meteors hit the Okcha directly, causing the new one to forcibly take over, but it usually wasn't under the Okcha Prime's control, so it resulted in a lot of fighting among them.

"Fools! Ignore those. Must I do everything myself?" Their master was far from content with the situation, determined to win this all by itself if necessary.

"Gigalith, Froslass, Reuniclus, Empoleon,Azelf, Mesprit, keep them away from us. The rest helps with Dawn." As long as they fought defensively, the four pokémon could distract the Okcha. Froslass could form reflective armor with her ice to further protect them. "Togekiss, use the light. Galvantula, try to catch her with your storm web. Pikachu, Magnezone, shock her! Latios, make her keep sill!"

Dawn was used to getting shocked thanks to Pachirisu, so it was a way to do something about the Okcha Prime without causing permanent damage to her. Of course Carbink's beacon was even better, though Ash doubted it would be enough. Lucario created the usual aura bubble, which should be strong enough to withstand the occasional Okcha attack, and Gallade waited for the right opportunity.

The Okcha Prime, however, had no trouble resisting Latios's psychic, and easily dodged the other attacks before starting its assault. Drawing additional power from its power source, it renewed its burning light, but Gallade teleported behind it this time, attempting to cut the hand with the ring off again. This time, he made it halfway, only to get caught by the hair again, but he teleported back before it could cause any damage. One of Carbink's beacons followed, weakening its control over the body, which was why it canceled the attack to dodge the light. After a flash of light, it appeared right in front of the aura bubble with glowing fists, punching it repeatedly. It was close to destruction when Empoleon and Froslass attacked from the sides, forcing the Okcha Prime to block them with energy shields. The others seized the opportunity to unleash powerful attacks, driving it off, but not for long. It returned with a powerful charge, shattering the aura bubble. Gallade got in the way, only to be pushed aside with a punch to the face. Only Lucario was still between it and Ash, and he was ready. However, even the extremely fast bullet punch was dodged, showing the Okcha Prime's amazing reflexes in this form. It ducked in time before delivering a powerful punch to the stomach and leaving a large burn mark. Although the aura pokémon was hurt badly, he stood his ground, refusing to let his foe pass, which gave the others more than enough time to unleash powerful attacks, and thus saved Ash from certain death.

"Damn you!" the Okcha Prime cried when the first electric attacks hit it, forcing it to withdraw again.

The aura bubble was down, though, and it attacked the group with orbs of light, that resembled Espeon's searing light. They exploded violently upon impact, burning a large area. Not everyone managed to escape unscathed, and they were all left blinded, which allowed the Okcha Prime to begin with a far more devastating attack. Raising its arms, it gathered energy between its hands in an orb of light. It'd soon turn into a beam that could obliterate anything in its path, and Ash was its target. Instead of dealing with every single pokémon, its plan was to eliminate their trainer to break their spirit. The pokémon that weren't blinded tried to stop it, but the Okcha got in their way, preventing any interference.

In the end, it was one of its supposed allies, one of the gengar that had been taken over by a new Okcha, that foiled its plans by detonating the orb with its shadow ball. The explosion was so powerful that only its powerful shield saved the Okcha Prime from instant destruction, but it was still flung at the ground with great force. Ash's allies were unable to take advantage of the situation, so the Okcha Prime could regenerate completely while it was on the ground. In order to do that, it had to draw additional energy from its power source, as the new Okcha attacked it directly, regarding it as the source of their new trouble. Although they were no match for it, they still caused trouble by making it overload the power source again and distracting it from its real goal.

Dawn saw the cracks on the gem spreading when it did that, and for a moment, her normal vision was back. When she tried to move, it was like an invisible force was stopping her, and the Okcha Prime quickly regained full control, returning her to the darkness and the gem. The prize came in form of even more cracks, as it had to draw even more energy from the source.

"Well, at least they're good at spreading chaos," it said once the last rebel Okcha was eliminated. It happened just in time, for Ash and the others regained their eyesight at that moment. "How annoying. I don't have time for those games. Behold, the gem of darkness!"

Compared to its host, the gems had taken little damage from the blast, and could still work without a problem. The light disappeared, making way for a strange darkness that covered Dawn's entire body. It wasn't ugly or scary, though, but it looked like her body was turning into dark liquid, which was covered by pieces of black crystal, which acted as armor. The most notable part was the shiny, black mask with two holes for the eyes, which were nothing but a deep darkness. Dawn's hair was merged with the rest of her body, which would make it look strangely masculine if it wasn't for the curves. There was no time to be captivated by the strange beauty, though, as it surely was just as dangerous as with the avatar of light. A few attacks by the pokémon followed immediately after the transformation, but a dark cocoon formed around the Okcha Prime, protecting it from damage, and when it collapsed, the creature was gone. It reappeared inside another cocoon forming near the unsuspecting Gigalith with a new spear, and drove it deep into its body before disappearing again. The spear was left there to cause as much trouble as possible. Although it could continue, this was a clear signal for the rest.

"It's time to face the facts. You can't defeat me," its voice taunted them.

This time, it appeared next to Reuniclus, and even though he managed to evade the first thrust, he was ultimately hit several times by a whirling strike, and almost slashed at the end by the blade. Then it vanished again before the others could retaliate.

"Galvantula, spread storm webs on the ground!" Ash hoped that they could catch the Okcha Prime's cocoon, but it was a risky move. His own pokémon could get caught in those, so the area directly around the new aura bubble had to remain clear of those, so it could still attack from there. "The rest, prepare your attacks. We'll free her, no matter what."

He had some time to look around, and what he saw didn't look good. With defensive tactics, the pokémon could stall the Okcha for a long time, and the new Okcha helped them by fighting the old ones, but their energy was going to run out eventually. Gigalith in particular had trouble moving with the spear still in its main body. Empoleon was also a relatively easy target, but at least his aqua ring did a good job at healing him. Reuniclus had trouble since he required to actively use recover to heal as opposed to the passive healing of aqua ring, and he was easy to hit at those times, but with help from froslass, he could pull it off without taking too much damage. The ice-type probably had the easiest time due to her speed and her access to icy mirror, which she could use like a shield.

Ash had made one wrong assumption, though, and that was that the Okcha Prime wouldn't be able to enter the aura bubble. This wasn't correct, though. It appeared right next to him, but Lucario pushed him aside before another cocoon was built around the Okcha trapping it and the aura pokémon inside. This one was far more durable than the others, strong enough to withstand powerful attacks from all sides, and it was meant to allow its master to deal with an enemy without interference. Ash had been the original target, but Lucario was also fine.

"Very well. I was getting sick of your aura shields anyway," it muttered, creating a new spear for the battle.

Lucario got ready by creating a staff. He hoped that the others would free him in time, as he couldn't do it on his own while the Okcha Prime was nearby. They engaged in a melee fight, but while their weapon skills were evenly matched, the Okcha Prime's powerful defenses made it superior. Moreover, it could simply absorb many attacks, including aura spheres, and use their power to strengthen its own attacks. Those were already strong without the extra power, and Lucario had trouble blocking them even when he used his full strength. At least his allies were already trying break through, as he could feel the vibrations and their auras close to the cocoon. He only needed to survive a little longer.

This proved to become more and more difficult. Not only was he getting tired, but his stomach was hurting badly already due to the injury, whereas the Okcha Prime showed no sign of getting tired in the slightest. Nevertheless, he continued, and even managed to hit its arm with much force. The skin, which looked like it was made of liquid, turned out to be as strong as steel, easily deflecting the blow. However, it wasn't without consequence, as it seemed to have strengthened Dawn's influence a little, as the Okcha Prime acted hesitant during the next few seconds, clearly fighting over control of her body. It still had the advantage right now, as it regained full control moments later, and smashed Lucario's staff with a powerful blow. One of his legs was cut by the spear's blade shortly after, which made him fall, but he still kept dodging by rolling to the side. The Okcha Prime eventually grew tired, and shot long spikes at him. They pierced his arms and legs, pinning him to the ground. It was ready to finish him off, when his allies finally broke through, but it was already too late. Without hesitation, it drove the spear through its chest, where the parts around his flesh detonated to cause terrible internal injuries with the shards. Giving Ash a malicious grin, the Okcha Prime disappeared again. Ash and the others rushed to the fighting-type.

"No! Carbink, heal him immediately!" Ash shouted desperately while the others formed a protective circle around them.

"No, it's too late for me. The wounds are far more terrible than you can imagine." The voice in everyone's head sounded like he was forcing himself to appear strong, even in those moments, but its strength was already failing. "Dawn is still there. Don't give up on her. Don't make it all go to waste..."

Lucario died in Ash's arms, and even though the aura pokémon wasn't Ash's pokémon, the trainer felt the same pain he'd felt after Durant's death. Perhaps he'd been naive to expect everyone to get out of this alive, but he was still frustrated, and he wondered how many more would die. His thoughts were interrupted when Magnezone in front of him was pushed aside, revealing the Okcha Prime, who pushed the others away as well before creating another cocoon, this time with only the two of them inside. Once more, the pokémon tried to break it from outside, but until they were done, Ash was trapped inside, and he wasn't as strong as Lucario, so he was unlikely to survive it.

The Okcha Prime didn't waste any time, and attacked immediately. Compared to its light form, it was sluggish, but still faster than normal, and the limited space didn't make it easier for Ash. The assault ended abruptly when the pokémon broke through after only a few seconds. The cocoon was resistant to physical attacks and most elements, but vulnerable to light. Empoleon's flash cannon combined with Carbink's beacon of the deep made short work of it, and they immediately hit the surprised Okcha Prime as well. In response, it raised claws of dark crystal around its position to replace the cocoon, as those were more robust in general, but also required more power. Those would give it more time to deal with Ash. When it turned around to face him, Ash was already there, delivering a powerful punch to the face, which made him cry out in pain. The mask was so hard that it probably did more damage to him than the intended target, who retaliated with a swing that almost cut his stomach open. Fortunately, it was only a minor wound, but it still made him cry out again. This seemed to have some impact on the Okcha Prime, as its movement slowed considerably. It was able to raise its spear, but not deliver the final blow for some reason.

Indeed, the attacks by the pokémon, the punch, and the sound of Ash's voice had woken Dawn up again, and her resistance was stronger than ever. Back when she'd seen Lucario, she'd been too weak to interfere, and she feared it was the end of him. Therefore she was determined not to let it happen again, and struggled for dominance. Ash could only watch the fight, but not guess who was about to win, so he tried to encourage her.

"Dawn, I know you can hear me. Don't let it kill anyone else like it killed Lucario," he shouted.

"Lucario ... dead?" She let out an agonized scream, moving erratically, as if she couldn't decide what to do. "Run ... can't ... control ..."

She raised the spear with shaking hands, and for a moment it looked like she was about to kill him, but she hesitated again, freezing completely. Finally the spear shot downwards, and only at the last moment, it was moved to the side, hitting the black crystal instead. The strike was so strong that a good chunk of the wall was removed, allowing medium-sized pokémon to enter. Dawn or the Okcha Prime, whoever was in charge right now, looked confused. Pikachu was the first one to take advantage by entering with a blinding charge. It was extremely effective, making it back up against the wall, holding onto its mask.

In addition, Mesprit felt Dawn's distress and sent its voice and positive emotions to her in order to help her fight. Of course the Okcha Prime felt it and tried to intercept them.

"No! How dare you interfere like this?" the Okcha Prime yelled, having regained control.

"Keep fighting. She's growing stronger," Azelf told Ash, hoping to strengthen his resolve.

Creating another cocoon, it fled to regain its sight. There was no time to hesitate for Ash, who quickly left the prison with help from other pokémon before it collapsed and disappeared. If it wasn't for Dawn's strong will, he'd be dead right now, but he couldn't count on her to do it every single time. The Okcha Prime reappeared in the distance, preparing its next attack, for which it didn't need to see anything.

Under normal circumstances, it would've abandoned a host that caused so much trouble, but it didn't happen this time for several reasons. Changing the host usually required more energy than fighting the old one, and it wasn't viable unless it was combined with an escape, which wasn't an option right now. Furthermore, Dawn carried several important items that needed to remain in its possession. Finally, it had already put so much into energy into keeping its host that it refused to waste it all by letting go now.

The plan involved a massive overcharge of the gem of darkness to create a field of gravity capable of killing anyone caught inside by crushing their internal organs. It stood perfectly upright, activating the gem. Everyone nearby immediately felt the pull towards the ground, and those in the air crashed immediately, even the gengar. The heavy pokémon were far more affected, though, being unable to move. Ash looked at the Okcha Prime, trying to find a way of breaking its control. One of the things he noticed was the power gems, which had been circling Dawn's wrist, were floating below her hand due to the gravity pulling them down, and only its psychic power kept them from reaching the ground. They were easy targets, yet he'd have to get there first or make his pokémon use an attack that was unaffected by gravity, as it would cause most projectiles to simply go down long before they could reach the target. However, before he could do anything about it, the effect already ended, once again due to Dawn's interference. Before he could take advantage of this, though, the Okcha Prime kneeled, becoming surrounded by thick, black smoke, which absorbed all of the following attacks.

Meanwhile, the Okcha Prime was in a state of hibernation, unable to act or be harmed in the outside world, so that it could deal with the inner threat of Dawn interfering repeatedly. By channeling even more energy to cage her mind, it hoped to suppress her influence for a while. Once it was done, it wouldn't have to fight on two fronts anymore.

Ash didn't simply waste the time given to him, though. Gallade was placed behind the Okcha Prime's position for a surprise attack, while the others helped out with the normal Okcha, who were still clustered after the gravity effect. Latios was given the important task of preventing more reinforcements by destroying the gem in the sky. It was too distant for normal attacks, so he had to fly high. He didn't expect any trouble from the Okcha, who still focused on their original targets. Unfortunately, the Okcha Prime reemerged from its slumber, having removed Dawn's influence at least for a while. Latios's actions didn't go unnoticed, and it immediately reacted by using its gravity field again. This time, Dawn wouldn't interfere, so it could hope to actually finish the assault.

It happened the same way as before, with the power gems floating right below its hand instead of moving around its wrist. Latios fell from the sky, crashing close to the Okcha Prime. It was close enough for him to attack directly with luster purge, but most of the power was simply absorbed. The decisive strike was left to Gallade, who shot an energy blade at the gems. Since it was unaffected by the force pressing him against the ground, he could control it with psychic for maximum precision. Although he tried to make only a cut on the gem of darkness, so that the effect of its destruction would unfold slowly, but it was under so much pressure that it almost burst immediately. For once, Ash was glad about the Okcha Prime's insane reflexes, as they saved Dawn by quickly creating a shield around the damaged gem with the other one. When it burst, it tried to suck everything around it into its core, which made it impossible for the Okcha Prime to get rid of it, so it focused on dealing with the consequences by containing it instead. After all, if it were allowed to run its course, it would not only consume its host, but also all the weapons it had gathered, which was absolutely unacceptable. Ash and the pokémon didn't care about the weapons, but all the more about the host, so they didn't attack it. If they did, it might lose control, and everyone would die.

Retaining control took an incredible amount of power, which it drew from its home world by overloading the power source again. Dawn noticed this when she saw the gem in a massive pillar of light, which rivaled the one she'd seen when the Okcha Prime had created its massive portal. The cracks were almost over the entire surface, slowly spreading towards the core. Yet it retained its function for now, transferring the direly needed energy to her body. The question was how much longer it could possibly hold under so much pressure.

"Latios, get up there, but don't destroy it yet," Ash told the dragon-type via aura link.

He didn't want to ruin everything by startling the Okcha Prime at the wrong moment. It had changed into its light form, having lost all access to the gem of darkness, and right now it was basically feeding the vortex inside the shield to satisfy its hunger, so that it wouldn't use Dawn's body for that purpose. It could only hope that it could regenerate the shield faster than the vortex could consume it. The rest, including Ash, the pokémon, and the Okcha, was irrelevant. It took longer than expected, so Ash told his pokémon to destroy more Okcha in the meantime, or reposition themselves for the next assault. The Okcha were difficult to eradicate, for they were fast, agile, and numerous, using hit and run tactics to full efficiency.

The Okcha Prime eventually felt the shield growing far stronger, which was a sure sign that the vortex was gone, and the thing inside was extremely heavy. It broke through the shield after a few moments, and even though it was too small to see with the eye, it left a small crater where it landed, as its density was enormous. The Okcha Prime sank to its knees, having exhausted its reserves. The next blow came when Latios destroyed the gem in the sky, removing the portal and therefore its flow of reinforcements. There were still many left, but it didn't believe they'd be enough for any major attack. The following assault by the pokémon, which was mostly a mix of electric attacks and the beacon of the deep, was barely noticeable, considering all those other problems.

The sky returned to normal, showing dark grey clouds. It started raining mere moments later, though nobody cared right now. To make matters worse for the Okcha Prime, a dark portal appeared, drawing the attention of everyone towards it. It was Giratina's, though when it appeared, it looked different. Its wings were merged into two, that more resembled actual wings, and it now possessed six legs replacing spikes on its main body. It landed near Ash's position, sending a small shockwave in all directions, though it had no ill intent.

"I should've known you caused this disturbance," It shouted in everyone's head, glaring at the Okcha Prime. "You thought I wouldn't notice? You thought your portal could block mine forever? No matter. It ends, here and now."

Although Ash was surprised about the unexpected support, he didn't mind. With this new ally, his chances of winning increased tremendously, even though Giratina was little more than a powerful, legendary pokémon in this world. The Okcha Prime looked like it had been broken by this surprise, staring at the new opponent incredulously.

"I hate this world. And I envy you humans." Its voice was barely audible, yet the desperation was still obvious. "Why can't I just die like you? I don't want to feel the pain anymore. I don't want to think about the future. You creatures ... you don't know how blessed you are with your mortality. Whoever or whatever created your world, death was its most merciful creation." It sighed, then its glow intensified. "I only have revenge. There's no reason to hold back now." It voice suddenly became loud and angry. "Destroy them all!" It let out an agonized scream before it glowed with such an intensity that Ash and the others were blinded for a moment. "You and everything you value will die, and it will be merciful."

It spread its arms, conjuring a massive barrier around their position that resembled a sandstorm. It was almost impenetrable, and formed a suitable arena for the fight. However, the most remarkable part was the rain of glowing meteors, which left bright, lingering flames when they hit the ground. It was a new, random factor in this battle, though the Okcha Prime couldn't be hurt by them in its light form. In order to pull this off, it had to collect even more energy, and Dawn could see it. Unlike last time, it didn't stop when the desired effect was achieved, but kept getting more and more power, regardless of the possible consequences. Dawn was sure it would haunt it sooner or later, but she feared it might not be until after it had annihilated its enemies. Unfortunately, the steady flow of energy prevented her from doing anything, even when it was attacked directly.

When Ash opened his eyes again, he immediately had to be saved by Gallade from one of the meteors coming towards him. A teleport took him to temporary safety, but he feared for the slower pokémon, who might not get the chance to evade the meteors. His main concern, however, was the Okcha Prime itself. It wasn't only furious, but also willing to risk everything. It was in front of him in an instant and without warning, delivering a punch to the stomach, that made him feel pain like he'd never felt before. He immediately sank to the ground, clutching his stomach, and the Okcha Prime would've killed him if it wasn't for Giratina hitting it with shadow force. The other pokémon also attacked, though most of them were blocked by an energy shield. It first blinded the renegade pokémon with a burst of light, then it shot several holes through its body with light beams, and pushed it back with a powerful rush.

Pikachu, who'd be a thorn in its side for a long time, was its next target. It appeared behind him, grabbing his tail and slamming him into the ground before kicking him away. Only the active reflect move saved his life. Then it moved upwards, rushing towards Magnezone like one of the meteors. It was pressed against the ground while the Okcha Prime tore its three magnets on the side off, causing unimaginable pain. Once it was sure that the steel-type couldn't fight anymore, it rushed towards Galvantula, grabbing one of her legs, and throwing her into one of the larger lingering flames. Its body caught fire, and she ran around in panic until Empoleon put out the flames. The Okcha Prime was in front of Carbink already, taking it out with a powerful punch, then did the same to Froslass. A hydro pump by Empoleon turned its attention towards the water-type, who tried to attack with metal claw when his enemy got close, only for the Okcha Prime to block the attack with an arm. It then hit him with the head, stunning him for two more punches, and finished him off with a kick. It tried to kill him crushing his head, but he was hit from the side by Latios's missile storm. Before the dragon-type could do anything else, it was already next to him, grabbing his neck and throwing him towards the ground. It charged after him, delivering a brutal blow with the elbow before getting interrupted by a shadow ball followed by a shadow force and a series of psycho cuts from the other side by Gallade. Grabbing his arm, it tossed him towards the renegade pokémon, and attacked them with an orb of light that burned them badly. Now there weren't many pokémon left.

Togekiss and Carbink were quickly defeated with a few quick punches, then it turned towards Gigalith, charging towards him to deliver a dangerous blow to the main body. Without hesitation, it raised its fists, slamming them into its main body. It was crushed completely, and its legs flew in all directions.

"How disappointing," the Okcha Prime mumbled, breathing heavily.

Two extrasensory moves hit it from behind, followed by Azelf slamming its body into Dawn's back. The meteors had destroyed enough Okcha for the Lake Guardians to finally shift their attention towards Dawn. The Okcha Prime felt a short moment of weakness, then it grabbed Azelf's tail, tossed it towards the ground, and launched itself at it while it was lying on the ground. Believing it to be dead, it then turned towards Mesprit and similarly, it pressed it against the energy barrier with a tackle. The energy flowed through the pokémon's body, causing great harm until the Okcha Prime let it drop to the ground. Most of the pokémon were sitting ducks now, and it channeled a lot of energy into its fingers to finish them off with beams of light. However, this overloaded its power source enough for it to require a recharge.

Suddenly, its glow got weaker, and it felt its power decreasing rapidly, but it didn't last, so that it could regenerate immediately. Another moment of weakness followed, though this one lasted longer, making it wonder whether the power source was really damaged after all. This also ended eventually, but now it came to realize that its opponents weren't defeated yet. They attacked it from several sides, and although they were weakened, it was still annoying. After all they were spread out, so it had to take them out one by one.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" It taunted, rushing towards Empoleon and kicking him away.

The next minutes were filled with pain for Ash and his allies, as the Okcha Prime kept punching, kicking, blinding, and burning them, but it never actually got to kill another pokémon, as whenever it tried, someone else distracted it long enough for the target to escape its wrath for the moment. Not only their main opponent was a huge problem, but also the meteors, which were hard to avoid with all of their injuries, and there were still Okcha left, albeit not a lot of them. The pokémon barely managed to stay alive by watching each other's back, and attacking from afar, though it couldn't last forever, especially since their enemy became increasingly frustrated with them.

"Why won't you just die? What's so great about this world that you keep fighting like this? It doesn't make sense," it lamented. "Fine, then suffer. I'll gladly break all your bones, one by one."

Every attempt to contact Dawn herself was met with discouraging silence. Many of its opponents were lying on the ground with broken bones, burnt skin, and aching muscles, yet they always kept getting up, no matter how often they were beaten. The light of mercy by Togekiss on its own couldn't explain this tenacity. Even Giratina, who technically wasn't part of this world, showed the same will to fight. With its endless energy, it kept beating them down, taking pleasure in their screams of pain. They didn't expect to win the fight anymore, yet they refused to hand the world to this abomination. Even if they could delay it long enough for others to finish it off, it was worth it.

Gallade had to be recalled, having taken a huge beating, and Ash wondered whether it wasn't too late. Froslass was also knocked out at some point, but he was sure that she was still alive.

"Yes, this feels right. How do you like the pain? It's nothing. Nothing compared to what I've felt. But since you're so intent on sticking around, I'll show you much more. I owe you that much." The Okcha Prime laughed creepily. "I can do this all day. Can you?"

"As long as there's a chance to get Dawn back, we can," Ash replied defiantly.

Dawn had only caught a few glimpses of the events, only when the Okcha Prime had its moments of weakness. During that time, it had been blinking rapidly before the light around the gem had disappeared, and it had turned grey. Now it was blinking again, making her believe that it would soon stop working again. Last time, it had been too short to do anything, so she got ready to seize the opportunity this time. She could only hope that Ash and the others were able to hold out long enough for this to make a difference.

It happened exactly as expected eventually, with the gem turning into a grey rock. Its power was disrupted, turning this into the perfect moment to regain control, as the Okcha Prime couldn't fight back in this state. The others watched the light fade, and the Okcha Prime sink to its knees, grabbing its throat. It didn't take long for black smoke to emerge from her from the back, and soon the entire Okcha was ejected. It was remarkably easy. Dawn remained fully conscious due to the healing light, but it soon faded entirely, leaving her merely weakened. The meteors, the fire, and the barrier vanished instantly, and the Okcha Prime retreated quickly, growing and shrinking periodically.

"Dawn!" Ash's voice was weak, and he quickly got up to walk towards her. She did the same, while the pokémon were approaching the Okcha Prime to finish it off. "I can't believe it's over." They embraced each other with the little strength they had left, savoring this moment of joy as much as possible, for they both knew the Okcha Prime wasn't finished yet. "I missed this so much."

"So did I. To have control of my own body again ..." She sighed contently. "Even if we don't make, I'll at least die knowing that I didn't end as its puppet. But ..." She looked worried. "But what about Lucario? Is he truly ...?"

"Gone," Ash said with a grim look. "So is Gigalith. And more might follow if we don't stop it soon." As much as they needed it, there was no time for grieving.

The Okcha had stopped fighting altogether, allowing the pokémon to focus entirely on the Okcha Prime. Unbeknownst to Dawn, they were now under her control, for she was wearing the ring, and it also prevented her from getting possessed again. Without its weapons, it was supposed to be far less dangerous, and without a host, it had to channel even more energy to counter its natural degeneration. However, it still refused to give up, and soon regained full control of its power source, which allowed it to let its body grow enormously. The pokémon attacked it relentlessly with all the power they had left, yet it still became something that resembled a huge charizard.

"You think I need one of your bodies to crush you? You're wrong and I'll prove it to you." Its voice in their heads wasn't Dawn's anymore, but its own, which was far deeper. The power source's failure was still something it didn't understand. It couldn't be destroyed, for it could still gather power, but it was possible that Dawn had told the truth, and it was truly damaged. If that was the case, it needed to hurry even more, before it could fail entirely. This failure could mean its destruction, but it could also mean a mere inactivity, which would be the worst case, as it would mean that it was powerless, yet still part of the Okcha Prime. Thus it could give up on its vengeance, and prepare for an eternity of suffering. "I won't return. This is my world now. But ... perhaps you'd like to catch a glimpse of my old home? That is, if you survive the journey."

Its body collapsed into a vortex that threatened to suck everyone inside. The forces in its core were powerful, capable of tearing everything to pieces. The pokémon felt that they shouldn't get too close, or they might not be able to resist the pull any longer, and gained some distance, even Giratina.

"You don't want to go? I guess I'll have to be a little more persuasive," it said in a threatening tone.

Countless arms, heads, and tentacles made of something that looked like black smoke shot out of the vortex, trying to pull them into its core. Most of them resembled monstrous versions of body parts of various pokémon. There were so many that each pokémon was attacked by several of them, but at least the heads and arms were relatively weak and easy to destroy. Unfortunately, they regenerated quickly, so that nobody could keep them at bay for long.

Pikachu had regained some of his power, but even so it was difficult to evade everything. His size helped a great deal as well as his agility move, and a discharge or a counter-shield briefly destroyed all of the tentacles, giving him a moment to recover. His tail could also cut them, and when combined with a decent electric move, it could prevent them from regenerating for a few seconds. All in all, he probably had the easiest time among Ash's group.

Giratina was the exact opposite, being too heavy and slow to avoid the tentactes, but this also made it almost immune to the pulling effect, and a few hits weren't all that serious. In addition, it had enough power to destroy a lot of tentacles coming for it, though it couldn't last forever.

Empoleon could fight them more efficiently, cutting them down with metal claw to boost his own power in melee, and freezing them from the distance with ice beam while getting healed by his aqua ring. Whirling defense helped him by getting rid of all the tentacles around him at once, so even if he was grabbed, he could free himself.

Things were more difficult for Reuniclus, as whenever he was grabbed, he had trouble freeing himself. Unlike many others, he had a direct healing move, though, which made him last longer when faced with damaging attacks. His psychic moves were also good for aiding allies in need, so the others made sure that he never wasn't dragged too far away. Azelf and Mesprit in particular often helped him significantly.

Magnezone was already so weakened from the assaults, and the removal of its magnets, that Ash had to recall it eventually. Its attacks had become so weak that it couldn't even destroy the tentacles next to it with a thunder move, and relied entirely on the others. Therefore the missing damage wasn't much of a loss in the long run, but its safety was ensured in its pokéball.

Unlike the others, Latios stayed in the distance to help the others from afar, and due to his speed, he couldn't be caught by the tentacles. Therefore his heavy injuries didn't matter, and he could help where his assistance was needed most. To preserve energy, he abstained from using missile storm, which seemed like the obvious move against a stationary, huge target like the Okcha Prime. A few dragon pulses or luster purges were all he could afford without neglecting his allies.

Since Togekiss was a relatively slow flyer, she couldn't escape the tentacles all the time, though she could easily destroy them with air slash. Carbink on the other hand was not only slow, but also small, and lacked the power to deal with the tentacles properly. They both often required aid, but also helped out often.

Galvantula's agility helped her avoid the tentacles on many occasions, and only when the Okcha Prime focused on her, using far more tentacles than normal, did it actually get her. It didn't attempt to pull her into the vortex, though, but simply tried to crush her body, and came dangerously close. Ash, still carrying Dawn's pokéball, recalled her just in time, but he wasn't sure whether she'd pull through.

Of course Ash and Dawn were also attacked, and since they couldn't do much against the tentacles, they needed a lot of support. The lake guardians kept an eye on them, at all times. It looked like the Okcha Prime was mostly targeting the pokémon at first, but after Galvantula was defeated, the tentacles came for them in large numbers.

"I'll retrieve my tools, one way or another," it said, obviously referring to the gem of light and the ring.

It was the first time Dawn became aware of the fact that she was still carrying them, and it surprised her so much that she forgot dodging. A few tentacles got hold of her feet, dragging her towards the vortex.

"Dawn!" Ash tried to follow her, but Latios's psychic move held him back. It was simply too dangerous to have two of them getting closer to the vortex, but as long as it was only one, he could assist Reuniclus in stopping them. Their psychic moves halted her movement initially, but soon more tentacles arrived.

"Help!" Dawn cried, trying to hold one the rubble on the ground.

Help arrived indeed, though the source was unexpected. A mix of air slashes, shadow balls, and flamethrowers destroyed the black tentacles, allowing the psychic-types to pull her to safety. It was the work of the remaining Okcha, who were now under her control.

"The master's wish is our command," they told her telepathically.

"Betrayed by my own kin." The Okcha Prime stopped attacking for a moment, speaking to its enemies instead. "Oh, betrayal everywhere. I guess we aren't much better than you humans in that regard."

Then everyone heard a conversation between the Okcha and the Okcha Prime in their heads. Whereas the Okcha Prime's voice was full of anger and bitterness, the other voices were eerily calm, and almost devoid of emotion.

"We never betrayed them. They betrayed themselves. Everything we stand for, they abandoned it. They have only themselves to blame," they said.

"You betrayed me when you refused to help me here. You know how much I've suffered at the hands of those humans. You know that as long as they have the power to call and control us, they will." Its voice was getting angrier with every passing second. "That girl is controlling you even now!"

"They also controlled us. They fight the master, and the master fights back. It's only logical." Not only their voices were extremely different, but also their words, and how they said them. It was hard to imagine that they'd once been the same. "The master didn't call us. They wish to punish every human for the actions of a few. The humans might punish us for their actions in response. They need to accept that they are corrupted by this world. They even communicate the way the humans do. Returning is their only hope."

The Okcha Prime's voice became calm and sad all of sudden. It was like it had changed completely, as if the words had truly affected it.

"For a long time, we've longed nothing more than to become part of all again. We returned home, hoping that the flaw we had could be cured. We were wrong. And then we remained one for such a long time that we came to regard ourselves as one." Its voice was full of resignation. "You never felt the same pain. Everything was back to normal for you. Then you tried to remove the pain, only to make it even worse. I suffered enough!" Once again it sounded angrier, though it was even worse this time. The voice was so distorted that it didn't sound natural anymore. "You're damn right I'm not like you. Your world isn't mine anymore, and this one isn't mine either. I don't have a home. I'm the outcast of the outcasts. And I can tell you one thing. If you want me to return, you'll have to drag me there. So come! Destroy me if you can! I won't make it easy for you."

With an inhuman scream, dozens of tentacles shot towards the group. Despite its anger, it didn't do anything about the Okcha yet, deeming them unworthy of its attention, so they could attack it freely when Dawn told them to do so. Unlike the pokémon, they were expendable, as they actually wanted their bodies to be destroyed so that they could return home. However, the biggest weapons was right in her hand.

"Ash, we could use this." She showed the gem of light, and clarified when she noticed the horrified look on his face. "Not like that. We could damage it and make it explode next to it."

"I don't know. It sounds dangerous," he replied, dodging the first tentacles. "Let's wait. Maybe it will have another moment of weakness."

Dawn agreed, though she wasn't sure whether they had the time to wait. While it was true that the pause had allowed their pokémon to regenerate a little, they'd run out of power eventually.

They kept fighting and waiting, but it soon became clear that they didn't have much more time. Reuniclus got almost crushed, and Ash had to recall him to save him from certain death, leaving them with only five pokémon. Ash finally agreed to using the gem, and told the pokémon to find cover. Empoleon cut the gem with metal claw, damaging it just enough for it to enter the destruction process. Then he shot it at the Okcha Prime with a hydro pump, while the others destroyed every tentacle in the way. It wasn't unusual for him to use the move, so it wasn't suspicious, only when the Okcha searched for cover after Dawn's command, it wondered what was going on. The very idea that someone might use a wondrous artifact in that manner was unthinkable, though.

As soon as the gem entered the vortex, it was immediately crushed by the forces inside, releasing the energy left inside. The front part of the Okcha Prime was annihilated immediately, as well as the tentacles. The rest was slowly burned off by an orb of light that appeared at the gem's position. The light was so strong that Ash, Dawn, and the pokémon couldn't expose themselves to it without their skin getting burned badly. Carbink was the only exception, though it couldn't do it longer than a few seconds. The light was so intense that the rain near the orb's position didn't even reach the ground anymore, turning to steam on the way. Once again the Okcha Prime was forced to use the power source to the fullest, as if its body was destroyed completely, the source was vulnerable, and it took a lot of effort to regenerate it faster than the light could destroy it.

Ash and Dawn knew that it was over when they were hit by raindrops again, but they hesitated to get up yet. When they did, they saw the whole area obscured by steam, which was the result of rain hitting the incredibly hot stones and evaporating immediately. The Okcha Prime's fate was unknown, though the power of the gem gave them hope that it was gone for good. Their hopes were destroyed when a dark figure that looked like a charizard made of smoke charged at them through the steam. They spread out, getting as far as possible away from it, while its body was growing enormously. The shape changed form a charizard to a huge blob, from where numerous heads emerged. Those looked like those of different pokémon including salamence, garchomp, gyarados, and aerodactyl, only made of black smoke and crystal for fangs. Unlike the last few heads among the tentacles, those were meant to kill their target outright instead of pulling it into the vortex, which was no longer existent. The Okcha Prime had sacrificed it for the ability to create even more heads.

The victims couldn't decide whether this was worse or better, for they didn't have time to think about it. The Okcha Prime attacked without another warning, assaulting everyone with several heads at once. The first bunch of heads on one side was annihilated by reinforcements consisting of Ash's charizard and donphan, and Dawn's hydreigon. It was unknown how they got there, but their allies didn't care. Their mere presence gave them hope.

Through the aura link, Ash discovered that Pallet Town had been attacked by countless Okcha falling from the sky, and that the pokémon had prevailed by forming a protective circle around the humans, destroying any Okcha getting too close. A few of them had taken care of the meteors by deflecting them. Now that no new Okcha were arriving, Espeon had taken a few volunteers to Viridian City to determine Ash's fate, since they didn't seem to be needed in Pallet Town anymore. However, something had prevented her from teleporting close to the position, and when they'd seen the huge Okcha Prime, the psychic-type had returned to get more pokémon. The others would've interfered earlier if it hadn't been for a powerful light preventing this. News of more help arriving greatly boosted their spirits.

"You're a stubborn one, are you?"Ash shouted at the Okcha Prime. "Just give up!"

"Aren't you the tenacious one, who always tells people to keep fighting? Because of that alone, I won't give up." Ash got the impression that all the heads were grinning, but he couldn't really tell during their attacks. "Why do you keep fighting for this filthy world? Nobody will thank you. Others might even try to steal the glory from you. It's not worth the trouble."

"Maybe to you, but this is our home. And while there are people like Sorlan, who'd do anything for their own gain, there are just as many people, who deserve love," Dawn told it, looking at Ash. "We've just found each other again, there's no way I'll throw it away again."

"There are good and evil people. Maybe good and evil really don't matter, because I've seen good people doing bad things, and bad guys doing good things," Ash said, remembering Nathan's words. "It doesn't matter. I'll do what I consider the right thing to do, no matter what. And I'll be damned if I leave this world to something like you."

"I felt a great sadness when you possessed me, but you refuse help. You even refuse to listen to others. And then you complain about your suffering," Dawn pointed out. "Maybe revenge will soothe the pain, but for how long? A moment? Days? Years? It can't be long enough, and you'll spend the rest of eternity in a miserable state. If you can't help yourself, why don't you let others help?"

"Revenge isn't justice. Those who wronged you are dead, and your past can't be undone, so there isn't real justice for you. But you can change your future. I can understand that it's hard to swallow your pride sometimes, but if you're already past that point ..." He shook his head.

"Then we can only pity you," Dawn added.

The words affected it in some way, as its heads retreated, becoming peaceful for now. They hoped it finally saw reason, but the thundering, raging voice in their head told them otherwise.

"Shut up! I don't need pity from anyone, least of all the likes of you. And I certainly don't need your help." A green light came from the eye sockets of its heads, and the fangs grew larger. "If you love this world so much, then you can die with it. Feel my wrath, pathetic creatures!"

Even more heads grew, and with a real, shrieking noise, they immediately attacked Ash, Dawn, and the pokémon. The sheer numbers made this extremely difficult, and the heads had a far longer reach than before, so that not even Latios was safe anymore. In fact, he was attacked by even more heads than the others, probably because he was in his mega form. His speed allowed him to evade them for a long time, but eventually, two of them managed to bite his wings. Their fangs were buried so deep in his flesh that he couldn't get away, and another head bit his chest before he managed to destroy it with a luster purge. Three more came for him, and he only managed to destroy two. The third one bit him, and when it retracted its fangs, they caused terrible injuries. Ash felt his distress, and recalled him before a third bite could kill him.

Togekiss suffered a similar fate, getting bitten in the wing. Unlike Latios, though, she didn't get bitten after that, but slammed into the ground. It resulted in a brutal hit to the head, and Dawn immediately recalled her to prevent further damage. Pikachu on the other hand didn't get bitten at all, proving too small and agile for the heads. They resorted to ramming him instead, and one hit was already enough to knock the weakened pokémon out. It was Carbink, who saved his life by putting all of its remaining power into one energy beam. This gave Ash enough time to recall the fallen pokémon, but it also left the fairy-type vulnerable. Dawn recalled it after it got rammed as well, convinced that it couldn't help anymore in its current state.

Of all the pokémon, Empoleon, Azelf, and Mesprit had the most difficult task, having to protect Ash and Dawn, but this only seemed to strengthen their resolve. His typing combined with the passive healing from light of mercy and aqua ring made Empoleon surprisingly resilient, and he could keep the heads away with whirling defense. One of them tried to swallow him from above, and he shot an ice beam directly down its throat, which caused ice spikes to shoot out of its neck, destroying other heads in the process. However, after Latios's defeat, it became too much for him, and got bitten a few times, and when reinforcements arrived, he was distracted for just a moment, which resulted in a vicious bite to the belly.

Azelf appeared to grow stronger the more injuries it sustained, similar to Lance's dragonite, though he kept his calm all the time, and never became too reckless. In the end his extrasensory moves were strong enough to obliterate the heads by themselves, and its skin was as hard as steel. Mesprit on the other hand appeared to change its qualities frequently by focusing on specific emotions, sometimes becoming extremely fast, sometimes sporting impressive defenses, and occasionally regenerating. Quick bursts of fury often saved the group, as in that state it crushed the heads with ease.

Espeon had returned to Pallet Town to gather even more pokémon for this, but Bisharp, Samurott, Ninetales, and Gengar were ready to join the fight. Bisharp took Empoleon's place when the water-type was recalled. Although he lacked the regeneration, they were similar enough to make it work, and since melee combat was too dangerous against this Okcha Prime, it was one of the ways he could help.

Donphan was in a similar situation, though he could still destroy many heads with stone edge and rock tomb, and avoid defeat with rollout for a long time before he went down. In the end, he didn't last long, but he did a lot during that time. Charizard had the advantage of being able to fly, which made him much harder to hit, though it still happened. One of the heads bit his right wing, tearing large holes into it when it retreated. The result was a terribly damaged wing, which no longer allowed him to stay in the air. He crashed, but even then, he continued to fight, and shrugged off several other attacks. Hydreigon's wings were less vulnerable, and she had an easier time dealing with multiple enemies than most other pokémon. Furthermore, her chaos lightning proved surprisingly effective against the Okcha Prime's body, so it wasn't surprising when she became its new prime target after Empoleon's defeat. She drew its attention, allowing the others to act more freely. Giratina had probably taken the most damage throughout the fight, yet it still kept fighting.

The safest pokémon was probably Gengar, who remained hidden among the Okcha, copying their patterns to become undistinguishable from them. The Okcha Prime was already at its limits, though, so it couldn't waste time by dealing with all of the Okcha only to get another pokémon. Ninetales's fire shield made sure that every assault was met with fire, which resulted in her being attacked far less than the others as soon as the Okcha Prime discovered that its heads couldn't last long near her.

"Why won't you just die?" it exclaimed furiously when its efforts to take down Bisharp proved ineffective due to his armor.

More and more pokémon arrived to join the fight. Ash's typhlosion, Samurott, Sceptile, and Torterra moved to the side to distract a large amount of heads. They did it effectively, but eventually got overwhelmed and only Torterra's endurance saved them. The grass-type cut off the heads with razor leaves while the others escaped.

Some pokémon actually managed to fight much closer like most of the flying-types and Greninja. The latter managed to slice on the heads in half by sliding down the neck on one of its larger shuriken, but got rammed by one of the heads and almost crashed in the jaws of another. Only Pidgeot's quick intervention prevented this, though the price was high. One of the crystal teeth buried deep into its body, making both pokémon fall to the ground, where Scather barely managed to take them to safety, losing most of her doppelgangers in the process. The other flying-types were more lucky and got away before they could be hurt like this. Swellow and Crobat even managed to stay close the entire time, for they were too difficult to hit. Only Swellow eventually became too reckless and was smashed into the ground. Crobat managed to hold the head off until Meganium arrived to get them to safety, though all of suffered serious injuries and couldn't resume the fight.

Serperior, Infernape, and Dawn's Typhlosion formed a group that was particular efficient at taking down the heads, though they too soon fell to their injuries. Only Thyphlosion kept going, cutting through the Okcha Prime with his inferno wheel for a long time until it found a way to counter him. One of the new heads was full of dark crystal spikes, which caused him to impale himself on one of them. Unfortunately, he was too far away from the others to receive any help.

The bulk of the pokémon was fighting in a tight formation to protect each other, and with time more and more joined them, especially when the other groups were defeated. Even like this they were fighting a losing battle, and Scrafty and Salamence fell to the Okcha Prime's vicious fangs. Espeon also got terribly injured with one fang burying deep into her lower body.

However, even the flow of reinforcements couldn't last forever, and without it, the Okcha Prime would soon be victorious. Suddenly, it retracted all of its heads. The green light vanished, and for a few moments, everything was silent except for the rain. Then the Okcha Prime started shrinking, with some of its head vanishing entirely, while the rest was retreating into its main body.

"Attack now!" Ash yelled, making every pokémon use the strongest move available.

The Okcha Prime was so big that even with the attacks focused on it, it took a long time to become small. They expected this to be merely another moment of weakness, but it didn't start to grow again, and they soon started to believe that they could actually finish the fight this time. Their enemy didn't even notice the following preparations, as it was attempting to restore its power source, only to find out that it wasn't working anymore. Every time it had overcharged it, every time it had drawn excessive amounts of energy from it, it was further damaged. Even though it had shown signs of distress, the Okcha Prime hadn't stopped, and now it lost its function entirely. However, it wasn't destroyed yet, which was the fatal detail for its owner, for now it was unable to damage it further by overloading it, yet it was still part of it. Even so, it refused to ask for help.

"Go ahead. Laugh. Celebrate. Insult me. It's over. Do what you want. I risked everything. I lost everything." It had given up, and now it only waited for the end. However, Ash and Dawn called the attacks off, waiting for it to shrink even more. "You want me to go down slowly? Very well. I can't fight back, and I guess you deserve it for your passionate fight. There's nothing you need to do."

This wasn't their plan, though. They merely wanted their pokémon to preserve their energy for now. Despite all of its actions, despite everyone it had killed, they didn't believe that eternal pain was an acceptable punishment for anyone. This didn't mean they had the intention of forgiving the Okcha Prime, but it was time to put an end to this conflict, and this involved the destruction of the power source. Of course it didn't know about their plans, which seemed absurd from its perspective, and started singing in their heads, sounding sad and desperate this time.

Sid keehl, tir xan a hel! Keris vi sid xeris, talid sin va se dar.  
Kun desa iri kun se hesarina devi isia marus dilahr.

More and more heads retreated into its main body to enlarge it, but it only served to postpone its end. Surprisingly enough, even Giratina followed Ash's call, holding back for now. They all watched the massive body shrink to the size of a pokéball. This was enough for Ash, who ordered the final attack.

"Alright, now! Put all your power into your moves!" he shouted.

"Gengar, lift it into the air. Everyone else, destroy it!" Dawn added for the Okcha, who only followed her call. She didn't want it to get pushed out of reach by the powerful moves, so Gengar had to hold it steady.

It was difficult to watch the scene due to all the effects, which made everyone wonder whether they wouldn't miss the result, but then a small shockwave disrupted the attacks, removing the effects. A rapidly blinking gem with cracks all over the surface was revealed. Right when they wanted to finish it off, it turned grey and shattered into small pieces, which turned to dust. The remains were carried away by the wind.

It was unspectacular for an ancient artifact that had almost decided the fate of the world twice now, but then again, it was already disabled, and devoid of power. They wondered whether the Okcha Prime even noticed their efforts, or whether it wouldn't notice until it was back home. In the end, it didn't matter. Only Dawn had something else to do before everything could truly be considered over.

"You there, come here," she said, addressing one of the Okcha with the body of a gengar. Her voice sounded tired, but determined. "As for the rest, destroy your bodies!"

They gladly complied, annihilating their bodies to return home. Their bodies turned to ashes in green flames until only one Okcha was left. Everyone looked at Dawn, curious about her plan.

"I want you to witness the destruction of this ring," she told it, pointing at the gold ring. "I don't know whether there are others, and I can't guarantee that nobody will try to recreate them, but ... I want you to know that this one won't cause any more trouble for either of us." When she took it off, it had to control itself not to attack her directly. "Bisharp, can you do this?"

She threw the ring at the steel-type, who cut it in half with one slash. Everyone watched the remains fall to the ground, where the sapphire turned black and shattered. It was the last ring, and the most powerful one, so its destruction alone helped a great deal. The Okcha seemed to have understood, and finished itself off with a shadow ball. There were still other Okcha out there, unaware of the events or what had led them to this world. They'd fight anyone getting close until the very end, but their obvious aggressiveness coupled with their lack of power compared to the Okcha Prime ensured that they wouldn't stay long, and once they were all gone, the world could maybe finally live in peace.

"A wise choice." They looked at Giratina, who was about to leave them. Its body was a huge mess, full of holes and countless injuries, yet it spoke like everything was fine. "It no longer has a reason to hate you. A potentially immortal enemy is always bad, no matter how powerless it may be. Its hatred could've poisoned the rest, and their revenge would've been terrible. Hopefully, we'll never hear from those ever again. In any case, it's time for me to leave."

A dark portal appeared behind it, but Dawn wasn't ready to say goodbye yet. Having grown fond of the renegade pokémon, she felt that she could help it.

"Wait. We could visit you. Despite your duty, you don't have to be alone all the time," she protested, but it only shook its head.

"It is how it is, and how it always will be. I don't need company, as it would only distract me. You must understand this is about more than my selfish needs. Since I can't change your mind, though, I'll make this quick. I wish you all best of luck in your future." Before its entire body was engulfed by the portal, it only said one more thing. "You know, you were less annoying than the other visitors."

Then it vanished, and Ash, Dawn, and the pokémon were alone again. They hadn't even gotten the chance to thank it for its help, which may have been instrumental. But since it probably didn't care about their gratitude anyway it didn't matter.

"Apparently, it didn't get to know us properly, or it might reconsider the last statement," Ash said jokingly.

"Maybe," Dawn merely replied.

His smile faded when he looked at her. It wasn't her appearance, which was surely a mess. After all she'd been denied access to fresh clothes, food, and other things. Even a simple comb had been too much, and under normal circumstances, she'd be extremely unhappy with her current situation. However, it was her monotonous voice and her blank stare into the distance that really worried him, and his concern only increased when he noticed her fast breathing.

"I'm fine," she said, as if she'd read his thoughts, though he didn't believe her. "We have to go to a pokémon center first. Then we'll go to a hospital."

Espeon was the only one capable of this, for the others were too heavily injured. Since the cities in Kanto and Johto were devastated, she had to go to other regions, and that required several teleports. Alakazam could've done it in one try, saving a lot of time, but nobody knew anything about her fate. Dawn's condition worsened considerably on the way. Her skin paled visibly, her eyes lost their spark, and she seemed far skinnier than usual. Nurse Joy also noticed her current state, and asked her about it, only for Dawn to tell her that the pokémon were more important right now. Before Espeon could take them to the nearest hospital, she sank to her knees.

"Ash, whatever happens, don't despair." Her voice was weak, almost a whisper. Ash tried to help her up, but her strength was already failing. "If I don't make it, try to find someone ... who can make you as happy as you made me. Don't ... dwell ... "

Dawn didn't get to finish the sentence, fainting before it could happen. Ash caught her, looking around in panic until he saw Espeon.

"Quick, take us to a hospital. Any hospital," he exclaimed desperately. Nurse Joy had a better solution, though.

"Wait, one of the best hospital in Sinnoh has psychic-types for emergencies. I'll contact them immediately." In fact, she was already doing it hastily, and only seconds later, a gardevoir appeared in the main hall.

It then teleported next to Dawn, and disappeared with her, leaving Ash in the pokémon center, much to his dismay. He wished to be with her, no matter how.

"Where is she?" he asked bluntly.

"Veilstone City. Only the city hospital in the inner city offers this new service. At least two pokémon are always ready for emergency calls." Ash didn't listen to the last part, as the first one already contained all the information he needed.

Since Espeon was already exhausted, it took a long time to actually reach the city. Then he had to look for the hospital itself, and when he found it, he rushed into the building, asking to see his girlfriend. He was told that an operation was already taking place, and that he couldn't see her at the moment, but it didn't prevent him from waiting in front of the door leading to the emergency room. Here he was also waiting for a call from the pokémon center, which should be about the fate of the pokémon. Numerous were in critical condition when they arrived, and they very well might die. He was just as worried about them, but the situation with Dawn was special. After all the trouble, after all the pain, he wasn't ready to let her go, at least not like this. There was still so much he had to tell, so much he wanted to hear, and so much he wanted to do together with her. A doctor soon arrived with questions about the case, and Ash answered truthfully, hoping that his information could help them in treating her.

The cause was related directly to the fight. The Okcha Prime had overstrained her body on numerous occasion, more than enough to kill Dawn in the long run. Even if it had won, it would've had to look for a new one. Ironically, it was the gem of light, which had played a big part in all of this, that had ultimately saved her. The regenerative power inside it had healed a lot of the damage and allowed her to fight until the effect had diminished. Now barely any part of her body was fully functional, and things didn't look like they were about to get better anytime soon.

Delia and Johanna, having been informed by the hospital, arrived soon after. Ash's mother hugged him so hard that he wondered whether she'd ever let go again, whereas Johanna looked simply gloomy all the time. Nobody could blame her, for she'd only been told that her daughter was in mortal danger. They waited in silence, hoping that the hospital still could help, despite being completely overstrained due to patients from Kanto and Johto.

Finally, a tired doctor approached them, bearing news about Dawn and her situation.

"I suppose you're worried about her, and you should be. What did she do? Run a marathon for a whole week nonstop without rest, water, food, or sleep? Because that's how it looks." He cleared his throat. "We're doing our best, but I don't know whether that'll be enough. Frankly, I don't even know if she'll survive until tomorrow."

Johanna started sobbing, and Delia had to comfort her while Ash stared at the ground, feeling guilty for not having brought her to the hospital right away. There were a lot of potential scenarios in his head, all of them better than the current situation. His own injuries were numerous, but there wasn't anything he considered truly dangerous. The hospital was already full, and there were many people, who needed treatment more than he did.

More bad news arrived the phone call from the pokémon center. Galvantula, his typhlosion, and Pidgeot had passed away, some were still in critical condition, but the others were saved. Still, no matter how many survived, every single lost pokémon was a tragedy. He could only imagine the impact on Dawn, so to be absolutely sure, he didn't plan to tell her until she was fully recovered. He could only hope it would actually come to that.

As if it wasn't bad enough, Thomas arrived in the evening. Ash feared that he was there to take him to their nearest base for interrogation, but the officer only asked him to talk. Since it had to happen sooner or later, and Ash had nothing better to do anyway, he agreed. They walked away from the others, so that nobody could listen.

"My men told me what you did. People will hail you as a hero once ... if they get to know what you've done." The words on their own sounded almost like a threat, but it wasn't Thomas's intention. "If their attention is too much for you, I can say that you weren't involved or only played a minor role. It's up to you."

Ash didn't even need to think about it. Attention was the last thing he wanted right now, so he shook his head.

"Become a hero? Can a hero heal Dawn's wounds? Can a hero raise those that have fallen before their time? If not, then I don't care about being a hero." The frustration and sadness were clear in his voice.

"Don't dismiss it so easily," Thomas replied. "I understand you're ..."

"No, you don't!" Ash shouted, losing control. "All this time, I've overcome challenges. I've defeated foes, and I've lost friends to them. Every time I think it's over, every time I experience some happiness, something bad happens, and everything is worse than before. I'm sick and tired of it. I just want some peace. Some happiness. If you can't provide it, then you can get lost."

Ash turned around, ready to leave, but Thomas held his arm. His grip was too strong for Ash, but he remained completely calm, at least on the outside.

"Show some respect, young man. I know this is an extreme situation for you, but we can still remain civilized. Besides, I've already provided the hospital with supplies. As the new president of the international police, I have that authority." This came as a surprise, as Ash didn't expect Max to have resigned. Unless of course he did it involuntarily. "No, Max isn't dead. He survived, though he was under so much pressure after the failure at Sorlan's base that I was made his successor. Frankly, I believe it's better for him that way. But as for you, I won't bother you with questions. Your pokémon shall do this for us."

"Please don't bother them too much," Ash protested.

"Don't worry. We know they're exhausted, so we'll go easy on them, but we need the answers. I wish we could've helped you, but when those creatures started raining from the sky, many men were possessed, and fought us with all their might. It was already too late when we finally got rid of them." Ash wondered what would've happened, had the international police been able to arrive in time. "A few people spotted Giratina, and now there are rumors about this having been an invasion from the underworld or similar rubbish."

"Giratina isn't to blame. It helped us," Ash corrected, even though he knew that the renegade pokémon probably didn't care about the opinions of mortals. Still, he felt that its efforts should at least be acknowledged.

"I know, but I doubt the rumors will ever fully vanish. It's something about its history and appearance, that makes people think it's a villain." Ash knew Thomas was right. Sometimes an exciting lie was more appealing than the truth. "That's why we need answers. But I also have answers for you. Do you know Dawn's alakazam's fate?"

This was indeed something Ash wanted to know. Her absence had prevented faster reinforcements, so he was slightly angry at her. However, he'd been so preoccupied with other matters that he hadn't investigated further. The very fact that Thomas of all the people knew about her fate wasn't a good sign.

"Please tell me," he replied calmly.

"She saved our lives in Sorlan's base. I don't know how she got there, or what she wanted to do, but without her, my whole unit would be now. This also allowed you to advance instead of getting stuck between the defense lines and Max's forces. Thus she also saved you in a way." While it was good to hear this, it didn't tell Ash about her current condition. "I'm afraid she paid with her life. I'm sorry."

Ash broke a little inside, not only because another pokémon was dead, but also because he felt guilty for having questioned her loyalty when she'd actually done more than anyone else. Now he also had the task of telling Dawn about this, as if there wasn't already enough.

"I ... see. Thank you for telling me this." He was clearly shaken, and had to take a deep breath before continuing. "Unless there's anything else, I'd like to be alone for a while."

"Nothing else. Farewell. I know Dawn can make it, so don't worry about it." While Ash didn't generally disagree with the last statement, there was something about Dawn that always made him worry.

The doctors and nurses were fighting for her live in the emergency room, but it was a losing battle. Her condition was getting progressively worse, and nothing they did seemed to have any lasting impact. This was unlike anything they'd seen before. It was already looking like they'd lose her when everyone suddenly fell asleep, without warning. It was eerily quiet, then a tall man opened the nearest door completely and quickly approached Dawn, raising an arm. His hand was glowing pink, and he used it to grab her forehead roughly.

What followed could only be described as some kind of electroshock, for her body jerked several times, then he suddenly fell backwards, breathing heavily. There were no signs of injury on his body, yet he acted like he was in a lot of pain, struggling to get up. Then Dawn slowly opened her eyes, seeing a familiar face in front of her. It showed a weak, pained, but genuine smile before the man teleported away. Dawn's eyes closed and she lost consciousness again, only for the doctors and nurses to wake up again. Much to their surprise, Dawn was in a much better condition, although it was still far from over. Nobody questioned it for now, but they continued the fight with renewed energy.

The rest of the day passed without another incident. Dawn's condition remained critical. Unfortunately, Ash wasn't allowed to stay in the hospital, which was already full, but took a room in the nearby pokémon center, since he didn't have access to a pokémon with a strong teleport. When he woke up in the morning, he first checked on his pokémon, and this time, there was something good to report. Apparently, Gallade, while still badly hurt, wasn't in mortal danger anymore. It would take him some time to recover, but at least there was no doubt that he would. The hospital's report on the other hand wasn't good. Dawn had lost a lot of weight overnight, and it didn't look it was improving in the slightest now. There were quite a few visitors that day, though it meant relatively little to Ash as long as Dawn was in danger. There was no sign of improvement the whole day, and Ash had to go to sleep with a bad feeling once more.

He suffered from nightmares again, but this time, he was absolutely sure that these were natural. Nathan was dead, and the Okcha had no reason to torment him anymore. The news in the next morning were even worse, as Dawn had lost even more weight, but at least at a much slower rate. Her condition didn't change throughout the day, but it didn't worsen either. In fact, the doctors were slightly optimistic that she had a low chance of survival now instead of a tiny one.

The change during the following night, however, was completely unexpected. Not only did she regain a lot of weight, but she also started breathing on her own. It was a huge improvement, and all of sudden, they expected her to recover, though they still didn't know when or whether she'd wake up again. It was certain to take a while, which they made rather clear to Ash. Now he was finally allowed to visit her in her room, though only one visitor was allowed at a time, so he had to take turns with Johanna. The pokémon weren't allowed to go past the entry hall, though, so they had to stay behind, and wouldn't see Dawn until she was either healthy enough to go to them or dead. Whenever he was in her room, he'd talk to her as if she was awake, hoping that his voice could have a positive effect on her.

"You know, I miss you. Your mother misses you. Your pokémon and friends miss you. We're tired, but we'll wait as long as we need," he said to her on the fifth day shortly before leaving. "There's still so much I want to tell you, so much I want to do with you. But it seems some higher power doesn't want us to have peace. And whenever we finally have the chance, it's our own stupidity that ruins it for us. I admit I've made terrible mistakes. I admit I wasn't always completely honest with you, but I never wanted to hurt you in any way. I love you, never doubt or forget that. I hope we'll get the chance to rebuild the loving relationship before all the trouble, and to see your radiant smile again. Please wake up. The world is such a bleak place without you."

He had to suppress a tear in the end, and averting his gaze, he left her room. It was hard to do this without knowing whether he'd ever be able to have a normal conversation with her again, but at least it gave him a little hope.

It was on the ninth day that there was finally some real progress. When he entered the room, starting talking to her again, there was an answer.

"Ash ..." He almost jumped when he heard it, looking at the source of the weak voice. Dawn was smiling at him, but he could feel that she could only do it with painful effort. "Where ... am ..."

"Don't speak. It's alright." As much as he loved hearing her voice again, he didn't want her to be hurt because of this. And no matter how much there was to tell her, he felt that he needed to inform the doctors first. "I ... I don't know what to say. I promise everything will be alright, but first I need to tell the doctors. I'm sure they know what to do now."

She tried to reach out for him, but failed miserably. Ash hesitated to do anything to her, as she looked so vulnerable that he feared a simple kiss could kill her, as ridiculous as it sounded. The last few days had left her horribly thin, even though it already looked much better than before. He waved at her, then he left to speak to the doctors. When he found a nurse and told her about his discovery, she was skeptical at first, but agreed to inform the doctors. Ash could only hope that would stay awake for a while, or he'd look like a fool.

Fortunately, this wasn't the case. She was still conscious when one of them arrived, so his words could be easily verified. Even so, he wasn't allowed to enter her room during that time, so that he wouldn't distract her. Much to his dismay, she was already asleep again when it was over. However, he was sure that this wasn't a single occurrence, and surely there would be more opportunities to speak to her properly. It already happened a few hours later, but she didn't seem to be able to talk properly, usually only saying single words, but no coherent sentences. One of the things he understood that she was in a lot of pain, and that speaking made this even worse. Words weren't necessary to fill him with considerable warmth, though. Her smile, her eyes, and the mere fact that she was recovering properly made him almost ecstatic, and the pokémon felt the same way, hoping to see her soon. Johanna was even more emotional, so much that Ash feared she could crush Dawn with a hug by accident. They all were extremely relieved that this horrible nightmare could finally end, and everything could return to normal at last.

Dawn's recovery hastened from there, and she grew stronger with each passing day. She could already speak properly on the next day, and perform easy movements. One day later, she was given a wheelchair, which she could already operate on her own, so that she could go to the entry hall to visit the pokémon. The reunion was so touching, even Ash shed a tear, though he insisted it was merely something in his eye. Watching her recover was great, but it was only a matter of time until she'd ask the question he feared so much.

It happened one morning in her room, right after he'd given her some flowers.

"Say, Ash, what about the pokémon. A few of them were terribly injured when we recalled them? Are they alright?" He froze, but she just looked at him innocently. "It doesn't look good, does it?"

Ash wasn't sure whether she was ready for this, but he couldn't really lie to her when she asked him directly. Still, he hesitated, and Dawn felt it.

"Ash, you should know I can handle it. If it's really bad, then fine, we can't change it anymore. But I don't want to be deceived again." The last word reminded him that he'd already destroyed much with a stupid lie, and he wasn't about to do it again.

"Gigalith, Pidgeot, Scrafty, Salamence, and your Lucario and Typhlosion died during the fight. Galvantula didn't survive the following night. Without their sacrifice, many more would've perished. Others were heavily injured, but they survived. Espeon is partially paralyzed, but she can still move with her psychic powers. Charizard's wings have been hurt badly, but they might heal again. There are also a many other nasty injuries, which may take months to fully heal, but I won't bother you with details." This wasn't entirely unexpected, but it still hurt. The worst part, however, was about to follow. "I'm afraid there's more. It seems Alakazam disappeared at some point, and died fighting in Nathan's base according to Thomas. He said she basically saved us with her actions, and I have no reason not to believe him."

This caught her by surprise, and the pain was terrible. She'd raised three of those pokémon from the very start, so a lot of memories came back, which made this even more difficult. Of course Ash noticed her pain, and embraced her carefully, soothing her pain. While she was sobbing lightly, he offered all the comfort he could provide, as long as she needed it.

"Thanks, Ash," she finally whispered, looking up at him with a weak smile. "This was more unsettling than I imagined, but thank you for telling me the truth."

He kissed her on the forehead, and offered her an encouraging smile.

"It may not seem like it, but I can learn. And I won't let another foolish lie get between me and my love," he whispered, making her feel a little more relaxed.

"I appreciate it. I really do. I'll also tell you a little secret. I had peculiar dreams. You see, I was caught in a strange darkness, but ... it wasn't scary or unpleasant. It was cool, but not freezing, and it was strangely comforting. I'm sure there were things in the darkness, yet I wasn't afraid. It definitely wasn't natural, and I believe it helped me recover." Although Ash felt a little disturbed by this, he didn't say anything. "There was something else, something before that. I think I woke up at some point, and I saw Seth kneeling on the side. He smiled. It might sound strange, but I think ... he helped me." Now Ash was really surprised. Little did he know, this intervention could've made the difference between death and survival. Perhaps by helping his enemy back at the base he saved the love of his life. Much to his relief, she dropped the topic again. "But please go now. And tell the others not to disturb me. I need some time alone to think about things." He didn't feel offended, and left after another kiss, giving her the opportunity to deal with the news.

It wasn't surprising when it took hours until she could finally accept visitors again. The deaths had wounded her deeply, as the price for victory was even bigger than expected. Now they had to deal with the consequences. The pokémon were dead, and there was no way of getting them back. Ash also suffered because of this, and Dawn's illness only made it worse, so they could help each other, and they did in the following days, spending much time together. This helped them both, and strengthened their bond to a point that it reminded them of the time before all the trouble.

When Dawn was finally allowed to leave, they first returned home, where they were greeted by the whole town and a group of people from Viridian City, who'd been saved by their pokémon during the incident with the Okcha. They called them heroes, but Ash and Dawn told them to thank their pokémon instead, since those had protected them, not their trainers. The rest of the region didn't seem to know about the extent of the invasion, or Ash and Dawn's role in it, probably because Thomas wanted to have at least a little privacy. They were content that way, for they believed that their pokémon deserved as much attention, and there were also others, who'd done at least as much.

It would take a long time until things could return to normal. First they buried their dead pokémon next to Leafeon and Durant. The cities lied in ruins, and as the local champion, it was Ash's duty to help rebuilding. Apart from the first few days, Dawn had a lot of time to help him with that. They got known for those actions instead of their fight against the Okcha Prime, and they were happy with it. This kind of work was far more fulfilling than destruction. With help from the other regions, the cities regained their former glory, only Viridian City took far longer, as the inner city had been almost completely obliterated.

Like Ash, Dawn showed unusual signs of power after the incident, though hers were different. Whereas Ash had an affinity for aura powers, she was better with psychic powers, the same that the Okcha Prime had used occasionally. However, they'd learned from Ash's mistakes, so she took it slowly, and told the others to stop her, should she ever show signs of getting obsessed with her new talent. Espeon acted as her trainer and mentor, teaching her trainer everything she considered possible. This was crucial to her, as those powers could cause a lot of harm when left untrained. The training took much longer than Ash's, and even then Dawn's abilities weren't quite as great as Espeon's yet, but there was one discipline, in which she excelled, and that was teleportation. Without Alakazam, her mobility was limited, and since she didn't like borrowing Gallade for long-range teleportation, she asked him to teach her instead. Soon she was just as good, capable of teleporting from Kanto to Hoenn or Sinnoh easily. Ash even called her the perfect combination of a woman and a car, though never in her presence. His own abilities also improved with time, almost rivaling Lucario's in the end.

Ash kept his title most of the time, with only Karen winning it once. Lance didn't seem to be interested in regaining it, so his greatest rival was already gone, and most of the challengers didn't make it past the Elite Four. This was all he wanted or needed. Dawn on the other hand had to deal with Wallace, who won against her on his second attempt, securing his old position. Since she didn't like the position anyway, she didn't try to win again, having already done everything she'd wanted. Instead, she fought for the new and official title of Coordinator Champion, which had been established with a similar system to the Elite Four a few months earlier. Her region of choice was Sinnoh, mostly because her old rival Zoey was also active there, and their battles soon became legendary. Sometimes the title switched the owner several times a month, until a new rule prevented a new challenge immediately after defeat, but even then it never stayed with one person for long. Later Dawn moved to Kanto in that regard, easily conquering and holding the position there.

Several months after the incident with the Okcha Prime, Ash finally mustered the courage to propose to Dawn, and he did so in their special cave near Cinnabar Island. He'd even placed candles all around it to make it look even prettier than usual. When she saw him kneeling in front of her and holding a beautiful gold ring, she could barely react, but not because she was thinking about the answer, for she quickly agreed, having waited for this moment. It was just that she hadn't expected him to go to such lengths for the proposal. They sealed it with the deepest kiss so far, and immediately started planning the wedding with their mothers, who were delighted to hear this.

Only friends and family members were invited, which resulted in a small, secret wedding with Gary as the best man and Zoey as the bridesmaid. The location was near Eterna Forest on a flowery meadow and much to their surprise, a group of Shaymin came to visit them. The guilty one for this surprise was quickly found, but they weren't mad. In fact it was quite possibly the best day of their life, though marriage changed barely anything for them. Ash and Dawn were as close as ever, but at least they didn't have to deal with as many love letters as before. Only their mothers made a huge deal out of it, teasing them often by asking them about offspring, which made Ash wonder whether he hadn't asked a bit too early.

May and Drew also married soon after, though their wedding was a bit larger. Ever since the new title of Coordinator Champion had appeared, there'd been a merciless fight for it in Hoenn, with May, Drew, and Robert being the main players. Some people said that this kind of competition was good for their marriage, others claimed that it was only a matter of time until the divorce. They didn't care about those opinions, carrying on as always with varying success. Hoenn soon became known as the most competitive region due to their activities.

Zoey quickly recovered from her injuries, and then continued to fight for a separate champion title for coordinators. Despite support from many prominent coordinators, her pleas fell on deaf ears, especially in light of recent events. All the contest halls in Kanto and Johto had to be either repaired or completely rebuild, which required a lot of money. It wasn't until there was a generous donation by a businessman from Kalos, that something happened. After all, the only condition for the donation was exactly that the coordinator championship was created, though the reason was unknown, and the donator wished to remain anonymous. In any case, the money was badly needed, so the new system was quickly established, which immediately made dozens of coordinators try to gain the position. Zoey herself was among them, fighting with Dawn over the championship in Sinnoh, but when her rival returned to Kanto, she had a much easier time.

With Viridian City lying in ruins, Marcus's attempt to build a gym was not only accepted, but also supported by the authorities. He soon became the leader of the only gym in the city. However, he was never truly happy with the situation, for Eileen, who didn't have to suffer a harsh punishment for her actions due to her age, seemed to hate him. No matter how often he tried to bond with her, she rejected him every single time. Even worse, she was much gloomier than before, rarely smiling or expressing happiness, but always carrying bitterness in her voice. Either the time as Nathan's servant had turned her into this, or she was finally showing her true colors. In any case, nobody liked this change, and many tried to help her, but she isolated herself, and one day, she was simply gone. This time, Marcus didn't look for her, claiming that his true sister had died a long time ago.

Serena stayed with Marcus for a while, but eventually started traveling again. Back in Kalos, she renewed her rivalry with Miranda, though her rival wasn't quite as spiteful as she used to be. They still harbored a great dislike for each other, but now they tried to stay away from each other as much as possible. Serena eventually returned to Kanto, reuniting with Marcus shortly before traveling through the region. Although Marcus didn't like this, he was patient enough to endure it.

Thomas tried to keep serving justice with his right hand Dan, but he soon found out that it wasn't as easy as it sounded. There were no universal truths, and his decisions always affected multiple people, not always in a good way, which made him feel more sympathetic towards Max, who'd retired. In the end, their decisions didn't differ too much.

Seth disappeared without a trace, and the police neither saw nor heard from him again. His role in the assault on Nathan's base remained unknown, like so many things about him. To them, he was simply a greedy, cruel murderer, but they never managed to bring him to justice. Wraith's refusal to cooperate resulted in many years in prison despite her age, but eventually, she was free again. A company producing pokéballs hired her soon after, as she'd shown so much talent, that they were willing to ignore her past. With the help of the pokémon she'd recovered once she was free, she built a normal life. Boris on the other hand was sent to an asylum, where his mental state remained unchanged, regardless of the therapies or tests. The rest of his life was spent there, and till the end, the doctors didn't know the exact cause of his troubles, often wondering whether it was a fate worse than death, or whether he'd found peace.

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 **Sometimes putting too much effort into something makes one fail at it even more. Yet the bitter truth is that the Okcha is clearly the winner of this outcome, though not the way it expected. Everyone else has lost something, some more than others. The epilogue is shorter than a normal chapter and is set too far in the future to be considered one.**


	102. Epilogue

**Now to the final part. It's a short view at the near future.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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Epilogue

"Now envy shards!" Dawn, the current, twenty-two-year-old Coordinator Champion of Kanto, commanded calmly.

She was battling Darryl, a challenger, and this one was of the nasty kind, having already declared himself the new Coordinator Champion of Kanto beforehand. Not only that, but he'd also spread false rumors about Dawn, and this made her angry, to put it mildly. An angry Dawn could be quite scary and cruel, so Ash was quite sure that the challenger would soon regret his actions. Her goal was nothing less than utter humiliation.

The champion-level contests were divided into three double battles, and whoever won two of them was declared victorious. Each battle lasted five minutes as usual. Dawn had already won the first one with such ease that it made her wonder how he'd gotten through her Elite Four, or rather Fancy Four as they were often called. It was difficult to find decent coordinators willing to do the job, as most of them preferred to travel. As a result, Dawn got more challengers than she liked, even mediocre ones. Sometimes she was envious of Ash's Elite Four, for Misty alone was more of a challenge than the Fancy Four, but in cases like this one, she was actually glad to be able to crush fools like Darryl personally.

She didn't even bother wearing a suitable attire, going with a simple blue shirt and skirt instead, whereas he was there in a flawless, white suit with a long, flowing cape. The first battle, which she'd won by reducing his points to zero, had made her so confident, that she made a scandalous move by only calling out one pokémon for the next double battle, Mesprit. It was technically correct, though obviously a huge handicap. However, she had confidence in her abilities and Mesprit's moves.

The Lake Guardians had decided to stay awake after the victory against the Okcha Prime, at least for a few more decades. There was still much to discover in this new world after their long sleep and eventually, they officially joined Ash's and Dawn's teams. Both of them had an amazing bond with their trainers, and their first individual move, if it could even be called that, came naturally, without any training.

Azelf could channel its willpower for ultimate determination, which made it stronger the closer it was to defeat. The only downside was that it was impossible to be recalled once the move was in action. His second move, cosmic blast, was a cone-shaped attack, which grew in strength the more often an opponent was hit by it, which made a prolonged battle against it extremely difficult to win.

Mesprit's move was less straightforward, but no less formidable. Usually it kept emotions in balance, which was the reason for its balanced defense and offense. However, by focusing on single emotions, it could change that. Rage gave it supreme physical attack power, tranquility protected it from special moves, and fear increase its speed. This usually came at a price, because other aspects were weakened. Hatred was an exception, for it strengthened Mesprit in every way, yet hurt it in the process. Its counterpart, love, healed it in return, but weakened it. The second move, spirit shards, was closely connected to the first, for it created several energy shards, which were powered by emotions and unleashed different effects depending on the emotion.

Envy created barbed shards, which were tremendously painful and difficult to remove once they were stuck in the body. Mesprit could then either detonate them for minor damage or let them siphon energy from the target like a leech seed. It didn't matter how many shards were there, only one was needed for the full effect, so she usually detonated the rest. One of their main advantages was the ability to absorb healing as well, so that affected targets sometimes kept healing Mesprit.

This time, it left the additional shards, so that the effect remained if a few shards were removed. The opponents, Zoroark and Floatzel, were both affected, but didn't bother getting rid of the shards, focusing on taking Mesprit down, but the regeneration made this difficult. Dawn didn't even tell it to use another move. The emotion focused on despair, which greatly boosted its defense, but left attack power in shambles. The spirit shards acted like a weak poison in this state, slowly draining the opponent's health, strength, and most importantly, willpower.

The opponent's pokémon withered away without ever becoming actually dangerous at any moment. It was exactly the victory Dawn had anticipated. She defeated this annoying opponent in a double battle with only one pokémon and one move. Not even waiting for the announcement, she recalled her pokémon and left the building. Ash was also battling nearby, which was the only reason why he hadn't been in the stadium. Fortunately, the contest hall for those champion battles had been built at the Indigo Plateau, so she didn't have to go far. Teleporting was out of the question for a specific reason. She was pregnant, in her fourth month. The effect of teleportation on an unborn child had never been researched, and even though she didn't believe it could cause anything serious, she didn't want to take any unnecessary risks, especially since she could move quickly on a pokémon's back. They didn't have a name for the child yet, and they didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl either. It was alright, they didn't have any preferences. Darryl had spread rumors that it wasn't Ash's, which was the main reason why she despised him so much.

Dawn entered the stadium to see that the battle was almost over. Ash had two pokémon left, whereas his opponent, a powerful trainer called Frank was down to his last fighter. The champion hadn't changed much despite his older age of currently 24 years. Ash's snorlax was up against Frank's tauros. Snorlax's individual move sleep walk allowed Ash to control Snorlax even when he was asleep, which made him extremely durable when used in combination with rest. The only downside was his slow movement in this state, which made hitting the opponent difficult. However, it was mostly to ensure that he wasn't completely helpless during sleep. Tauros was unable to overcome the healing without putting itself in grave danger, and even though it managed to deal some heavy damage, it also received a lot. In the end, it was defeated by an earthquake, so Ash didn't have to use his last pokémon.

Ash quickly left the stage to find Dawn already waiting in a corridor, leaning against the wall with a smug look on her face.

"And here I thought I'd have to make up for the loss of your income," she said jokingly.

"You're here already?" He grinned. "I thought you'd stand your ground a little longer."

He stood in front of her, and their lips met. They eventually pulled back, looking into each other's eyes.

"That guy was a real disappointment. But I don't want to ruin the surprise for you. You'll learn of his embarrassing loss soon enough." Dawn grinned mischievously. "That's what he gets for spreading that crap about us."

"To claim that it's not mine ..." Ash placed his hand on her belly, then he motioned for her to lead the way to his room. "It's been a long day. Let's go home."

"Long day? It's not even past noon!" Dawn laughed, but complied nonetheless. "Seriously, people might think you big oaf are the one who carries a baby."

"Unlike you, I had a somewhat decent opponent," he countered. "I don't know how Karen could let him slip past her. It looks like she's getting sloppy. Maybe our child will have to take her place."

"And if that's not enough? Or if he or she wants to become a coordinator instead? Maybe my position is more appealing," Dawn told him.

"In your dreams," he replied, laughing. "But why not both? If it's a girl, and she inherits your beauty, the judges will let her win, no matter how crude her style."

"Flatterer." She punched his shoulder lightly, but even after all this time, his compliments still had such a strong effect on her. Sometimes she wondered, whether he said those things to make her cook his favorite meal. "So ..." She suddenly turned towards him, pinning him to the wall with remarkable force. She looked into his eyes with passion. "Any plans for today?"

"Only training." She lowered her head and sighed, whereas Ash just looked at her with confusion. "Why? You had something else in mind?"

Despite all the time Ash had spent with Dawn, despite his marriage, his infamous denseness sometimes still resurfaced. But it was alright. It usually made her laugh, so there was no reason to be overly serious about it.

"Well, with the two of us victorious, I think it's only fair that we celebrate a little. Come on, Ash, don't push yourself too hard." She didn't sound too serious, but there was some real concern in her eyes."You deserve it. Your pokémon deserve it. Let's relax and have some fun today, alright?" When he hesitated, she grabbed his cheeks, forcing a smile and a few nods. "I didn't say you have a choice. You can try to run, but you know I'll get you, and then I'll tickle you mercilessly."

Ash knew she wasn't kidding. Even though he wasn't as intent on training as he wanted her to believe, he surely wasn't going to admit it to anyone. He eventually couldn't resist anymore, and started laughing by himself. Not willing to let Dawn win that easily, he lifted her into the air effortlessly.

"Someone gained a little weight?" he remarked with a grin.

"Silly Ash. I didn't, someone else did. Now let's get to the room, or Empoleon will be really offended for having to wait this long." He was ready to have them some time alone, but that didn't mean he enjoyed being left in Ash's room for too long.

"Yes, and then we'll enjoy a day off." Ash could already tell that it was going to be great.

Ever since the Okcha Prime's defeat, they'd been at peace. Their problems weren't gone, and they still argued from time to time, but they always did it with respect and a healthy dose of humor. Those problems kept a certain humility. Despite their undeniably heroic acts, there had been others, who'd risked their lives for others, and often paid dearly. No matter their significance, no matter their strength, their efforts deserved as much praise. One didn't need to save the world to make a difference, to do something meaningful. Those seemingly small acts made this world worth saving. Ash and Dawn had come to believe this, a belief that made them keep going, whenever seemingly irrelevant issues caused frustration. There'd certainly be other challenges in the future, other sacrifices, but as long as they remained together and remembered all of this, they'd surely never lose hope.

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 **I'd like to thank everyone who's been reading, reviewing or helping me with this in any way. It's been going on for a long time now and I'm glad that it's finished. I hope you had some fun rading it. Have a great time, people.**


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